Everyday Ancestral with James Barry

What if the definition of a “strong woman” we’ve been given in the West is all wrong?

In this conversation with the incredible Mary Ruddick whos’ often called the “Indiana Jones of Health”, we go deep into ancestral perspectives on female health, strength, and identity. Mary has lived with and studied traditional cultures across the globe, and what she’s found challenges almost everything we think we know about womanhood and well-be...

Today we’re pulling back the curtain on one of the least regulated health spaces out there: the supplement industry. I sat down with Melissa Crispell—traditional naturopath, nutrition specialist, and president of Pure Essentials—to uncover the dirty secrets hiding in your so-called “natural” supplements.

Melissa spent over 15 years teaching practitioners how to interpret functional lab data and build programs rooted in real health, ...

In this heartfelt episode, I sit down with my fellow San Jose native, Sophia Nguyen, for a conversation that’s as personal as it is powerful. We go deep into what it means to truly honor your elders—especially in a culture like the Vietnamese one, where family and generational responsibility are foundational. 

Sophia shares the emotional journey of caring for her father as he declines into dementia, and how her upbringing as a first...

If you’ve ever thought you were eating “clean” and still found yourself dealing with nagging health issues, this episode is gonna crack things wide open for you. I’m joined by the legendary Mira Dessy—The Ingredient Guru—and let me tell you, this conversation changed how I look at every single label in my pantry. Mira’s journey from multiple autoimmune diagnoses and immune system collapse to complete health transformation started w...

What if living more ancestrally didn’t mean giving everything up—but instead meant gaining something back?

In this episode of Everyday Ancestral, I’m joined by Melissa K. Norris—modern homesteader, author, and host of the Pioneering Today podcast—for a deep dive into what it really means to blend old-world wisdom with a modern lifestyle. Melissa and I are totally on the same page: we’re not trying to go off-grid or pretend we live i...

What if your child’s struggles with reading, focus, or headaches weren’t behavioral—but visual? In this deeply personal episode of Everyday Ancestral, I sit down with my friend and functional eye doctor, Dr. Bryce Appelbaum—someone who completely transformed my daughter’s life and, honestly, how our whole family sees health.

Bryce is a neuro-optometrist specializing in functional vision therapy, and he's here to challenge every...

Friends, this one’s a wake-up call. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Abby Kramer—a chiropractor, holistic physician, and co-founder of Fringe—to pull back the curtain on an industry that’s quietly misleading millions of health-conscious folks: the supplement world. We talk about the hidden fillers, flavorings, and proprietary “natural” blends in your favorite powders and capsules that don’t even have to be labeled.

You’ll hear w...

Dr. Bill Schindler is one of the most grounded and visionary voices when it comes to food—not just what we’re eating, but how disconnected we’ve become from the process. This is Part 2 of our conversation, so if you haven’t yet listened to Part 1, I highly recommend you scroll down and check that out first—the link’s below.

In this episode, we go even deeper. We talk about how convenience foods have stripped us of both power and par...

Dr. Bill Schindler is a food archaeologist, chef, and ancestral nutrition expert who has traveled the world studying how our ancestors truly nourished themselves. In this conversation, we dig into how the modern food industry has stripped our meals of nutrients, flavor, and tradition—and what we can do to fix it. Bill lays it all out—most ‘healthy’ foods aren’t healthy at all, and most sourdough? Fake. He breaks down exactly how an...

Dr. Brandy Cummings is not your typical nutritionist. She’s a former blackjack dealer turned root-cause health expert who understands what it’s like to feel dismissed by conventional medicine. After losing her first pregnancy to severe mold exposure and battling a wave of debilitating symptoms—weight gain, vertigo, anxiety, and hormone imbalances—she hit a breaking point. That moment didn’t just shake her-  it changed everything. S...

Will Witt is living proof that questioning mainstream health advice can be life-changing, especially when the truth is buried under layers of misinformation. For those seeking a return to ancestral wisdom and self-reliance, his journey is a wake-up call. Diagnosed with gout at just 24, he was told to cut out red meat and eat more vegetables—but that only made things worse. 

Instead of following conventional wisdom, he took matters i...

For generations, our ancestors thrived without heart disease plaguing their communities—so what changed? Dr. Philip Ovadia has spent decades performing open-heart surgeries, but after struggling with obesity and losing 100 pounds himself, he realized the real key to preventing heart disease isn’t surgery—it’s fixing metabolic health before disease even starts. The modern healthcare system treats heart disease like an inevitability,...

Ever feel like feeding your kid is a constant battle? Like no matter what you try, they only want the same five foods? Kate Pope gets it—and she’s here to flip the script on how we nourish our children the way our ancestors did. After her own health struggles led her to uncover the power of gut health, she became a Holistic Chef, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and Certified GAPS Practitioner. Now, she’s helping parents take back...

Kevin Ellis, aka Bone Coach™, is here to share his proven system for stopping bone loss, reversing osteoporosis, and building lifelong bone strength. Diagnosed with osteoporosis in his late 20s, he refused to accept the usual ‘take calcium and wait’ advice. Instead, he developed a science-backed osteoporosis treatment plan that has helped thousands rebuild bone density and prevent fractures.

In this episode, Kevin breaks down the bi...

I’m beyond excited to welcome two incredible guests, David and Paige Lea, the visionary co-founders of Daring Deeply. Their expertise in somatic experiencing, attachment theory, and neurobiological healing offers a powerful roadmap for emotional transformation. Through their work, they help people reconnect with their inner strength, rewrite their personal narratives, and cultivate resilience, compassion, and hope.

In this episode, ...

I’m thrilled to introduce my longtime friend and incredible guest, Helane Marie Anderson. Helane is a classically trained musician, composer, and sound healer whose work bridges the gap between contemporary music and vibrational therapy. With a background in arts administration, vocal alchemy, craniosacral therapy, and meditation, she has spent years helping people unlock their voices and reconnect with their inner selves.

In this e...

In this episode, I had the absolute privilege of sitting down with Vinnie Tortorich, a pioneer in the health and fitness world. Vinnie is a seasoned personal trainer, filmmaker, and podcasting veteran, with a career spanning over 40 years. Known for his groundbreaking documentaries like Fat: A Documentary, Beyond Impossible, and Dirty Keto, Vinnie exposes the myths and misinformation rampant in the health and food industries.

We div...

In this episode, I sit down with Katie Kimball, a former teacher, TEDx speaker, and creator of the Kids Cook Real Food e-course, recognized by The Wall Street Journal as the best online cooking class for kids. As a mom of four, Katie is on a mission to equip families with the skills and confidence to make real food a part of daily life while fostering healthier relationships with food.

We dive into the rise of picky eating, the lost...

In this episode, I sit down with Robyn Jackson, founder of Cheese From Scratch and a passionate advocate for traditional cheesemaking. For over a decade, Robyn has been turning raw milk into artisanal cheese while teaching thousands of people how to embrace this timeless skill. As a homesteader, mom, and educator, she’s on a mission to preserve the art of natural cheesemaking, which has been transformed by modern pasteurization pra...