Movers and Shakers: a podcast about life with Parkinson's

For the final episode of this seventh season of Movers and Shakers, we're looking on the bright side of life. Can positivity actually improve your condition? Or does it mask the hardship of life with PD? And what on earth is 'toxic positivity'? To discuss all this – and put the gang on a spectrum from Tigger to Eeyore – we've gathered at the Notting Hill pub for "a laugh and a moan".Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron.Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Driving is something that people often take for granted – right up until they can't do it. With a Parkinson's diagnosis comes a lot of insecurity about being behind the wheel. When do you know if it's time to stop? How do you manage the DVLA's red tape? And what's the situation with those mythical blue badges? To run through these considerations, the Movers and Shakers are joined in the Notting Hill pub by an expert from Parkinson's UK.Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron.Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're sinking our teeth into another important issue this week, as we look at oral health and the role that it might play in Parkinson's. The Movers and Shakers are joined at the pub – where Paul is caught, live on microphone, snarfing a chocolate mousse – by experts from both dentistry and neurology to look at the chicken and (chocolate) egg question of whether PD affects oral health, or if bad oral hygiene could actually have impacts in the brain. It's not all about the blood/brain barrier though – this episode also features handy tips for keeping your teeth clean and preventing the negative side effects of gum disease.Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron.Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're doing something a little bit different on Movers & Shakers. We're joined in the pub by Dr Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, a distinguised American cardiologist with a controversial idea: that Parkinson's might be caused by too much, rather than too little, dopamine. Sackner-Bernstein's ideas call into question the underlying assumptions of the condition and have been refuted by many of his colleagues. But the debate is worth having – not least as the opposition is eloquently represented by Dr Kit Wu – because it shows just how much we still don't understand about PD, dopamine, and the human brain.Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron.Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the strangest symptoms of Parkinson's is the sudden appearance of unexplained figures – whether that's a cat or a small child, a barking dog or a fully clad Venetian – in your environment. There hallucinations can be benign, but they can also be unsettling, and this week we're trying to find out what's causing them. Are they related to night terrors? Can they always be rationalised? And are there any potential treatment pathways for people struggling with hallucinatory visions? As ever, we're aided in our quest of understanding by a top expert.Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron.Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.