Control Is an Illusion with Mickey Rapkin

It’s one of those weeks where the headlines feel uncomfortably close to home. Between James Van Der Beek’s death from colorectal cancer and Eric Dane’s ALS diagnosis, it’s hard not to think about your own health and mortality. So we brought on our friend Mickey Rapkin — journalist, author, former GQ editor, and yes, the guy who wrote Pitch Perfect before it became a major studio franchise. In August 2025, Mickey’s older brother Jon died from brain cancer. We talk about sibling loss (aka the worst club), the sacred inside jokes, the random movie lines that become part of your daily language, and how grief rewires you on a cellular level. We also get into Mickey’s Men’s Health piece about cancer screenings — the big question of how much do you want to know, what testing can (and can’t) do, and why “control is an illusion” is both depressing and… oddly clarifying. Mickey Rapkin for Men's Health: Am I Seizing Control of My Health or Driving Myself Crazy?  Connect with Mickey on Insta