Brain Fever Podcast

Brain Fever is hosted by autoimmune encephalitis survivor, Jackie M. Stebbins and is produced by her husband and former radio personality, Sean Arithson. Jackie was a nationally recognized trial lawyer until almost overnight, she couldn't read or tell the time, and had full body tremors and seizures. After a horror story illness and near-death experience, Jackie miraculously survived her "brain on fire" and began sharing her journey with others. Brain Fever is a testament to Jackie's resilience and the human spirit. She highlights not only her story, but the stories of others including cancer survivors, philosophers, lawyers, writers, and others affected by autoimmune encephalitis. She also focuses on mental health, hoping to bring to light the diagnoses so many face and to destigmatize it. (And she talks A LOT about Elton John!)

Jackie is the author of "Unwillable: A Journey to Reclaim My Brain" and the JM Stebbins blog, a motivational speaker, and the host of the Brain Fever podcast.

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Brain Fever Podcast

Unicorn

September 22, 2024 • JM Stebbins • Season 4 • Episode 1

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To kick off another season of the Brain Fever podcast, Jackie welcomes special guest Jeremy Norton. Jeremy is the author of Trauma Sponges: Dispatches from the Scarred Heart of Emergency Response. Jeremy has an MA in creative writing, was a teacher, and has served over twenty years with the Minneapolis Fire Department where he is currently a captain. Jeremy was also the firefighter/EMT who first responded to aid George Floyd in May 2020.

Join Jackie and Jeremy for a discussion about trauma, mental health, burnout, and a behind the scenes look at what it means to be a firefighter in a metropolitan area. The two also discuss thought provoking ideas from Jeremy's essays in Trauma Sponges, including issues such as race, class, healthcare, and emergency services in America. Jeremy also explains the story behind his Station's unicorn mascot (and Jackie pathetically begs for one of the Station's unicorn shirts ...).

*This show is aimed at an adult audience and contains mature language.*

Jeremy can be found doing right and being kind HERE

You can find Trauma Sponges where you buy books HERE

You can watch Jeremy's testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial HERE