Sep 15, 2026 · 5 min listen · Last updated September 15, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. Chloe, September 15th. The morning read — ten things in health worth the eight minutes. Let's get into it. First, from The Vajenda. Testosterone to Increase Exercise Capacity in Women with Early Heart Failure: A Randomised Controlled Trial.
Listen · storyflo · health and longevity
Daily Health & Wellness Brief · September 15th
0:00-5:08
Pick your daily storyteller
Subscribe to match with Theo, Jessica, Chloe, Mason, Brock — your voice, every brief.
Daily Health & Wellness Brief · September 15th · Storyflo
culture
Audio pre-rendered by Storyflo · cached + delivered from the edge
Testosterone to Increase Exercise Capacity in Women with Early Heart Failure: A Randomised Controlled Trial
A randomized, placebo‑controlled crossover trial gave post‑menopausal women with early HFpEF testosterone for four months, then after a washout switched to placebo (or vice‑versa). Thirty‑eight participants completed the study, and the primary endpoint was relative VO₂ peak.
Testosterone raised serum levels to a pre‑menopausal range, but there was no meaningful change in VO₂ peak, echo measures, quality‑of‑life scores, or muscle function compared with placebo.
A small, exploratory rise in left‑ventricular mass was noted but deemed likely spurious. In short
Join My Thursday Substack Live about New Cookbooks and What they Tell Us
This Thursday at 1 p.m. PST, Dianne Jacob will host a Substack Live event with Jenna Helwig to dive into the world of new cookbooks. They’ll explore Jenna’s recent list of 175 fall cookbooks, discussing what trends these releases reveal about the publishing industry and cookbook writing. The conversation will touch on what subjects consistently attract editors and agents, as well as the timeless themes that resonate with readers.
Jenna, an experienced cookbook author and newsletter writer, brings a wealth of knowledge, having previously discussed this list from different angles with industry professionals. If you’re interested in writing a cookbook or simply curious about the current landscape, this event could be quite insightful. You can join live or catch the recording later if you can’t make it. Don’t forget to bring your questions for Jenna or Dianne!
The Kasbah Chronicles/Free/ Summer 2026/Kitty Morse/from Casablanca to Milwaukee WIS, a walk down memory lane; Bitter Sweet now on Kindle
Kitty Morse shares her latest adventures and reflections in her new Kindle release, "Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France." She reminisces about her journey from Casablanca to Milwaukee, where she first embraced her American identity in 1964. Kitty highlights Milwaukee's vibrant culture, including the stunning Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by renowned architects, and her contributions to the American Geographical Society Library.
She also describes her recent travels, including a train trip through Mexico's Copper Canyon and exploring the Oregon Coast. Kitty's love for food shines through as she shares recipes and culinary experiences, like her passion fruit spritzer. Her heartfelt reflections on family, heritage, and community make this a touching read.
Ordering at a Thai Restaurant, My Way—Part One and a Half
I’ve been following the “Ordering at a Thai Restaurant, My Way” series, and the latest installment is a tech‑nightmare diary. The author tried to build a custom digital ordering flow for a local Thai spot, but every new feature introduced a fresh bug, and the codebase grew into a tangled mess faster than a busy dinner rush.
What started as a simple menu‑API quickly turned into a patchwork of half‑finished integrations—payment gateway glitches, mis‑aligned item IDs, and a UI that froze on the first order. The writer’s logs show daily rollbacks and a growing backlog of unresolved tickets.
There’s no formal study here, just a candid, step‑by‑step account of what can happen when enthusiasm outpaces solid engineering practices. The take‑away is clear: without a solid architecture plan, even a well‑intentioned project can spiral into constant firefighting.
If you’re thinking about building a similar system, treat this as a cautionary case: start small, lock down the core ordering logic, and only then layer on extras. Otherwise you’ll end up, like the author, spending more time debugging than serving food.
Plague was killing entire families thousands of years before the Black Death
Recent research using ancient DNA has shown that plague was affecting hunter-gatherers in Siberia around 5,500 years ago, well before the infamous Black Death. This suggests that the disease has been around much longer than we previously thought, even in societies that weren’t urbanized or reliant on fleas for transmission. The study indicates that these early strains of the plague might have been particularly lethal due to a genetic factor that could trigger severe immune responses in those infected. This finding shifts our understanding of the plague's history and its impact on human populations long before recorded epidemics.
Marjory's feeling the pinch with diesel prices soaring to $6.20 a gallon, and she’s anticipating even higher costs this October. She recently hired John Henry for some serious planting work, which left her exhausted but satisfied. She's also making adjustments to her rainwater collection plans to prioritize new tasks with him, emphasizing the importance of staying flexible.
In a lighter moment, she enjoyed watching porch pirates get pranked with exploding paint on stolen packages. However, there’s no replay of the Doc Wil session due to technical issues. Marjory’s also diving into Clif High's latest predictions about potential water-related disasters in the U.S., while keeping a close eye on her own heart and home.
On the geopolitical front, tensions are rising with the latest disruptions in Saudi oil supply. Marjory warns that reliance on fossil fuels may soon be a thing of the past. She reflects on the complexities of law and the current state of stablecoins, highlighting the potential corruption within the system. With the upcoming launch of the OUSD stablecoin, she’s curious about how they’ll encourage widespread adoption, speculating on various incentives that could draw people in.
Lastly, she touches on a few quirky topics, like the potential origins of Argentinian beef and her interest in establishing a guinea pig farm. Marjory wraps up with a profound thought about the importance of our final moments and encourages practicing mindfulness to ensure our last thoughts are focused on the good, beautiful, and true.
Last week, while preparing a Rosh Hashanah meal, the author faced an unexpected challenge: a painful cut under their thumbnail. This minor injury, though small in the grand scheme of things, became a constant reminder of discomfort, making it hard to focus on anything else. It sparked a reflection on how many of us carry some form of pain or worry, whether physical or emotional. Despite this, the author reminds us that life is filled with beautiful moments—like enjoying a meal, listening to music, or feeling the warmth of the sun.
In a lighter turn, they share a couple of good things from their day: a dropped jar that didn’t break and a timely plumbing repair that restored order to their kitchen. They invite the reader to share their own good things, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the positives amidst life’s challenges.
Send this story to anyone — or drop the embed into a blog post, Substack, Notion page. Every play sends rev-share back to storyflo · health and longevity.