Nicole Bell is an engineer, entrepreneur, medical advocate, and author of What Lurks in the Woods, whose life was transformed when her high-performing husband developed rapid cognitive decline that was repeatedly misdiagnosed. Drawing on her background in engineering and diagnostics, Nicole brings a clear, systems-level lens to the failures of conventional testing, the complexity of Lyme and co-infections, and what it really takes to demand better care inside a dismissive medical system.

Expect to learn:

• How Nicole’s training as an engineer and experience in diagnostics shaped the way she investigated her husband’s symptoms.

• Why standard Lyme testing often fails and how co-infections and other pathogens can masquerade as dementia and psychiatric issues.

• Practical ways to advocate for yourself or a loved one when doctors say “everything looks normal” but you know something is wrong.

• The emotional and logistical reality of being a caregiver, and how to think about asking for help without feeling like a burden.

• Why “demanding better” from the medical system is not being difficult—it’s necessary for finding true root causes and real healing.

  Nicole Bell

Giovanni Bartolomeo is a serial entrepreneur, founder of Elemental Breathwork, and a transformational breathwork teacher whose work helps people use the breath not to control experience, but as a gateway into regulation, awareness, and lasting change.

In this episode, Randy and Gio unpack how a single breathwork journey became the inflection point that pulled Gio out of a “successful but empty” life and into a path of purpose, service, and heart‑centered leadership.

Expect to learn

• How breathwork differs from simple “breathing exercises.”

• Why unresolved emotions quietly drive anxiety, burnout, and even physical illness.

• How rhythmic breath and visualization can rewire beliefs at a subconscious level.

You will also hear Gio’s wild stories of ayahuasca, Wim Hof, out‑of‑body experiences, and auto‑immune shifts, along with practical guidance on nervous system regulation, navigating crises of meaning, and following the subtle pull of curiosity into your next chapter.

Dr. Keiko Finnegan, Co-Founder of Kinfolk Optimal Living

What if your body isn’t broken and never was?

Dr. Randy Michaux sits down with Dr. Keiko Finnegan to explore vitalism not as a philosophy, but as a lived, embodied relationship with life itself. Together, they unpack trust, pause, awareness, and the quiet intelligence that animates healing when we stop trying to be fixed.

Rather than chasing solutions, this episode invites listeners to slow down, listen inward, and rediscover the wisdom already at work within them.

In this episode, we explore:

• What vitalism actually feels like in the body

• Why trust is layered and learned through experience, not effort

• The power of pause in a culture addicted to urgency

• Why no one can heal you and why that’s actually good news

• How symptoms can be reframed as information rather than betrayal

• The role of chiropractic and nervous system regulation in creating safety

• Why healing often begins with embarrassingly simple practices

• How play, nature, and presence restore connection

• What it means to witness rather than fix

• How small awareness shifts can change generations

Key Takeaway:

Healing isn’t something someone does to you. It’s something that unfolds when you are seen, supported, and willing to listen.

Resources & Mentions:

• Kinfolk Optimal Living

• The Vitalist Podcast

• Compassionate Inquiry (Dr. Gabor Maté)

• Meditation, play, nature immersion, and nervous system regulation practices

Reflection Question for Listeners:

What might change if you trusted that your body already knows the way?