Whats The Matter With Me Podcast

Hosted by John Hoppin

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Episodes

247

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

Welcome to What’s The Matter With Me?—a podcast where I share what I’m going through living with multiple sclerosis and trigeminal neuralgia. I’m John: disabled wheelchair user, husband, parent, and host.

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60 recent

October 7, 2026Episode 630 min

Episode X.6: Wheelchair Pep Talk

<p>John talks MS recovery, Section 504 history, naval drones, and media reviews from Fat Joe to David Rodigan. A raw, humorous look at why life is worth living.</p>

September 23, 2026Episode 515 min

Episode X.5: Block Party

Hey kids, What's The Matter With Me? Podcast is back Local & Culture San Leandro neighborhood block party lore, Oakland Raiders Al Davis neighborhood history, Kamasi Washington septet review Yoshi's Food & Cooking Romanian sauerkraut and casing-free sausages, homemade fermented sauerkraut airlock, Tokyo Ginza alleyway yakitori skewers Selfie Block Party Selfie Contact me and I'll give you a shoutout. Notes Yesterday there was a typhoon in Japan . We had the neighborhood block party. The Romanian guy up the street. Mangal grills are Eastern European skewer grills. Yakitori under the train in the Ginza area of Tokyo. Sauerkraut. (More) Recovery from broken ribs, again. Kamasi Washington and Isaiah Collier are each playing at Yoshi's. Episode X.5: Block Party Hey kids, What’s The Matter With Me? Podcast is back Local & Culture San Leandro neighborhood block party lore, Oakland Raiders Al Davis neighborhood history, Kamasi Washington septet review Yoshi’s Food & Cooking Romanian sauerkraut and casing-free sausages, homemade fermented sauerkraut airlock, Tokyo Ginza alleyway yakitori skewers Selfie Contact me and I’ll give you a… Chapter List 00:00:01 - Intro 00:00:45 - Typhoon Dujuan 00:02:45 - Neighborhood Block Party 00:04:36 - Mangal 00:05:56 - Yakitori 00:08:03 - Sauerkraut 00:08:59 - Recovering 00:09:50 - Kamasi Washington at Yoshi\'s 00:11:49 - Yoshi's Oakland ADA Seating 00:12:13 - Isaiah Collier 00:13:05 - Wheelchair Community 00:13:38 - Outro

July 31, 2026Episode 429 min

Cooking To Meet Yourself Where You Are

Yewande Komolafe Pragmatic approaches to accessible cooking in " How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook ," an article by chef and food writer Yewande Komolafe and " Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (and Love My Microwave): A Cookbook " by David Chang and Priya Krishna. Plus, Chris Fleming, Farkle, various and sundry other things. shoutouts: Rocky, Joe, cousin eric aand tracy, tall john and my mom and to my wife send me an email and I'll send you the biggest shout out probably the best shout out Chris Fleming chris fleming dance comedy Farkle I'm playing a lot of farkle with the family "By Night In Chile," Roberto Bolaño reading with one hand: amazon kindle to avoid damaged book bindings. missing the codex, but reading time is improved Priya Krishna and David Chang cooking while disabled - Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (And Love My Microwave): A Cookbook by David Chang (Author), Priya Krishna .using no recipe is freeing if the constraints of the recipe are unattainable Cooking To Meet Yourself Where You Are Pragmatic approaches to accessible cooking in “How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook,” an article by chef and food writer Yewande Komolafe and “Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (and Love My Microwave): A Cookbook” by David Chang and Priya Krishna. Plus, Chris Fleming,… Chapter List 00:00:01 - Intro 00:01:24 - Chris Fleming 00:02:00 - Farkle 00:02:22 - Making reading more accessible using a Kindle 00:03:32 - By Night In Chile 00:04:24 - Cooking at Home 00:23:32 - Yewande Komolafe

June 3, 20268 min

Vulnerable Population

Synopsis In "Vulnerable Population." riding county paratransit service in my wheelchair. Matt gets uneasy around the other parents. Who's more pathetic: the Peace Advocate or the I.T. Guy? Selfie I'm back

March 6, 2026Episode 221 min

War

In "War," remembering my dad as an antiwar veteran and trying to make sense of current international relations. Record reviews: Magic Fig , Wet Leg , and Geese . Reading Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff's new book " Your Name Here ." Magic Fig, "Valerian Tea" Wet Leg, "Moisturizer" Geese, "Getting Killed" When I saw this a moviegoer died in the middle of the picture Your Name Here War In “War,” remembering my dad as an antiwar veteran and trying to make sense of current international relations. Record reviews: Magic Fig, Wet Leg, and Geese. Reading Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff’s new book “Your Name Here.” – Intro – Broken Wheelchair – War – Melian Dialogues – Guy Died At Born On The Fourth… Chapter List 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:36 - Broken Wheelchair 00:02:10 - War 00:02:39 - Melian Dialogues 00:03:39 - Guy Died At Born On The Fourth Of July 00:04:56 - Shoutouts 00:05:36 - Magic Fig, Valerian Tea review 00:08:42 - Wet Leg, Moisturizer review 00:11:29 - Geese, Getting Killed review 00:12:52 - Your Name Here book review 00:18:52 - Outro

February 19, 2026Episode 115 min

X.1: “I Regret Almost Everything”

In this episode, the season premiere of Season Ten, the podcast returns from a rather long hiatus with a review of " I Regret Almost Everything ," a memoir by New York City restaurant man Keith McNally , leading us into a little meditation on science and humanity.

October 28, 2025Episode 720 min

Imaging The Disabled Body

Intro — Repeat Prints — Imaging the Disabled Body — Know Thyself — Chair Update — New Hope For Argumentative Life — Kids Dox You — Wife Went To Japan — "The Blue Mask" Lou Reed LP — Dad Time — Dad Food — Mom Called Me — John's Debut — Outro Repeat Prints JWHMan Repeat #5 New Hope For Argumentative Life https://youtu.be/kj1EedLqXBI Back on the pod to discuss various topics including Saying My Age, A Conversation With My Brain, the Mortal Husk (Canto XIII of Dante's Inferno), Falling, A Place For Us, By Us, the Argumentative Life, New Hope For Patients With MS and Other Neurological Disorders, and My Son’s Resolution. "The Blue Mask" Lou Reed LP Lou Reed "THE BLUE MASK: (1982) Lou Reed and Robert Quine Imaging the Disabled Body selfie Selfie Imaging The Disabled Body Intro — Repeat Prints — Imaging the Disabled Body — Know Thyself — Chair Update — New Hope For Argumentative Life — Kids Dox You — Wife Went To Japan — “The Blue Mask” Lou Reed LP — Dad Time — Dad Food — Mom Called Me — John’s Debut — Outro Repeat Prints New… Chapter List 00:00:01 - Intro 00:01:03 - Repeat Prints 00:03:25 - Imaging the Disabled Body 00:08:06 - Know Thyself 00:08:55 - Chair Update 00:09:16 - New Hope For Argumentative Life Cartoon 00:10:24 - Kids Will Dox You 00:10:37 - Wife Went To Japan 00:12:06 - The Blue Mask LP Lou Reed 00:14:06 - Dad Time 00:16:20 - Dad Food 00:18:05 - Mom Called Me 00:19:05 - Johns Debut 00:19:49 - Outro

October 8, 2025Episode 624 min

New Hope For Argumentative Life

Saying My Age — Conversation With My Brain — Mortal Husk (Canto XIII) — Fell Against The House — A Place For Us, By Us — Argumentative Life — New Hope For Patients With MS and Other Neurological Disorders — My Son's Resolution Shout outs To Rocky, Sandman, Jersey Girl A Place For Us, By Us ‘A Place for Us, By Us’: San Francisco’s Disability Cultural Center Breaks New Ground KQED Story about a first-in-the-nation disability community center in San Francisco, featuring Deborah Kaplan, Alice Wong, and others. New Hope Crossing the blood-brain barrier Wheelchair Breakdown My son's resolution for a perfect world This Week's Selfie "New Hope For Argumentative Life" Selfie New Hope For Argumentative Life Saying My Age — Conversation With My Brain — Mortal Husk (Canto XIII) — Fell Against The House — A Place For Us, By Us — Argumentative Life — New Hope For Patients With MS and Other Neurological Disorders — My Son’s Resolution Shout outs To Rocky, Sandman, Jersey Girl A Place For Us, By… Chapter List 00:00:11 - Saying My Age 00:01:39 - Conversation With My Brain 00:02:36 - Mortal Husk (Canto XIII) 00:04:44 - Fell Against The House 00:06:40 - Shoutouts 00:07:34 - "A Place For Us, By Us" KQED Story 00:13:07 - Argumentative Life 00:14:47 - New Hope For Patients With MS and Other Neurological Disorders 00:22:10 - My Son's Resolution

September 5, 2025Episode 523 min

Animated Representation

The iconic line, "It's alive! It's alive!" is spoken by Dr. Henry Frankenstein (played by Colin Clive) in the 1931 film Frankenstein. This famous line is actually an addition to Mary Shelley's original novel, where the creator reacts with horror and flees from his creation. Birthdays Mom, Freddie Mercury, Gordon Harrison Hull Put It On The List (House shows) Polka band, Ghast, Bard with lyre we need a bard with a lyre to compose a theme song about foot wars that occur over the middle thing on the nook with the bridge about 'can you stop?' Man-O-Sphere Alternate Names Shipping Fraud Odyssey Seemingly endless meaningless Sisyphean conflict Animated Representation "It's alive! It's alive!" is spoken by Dr. Henry Frankenstein (played by Colin Clive) in the 1931 film Frankenstein. This famous line is actually an addition to Mary Shelley's original novel. Outro Animated Representation The iconic line, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” is spoken by Dr. Henry Frankenstein (played by Colin Clive) in the 1931 film Frankenstein. This famous line is actually an addition to Mary Shelley’s original novel, where the creator reacts with horror and flees from his creation. Birthdays Mom, Freddie Mercury, Gordon Harrison Hull Put It On… Chapter List 00:00:17 - Birthdays 00:04:25 - Put It On The List 00:09:50 - Man-O-Sphere Alternate Names 00:13:57 - Shipping Fraud Odyssey 00:17:11 - Animated Representation 00:22:32 - Outro

August 29, 2025Episode 45 min

Ghost On Sabbatical

Is this thing on? Seeing what still works. This Week's Selfie Ghost On Sabbatical Is this thing on? Seeing what still works. This Week’s Selfie Chapter List 00:00:16 - Is This Thing On 00:00:35 - Ghost On Sabbatical 00:01:34 - Advanced Visualizing 00:02:27 - Maybe