Sep 12, 2026 · 1h 19m
Scientists recast healing as a dynamic system
Re-Air: What is Energy? And Can Energy Therapy Heal?| Phenomena Podcast
The episode examines whether health can be understood through relationships among mitochondria, fascia, consciousness, environment, and the body’s hidden fluid networks.
- 1Martin Picard links mitochondrial function to individual differences in fatigue, illness, experience, and the potential for change.
- 2Richard Hammerschlag argues that biofields, fascia, and collagen may help explain how bodies monitor and maintain health.
- 3Neil Theise’s interstitium research supports a view of the body as nested, dynamic systems rather than a fixed machine.
Don't miss
Neil Theise’s account of discovering fluid-filled spaces in tissue turns an anatomical finding into a meditation on interconnected biological systems.
The brief
Martin Picard opens with mitochondria and a challenge to the body-as-machine model, asking why identical diagnoses can produce sharply different experiences and outcomes.
Richard Hammerschlag expands the frame from physiology to biofields, fascia, and collagen, proposing that the body may sense and respond to imbalances before symptoms become clinical.
Neil Theise traces liver pathology to the interstitium: fluid-filled spaces that may form a body-wide network for circulation, information, and connection with traditional healing concepts.
The episode’s central definition arrives through Picard: energy is the potential for change, linking mitochondria, consciousness, healing, and the environments in which care occurs.
Ivy Ross and Jonathan Cohen argue that salutogenic care must account for therapeutic relationships, belief, purpose, and complexity without pretending the science has settled the questions.
Books & mentions
Some links are affiliate links — PodLume may earn a commission if you buy.
Weekly email
State of the Pod, every Monday
The week's most-discussed names and stories from podcasts, with the moments behind them. Free, five minutes, unsubscribe in one click.