Happy New Year to all you listeners out there. We here at Gastropod Headquarters are working hard on all the fascinating stories we're going to be sharing with you in 2025.

And while we do that, we've got something else to share to tide you over. An episode made by our friends at Explain It to Me, a new show that calls itself the hotline for all the questions you can't answer on your own.

One of their listeners wanted to know why going to the dentist in the U.S. is so confusing.

You have no idea what it's going to cost and if any of it's going to be covered and, frankly,

it can sometimes feel a little bit like a scam.

Why isn't it just part of regular health care? Are teeth somehow different from the rest of your body?

These are the nagging questions that Junklin Hill,

the delightful host of Explain It to Me, gets to the bottom of this episode.

Enjoy, and we'll be back in a couple of weeks.

Amazon Pharmacy Presents

Painful Thoughts. The guy in front of me in the pharmacy line, Amazon Pharmacy presents painful thoughts.

The guy in front of me in the pharmacy line is halfway through an incredibly detailed

17-minute story about his gout, a story likely more painful than the gout itself.

Next time, save yourself the pain, and Amazon Pharmacy deliver your meds right to your door.

Amazon Pharmacy, healthcare just got less painful.

Cold and flu season are upon us, which means it's especially important to keep those hands clean.

And when soap is involved, the conversation can slip out of control pretty quickly.

I hope you can't hear me rubbing my hands together.

No, we love ASMR. ASMR episode.

Gross.

This week on Explain It to Me, the dirty truth about clean hands.

You can find new episodes every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts.

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