Julia Belluz

speaker

540 appearances 2 recordings 2 series first heard Feb 2026 last heard 8 May

Julia Belluz’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in May 2026 with 1.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

The Ezra Klein Show · GLP-1s and the ‘Wild West’ of Wellness · 8 May 2026 podcast

So we have this illusion of control over our individual meals and snacks, but there's this symphony of internal signals that's going on inside of us all the time, and the brain is sort of leading this symphony.

And the decisions we make are much less a product of conscious control that I think many people appreciate.

So when you're taking a GLP-1, you're getting a much higher, longer-lasting version of what your body produces.

And it has to reach the brain through the gut-brain barrier.

So it has to reach through the gut-brain barrier.

And the theory is that it's reaching into the part of the brain that usually signals that there's a toxin in circulation.

And so that shuts down your appetite and increases your nausea.

Exactly.

Or what you would have on a diet.

These are the most common side effects of these drugs, right?

So it reaches into that.

I think that's one way to put it, absolutely.

Modernity, baby.

I know, and in the context of our completely toxic food environment, right?

It's just turning down your appetite by reaching into this GLP-1 brain system.

So it reaches through the gut-brain barrier, but it acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, and from there reaches other parts of the brain.

This is a very active area of research, right?

But that's the sort of bottom line.

And this dialing down of appetite is the key feature of these drugs.

I think you were also someone who struggled with weight earlier in your life.

Showing 41–60 of 540 · page 3 of 27