Christy Shearer joins neighbor and host Steven Muskal for a free-flowing conversation that begins with her surprise diagnosis of type 1 diabetes at age 12 and follows the thread into her multi-decade career in diabetes devices and pharma. She explains how living with the condition gave her instant credibility—and curiosity—when she pivoted from studying nutrition to sales, eventually leading large commercial teams at J&J, Roche and now MannKind (maker of ultra-rapid inhaled insulin). Along the way she demystifies the science behind type 1 versus type 2, the promise of marker-based early screening, and why pulmonary delivery can better mimic a healthy pancreas.
The talk widens into workplace culture—being the lone woman in male-heavy sales leadership, building diverse teams, and spotting AI-generated answers in interviews—before veering to life design. Both speakers push back on the classic “retire and travel” script; Christy reveals her next-chapter dream of professional home organization and functional design, emphasizing the need for ongoing purpose outside a paycheck.
Summary
Christy Shearer’s story begins with the “Why me?” moment of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 12. She explains how the autoimmune attack on her beta cells unfolded and why the disease is no longer strictly juvenile—59 % of new cases now happen after age 50. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation even rebranded to “Breakthrough T1D” to reflect that shift.
That early shock lit a career torch. After driving to Van Nuys at 15 to learn finger-stick testing, Shearer decided she wanted to educate others with diabetes. A detour through food-science studies at Cal Poly morphed into front-line sales roles for glucose meters, pumps and, eventually, billion-dollar device businesses at J&J and Roche. She’s now at MannKind, still “a one-trick pony”—30 years in diabetes tech—but one who sells by matching deep clinical knowledge with street-level empathy.
The science segment centers on MannKind’s ultra-rapid inhaled insulin: a dry-powder formulation delivered through a pocket inhaler that reaches the bloodstream in about a minute and peaks near 12 minutes—roughly ten times faster than injected analogs. Patients avoid 3-6 daily needle sticks, and pharmacokinetics better mimic a healthy pancreas. Shearer underscores its safety record—20 years of data, 10 on market, ongoing spirometry monitoring—and why lungs (a “tennis-court-sized surface”) clear the powder quickly instead of trapping it like nicotine.
From there the conversation widens to breaking glass ceilings. Entering J&J as one of only two women among ten leaders, Shearer built teams that are now 70 % female and still battles mansplaining and being talked over in physician meetings. Her advice: lead with expertise, know your worth, and demand diversity of thought for stronger strategy.
Host Steve Muskal and Shearer swap views on pharma’s chronic-disease “cash-cow” incentives, the faster iteration cycles of devices versus drugs, and the ethics of AI—she’s rejected candidates who used real-time AI prompts during Zoom interviews. They also share career counsel: map what genuinely makes you happy, research obsessively before interviews, and carry relentless curiosity.
The last act is about purpose and reinvention. Shearer rejects the classic retire-and-travel script (“I think I’ll retire when I die”) and sketches a future side hustle in professional home organization and spatial design to satisfy her creative itch while keeping the financial engine humming.
Throughout, Muskal’s questions pull out personal anecdotes—parental loss, dual-type 1 marriage, stress-trigger theories, and the role of self-reflection—that ground the technical talk in lived experience. The result is a candid, idea-packed hour on managing glucose, cultivating grit, and shattering ceilings—at work and at home.
For a music clip, thought this was somewhat fitting. This is a mix segment with Jesse (Guitar/Vocal), Tim (Guitar/Vocal), Rick (Vocal), and Alan (Bass). Hopefully not offending anyone with this (including Christy!) - but some of the words matched some of the pods sentiment. To the music aficionados, it was also cute in that we also tried to change time signatures multiple times in this Beatles song (or at least attempted to). Not bad for the first and only attempt at the song. If they can on others, why can’t we? As usual, there is a brief Substack mute for some reason at the beginning.
Share this post