Duologue with Leslie Heaney

Caviar is one of the world’s great luxuries, but most of us have no idea where it actually comes from. In this episode, Leslie sits down with Sarah Mayo, chief commercial officer of Black River Caviar, the first sturgeon farm in the Southern Hemisphere, to trace caviar from the Caspian Sea to a farm on Uruguay’s Rio Negro. They talk about how caviar went from peasant food to the tsars’ table, why wild sturgeon nearly went extinct, the surprising history of American caviar, and how a Soviet ship docking in Montevideo led to Black River’s founding. Sarah walks through exactly how caviar is harvested, salted, and aged, explains the difference between fresh and pasteurized caviar, and shares how to know where your caviar really comes from. Plus, her best tips for storing and serving it at home, why the spoon matters, and what to drink with it, from vodka and Champagne to tequila.

Duologue listeners get 15% off at blackrivercaviar.com with code DUO at checkout.

Chapters
(00:00:00) Meet Sarah Mayo of Black River Caviar
(00:03:15) Why so few people know where their caviar comes from
(00:04:45) From peasant food to the tsars’ table
(00:05:47) Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga
(00:08:32) How the Soviet era pushed sturgeon to the brink
(00:11:53) Why beluga caviar is so prized
(00:14:45) How long it takes a sturgeon to mature
(00:16:23) What sturgeon need to thrive
(00:20:02) America’s forgotten caviar boom
(00:22:49) Why sturgeon were so easy to overfish
(00:24:06) The big caviar brands vs. the farms behind them
(00:27:36) Fresh vs. pasteurized caviar
(00:30:31) How caviar is harvested, salted, and aged
(00:37:01) Why the tin matters
(00:40:14) The wild-fishing ban and how caviar is regulated
(00:44:09) Why so much of the world’s caviar comes from China
(00:47:05) How to know where your caviar comes from
(00:49:17) Black River’s origin story: a Soviet ship in Montevideo
(00:52:49) Why Black River’s fish never swim in the same water twice
(00:57:09) How much caviar Black River harvests each year
(00:59:24) How to store caviar at home
(01:03:27) How to serve it: bowls, ice, and mother-of-pearl spoons
(01:05:13) Sarah’s favorite way to eat caviar
(01:08:17) What to drink with caviar: vodka, Champagne, and tequila
(01:11:34) Caviar bumps and why to taste it plain first
(01:12:28) What the fish eat and the health benefits of caviar
(01:16:45) Where to buy Black River Caviar

Thanks so much for listening! If you loved this conversation, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really does help other listeners find the show. For more from Leslie, including exclusive essays and behind-the-scenes takes on every episode, subscribe to the Duologue Substack. https://duologuediaries.substack.com/

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Resources
You can find and order Black River Caviar on their website: https://www.blackrivercaviar.com/

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What should you do after a tick bite, how do you know if it’s Lyme disease, and can a tick really make you allergic to meat? Infectious disease physician Dr. Nuwan Gunawardhana of Columbia University joins me to answer all of it, from how Lyme disease spreads and the signs to watch for beyond the bull’s-eye rash, to post-exposure prevention, Lyme testing, and the truth about “chronic Lyme.” We also get into alpha-gal syndrome and the Lone Star tick, this summer’s record-breaking Cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce, and the measles outbreak in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Along the way, Dr. G shares the tick-check spots most of us forget, why a dog in your bed can matter, which hidden ingredients people with alpha-gal need to watch for, why produce washes won’t protect you from Cyclospora, and how a simple MMR titer can tell you whether you’re protected against measles.

Chapters
(00:00:00) Meet Dr. G
(00:02:25) What Lyme disease is and how it spreads
(00:04:15) Where the tick hotspots are
(00:05:15) Deer, mice, and why your dog matters
(00:07:20) Tick season and why it’s running later
(00:08:44) How to protect yourself: DEET, high socks, and tick checks
(00:10:43) Checking your dog for ticks
(00:11:43) Found a tick? The 72-hour window and one-dose prevention
(00:15:12) Lyme disease symptoms beyond the bull’s-eye rash
(00:16:22) My son’s story
(00:19:16) The stages of Lyme disease
(00:20:34) “Chronic Lyme” vs. post-treatment Lyme syndrome
(00:23:20) How Lyme testing works
(00:28:17) A Lyme vaccine and how Lyme hides from your immune system
(00:30:01) Alpha-gal syndrome: the tick bite that causes a meat allergy
(00:33:14) Alpha-gal symptoms, diagnosis, and what to avoid
(00:37:40) Cyclospora and this summer’s lettuce outbreak
(00:41:05) Can you wash Cyclospora off your produce?
(00:45:18) Measles: why it’s back
(00:50:32) Measles symptoms to watch for
(00:52:36) Checking your MMR titer and herd immunity

Thanks so much for listening! If you loved this conversation, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really does help other listeners find the show. For more from Leslie, including exclusive essays and behind-the-scenes takes on every episode, subscribe to the Duologue Substack. https://duologuediaries.substack.com/

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Smartphones were designed to connect us, so why are so many kids and teens more anxious, distracted, and lonely than ever? I sat down with the team behind The Drug In Our Pocket, a new documentary about how smartphones and social media have reshaped childhood, adolescence, and teen mental health. Director and producer Anne Sundberg, producer Beth Kojima, co-founder of GTY Productions, and Kathy Thomas, whose daughter Karina shares her story in the film, joined me in New York just before its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival to talk about screen time, attention, digital wellness, and what parents can actually do about the phone in every kid’s pocket.

We get into what the research is showing about our kids’ attention and learning, Karina’s experience and why having one trusted adult to turn to can change everything, what the court cases against Meta and other platforms have revealed about how these products are designed, what other countries are doing to protect young people, and the small, doable changes the filmmakers hope every family will try.

Chapters
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:01:40) Why they made The Drug In Our Pocket
(00:05:40) The numbers: kids, phones, and 30 years on a device
(00:09:01) Phones in schools and what's happening to learning
(00:12:04) Karina's story
(00:15:00) Why every kid needs someone to turn to
(00:18:51) Pick three: small changes with a big impact
(00:21:00) What the court cases against Meta are revealing
(00:32:57) Why it's so hard to put the phone down
(00:34:20) Dopamine, multitasking, and attention as a muscle
(00:37:20) Why kids are happier after a digital detox
(00:41:43) The organizations and resources behind the film
(00:44:10) What other countries are doing to protect kids
(00:48:26) What we can all do at home
(00:51:14) Takeaways for parents
(00:55:10) Where to see the film

Thanks so much for listening! If you loved this conversation, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really does help other listeners find the show. For more from Leslie, including exclusive essays and behind-the-scenes takes on every episode, subscribe to the Duologue Substack. https://duologuediaries.substack.com/

Follow Duologue with Leslie Heaney:
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Resources
You can find the film’s ten recommendations and upcoming screenings at druginourpocket.com.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Belle Burden’s memoir Strangers has become the book of the year, and one of its biggest wake-up calls is how little Belle, an Ivy League–educated corporate attorney, knew about her own family’s finances. I asked Lacy Garcia, founder of Willow, to come back on Duologue to talk about why that experience is so common, even for smart, capable women, and what every one of us can do about it.

We get into the numbers behind women and financial confidence, how to prepare teens and young twentysomethings with healthy money habits that will carry them into their marriages and partnerships, why talking about money before and during marriage isn’t unromantic, how a prenup can be a framework for honest conversations, and the questions you should be asking about your accounts, insurance, beneficiaries, and more. Lacy also walks us through her Every Woman’s Checklist, which you can find on the Duologue Substack.

Chapters
(00:00:00) Why Strangers struck a nerve
(00:09:20) The numbers on women and financial confidence
(00:13:30) Raising financially literate kids and young adults
(00:38:53) Money conversations before and during marriage
(00:42:02) Prenups as a framework for honest conversations
(00:46:50) Trusts, separate property, and transparency
(00:51:39) Do you know what your spouse earns?
(00:56:25) Takeaways and Every Woman's Checklist

This episode is for informational purposes only and is not financial or legal advice. Please talk with a qualified professional about your own situation.

Thanks so much for listening! If you loved this conversation, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really does help other listeners find the show. For more from Leslie, including exclusive essays and behind-the-scenes takes on every episode, subscribe to the Duologue Substack.

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Resources
Willow Trust: trustwillow.com

Ready to take the next step? Get matched with a financial advisor in Willow’s network: https://my.trustwillow.com/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=duologue

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Ovarian cancer affects about 1 in 90 women, there is no screening test for it, and it rarely causes symptoms until it has already spread. For Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, I sat down with Dr. Kara Long, an ovarian cancer surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering, to talk about the discovery that changed everything we know about this disease: the most common and deadliest form of ovarian cancer actually starts in the fallopian tubes, not the ovaries.

Dr. Long walks us through why ultrasounds and blood tests can't catch it early, what the new data shows about fallopian tube removal (salpingectomy) and ovarian cancer prevention, and what the new American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines released this August mean for anyone who is finished having children, having a hysterectomy, or considering permanent birth control. We also talk about genetic testing, BRCA and beyond, why your family history matters more than you might think, and the real barriers to access. Plus, she shares what every woman should know about preventing cervical, endometrial, and vulvar cancer, including the HPV vaccine, hormone replacement, and the warning signs you should never ignore. Dr. Long has already seen this advice save a life: a woman who heard her speak on the topic took action, and it led to catching an aggressive ovarian cancer in time. As Dr. Long said, if even one or two people hear this and make a choice, it could save their lives. Please share it with the women you love. You could save a life.

Chapters
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:02:00) Ovarian cancer by the numbers
(00:05:30) Why there's no screening test
(00:07:21) The fallopian tube discovery
(00:12:38) New data and the ACOG guidelines
(00:17:21) Family history and genetic testing
(00:26:23) Does tube removal cause menopause?
(00:28:29) Preventing other gynecologic cancers
(00:38:45) Dr. Long's prevention work
(00:44:50) Women's health and access
(00:49:44) Closing

Thanks so much for listening! If you loved this conversation, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really does help other listeners find the show. For more from Leslie, including exclusive essays and behind-the-scenes takes on every episode, subscribe to the Duologue Substack.
Follow Duologue with Leslie Heaney:
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Resources
Outsmart Ovarian Cancer: outsmartovariancancer.org
American Cancer Society: cancer.org

Guest photos courtesy of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.