Breaking the Code

Who Cares for the Raregiver?

This Rare Disease Month, the team is shifting its focus to the caregivers. Caregiving is often seen as the ultimate display of love. It's a role that needs more recognition, but when we start thinking about caregivers as heroes, we risk no longer seeing them as people who could need support from others. In this episode, Sonika and Gabe are joined by Raregivers' founder Cristol Barrett O'Loughlin, Havas Health's Global Rare Disease Lead Afshan Rizvi Hussain, and Social Strategist Binaka Norris to discuss the emotional pain caregivers endure and the global PSA they're launching for Rare Disease Day to bring that pain to light. Their illuminating conversation examines how idealized narratives of strength can unintentionally deepen stigma and suppress vulnerability. Through the lens of caregivers of people with rare diseases, they explore the emotional complexity of long-term care and the psychology of self-sacrifice.Follow us on LinkedIn

The Evolution of the New Year's Resolution

Every January, millions of us resolve to reset and become a better version of ourselves. But where did New Year’s resolutions come from, and why do they so rarely stick? As the fervor behind the new year quiets, Sonika and Gabe take a moment to trace the evolution of the New Year’s resolution, from ancient Babylonian promises to the gods to today’s culture of self-optimization and burnout. They unpack how modern goal-setting became tangled with fear of failure and misplaced faith in willpower, and explore a radically simpler way forward.Tiffany Teng also joins the discussion! Tiffany was a key contributor to Havas' recent GLP-1 report and shares insights on goal setting around the holidays. Check out our report Holidays in the GLP-1 Era here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=V1Xtx8ilNUSfq62nq83AG8XJvg801jdPt_lTqxsrFANUM0V…Follow us on LinkedIn

The Invisible Crisis Within Acute and Chronic Pain

In this episode, Sonika and Gabe explore how pain is experienced differently across bodies and interpreted differently in conversations, with a focus on people living with Sickle Cell Disease. This conversation dips into acute and chronic pain, highlighting the challenge health communicators face in bringing the unseen aspects of someone's pain to light. This episode was recorded in October 2025.Follow us on LinkedIn

Social Media Diagnosed Me

In Breaking the Code's 50th episode, we are joined by our 2025 summer intern, Gabriel Robinson (GR), not to be confused with Gabriel Allen-Cummings (GA). This conversation began because of GR's curiosity about social media being used for self-diagnosis, and it evolved to cover HCPs on social media, generational nuances in social media use, and the emergence of AI as a comprehensive caregiver.Follow us on LinkedIn

Ripped From The Headlines: Everything You Need to Know About the New Breast Cancer Vaccine (Vogue)

"Ripped From The Headlines" is a new series for Breaking the Code, where Sonika and Gabe react to a news story with a medical anthropology lens. On this edition, they react to Anixa Biosciences' breast cancer vaccine completing phase one of clinical testing. The notion of a cancer vaccine sparked a variety of conversation topics from women's health to vaccine culture. If you love to listen to rich, fast-evolving conversations, then give this a listen and let us know what you think!Follow us on LinkedIn