Strange Health Season 2: Cottage Cheese, Sunscreen Myths and Pimple-Popping Investigations

The Conversation’s Strange Health returns for season 2, exploring odd health questions about cottage cheese, sunscreen, and pimple popping, with researchers weighing the science behind online claims.

Season two launches on October 20, 2026, and readers are invited to send their strange health questions to strangehealth@theconversation.com.

• Cottage cheese, sunscreen and pimple popping anchor the season’s questions, reflecting internet trends and curiosity
• Strange Health asks researchers what the science actually says, with new insights from season two
• Season two launches on October 20 2026 and invites audience questions via strangehealth@theconversation.com
• The programme recently won best health and wellbeing podcast at the Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Overview of Strange Health Season 2

The Conversation’s Curious Health podcast Strange Health is back for a second season, continuing its mission to dissect strange, awkward, and occasionally repulsive questions our bodies raise and the health trends that surround them. The article announces the new batch of inquiries for season two, including cottage cheese’s viral resurgence, sunscreen myths about toxins, and the irresistible draw of pimple popping videos. The show’s premise remains consistent: take conversations about body-related trends, search activity, or self-experimentation, and ask researchers what the science actually says. The piece situates season two as a natural extension of the first run, inviting listeners to participate by submitting questions that could become future episodes.

Season 2 Themes and Episode Framing

The upcoming episodes will examine cottage cheese, a food that has apparently escaped the fridge and become a viral phenomenon with online recipes such as cottage cheese brownies. The article notes that this season will interrogate claims about sunscreen, including whether mainstream sunscreens contain cancer-causing toxins and whether home-made sunscreens are a reasonable substitute. In addition to foods and cosmetics, the series returns to pimples, a topic dermatologists warn against squeezing due to inflammation, infection risks, and potential scarring, yet which continues to captivate audiences online. The author highlights the paradox of consumer fascination with pimple-popping videos despite medical advice, promising an analytical exploration of the psychology and science behind this online phenomenon.

Award Spotlight and Public Engagement

The article notes the Strange Health achievement of winning best health and wellbeing podcast at Publisher Podcast Awards 2026, signaling that there is broad public and industry interest in scientifically grounded discussions of health trends. Beyond entertainment, the show positions itself as a credible source for the science behind viral trends, offering listeners a route to understand how research translates (or doesn’t translate) into everyday health decisions. The writers emphasize audience participation, asking readers to share their own curiosities about body trends and online health claims via email, with potential future episodes built around those questions.

Production Credits and Listening Details

Strange Health is hosted by Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt, with Gemma Ware as executive producer and Anouk Millet handling video and sound editing for this season’s episode. Artwork is by Alice Mason. The podcast is available through general podcast apps, with transcripts accessible via Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and an RSS feed is provided for direct downloading. The article also provides guidance on how to listen and where to find related content on The Conversation’s Strange Health page.

Audience Involvement and Contact

The article explicitly invites listener questions about viral trends or health claims to be explored scientifically in future episodes, soliciting questions at strangehealth@theconversation.com. The willingness to crowdsource topics underlines the show’s collaborative approach to science communication, inviting the audience to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about health and medicine.

Context and Significance

In summary, the piece frames season 2 as a continuation of The Conversation’s mission to bridge everyday health questions with expert research. It underscores the value of critical inquiry into widely spread online health claims and the social dynamics that drive engagement with health content. By combining accessible storytelling with rigorous science, Strange Health seeks to illuminate the science behind online health claims and to empower listeners to make more informed health decisions.