Wellness Archives - Public Seminar

Body & Mind

Gut Feeling

In Strange Biology, Charlotte Strange digs into the microbiome and lets it spill out on the page

June 29, 2026 • by Colette Estelle

“For me, the curiosity of the microbe rests on the ambivalent outcomes of its extreme connectedness,” says writer Charlotte Strange: “Its capacity to spoil, sour, and upset, and the slipperiness with which it moves through medical and colloquial speech.” In their chapbook Strange Biology (Wendy’s Subway, 2025), a collection of essays, ...

Showering for Salvation

The viral, hours-long “everything shower” promises women purity

March 23, 2026 • by Drew Vogelsang

The influencer Vanessa Faga has amassed 1.6 million followers on TikTok, posting a new self-care routine video each day. Her content ranges from a “productive Monday morning” to a “winter self-care night,” to promote a new set of wellness products. She presents a life of curated optimization, where every moment ...

Civility, Gays and Gyms, and Mr. Rogers

Past Present Episode 137

July 3, 2018 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil debate recent claims that the Left is destroying civility in politics, the LGBTQ+ history of American gym culture, and a half-century of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: When White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to ...