Lifesaving Work No One’s Talking About with Dr. David Fajgenbaum

Jun 10, 2025

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There’s this phrase Penn and I say a lot when we’re overwhelmed making goofy internet videos—“It’s okay, we’re not saving lives.” But this week, we talk to a man who actually is saving lives and he needs us to help spread the word. Dr. David Fajgenbaum is the founder of Every Cure, a nonprofit that’s on a mission to do something that sounds impossible—use already-approved drugs to treat diseases they weren’t originally made for. Diagnosed with Castleman disease, Dr. David refused to accept that there was no cure. So, he saved his own life by repurposing existing medication and now he's on a mission to do the same for others.

Using AI to search 75 million possible drug-disease combinations, they’re finding things to help with cancer and autism. They are all in clinical trials, but the results are promising. Because the medications are generic, there’s no big pharma marketing machine behind them. So they need our help to spread the word. Listen to the show where we hear more about Dr. David's story, his work, as well as, if we are done with movie theaters, college photos, and advice we would give our 40 year old selves.

You can learn more about Every Cure here: https://everycure.org/

More on the autism clinical trial: https://everycure.org/asd/

Want to leave us a message? Call us at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over two billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Book, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS.

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

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