JUST FOR THE HEALTH OF IT: Public Health Radio Show on WAKT 106.1 FM Toledo
Just for the Health of It is my weekly one-hour public health show on WAKT, 106.1 FM Toledo. You can listen at 9:00 AM Tuesdays and Thursdays (after Democracy NOW) or 6:30 PM Tuesdays on-air or on-line ToledoRadio.org. To listen anytime you want online, below are links to the latest shows (and all past shows).
You can follow the program and shows on facebook here.
Just for the Health of It brings you fresh perspectives on the science of health for all alongside local, state, national, and global health news. Just for the Health brings you the best of both social justice and personal health.
Just for the Health focuses on putting the JUST in Just for the Health of It.
My aim is to equip you to live healthily in a healthy community on a just planet.
For you of those folks who are perhaps too busy to catch a whole show, or just want to sample my sense of humor, here are a few of my parody PSAs:
Parody PSA: The Dihydrogen Monoxide Conspiracy
Parody PSA: Pla-ce-bo Pharmaceuticals’ Elimin-all
Parody PSA: PR Medica and Merciless Health Systems
Parody PSA: Health Care for ALL
Parody PSA: Cory the Coronavirus
Parody PSA: TL20-squared VIRUS Pandemic
HERE ARE LINKS TO THE LATEST SHOWS:
Week of October 7, 2024 [episode #277]:
Featuring: U.S. adults in worse health than British counterparts at midlife (1:57); Progress toward cutting racial mortality disparities stalling, reversing (4:17); Daytime sleepiness takes a toll on Americans, impacting daily life (5:53); Adding beans and pulses can lead to improved shortfall nutrient intakes and a higher diet quality in American adults (8:30); Little kids, too little movement — Global study finds most children don’t meet guidelines (12:17); Hurricanes kill thousands long after they hit a community (14:17); Costs of fatal falls among U.S. older adults exceed those attributed to firearm deaths (17:28); From kitchenware to toys, household items linked to toxic flame retardants (20:12); Southern California study demonstrates extensive exposure to toxic airborne plasticizers (22:34); Racial disparities in cancer may come from pollutants (24:55); Chevron’s cancer-causing fuels force EPA to rethink approval (26:44); Biden to sign bill easing environmental reviews for chip production projects (28:06); Ship scrubbers meant to clean fuel are causing ocean pollution (29:53); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns of illegal debt collection tactics in healthcare (31:14); U.S. health authorities need to play a larger role in cannabis policy, a new report says (33:28); 1 in 3 teens can’t get tampons or pads during their periods (36:20); 90% of babies hospitalized with COVID had moms who didn’t get vaccine during pregnancy (39:01).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Hurricane sends new shudders through health supply chain
- Hospitals Still Feeling Impacts of Hurricane Helene
- North Carolina was once a climate leader, but more than a decade of Republican and corporate obstruction left the state ill-prepared for the historic disaster.
- WHO approves first mpox diagnostic test
- Sex workers find themselves at the center of the mpox outbreak in the Congo
- Next pandemic could start in the U.S., disease experts warn
- California confirms first human cases of bird flu in the state
- “Superbugs” could devastate livestock globally
- After a rocky debut for new RSV tools, hopes are high as a new season approaches
- U.S. school-entry vaccination rates fall as exemptions keep rising
- COVID-19 Outpatient Antiviral Treatment Among Adults Aged 65+ is Lower with increasing age as risks increase
- Remember the shortage of medical gowns during COVID? Feds spending $350 million for 90-day stockpile
- As climate change helps mosquitoes spread disease, critics push for alternatives to pesticides
- UK’s last coal plant could be repurposed into a giant battery
- Bottled water has a huge and growing toll on human and planetary health
- Experts call for more studies on health effects of microplastics in cosmetic and personal care products
- PFAS exposure linked to sleep disruptions in young adults
- Toxic Contamination in Our Oceans Can Reach Our Kitchen Tables — DDT Looms
- Radon, even at levels below EPA guideline for mitigation, is linked to childhood leukemia, the most common childhood cancer
- Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought.
- Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake Tripled in 45-49 Age Group, after updated recommendation.
- Haunted by migrant deaths, Border Patrol agents face mental health toll
- “Desperate” families see potential in S.F.’s new mental health court — but very few helped so far
- Florida enacts tough law criminalizing homelessness, leaving cities and counties scrambling
- Even Political Rivals Agree That Medical Debt Is an Urgent Issue
- FDA’s Promised Guidance on Pulse Oximeters Unlikely To End Decades of Racial Bias
- Setting the Record Straight on the FDA’s Authority Over Drug Ads
- It’s time for a new medical specialty in asynchronous care, answering patient inbox questions
- Expert panel calls for nutrition competencies in U.S. medical education
- Benefits of adding fluoride to water may be waning, with the widespread use of fluoride in toothpaste
- Kids No Longer Smoke Cigarettes. Why Aren’t We Celebrating?
Week of September 30, 2024 [episode #276]:
Featuring: Antimicrobial resistance can be fought with new agreement, says WHO director-general (1:49); With bird flu now in 34 California dairy herds, health experts watch closely (7:50); Kids Born During the Pandemic Got Fewer Routine Vaccinations (13:04); Most Americans won’t get new flu or COVID-19 vaccines (15:31); Free Covid-19 tests are available again at COVIDtests.gov (17:49); Infant RSV Protection at 56% (19:13); The Army National Guard’s lead contamination problem puts civilians and soldiers at risk (20:33); U.S. taxpayer-funded private network run by a PR firm attacked critics of pesticides, including environmentalists and scientists (21:57); Niagara Falls chemical plant emits carcinogens for years without state action (23:03); Lakes in minority communities go largely unmonitored for water quality, three times less likely than white communities (24:08); Private equity funds toxic lead chromate industry, raising alarms (25:30); Widespread soil and water pollution is an invisible threat to cardiovascular health (26:53); Growing divide — Rural men are living shorter, less healthy lives than their urban counterparts (30:05); U.S. suicides held steady in 2023 — at a very high level (31:41); Medicare Advantage overpayments highlighted in Inspector General reports (34:06); Clinical cancer research in the U.S. is increasingly dominated by pharmaceutical industry sponsors, degrading benefit to patients (35:57).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Night-time noise linked to restless nights for airport neighbors
- Firearm laws restricting large-capacity magazines found to be effective in reducing child deaths in mass shootings
- Safe storage and minimum age gun laws would curb violence, and Layering a variety of firearm policies would likely work best to prevent deaths
- Parents open to firearms counseling from doctors, but ensuring secure storage remains a challenge
- Women are increasingly using firearms in suicide deaths, as women increasingly own guns
- Biden issues executive order to minimize trauma of active shooter drills and to restrict some machine gun devices
- The Odds of Surviving a Shooting Are Getting Worse as guns become more lethal
- Racial justice activism, advocacy found to reduce depression, anxiety in some teens
- Study of former NFL players finds 1 in 3 believe they have CTE, and anxiety over CTE may mask getting help for other cognitive issues that are actually treatable
- Plastic recycling claims face scrutiny as FTC plans tougher rules for manufacturers
- California Sues ExxonMobil Over “Deceptively” Promoting Chemical Recycling as a Solution for the Plastics Crisis
- EPA data make it hard to know the extent of the contamination from last year’s Ohio derailment
- Signs warning of radioactive waste to be installed along Missouri’s Coldwater Creek winding for 14 miles between homes and parks
- Michigan polluters save money with short-term fixes, leaving future generations to bear the cost
- Democrats prioritize economy of fossil fuels over global climate goals
- Why EPA chief backed down on environmental justice promises
- Veterinary medicine is key to overcoming antimicrobial resistance through prudent and proper use of antibiotics in livestock
- The U.S. weakens global effort to fight antibiotic resistance in livestock
- U.S. farmers call for vaccine option to fight bird flu as wildfowl migration begins
- Review finds serious gaps in steps to control bird flu in mammals
- Why are we seeing more pandemics? Our impact on the planet has a lot to do with it
- COVID-19 reinfection ups risk of long COVID, new data show
- Research shows methadone, other substance use disorder treatments in jails reduces recidivism
- Study reveals fewer than half of U.S. jails provide treatment for opioid use disorder
- Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is at an all-time low with Taliban rule, but heroin flows unabated as stockpiles and world production far exceed demand
- Negative body image among teens is a global issue, linked to social media use
- WHO sees rapid rise in “problematic” social media use for European teens
- Can We Safely Use Melamine Dishes & Polyamide Plastic Utensils? [short answer, no]
- Is Stainless Steel or Cast Iron Cookware Best? Is Teflon Safe?
- Diet-related diseases are the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. – yet many doctors receive little to no nutrition education in medical school
- I’m an OB-GYN in the South. Abortion bans make it impossible to “do no harm.”
- More women are charged with pregnancy-related crimes since Roe’s end
- Big Tech & Surveillance Would Be Key to Delivering Project 2025’s Anti-Abortion Plans
- Will abortion swing the first post-Roe presidential election?
- How America’s health care system fails women in pain
- Pentagon to spend $500 million on women’s health research, and NIH $200 million
- Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them to Avoid Having to Cut Off Arms Aid.
- NIH Neuroscience Leader Committed Research Misconduct, Agency Says
- New HHS rules can’t address the primary reason for research misconduct: Publish or perish must perish.
- Severe obesity is on the rise in the U.S.
- The Data Are Clear: Patients Regain Weight After Stopping GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs
- Millions of Americans want to quit smoking. Critics say drugmakers and the FDA are failing them
- Is comprehensive genetic testing worth it for patients with cancer? We don’t know and can’t say yes as profit motive versus best clinical care reigns in research.
- The Medicare Advantage Influence Machine revealed through court filings
- Nonprofit Hospitals Took in Over $37 Billion in Tax Benefits in 2021
- Expiring ACA subsidies could affect 2 million chronically ill
- 77% of IT healthcare employees want to leave job
- Fluoride in drinking water poses enough risk to merit new EPA action, judge rules
Week of September 23, 2024 [episode #275]:
Featuring: Jordan becomes first country to receive WHO verification for eliminating leprosy (1:51); In Ohio, Black infants 2.4 times more likely to die compared to white infants (3:32); A dramatic rise in pregnant women dying in Texas after abortion ban (4:51); U.S. health care system ranks last among wealthy nations (6:23); Racial/ethnic minorities and poorer Americans are more likely to be incorrectly billed for preventive care (8:49); U.S. sees a sudden and unexpected 11% drop in fatal overdoses (12:20); More than three-quarters of U.S. states have enacted laws to guide use of opioid litigation proceeds (18:41); U.S. Will Let More People Take Methadone at Home, in first big update to methadone regulations in 20 years (22:11); Is massive expansion of plastic production the biggest climate threat? (28:38); 14,000 Chemicals in Food Packaging, 3,601 Enter Our Bodies (32:29); Environmental metal pollution can increase cardiovascular disease risk (34:17); The Inflation Reduction Act’s supposed green energy promise is putting Black communities at risk with no environmental benefit (37:10); EPA workers faced retaliation for exposing chemical safety risks (38:47); London’s low-emission zone got kids out of cars and onto their feet (40:01).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Wastewater monitoring can detect foodborne illness
- Mpox is not under control in Africa, warns Africa CDC
- Amid new mpox outbreak, study suggests waning protection of vaccine
- Polio’s last stands: The global fight for eradication
- Child flu deaths last season matched U.S. record high
- The next pandemic virus could be built using AI
- Critics Call Feds’ Response to Cyberattacks on Healthcare Feeble and Fractured
- FTC Sues Top Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Insulin Prices
- Older Migraine Drugs More Effective Than Newer Ones
- How I fought Big Pharma on insulin prices — and won (by avoiding the trap of taking money from our opponents)
- How the food industry fights soda taxes
- Exposure to microplastics contributes to liver disease and other metabolic disorders
- Microplastic pollution is expected to double by 2040, even if production stops
- North Carolina’s poultry industry surges, but at what cost to health and environment?
- U.S. methane emissions continue to rise despite global reduction pledges
- Judge halts methane regulation in five states over states’ rights dispute
- Car travel now exceeds pre-pandemic levels in most U.S. cities
- Steel and aluminum industries bring environmental and health concerns despite growing demand
- Report outlines a path to prosperity for planet and people if Earth’s critical resources are better shared
- Nation’s first carbon capture project faces early corrosion issues, raising long-term safety concerns
- Ranchers secretly use chemical defoliants to clear Brazilian forests for beef production
- Oil companies legally dump toxic waste into North Sea
- A study uncovers dangerous hydrogen sulfide emissions in Central Texas oilfields
- Air pollution from biomass combustion carries higher cancer potential
- How wildfire smoke exposure is measured doesn’t capture long-term health effects and hides racial disparities
- An industrial chemical is showing up in fentanyl in the U.S., troubling scientists
- New Treatments Address Addiction alongside Trauma
- Telehealth is a lifeline for opioid use disorder. Congress must renew its use.
- “I Don’t Want to Die.” He needed mental health care. He found a ghost network.
- Decades of national suicide prevention policies haven’t slowed the deaths
- Last Holdout: Arkansas’ Governor Says Medicaid Extension for New Moms Isn’t Needed
- Most maternal deaths can be prevented. Here’s how California aims to cut them in half
- How Do Abortion Pills Work? Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
- Historic Numbers of Americans Live by Themselves as They Age
- In Historic Step, Feds Make First Ever Multi-Vendor Awards to Modernize the Nation’s Organ Transplant System and End the Current Contract Monopoly
- A failing health care system caused my husband’s death, with endemic “diagnostic error” killing or permanently disabling nearly 800,000 Americans each year
- What docs say is driving them away: 4 strategies to retain physicians
- Reducing smartphone use and/or increasing physical activity increases work satisfaction
- New Consensus Report: Myopia Should Be Classified as a Disease, and kids should spend more time outdoors help prevent myopia from developing.
- Too many people delay dealing with hearing loss because they think the devices make them look old.
- Poison control centers report spike in calls about kids and energy drinks, which are not recommended for kids and teens at all.
- No concussion? A blow to the head can still be dangerous
Week of September 16, 2024 [episode #274]:
Featuring: PFAS “Forever Chemicals” in Pesticides Could Pose a Greater Multigenerational Threat Than DDT Did (1:52); Using AI, researchers find e-cigarette brands are flouting the rules about health warning labels on Instagram (9:48); New series of reports call for public health model to address suicide, refocusing on social determinants (12:52); U.S. suicide rates rise faster in less affluent areas (15:47); “What Happens Three Months From Now?” Mental Health After Georgia High School Shooting (16:49); Why so many parents are “‘so stressed they cannot function” (20:47); MassMutual Survey — Many Americans are Opting for Childfree Lives over the Financial Strain of Parenthood (27:34); For many, incomplete answers on mental health care and pregnancy complicates matters (28:52); Guns remain leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens, with massive racial disparities (31:19); Chicago court finds Trump Tower liable for years of river pollution (34:50).
BONUS stories to read online!
- National Academies Report — Wastewater surveillance could be even better for detecting pathogens
- Studies deepen understanding of LGBTQ health disparities
- Feds Rarely Punish Hospitals for Turning Away Pregnant Patients
- Restricting Immigrant Access to Pregnancy-Related Insurance Has Public Health Consequences
- USDA reports Boar’s Head plant posed “imminent threat” 2 years before deadly listeria outbreak
- Around 560,000 children vaccinated in first round of polio campaign in Gaza
- Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication Reversed in Pakistan
- The U.S. is entering a riskier season for spread of H5N1 bird flu. Here’s why experts are worried
- California faces “profound increased risk for valley fever,” which is caused by inhaling a soil fungus. Here’s how it’s connected to weather.
- Militarily defending the U.S. is much more complicated in an era of climate change
- How a California county got PFAS out of its drinking water
- Hair and skin care products expose kids to hormone disrupting chemicals
- Boys with higher levels of PFAS “forever chemicals” enter puberty later
- A remote tribe is reeling from widespread illness and cancer due to a cascade of U.S. government failures in transparency and due diligence.
- Over three environmental defenders killed per week on average in 2023
- Global study confirms that the prevalence of firearms in U.S. drives the public health crisis of gun deaths
- For Afghanistan veterans, “problematic anger”, not PTSD, is the main problem
- Is Football Safe for Kids? At least seven kids have died while playing football already this year, as head injuries, heat, and heart conditions take their toll
- Long-term exercisers have “healthier” belly fat tissue
- Lifestyle intervention from childhood to adolescence affects metabolism even years later, study finds
- Many U.S. adults with uncontrolled hypertension are unaware of hypertension status
- Consumer Reports found high lead levels in a third of the cinnamon powders
- An new injectable HIV-prevention drug is highly effective — but wildly expensive
- DIY medicine draws frustrated patients to online forums to learn how to make pirated versions of abortion pills, GLP-1s and other prescription drugs and medical treatments.
- Tossed Medicine, Delayed Housing: How Homeless Sweeps Are Thwarting Medicaid’s Goals
- The normalization of gambling is fueling addiction.
- Conscientiousness, not willpower, is a reliable predictor of success, highlighting importance of durable long-term planning over momentary willpower
Week of September 9, 2024 [episode #273]:
Featuring: Youth vaping continues its tumble from 2019 peak (1:51); The first 100,000 doses of mpox vaccine reach Congo — but it’s a small fraction of what is needed (4:31); Gaza polio vaccination drive must include measles shots, as measles is the most urgent and most dangerous of the vaccine-preventable diseases in emergency settings (6:44); Hunger in U.S. continued multi-year rise in 2023 (13:04); As Record Heat Sweeps the U.S., Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills (15:05); Farmers grapple with toxic sludge amid fears of “forever chemicals” contamination (18:11); EPA partially reinstates stricter air pollution rules for industrial facilities’ toxic emissions (19:17); “Outdated” and “static” regulatory approaches hinder public health (20:24); U.S. Abortion Restrictions Threaten Miscarriage Management for 400,000 Women Miscarrying Pregnancy (21:58); With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get (22:41); U.S. will still pay at least twice as much after negotiating drug prices (28:22); Nearly 2,000 Pharmaceutical Plants Are Overdue for FDA Checks After COVID Delays (30:11).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Latin American Nations Once Lagged on Abortion Rights: Now Some Present Role Models for the United States
- States with strictest abortion laws offer the least support for women and families
- New Mexico starts building an abortion clinic to serve neighboring states, train medical students
- Judge blocks Ohio from enforcing laws restricting medication abortions
- Upending a longstanding paradigm, cardiologists embrace ZIP codes, not race, to predict heart risk, sharpening focus of heart disease as a social determinant
- Inside the bruising battle to purge race from a kidney disease calculator
- Errors in Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions and Take Years To Fix
- When Facing Unaffordable and Problematic Medical Bills Self-Advocacy Often Pays Off But Leaves Disproportionate Burden of Broken System on Those Most Vulnerable
- Farmers fear nursing homes because they could lose their family farms
- Farmers are relying on plastic more than ever, but the environmental toll is growing
- The world is pumping out 57 million tons of plastic pollution a year and much of the world doesn’t have solid waste systems to deal with it.
- In Louisiana, Environmental Justice Advocates Ponder Next Steps After a Federal Judge Bars EPA Civil Rights Probes Into Environmental Racism
- 3M, Corteva, Chemours hit with class action over “forever chemicals” in carpet
- States push EPA to label more PFAS as toxic air pollutants
- More FDNY responders have died from 9/11-related illnesses than the attack itself
- New global guidance aims to curb antibiotic pollution from its manufacturing
- Breast Cancer Rises Rapidly Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
- Mobile phones are not linked to brain cancer, according to a major review of 28 years of research
- High blood pressure a concern for adolescents and young adults in U.S.
- Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and kale add lowering blood pressure to their powerful anti-cancer effects.
- Community fridges are helping neighbors nourish one another
- Doing lunges while brushing your teeth, and other ways to stack healthy habits with “habit pairing”
- Oregon’s measles outbreak highlights state’s high vaccine exemption rate
- Do kids need to get sick to build their immune systems? [not really]
- Kids Are Headed Back to School. Many Aren’t Breathing Clean Air.
- An even more contagious COVID strain is “just getting started”
- Five burning questions about Missouri’s mysterious H5 bird flu case
- Presidential debate moderators should ask these Q’s about mental health policy
- Methadone could cut fentanyl deaths in half — or lead more into addiction
- Assessing Tardive Dyskinesia Risk (uncontrolled movements) in patients taking any dopamine blocker
- FDA ups required photo ID age to 30 for smokers buying tobacco products
- Letting funding for the All of Us research program lapse will cost the U.S. far more than it saves. Investing in preventive medicine and precision medicine now will save lives and billions of dollars
- Boom, Now Bust: Budget Cuts and Layoffs Take Hold in Public Health
- Clinicians Star in Off-Broadway Musical About Antimicrobial Resistance
Week of September 2, 2024 [episode #272]:
Featuring: U.S. surgeon general calls parents’ “overwhelming” stress an urgent public health issue (1:48); Fewer than 3 of 10 women cite diet when asked how to reduce chances of breast cancer (5:52); WHO says its deal with Israel will allow limited pauses in Gaza fighting for polio vaccinations (9:06); California, nation’s largest milk producer, confirms bird flu outbreaks in three dairy cow herds (13:32); More in U.S. accept COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, and willingness to vaccinate has declined (18:40); Long COVID Is Twice as Common Among People With Preexisting Disabilities (22:13); Study reveals high plutonium levels in Los Alamos recreational areas (23:23); EPA’s reliance on industry-funded science sparks concern over pesticide safety (24:27); EPA must increase transparency on chemical reviews, judge rules (25:47); 2025 Medicare drug cost cap will save seniors about $1,100 a year (26:50); Contrary to Perceptions, Eating Disorders Can Strike Anyone (28:23); New statistics reveal police violence (lethal and nonlethal) still common (33:31); How hope beats mindfulness when times are tough (36:50).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Is recycled plastic safe for food contact? If the company making it says so, according to the FDA
- Number of microplastics in soda bottles found to increase the more times you open the caps to drink
- EPA air office leader broke ethics rules by not disclosing relevant stock holdings
- Biden administration faces mixed reviews on environmental justice efforts
- Melting Alaskan permafrost releases dangerous mercury levels
- Antidepressants in waterways harm fish, while altering behavior and reproduction
- America Is Doubling Down on Sewer Surveillance — Like viruses, illicit and prescription drugs leave behind traces in the country’s wastewater systems.
- Unhealthy commodities such as tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods, social media, and fossil fuel climate change and air pollution are associated with depression, suicide, and self-harm.
- Problem gambling among monthly gamblers in Massachusetts after sports betting legalization
- What Mental Health Care Protections Exist in Your State?
- Justice Department Finds Kentucky Unnecessarily Institutionalizes Louisville Residents with Serious Mental Illness in Psychiatric Hospitals Violating ADA
- Evidence supports classroom cellphone bans
- New campaign aims to tackle period stigma to keep girls and women playing sports
- Differences in muscle cells may be driving greater exercise injuries in females
- Urban maternity wards are closing, driven by low profitability
- Experts Agree: Don’t Say “Heartbeat” to Describe Ultrasound Findings in Early Pregnancy
- Abortion-rights ballot initiatives backed by at least half of Republicans in Arizona, Nevada
- One in 12 women have pregnancy within 10 years after tubal sterilization
- WHO laments declining rates of condom use among sexually active teens worldwide
- Advancing, Prioritizing, and Uplifting Equitable Strategies to Improve Black Women’s Reproductive Health and Sexuality Wellness
- With only gloves to protect them, farmworkers say they tend sick cows amid bird flu
- New mpox strain is changing fast, and African scientists are “working blind” to respond
- To stop mpox from becoming the next pandemic, we must address global vaccine inequities
- “Sloth Fever” Virus Is Spreading By Mosquitoes — What You Need to Know
- West Nile and EEE: What to Know About Mosquito-Borne Illness in the U.S.
- An Unwelcome Souvenir From the Democratic National Convention: COVID
- Two common respiratory pathogens to watch in the months ahead
- Top 6 questions answered about fall vaccines
- Adult Drowning Deaths Are Increasing. Most fatal drowning incidents in the U.S. involve adults, not children, and they often involve alcohol.
- New study shows a further 50% decline in already low child mortality in Finland
- Factors driving slow growth in health spending in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Broader social determinant interventions (like increasing household income) are more effective at reducing chronic malnutrition than “targeted” interventions
- Children in Gaza to get polio vaccines but thousands are already likely infected
- U.S. caregivers face worsening of their own health
- Half of cancer survivors face cancer-related financial hardship
- Feds Killed 2014 Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition — Now we are paying the price
- Drug makers including Pfizer are starting to sell drugs directly to consumers, skipping regular doctors and pharmacists
- Hepatitis C Reinfection Common Among Treated Injection Drug Users
- Transform Your Relationship with Food to Become Your Healthiest Self
- U.S. Heat-Related Deaths Jumped 117% Since 1999. and deaths have accelerated in the last 7 years
- Study shows reduced inflammation in residents after adding trees to their neighborhoods
Week of August 26, 2024 [episode #271]:
Featuring: Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show — “There’s nowhere left untouched” (1:48); Ohio landowners forced to accept fracking, new study finds (5:41); State laws strongly affect mental health of trans people (9:52); More than 4 billion people don’t have access to clean water at home (12:15); Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank drive global increase in water-related violence (14:34); Sudan health minister declares cholera epidemic amidst civil war and flooding (15:52); A uranium mine threatens the Havasupai Tribe’s sole water source (17:20); Nearly two-thirds of supermarket baby foods are unhealthy (18:33); Lifeless Soils Will Be the Death of Us (22:28); Private equity — health care’s vampire (26:44); Disabled people die at about double the rate of non-disabled people in the U.S. (34:29); Uptick in Americans feeling COVID risk (39:50); Feds announce more COVID-19 tests can be ordered through mail for no cost, through CovidTests.gov starting in late September (41:48).
BONUS stories to read online!
- An Olympic-Sized Miss in Managing COVID-19
- Gastroenteritis Rates Higher in Seine Events Than in Previous Olympics
- Groups say they’re shut out of global treaty talks on plastics pollution in Bangkok
- Camp Lejeune claims over contaminated water exceed 500,000
- High levels of TFA, a concerning “forever chemical,” found in Detroit’s air and rain
- Why the EPA is relying on unproven technology to stop cancer-causing emissions
- What we’re learning from lung cancer patients who never smoked, as air pollution increases as driver of lung cancer cases.
- Hospitals leverage affordable housing to reduce avoidable visits
- Free Eye Care in Underserved Areas Improves Disease Detection
- Adverse childhood experiences tied to later household firearm ownership
- Homicide rates are a major factor in the gap between Black and white life expectancy
- Temporarily removing firearms from people at risk of suicide saves lives
- Fight over health noncompete pacts far from over, as affecting 1 in 5 U.S. workers
- California weighs blocking private equity health deals
- Revolving door: You are free to influence us “behind the scenes,” FDA tells staff leaving for industry jobs
- Public health interventions to address digital determinants of children’s health and wellbeing
- Facing a National Shortage of Baby Formula, Trade Officials Opposed a Plan to Boost Imports
- Free meals at school boosts students’ nutrition and reduces obesity
- School Lunches Higher Quality Than Lunches Brought from Home to School
- Research shows huge drop in unhealthy food ads during kids’ TV shows since 2006 voluntary ban pledges by industry
- Study links potato consumption to lower mortality
- Eight States Have Added Abortion to November Ballots. What Would the Measures Do?
- The Plan to Take Down the Hyde Amendment which prevents federal funding of abortion, including in Medicaid and federal employee health plans
- Amid youth mental health crisis, Ohio school-based behavioral health services grow
- Finding a therapist who takes your insurance can be nearly impossible. Here’s why
- Concierge medicine comes to college campuses
- Private Equity Owned Providers Leverage Surprise Billing Law For Higher Charges
- Debate heating up over tracking temperatures of mail-order medications
- State of the Science Concerning Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopment and Cognition: A Systematic Review
- Why mpox vaccines are only just arriving in Africa after two years
- A guide to fall 2024 vaccines
Week of August 19, 2024 [episode #270]:
Featuring: Toledo draft comprehensive 5-year plan on community violence prevention open for comment ((1:50); Cleanup workers sickened by Ohio derailment hidden in unreleased report (7:45); Cigarette Smoking Rate in U.S. Ties 80-Year Low (8:51); Study finds vaping is powerfully linked to smoking cigarettes, using marijuana and other drugs over time (12:07); More Americans see moderate drinking as unhealthy (13:52); Identifying “stealth” sources of saturated fat and added sugar in the diet (15:03); What to know about mpox global health emergency (17:10); Global cholera cases decline, but deaths on the rise (20:00); U.S. women have lowest life expectancy among high-income countries (21:27); Study finds over half of iron deficiency cases in large health system still unresolved at three years (23:03); Women across party lines oppose abortion laws being left to the states (27:07); Ohio sees spike in out-of-state abortions, but access to abortion care can be challenging (28:14); Phenols and parabens in makeup, sunscreen raise risk for dangerous pregnancy complications (34:30); Wildfires expose farmworkers to dangerous smoke as climate change intensifies (37:48); Employer health plan costs expected to rise 9% in 2025, driven by expensive weight-loss drugs and pricey gene and cell therapies (39:03); WHO to withdraw PFAS water guidelines after accusations of industry influence (40:09); U.S. shifts to support global plastic production cuts and creation of a list of harmful chemicals for phaseout (41:10).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Decrepit Pipes Put Jackson, Mississippi, on the Edge of Catastrophe. State Regulators Didn’t Act.
- California cuts back on safety enforcement as farmworkers toil in extreme heat
- When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means.
- How a legal loophole allows unsafe or untested ingredients in U.S. foods
- HHS says it is working to stop the climate crisis. But it’s really just climate washing, focusing on “mitigation” rather than emissions reductions
- The FDA should withdraw approval of more than 400 medicines fraudulently tested
- The FDA Calls Them “Recalls,” Yet the Targeted Medical Devices Often Remain in Use
- Journal Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policies Are All Over the Map, and rely on the honor system
- Newly transparent pricing data fuel employer lawsuits against Aetna
- Six Ontario First Nations challenge mining law in court
- Mining threatens Arizona’s scarce water supply
- Without federal protections, to lower prescription drug costs, states head to the courthouse
- FDA seeks fresh voluntary curbs on sodium levels in packaged, processed foods, after some success in earlier efforts
- Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo’s Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood
- Medicare data estimate Lyme disease rate 7 times higher than surveillance shows
- Deer Hunting Season Raises Firearm Violence in U.S. Rural Counties during first two weeks after opening
- Kids Who Survived Super Bowl Shooting Are Scared, Suffering Panic Attacks and Sleep Problems
- One in Four Brain Injury Patients Who Appear Unresponsive Respond Covertly
- Sudden cardiac arrest often causes sudden death. Scientists search for weighs to better predict risk.
- Getting fats from plants vs. animals boosts your life span
- Bird flu cases now detected in domestic cats in Colorado
- Inactive bird flu virus found in 17% of US dairy foods in study
- Twenty-five Common Lab Tests Not Useful in Diagnosing Long COVID
- The U.S. is experiencing its largest summer Covid wave in at least two years
- First case of polio confirmed in a 10-month-old child in Gaza
- Shingles tied to 20% higher risk of cognitive decline
- Alzheimer’s risk rose up to 42% with untreated high blood pressure
- National study shows varying ability across U.S. to get Alzheimer’s or other dementia diagnosis
- Prior Authorization Denials on the Rise in Medicare Advantage
- Intervention for cleaning shared health care equipment could significantly reduce health care-associated infections
- Non-deceptive (open) placebos can reduce stress, anxiety and depression
- Mass Incarceration and Health Inequities
Week of August 12, 2024 [episode #269]:
Featuring: Some e-cigarette chemicals mimic nicotine, possibly bypassing regulation (1:53); Lucas County rates poorly in county health rankings (3:48); Indirect gun violence exposure powerfully linked to decreased quality of life (5:37); Not just an urban problem — New study reports higher rate of shootings by police across suburbs and rural areas (8:43); State of Ohio to expand mobile response service for youth in crisis (11:25); Childhood vaccines have saved over 1 million U.S. lives since 1994 (13:23); Americans viewing childhood vaccines as “extremely” or “very” important has dropped from 94% to 69% since 2001 (16:38); WHO to send 1.2 million polio vaccines to Gaza after outbreak warning (19:22); Bird flu crisis spreads to hundreds of species worldwide offering existential threat to global biodiversity (22:00); The 30 pathogens that could spark the next pandemic (24:08); Long COVID review article — highlighting 400 million affected people globally at an annual economic cost of one Trillion dollars (27:11); Inside a medical practice under “shield laws” sending abortion pills to states where they’re banned (28:11); Schools face ongoing lead water crisis without national testing mandate (31:24); Despite ban, oil and gas companies spread fracking waste on Pennsylvania roads (32:33); Small changes in food “choice environments” in stores can make a healthy difference (33:54).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Mpox Is Becoming More Deadly. We Need Global Action Now to Prevent Another Pandemic.
- WHO to convene panel to determine whether mpox outbreak is a public health emergency
- Colorado’s new bulk-tank testing of milk identifies more avian flu in dairy herds
- Researchers discover new Candida auris fungus type — a possible global public health threat
- The continuing infectious disease doctor shortage will hit marginalized people the hardest
- COVID Drops to Tenth Leading Cause of Death in the U.S.
- U.S. COVID activity continues to pick up
- How discharged patients can carry superbugs home
- Research finds connection between prenatal exposure to plastic chemical BPA and autism in boys
- How the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry became a shield for polluters, conducting weak science and sowing doubt about risks.
- Court overturns approval for South Texas Liquid Natural Gas export plants
- EPA issues rare emergency order banning pesticide harming farmworkers
- Five year hypertension study provides further evidence of the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption
- Vegan diet better than Mediterranean at reducing harmful inflammatory dietary compounds
- Study shows type 2 diabetes can be prevented by diet and exercise even in individuals with high genetic risk
- Sugar-sweetened beverage intake increasing globally among children and teens
- Policy replacing junk food in store checkouts achieves high compliance, reducing exposures to unhealthy impulse buys
- Scientists are starting to uncover how neighborhood can affect the biology of cancer
- Adding psychological health metric to Essential 8 heart health factors better predicts risk of death
- A small decrease in U.S. teen girls are reporting “persistent sadness” hints at reversal of trend
- Study finds bias in emergency department pain management against women
- Menstrual cycle is a vital sign and important indicator of overall health. Two reproductive health experts explain.
- More than 1 in 4 Americans over 50 are now caregivers
- Study finds physical isolation of lockdowns did not increase overall loneliness
- Number of uninsured Americans rose to 8.2% in 2024, driven by Medicaid “unwinding”
- U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village
- More Rural Hospitals Are on the Verge of Closing as private insurers are paying less than the cost of care.
- Large disparities found in survival benefits for Blacks and women receiving bystander CPR for cardiac arrest
- Red cross issues blood shortage alert as heat waves cut donations
- Electric scooter and bike accidents are soaring across the U.S.
- Russian influence in eastern Europe is aggravating HIV epidemic, with propaganda against injection drug users, gay men, and sex workers
- Parental rights law could thwart fight against HIV and sexually transmitted infections
- Ohio has spent over $22 million on anti-abortion centers since Roe overturned
- Texas Gov. orders hospitals to collect data on patients’ immigration status
- Co-pays found in most prisons block inmates from accessing health care
- Restrictive state firearm policies can cut firearm mortality by 20%
- What’s in a drink? U.S. regulators consider new alcohol label, but health advocates want even more
- Walz oversaw a PFAS crackdown. What would that mean for a Harris admin?
- Overview of VP Pick Walz’s Health Policies
- Medicine needs fiction to communicate realities, especially now
Week of August 5, 2024 [episode #268]:
Featuring: Gen X, millennials face higher risk of cancer than previous generations (1:53); Scientists Confirm Bird Flu Is Now Spreading Between Mammals (8:34); Target These 14 Factors to Cut Dementia Incidence by Nearly Half (10:07); Vision loss and high cholesterol identified as risk factors for dementia (11:56); Replacing processed red meat with beans and nuts cuts dementia risk by 20%, study says (14:28); Adolescent girls worldwide face alarming rates of intimate partner violence (15:52); Since Fall of “Roe,” Self-Managed Abortions Have Increased, including ineffective, unsafe methods (19:56); States have increased anti-abortion center funding by nearly $500 million since Roe was overturned (22;26); As many as 65 million Americans now own firearms primarily for protection (26:21); Unintentional gun death rates vary 10-fold among states (30:43); Study finds large gaps in mental health care for people with chronic pain (32:51); Common medical billing errors and unwarranted coverage denials keep many Americans from care (36:00); High Trust in Doctors Crashed During the COVID Pandemic — And Remains Lower (38:27); How the vulture decline in India led to a human health crisis of 500,000 excess deaths (40:38).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Vaping and smoking together increases lung cancer risk fourfold
- The Indomitable Covid Virus — How to respond without denialism or complacency
- U.S. measles cases are already triple those of last year
- Hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic-resistant infections are rising
- WHO warns of increase in hypervirulent, multidrug-resistant Klebsiella strains
- CDC urges livestock workers get seasonal flu vaccine to cut pandemic risk by dual infection with bird flu that allows exchange of genetic material
- Experts consider H5N1 bird flu unknowns as state fairs loom
- Mpox cases have surged by 160% in Africa so far this year, but few treatments and vaccines available
- Behind the malaria vaccines: A 40-year quest against one of humanity’s biggest killers
- Patients may be exposed to microplastics through medical procedures
- Some condom and lubricant brands contain alarming levels of PFAS
- Plastics industry’s support for waste pickers is often superficial
- Oil companies sold the public on a fake climate solution — and swindled taxpayers out of billions. The fossil fuel industry’s carbon capture bamboozle, explained.
- Navajo Nation challenges uranium transport laws on tribal land
- Kansas hospital sued for refusing emergency abortion
- New poll shows Florida abortion amendment winning with bipartisan support
- States break out new tactics to thwart abortion ballot measures in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Montana and South Dakota.
- Menopause increases your risk of STIs due to how aging changes your body
- ACL tears in women: Too many injuries and too little research
- FDA warns of danger from at-home chemical peels
- A healthy diet with less sugar linked to younger biological age
- 42% of online pharmacies selling weight loss drugs are operating illegally
- Private Equity Strips and Devalues Successful Hospitals
- Study finds low availability of psychiatric appointments for Medicaid patients
- Cost counseling and stewardship need to be part of medical school curricula
- Deaths from falls have increased 65% in 20 years
- Consumer Product Safety Commission puts onus on Amazon for sale of hazardous third-party products
- There’s more data for trans people with HIV than any other disease — but it’s still flawed
- San Francisco will offer homeless people bus tickets out of town before shelter or housing
- Politics is holding back the best tool for treating meth addiction — financial incentives
- To Win “Medicare for All,” First Reclaim Medicare From Profiteers
- How Kamala Harris Ditched Medicare for All
- Harris’ California Health Care Battles Signal Anti-Trust Fights Ahead for Hospitals if She Wins
- Make caregiving a defining issue of the 2024 election
Week of July 29, 2024 [episode #267]:
Featuring: 2024 American Fitness Index ranks Toledo 87th of America’s 100 largest cities (1:51); Landmark comprehensive assessment of pesticide use patterns and increased cancer risk shows substantial risks in agricultural counties [background/context paper](3:00); Adult Smoking Cessation Update (8:21); Big declines in teen births (9:41); Big drop in U.S. kids, teens misusing prescription meds (11:07); Moms and caregivers facing family food insecurity need help with more than just food as it takes a toll on mental health (13:37); U.S. infant deaths rise for first time in decades (16:28); More Money Can Result in Fewer Emergency Department Visits — “We can trust the poor with money,” says study author (20:08); 16% of health systems dropping Medicare Advantage plans (21:58); Geriatrics training plummets as number of seniors skyrockets (23:30); The years after COVID have turned into a post-flu vaccine era, particularly for the most vulnerable (31:56); WHO sees “high risk” of polio virus spreading across Gaza and beyond (35:06); Most new HIV infections occurred outside sub-Saharan Africa for first time (36:37).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Rate of under-vaccinated Ohio kindergarteners increases from 10.1% pre-pandemic to 13.8%
- Raccoon rabies vaccinations will drop from the sky in Pennsylvania county to push back westward move of rabies
- COVID activity continues at brisk pace across much of U.S.
- Triathlon cancels Olympic swim training for the second day over poor water quality
- Toxic “forever chemicals” found in pesticides that are used on food, in homes and on pets, often present in “inert” ingredients and/or proprietary (secret) formulas
- Supposedly “eco-friendly” tires still contain toxic chemicals
- A large number of heat-related deaths in Phoenix are linked to substance abuse, primarily meth, which masks heat warning signs
- We bought everything needed to make $3 million worth of fentanyl. All it took was $3,600 and a web browser
- Alcohol Industry Panics as Healthier Habits Cut Sales
- Regulatory Framework for Cannabis: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians
- The bird flu doom loop of industrial animal production
- With the U.S. bird flu outbreak uncontained, scientists see growing risks
- Study Raises Questions About Key Features of Bird Flu Infection in Cows — It may kill them, plus asymptomatic animals can harbor virus
- Are Doctors Missing Cases of H5N1 Bird Flu in People Who Drink Raw Milk?
- Colorado requiring dairies to test milk for bird flu
- Could cow vaccines help halt the spread of bird flu in U.S. herds? Experts are divided
- Corporate Influence of Lobbyists, Disinformation, and Hyper-palatable Products Drive Our Epidemic of Obesity
- Should We Take Any “Personal” Responsibility for the Obesity Epidemic?
- Healthy Vegan Diet Yields Anti-Aging Effects Whereas Healthy Omnivorous Diet Does Not
- Pet obesity parallels human obesity rates
- Surgeon General Warns that Americans Have Accepted Fear of Gun Violence as “Normal”
- Maryland Is on Track to Process a Nearly 50-Year-Old Backlog of Rape Kits
- Social vulnerability linked with mental health and substance use disorders
- Sonya Massey’s death: How to prevent more killings of defenseless Black women through Crisis Intervention Training, which only 1 in 6 police agencies have
- Trauma Patients Without Insurance Taken Off Life Support Sooner
- If You Build It, They Will Come: Emergency Departments Are Victims of Induced Demand — more is not always more
- Preventive care is under threat: PrEP now or pay later
- Why Many Nonprofit (Wink, Wink) Hospitals Are Rolling in Money
- Higher CEO pay in large health care systems linked to hospital consolidations, and not linked to profitability or community benefit
- A Judge Ruled a Louisiana Prison’s Health Care System Has Failed Inmates for Decades. A Federal Law to Limit Lawsuits (Liability) Could Block Reforms.
- Too many pills? How to talk to your doctor about reviewing what’s needed
- Study shows people place little trust in medical advice if they suspect AI involvement
- A Call to Action From 9 Former U.S. Cabinet Secretaries: We Need a National Effort to Protect Patients Against Health Care Cyberattacks
- Defying global trends: Study finds high happiness, low depression among oldest generation of Americans
- Ripe for Disaster Declarations: Heat, Wildfire Smoke…and Death Data
- People Are Still Being Swallowed by Storm Drains. One U.S. Agency Is Pushing for Safety Measures.
- A gigantic, weather-defining current system could be headed to collapse within decades — shaking the scientific world struggling with uncertainties
- Where Kamala Harris stands on health care issues
- Kamala Harris offered a “blueprint” for environmental justice. Can she grow it?
Week of July 22, 2024 [episode #266]:
Featuring: 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care Documents Perilous Status (1:56); Global Women’s Health Index 2024 Documents Crisis Status (7:08); Mammograms have pros and cons, and women can handle the nuance, study argues (8:47); FDA allows marketing of Vuse tobacco-flavored vapes (12:50); Heat can increase air pollution inside cars by up to 40,000 times (16:03); New study shows fashion industry’s plastic waste problem (17:50); Pentagon seeks delay in replacing toxic firefighting foam (18:55); In the 10 states that didn’t expand Medicaid, 1.6 million can’t afford health insurance, and 60% are people of color (20:22); New study reveals more Americans struggling to afford health care (24:18); Medical debt fuels mental health treatment gap (26:37); 988 suicide hotline awareness lags, two years in (27:48); Attention parents — Your teens aren’t coping nearly as well as you think they are (29:12); State Minimum Age Firearm Purchase Laws, by Themselves, Don’t Prevent Youth Suicide (32:13).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Health advocates target Philip Morris’ U.S. launch of heated tobacco
- Digital games on vaping devices could lure more youth to nicotine addiction
- Study examines profound impact of incarceration on youth health
- School-Based Health Centers Are a Critical Component of Health Care for Underserved Children
- A California Medical Group Treats Only Homeless Patients — And Has Found Diverse Funding to Survive
- No Asymptomatic Bird Flu Infections Found in 35 Dairy Farmworkers Exposed
- Study suggests earlier U.S.-licensed bird flu vaccines prompt antibodies to current strain
- Heat wave fans spread of bird flu on dairy and poultry farms
- Chicken culling and disposal raise concern as bird flu spreads
- USDA maintains bird flu can be eliminated from dairy cows, even as doubts mount among experts
- Long COVID Risk Has Fallen, Mostly Attributable to Vaccination
- How Food Ads Are Contributing to Obesity Epidemic
- Marketing Takes Off and Obesity Soars
- The chaos of choice: How do people pick their food products?
- Weight loss linked to improved mood and reduced risk-taking in obese individuals
- Total dietary quality score improved for U.S. children during 2005 to 2020
- Tracking Tire Plastics—and Chemicals—From Road to Plate
- Paris Olympics 2024-branded metal bottles recalled for health reasons (BPA)
- Activists demand halt to uranium mining near Grand Canyon
- The risks of eyelash extensions aren’t pretty, from cornea erosion to cancer-causing glue
- Thinking about getting a tattoo? You may have to deal with bacterial contaminated inks
- As California Regulators Refuse to Enforce New Orphan Well Rules, Lawmakers and Environmental Groups Cry Foul
- Exposed: Latino farmworkers risk their health working under threat of pesticide exposure
- DOJ says largest housing provider for migrant kids engaged in pervasive sexual abuse
- The prevalence of gambling and problematic gambling worldwide, 1.4% overall and 16% for online casino or slots gambling
- The 988 mental health crisis hotline is working. So why doesn’t it get the funding it needs?
- The Nation’s 911 System Is on the Brink of Its Own Emergency
- To overcome the overdose crisis, addiction treatment must be integrated into the health care system
- Online addiction and mental health treatment companies shown to violate people’s privacy
- Institutional Review Boards fail in requirement to assess clinical trials’ scientific merit, putting participants at risk, and enabling low-quality research
- As GLP-1 sales surge, insulin users fear pharma corporations will move on without them for greater profits
- The real reason drug costs are so high in America: Pharmacy Benefit Managers
- Nurse Survey Signals Some Improvements, Though Retention Still a Big Problem
- Feds Tighten Insurance Broker Access to Healthcare.gov To Thwart Rogue Sign-Ups
- U.S. Maternal Mortality Solutions Must Include Addressing Intimate Partner Violence
- The U.S. Presidential Election of 2024 Is a Public Health Emergency
- At Trump’s GOP Convention, There Was Little To Be Heard on Health Care
- Vance quietly tried to shape public health agenda in Congress
- Is there a wrong way to talk about climate change? Beware of conversations defined by the fossil fuel industry’s terms and agenda.
Week of July 15, 2024 [episode #265]:
Featuring: Overdose death falls to 9-year low in Ohio as fentanyl’s presence in drugs ebbs due to Cartel getting out of fentanyl business (1:52); We’re Not Asking the Right Question to Solve the Overdose Crisis — We need to focus on conditions of social despair (10:20); Half of cancer deaths in U.S. linked to “modifiable” risk factors (14:02); The strained U.S. primary-care system can’t withstand the next pandemic, some believe (16:17); The Cass Report, Evidence, and Ethical Thinking on Pediatric Gender-Affirming Care – Appropriate care for this population requires access, not restriction (19:38); Most common gender-affirming surgery in the U.S. is breast reduction for cisgender males (21:29); World population is projected to grow from 8.2 billion to a peak of 10.3 billion in 2080s (23:22); Wall Street profits from asbestos liabilities at victims’ expense (27:35); Medicaid is paying millions for salty, fat-laden “medically tailored” cheeseburgers and sandwiches (29:13); International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems has a new report, Food From Somewhere: Building food security and resilience through territorial markets (40:18); Another hot COVID summer (40:18).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Alcohol is driving a half-dozen types of cancer in the U.S.
- The dark side of Zyn: How tobacco-free nicotine pouches may harm your health
- Should kids be able to buy nonalcoholic beer, wine and mocktails?
- Stimulant users caught up in fatal “fourth wave” of opioid epidemic
- Everyone deserves addiction treatment that works — including those in jail
- California to finally have indoor heat standards for workplaces—with a cruel exception for prisoners
- Abandoned mines cover the West with a legacy of destruction and pollution of lands and water
- Pollution knows no borders as a long-sought agreement will address Canadian mine waste flowing downriver into U.S.
- The Problematic Chemicals Fueling America’s EV Revolution. Ramped-up production of toxins used in the batteries has communities worried.
- Bioplastics are inadequately defined, poorly regulated, and potentially toxic
- Curb “stupid plastics” and stop industry BS: urgent actions to prevent a plastic crisis. The worst of microplastics is yet to come as plastics degrade over decades.
- How Concerned Should We Be About Metals in Tampons?
- Beryl storm power outages crowd hospitals, delay new admissions
- How to prepare for power outages if your health depends on home medical devices
- Racial disparities in dementia determined by social factors rather than genetic ancestry
- Living in poverty due to mental health problems or developing mental health problems because of poverty? It’s both
- Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential
- Navy Has Record High Suicides So Far This Year Amid Reports of High Stress, Quality-of-Life Issues
- New research supports “social good” as a cognitive approach to dealing with highly stressful events
- Survey shows loneliness haunts over 1 in 5 people worldwide
- American diets got briefly healthier, more diverse during COVID-19 pandemic
- Study finds daily sugar intake fell by 5 g in kids, 11 g in adults after UK “sugar tax”
- Blood fat profiles confirm health benefits of replacing butter with high-quality plant oils
- Do Taxpayer Subsidies Play a Role in the Obesity Epidemic? [Yes]
- New White House strategy backs food rescue efforts but more is needed to fight hunger and food waste
- Transforming food environments: a global lens on challenges and opportunities for achieving healthy and sustainable diets for all
- Preparing schools for the H5N1 bird flu they’re likely to face
- Finland Is Offering Farmworkers Bird Flu Shots. Some Experts Say the US Should, Too.
- Health officials pitch anonymous bird flu testing
- If bird flu sparks a human pandemic, your past immunity could help, particularly older folks
- Bird flu strain in U.S. cows shows “minimal” air spread in ferret study
- Bird flu update: As the number of infected dairy herds mount, so too does pessimism about driving H5N1 out of cows
- Long Covid Research Roundup
- Why an “AI health coach” won’t solve the world’s chronic disease problems
- Free medical school tuition unlikely to have a major impact on the U.S. health care system
- Safety of generic Viagra and other drugs called into doubt after false data found by FDA
- First year of Georgia’s Medicaid expansion with work requirements enrolls less than 1% of those who would be eligible under standard Medicaid expansion
- More than 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF
- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) Is a Menstrual Disorder Much More Severe than PMS, and it can cause despair and suicide
- The Supreme Court’s Contempt for Facts Is a Betrayal of Justice, undermining the role of evidence, expertise and honesty in American democracy.
Week of July 8, 2024 [episode #264]:
Featuring: Toledo-Lucas County Health Department and City of Toledo Announce Healthy Corner Store Initiative to bring healthy foods to underserved areas (1:52); WHO releases first-ever clinical treatment guideline for tobacco cessation in adults (3:37); Advocates Sue EPA to Enforce Noise Pollution Law (5:17); Railroad industry opposes faster removal of unsafe tank cars that are easily punctured (8:06); Coffee, eggs and white rice linked to higher levels of PFAS in human body (9:46); True scale of carbon impact from long-distance travel revealed, accounting for majority of transportation emissions (14:16); U.S. pedestrian deaths decline for first time since pandemic (17:10); Rates of distress and depression have doubled among transgender Americans since 2014 (19:03); A 988 crisis lifeline for LGBTQ+ youths launched a year ago — it’s been swamped (20:22); Lack of Affordability Dominates Older Americans’ List of Healthcare Worries (24:17); Physician burnout rate drops below 50% for first time in 4 years (28:44); The U.S. is losing control of hypertension, and China’s “village doctors” (community health workers) have lessons (31:32); Bedtime battles — 1 in 4 parents say their child can’t go to sleep because they’re worried or anxious (39:07).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The health impacts of escalating megafires are everyone’s problem
- Athletes face significant health risks from air pollution
- Tobacco industry fights UK generational smoking ban
- Study finds price is main factor in cigarette choice among Canadian smokers
- BPA exposure may impact diabetes risk, even at “safe” doses
- Microplastics continue to be found throughout human reproductive system, including the uterus
- Activists urge Louisiana to reject 2,400-acre plastics plant permits in “Cancer Alley”
- British Columbia’s Toxic Coal Dust Invades Alberta Across Rocky Mountains
- High levels of bacteria in water lead to multiple beach closures across the U.S.
- Mosquitos kill more people than any other creature, the CDC warns
- Mosquito season is here early than usual — more than a third of states have detected West Nile virus
- As bird flu spreads among U.S. cattle, veterinarians find themselves in a familiar position: the frontlines
- Bird flu concern prompts U.S. to award Moderna $176 million for vaccine development not reliant on eggs
- In just a few years, half of all states passed bans on trans health care for kids
- In new Alzheimer’s criteria, some see progress while others fear profit-driven “diagnostic creep”
- The Failure to Track Data on Stillbirths Undermines Efforts to Prevent Them, and the problem is only getting worse.
- About 20,000 Fewer Kids Would Be Dead Each Year If U.S. Was on Par With Europe
- Ultraprocessed Foods Could Increase Lupus Risk for Women
- Accounting for large changes in gut bacteria throughout the day may fix the replicability crisis in microbiome research
- The U.S. should prioritize compensating nuclear survivors over nuclear arsenal spending which as at 500 times greater levels
- Brazil’s new pro-agribusiness pesticide law threatens Amazon biodiversity
- The historical evidence is mounting: Humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals much more so than climate change
- Permaculture found to be a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture, offering environmental protection and high yields.
- Exercise may be the single most potent medical intervention ever known
Week of July 1, 2024 [episode #263]:
Featuring: Opioid deaths rose 50 percent during the pandemic, while Toledo and other communities in a federal pilot project achieved decreases — can these successes keep going? (1:52); U.S. Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence “a Public Health Crisis” (7:43); Supreme Court undercuts regulators’ authority across government, curtailing public health efforts (12:25); Upending Purdue Pharma’s settlement does little to help today’s opioid crisis, advocates say (21:46); National Academies proposes reimagining health care to fix “fundamental flaws” that underlie inequity (28:19); Infant Deaths Increased After Texas Ban on Abortion in Early Pregnancy (36:33); Oral and Emergency Contraceptive Use Fell in States With Abortion Bans (38:46); Rate of Young Women Getting Sterilized Doubled After Roe Was Overturned (39:54); Health insurers cover fewer drugs and make them harder to get (41:27); Advisory Committee Makes Changes to Adult RSV Vaccine Recommendations (43:15); CDC advises updated COVID vaccine for everyone over 6 months of age (44:35).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Supreme Court OKs Local Crackdowns on Homelessness, as Advocates Warn of Chaos
- U.S. Supreme Court Purdue Pharma ruling makes mass litigation tougher to discharge in bankruptcy
- Train derailment in Ohio led to unnecessary chemical burn, says NTSB
- Garbage dumps may be “burping” toxic “forever chemicals”
- Cleaning sponges release vast amounts of microplastics monthly
- Forever chemicals can penetrate skin from personal care products
- Alarming study unveils how forever chemicals transfer from mothers to newborns
- PFAS contaminated sludge endangers farmers’ health — a new federal program would empower them to address this pollution crisis
- Clothes, cookware, floss: Colorado law to ban everyday products with PFAS
- Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but cheaper plastic pipes carry hidden costs
- Most kids get unneeded antibiotics for pink eye
- Did Cold Medications Affect Biden’s Debate Performance?
- Smallest businesses feel crush of health care costs
- In a First, Cooling Costs for Public Housing Residents Will Be A Covered Utility
- Telehealth for Medication Abortion Worked as Well as In-Person Visit With Ultrasound
- Over half of U.S. women on probation or parole need permission to travel for abortion
- Voters in 25 U.S. states can’t back abortion in citizen-led ballot measures
- By the numbers: America’s alcohol-related health problems are rising fast
- Yes, gun violence is a public health issue
- New Yorkers Were Choked, Beaten and Tased by NYPD Officers. The Commissioner Buried Their Cases.
- Three months into bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, experts see deep-rooted problems in response
- CDC issues dengue fever alert in the U.S.
- Moderna says its RSV shot is 50% effective across a second season
- A Multivitamin a Day Does Not Increase Longevity
- Your gut microbes may influence how you handle stress
- Despite risks, aspirin use remains high among older adults
- Sedentariness continues to rise globally
Week of June 24, 2024 [episode #262]:
Featuring: Pollution from Ohio train derailment spread to 16 states (1:52); State of Global Air 2024, air pollution as second largest risk factor for death (3:00); “Striking” Disparities in Specialty Care for Kids With Asthma on Public Insurance (5:20); America’s diet quality moved from an F to a D. Here’s how to turn yours into an A (6:36); America’s kids are going hungry over the summer (13:36); Prevention task force recommends intensive counseling for kids with obesity (14:44); Replacing registered nurses in high stakes hospital care is dangerous to patients (17:39); Poll finds most Americans believe pandemic policies were good idea (19:09); “We’re Flying Blind” — CDC Has 1 Million Bird Flu Tests Ready, only 45 tested so far, and Experts See Repeat of Covid Missteps (20:26); Farmers use banned antibiotics to fatten pigs despite regulations (29:07); Substance use experts are sounding the alarm on another addiction: gambling (30:19); Study shows many Americans feel pressured to work while sick (34:24); Majority of Bisexual and Transgender People Feel Lonely (35:36); Survey shows 12% of Americans have been diagnosed with chronic insomnia (37:10).
BONUS stories to read online!
- This Isn’t Your Grandparents’ Summer Heat. The face of summer is transforming, as people today face more frequent, longer-lasting and hotter heat waves than they did several decades ago.
- The health science of extreme heat waves
- New rules will protect 1.4 million California workers from dangerous heat indoors
- Portable air filters in daycares can reduce indoor pollution by 85%
- FDA Authorizes First Menthol E-Cigarettes — Meanwhile, HHS still has not issued a final rule banning menthol-flavored tobacco cigarettes
- Seaweed is choking the Caribbean’s white sand beaches, fueling an economic and public health crisis
- New Research Finds Most of the World’s Largest Marine Protected Areas Have Inadequate Protections
- Antibiotics and resistant bacteria found concentrated on ocean surface
- The potential of micro- and nanoplastics to exacerbate the health impacts and global burden of chronic diseases
- The Delusion of Advanced Plastic Recycling Using Pyrolysis (chemical breakdown)
- Vaccine group Gavi seeks $9 billion over 10 years to immunize world’s poorest children
- COVID summer wave grows, especially in West, with new variant LB.1 on the rise
- Young Gay Latinos See Rising Share of New HIV Cases
- FDA Chief: Tech Promises in Diabetes Go Unfulfilled
- Large-Scale Intensive Blood Pressure Intervention Proves Sustainable for Heart Disease Prevention
- Abortion is becoming more common in primary care clinics as doctors challenge stigma
- Poor metabolic health linked to worse brain health
- As they enter their 60s, Gen Xers projected to see higher cancer rates than Boomers
- U.K. austerity spending cuts cost average person nearly half year in life expectancy
- It’s been 60 years since Freedom Summer, yet the fight for affordable, compassionate, and equitable health care is still going on
- Study finds mothers pay more out of pocket when pregnancy crosses two calendar years
- How a Network of Nonprofits Enriches Fundraisers While Spending Almost Nothing on Its Stated Causes
- A Tale of Two States: Arizona and Florida Diverge on How To Expand Kids’ Health Insurance — Health Outcomes Versus Conservative Ideology
- Why the FDA will have a hard time properly regulating cannabis
- Supreme Court outlawed segregation of disabled people 25 years ago. But change has come slowly.
- Journals that published unabashed racist’s “research” articles should retract them
- Antibiotic resistance: An extremely concerning situation in sub-Saharan African children
- Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by U.S. surgeon general who asks Congress to act
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill targeting addictive social media platforms: “Our kids are in distress”
- U.S. Hospitals Prone to Cyberattacks Like One That Hurt Patient Care at Ascension
- Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits
Week of June 17, 2024 [episode #261]:
Featuring: Involuntary commitment and the mental health crisis care gap in Ohio (1:50); Pentagon data reveals U.S. soldiers more likely to die by suicide than in combat (11:20); In dribs and drabs, USDA reports suggest containing bird flu outbreak in dairy cows will be challenging (12:57); Global health leader critiques “ineptitude” of U.S. response to bird flu outbreak among cows (15:49); U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for osteoporosis for women aged 65 years and older (18:17); Black, Hispanic adults at double the risk of losing Medicaid after COVID emergency ended (20:27); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Advances Plan To Remove Medical Debt From Credit Scores (23:02); Study finds just 18% of people up-to-date on recommended lung cancer screenings (25:37); World Trade Center responders exposed to more dust saw higher risk of early dementia (26:42); Toxic gas in Louisiana air far exceeds safe levels and EPA estimates (30:53); Ethanol industry has billed itself as a green alternative to oil and gas, but refineries are releasing toxic chemicals, and industry produces as much or more carbon footprint as oil use (33:42); Degrowth movement challenges traditional views on economic growth (37:26); Corporate misuse of recycling symbols has misled consumers about environmental impact (39:07); U.S. industry groups sue to block landmark “forever chemical” drinking-water rule (41:22).
BONUS stories to read online!
- FDA: Do your job and stop letting companies sell illicit vapes to kids
- AI Answers Up the Cost to the Environment, because generative AI requires vastly more energy than traditional keyword searches
- Nursing Homes Left in the Dark as More Utilities Cut Power to Prevent Wildfires, forcing stronger preparedness efforts
- To make public housing healthier, electric stoves and ovens should be the standard
- More COVID-19 patients died in understaffed hospitals
- Pentagon ran secret anti-vax propaganda campaign to undermine China during pandemic
- Empathy should guide responses to reported vaccine injuries
- The Dairy Industry Must Act Faster to Keep H5N1 from Starting a Human Epidemic
- Some Pasteurization Methods May Not Clear H5N1 in Heavily Infected Milk
- What Happens if a Nuke Goes Off in Space?
- Study links chronic pain to quality of family relationships
- Confronting trauma alleviates chronic pain among older veterans
- More than 4,000 additional robotic pets to be given to seniors in New York to combat loneliness
- Millions fewer people may need statins, a new study suggests. But guidelines have yet to change
- Half of U.S. military bases in the country are in “health care deserts” alongside Pentagon admitting that privatizing and downsizing have gone too far
- How a major public hospital is shielding doctors by silencing the patients who accuse them, through nondisclosure agreements as part of settlements of wrongdoing
- Abortion pill ruling: What to know and what comes next
- Record Share of U.S. Electorate Is Pro-Choice and Voting on It
- Mothers of Invention: Black Women Using Tech in Maternal Health, Setting Up a Maternity Care “Green Book”
- A new model of drug discovery could change the game on superbugs. Where markets fail, collaboration might just succeed.
Week of June 10, 2024 [episode #260]:
Featuring: Americans see climate change as health threat heading into summer (1:50); Smoke exposure from California’s wildfires linked to 5,000 early deaths annually, costing Californians $1,000 per resident per year (4:01); Food and water insecurity is increasing for U.S. children (5:48); 1 in 4 young children in low- and middle-income countries suffer extreme food poverty (10:16); Status of girls in Ohio (14:47); Many U.S. women unhappy with maternal health care, yet unaware of U.S.’s poor standing among wealthy nations (18:34); “Concern is real” about long Covid’s impact on Americans, and the difficulty of making disability claims (21:17); When medical debt relief is not enough — A study showing what doesn’t work may help point to better solutions upstream (25:34); Excluding partisanship questions from health surveys could lead to ineffective policy (32:45); Only half of individuals disclose or believe they should reveal having a sexually transmitted infection prior to sexual intercourse (36;37); Midwest health departments warn of new deadly animal tranquilizer’s emergence in overdoses (37:45); FDA Backs Off Juul Vaping Products’ Marketing Denials Pending Further Review (38:40); Cows infected with bird flu have died in five U.S. states (38:40).
BONUS stories to read online!
- How Tobacco Companies Use Chemistry to Get around Menthol Bans. Regulating chemicals one-by-one has allowed the tobacco industry to skirt menthol bans by creating new additives with similar effects but unclear safety profiles.
- Ban fossil fuel ads to save climate, says UN chief
- Lawsuits Targeting Plastic Pollution Pile Up as Frustrated Citizens and States Seek Accountability over greenwashing and misleading claims about recycling.
- Your Plastic-Free Kitchen –First steps in getting PFAS “forever chemicals” out of your diet
- Drugs, microplastics and forever chemicals: new unregulated contaminants emerge in the Great Lakes that traditional water treatment can’t deal with
- A Bottled Water Company in Michigan Is Still Extracting Millions of Gallons of Water for Free
- As nuclear power flails in the U.S., White House bets big on a revival
- Program to pay nuclear fallout victims expires due to U.S. House’s inaction
- Battling Bureaucracy After Burn Pits: Why Are Civilian Contractors Left Behind?
- Properly fitting face masks can help block particulate pollution
- A new discovery that carbon dioxide increases air-borne virus survival ups the ante for improved ventilation (and global CO2 levels)
- Bird Flu Isn’t a Human Pandemic—Yet. American Contrariness Could Turn It into One
- “Out of control”: The discovery of H5N1 bird flu in mice is so alarming because it “brings the virus closer to human homes”
- These are the bird flu questions that influenza and animal scientists desperately want answered
- Following Florida’s lead, New York wants a taste of Canada’s medicine, by creating a program to import drugs in bulk from Canada.
- FDA Panel Votes Against the Psychedelic MDMA for PTSD
- Health Worker for a Nonprofit? The New Ban on Noncompete Contracts May Not Apply to You
- Study indicates fewer than 1 in 4 patients receive dietary counseling after a heart attack
- Should Blood Pressure Guidelines Be Different for Women and Men?
- Associated Press Stylebook Embraces Respectful Language on Obesity
- Human culture is changing too fast for evolution to catch up — here’s how it may affect you
Week of June 3, 2024 [episode #259]:
Featuring: WHO emergencies team faces funding crunch as health crises multiply (1:57);Daily marijuana use now outpaces daily drinking in the U.S. (3:28); Unregulated nicotine-like chemicals in U.S. vapes may be more potent than nicotine, FDA says (5;36); Close Medicare’s dangerous gaps in coverage for addiction treatment (8:41); PTSD, anxiety is rising among college students (12:46); Placebos can ease certain mental disorders (14:21); Improved nutrition, sanitation linked to beneficial changes in child stress and epigenetic programming (17:06); The new menstruation — Girls are getting their periods earlier and less regularly (21:00); New findings show risk of death from COVID-19 lessens, but infection still can cause issues three years later (25:10); What nurses really want — sufficient staffing for patient care (30:38); Cancer drug pollution threatens aquatic life and drinking water (37:55); Hidden pollution in European rivers from a “forever chemical” (39:09); Canada oil tar sands air pollution 20-64 times worse than industry says (40:41); Farm Bill lobbying gargantuan (42:58).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Study finds even low lead levels in U.S. water are linked to lead poisoning among susceptible people
- More Evidence “‘Forever Chemicals” and Other Endocrine-Disruptors Increase Child Obesity Risk
- “Forever chemicals” are found in the Great Lakes through air and rain
- How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe
- A plastic recipe for societal suicide — We must determine which uses of plastic remain essential; eliminate those that aren’t; and design new materials to replace still essential plastics.
- Louisiana chemical plant threatens to shut down if EPA emissions deadline isn’t relaxed
- Farmworkers Face High-Risk Exposures to Bird Flu, but Testing Isn’t Reaching Them
- Are pet dogs and cats the weak link in bird flu surveillance?
- CDC asks states and cities to keep flu surveillance at peak levels because of bird flu threat
- Move over, wastewater. Store-bought milk could be another way to track the bird flu outbreak in cows
- The Chicken and Egg Problem of Fighting Another Flu Pandemic
- Clues From Bird Flu’s Ground Zero on Dairy Farms in the Texas Panhandle — Why did it take so long to recognize the virus on high-tech farms in the world’s richest country?
- What is pasteurization? A dairy expert explains how it protects against foodborne illness, including avian flu
- Racial Disparities in Cognitive Outcomes Tied to Early Life Experiences — Education, segregation associated with cognitive disparities
- Widespread disrespect, abuse in maternity care leave mothers with lasting trauma
- Stroke rates are rising, driven by the young
- New data show the HPV vaccine prevents cancer in men, too. Why don’t more people get it?
- Your earbuds and you: What all that listening is doing to us
- Pedestrians may be twice as likely to be hit by electric/hybrid cars as gas ones
- “Deny, denounce, delay” — The battle over the risk of ultra-processed foods. Big Food is trying to dampen fears about the effects of industrially formulated substances.
- We Must Face Down the Expanding Anti-Reality Industry — Exposing the anti-science playbook reveals the anti-regulatory motives of its deep-pocketed bankrollers
- Study shows most doctors endorsing drugs on X are paid to do so
- Cancer victims sue Johnson & Johnson over “fraudulent” bankruptcies
- Imagine if the government offered dental care. New federal rule could give states that option for its ACA plans.
- Addressing health care workers’ trauma can help fight burnout
- Amid mental health crisis, new compact allows social workers to practice across state lines for 14 states, including Ohio
- More Evidence Backs Active Surveillance for Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
- “They bungled it” — NIH documents reveal how $1.6 billion Long Covid initiative has failed so far to meet its goals
- Poetry for rewilding the medical and health humanities
Week of May 27, 2024, GREATEST HITS SHOW #10, stories from April to July, 2022
GREATEST HITS SHOW #10, stories from April to July 2022, featuring: New article outlines the characteristics of a “longevity diet” (2:00); New expert consensus statement published on achieving remission of type 2 diabetes using diet as a primary intervention (3:26); Vegan diet eases rheumatoid arthritis pain (5:14); The U.S. is soon to become a net food importer (6:48); World’s vulnerable are being polluted in their own homes as they cook (8:04); Men – especially from rich countries – still dominate the boards of global health groups (9:44); High cost of cancer care in the U.S. doesn’t reduce mortality rates (12:09); Heart attack mortality rate higher in the U.S. compared to other high-income countries (14:22); Locking People Up Is No Way to Treat Mental Illness (16:48); PTSD costs in U.S. civilian, military populations combine for more than $230 billion, surpassing costs for conditions such as anxiety and depression (20:34); Study finds disparities in improper antibiotic prescribing, which is commonplace (24:44); What are the Radiation Risks from CT Scans? and CT Scans Cause About 40,000 Cancers Deaths Per Year, Similar to Breast and Prostate Cancers (26:54); Up to 540,000 lives could be saved worldwide by targeting speed and other proven traffic crash prevention interventions (34:08); United States had highest motor vehicle crash mortality rate among comparable countries (36:12); Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year in U.S. (37:48); Toledo ranks as 10th most stressed city in U.S. (38:08); Reasons Why Most Young Adults Sweep Depression Under the Rug (40:52); A new study shows benefits to dispatching mental health specialists in nonviolent 911 emergencies (42:05); Global abortion facts and health care standards (44:23); “Set them up for failure” – Sex education not required in many states where abortion is or will be banned (49:28); One-Week Social Media Break Reduces Anxiety, Depression (54:11).
Week of May 20, 2024 [episode #258]:
Featuring: Wildfires in Canada worsen air quality across the U.S. Midwest (1:52); As Ohio clamps down on clean energy, recent changes make it easier to force landowners to allow oil and gas drilling (3:32); FDA Publishes Landmark Final Rule to Enhance the Safety of Agricultural Water (10:01); Superbugs pose a greater threat than Covid, warns health expert (12:23); Environmental damage from wars must be addressed in peace accords (13:51); Obesity and high blood sugar play ever growing role in ill-health globally (14:49); Eating a plant-based diet, particularly more vegetables, fruits and whole grains – along with fewer animal products – is associated with a nearly 50% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer progression (16:29); Most states receive D’s, F’s in maternal mental health report card (17:49); Feds releases maternal mental health plan (19:35); Survey finds telehealth is driving increase in abortions, despite state bans (22:30); Almost 7 million Black women of reproductive age have little, no abortion access (25:16); Nurses Don’t Trust Employers to Safely Implement AI Tools (27:17); When it Comes to Preventive Health, Play the Long Game — Proposed budget scoring legislation can boost disease prevention and drive cost savings over decades (29:42); World-first regulations to combat sedentary behavior among children in China show global promise (32:14); Bird flu doesn’t have to be a repeat of Covid-19’s “public health versus the economy” (34:29).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Link between e-cigarette use and early age of asthma onset discovered
- Social Media Use Tied to Higher Odds of Smoking, Vaping in Youth
- What we know about extreme heat’s health impacts after the hottest summer on record
- How the Drug War and Energy Transition Are Changing Ecuadorians’ Fight For The Rights of Nature
- HHS’s proposed rule pays lip service to addressing the climate crisis, the greatest threat to human health
- Activists meet with Canadian Consular to “avoid disaster” with Line 5 pipeline under Mackinaw Strait
- Climate change is likely to aggravate brain conditions
- U.S. shifts to domestic uranium production amid geopolitical tensions
- Cancer-causing benzene levels were cut in half at U.S. refineries in 2023
- Only 32% of cancer drugs initially approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showed an overall survival benefits upon full study
- Prescription drug ads should start looking noticeably different within 6 months
- HPV vaccine program tied to big drop in cervical cancers across all socioeconomic strata
- Despite its “nothingburger” reputation, COVID-19 remains deadlier than the flu
- U.S. drowning deaths rising again after years of decline, remaining the the leading cause of death for toddlers ages 1 to 4
- Missed care, fewer patients: Rural families and clinics feel Medicaid disenrollments
- Medicaid “Unwinding” Decried as Biased Against Disabled People
- Medicaid Unwinding Deals Blow to Tenuous System of Care for Native Americans
- Social Determinants of Health Explain Most of the Disparity in Treatment‐Resistant Hypertension Among White and Black U.S. Adults
- How power and status shapes behavior: Evidence of bias from physicians
- Removing race adjustment from lung test would mean higher disability payments for many Black vets, adding over a billion dollars per year
- The Lure of Specialty Medicine Pulls Nurse Practitioners From Primary Care
- The only tribal medical school in the U.S. graduates its first Native American doctors
- Why One New York Health System Stopped Suing Its Patients
- Study highlights inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in U.S. emergency departments
- Treating chronic pain requires much more than medications
- Patients Fare Better When They Get Palliative Care Sooner, Not Later
- There’s Bird Flu in U.S. Dairy Cows. Raw Milk Drinkers Increase Despite Risks
- North Carolina bill to curb mask-wearing in protests could make it illegal for medical reasons too
- Attack Jets’ Noise Pollution May Be Harming 74,000 People’s Health in Washington
- U.S. Doctors Trapped in Gaza Hospital by Israeli Assault — 35 doctors wait for escape and for replacements
Week of May 13, 2024 [episode #257]:
Featuring: Study shows rising child mortality in the US has the most impact on Black and Native American youth (1:53); Bird Flu Update — U.S. Announces More Than $175 Million to Track, Contain H5N1 (4:11); A dose of reality on adult vaccinations, returning 5-19 times their cost in societal benefits (8:02); Nations Struggle to Draft “Pandemic Treaty” to Avoid Mistakes Made During COVID (11:26); Mental health in bad shape for Americans –Depression and isolation are why (16:06); 83% of Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms Are Undiagnosed (20:01); Parents are drugging their kids to get them to sleep (25:25); One in 8 U.S. adults have now used meds like Ozempic (28:50); U.S. health care is increasingly like a casino (31:58); Agricultural plastic linked to build up of harmful chemicals in wheat (34:57); “Nothing is untouched” — DDT found in deep-sea fish raises troubling concerns for food web (36:31); Unilever downgrades its environmental goals amid cost concerns (41:52); More poultry associations join international effort to cut antimicrobial use in poultry (41:59).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Half of Gaza water sites damaged or destroyed, BBC satellite data reveals
- Patients in Gaza with chronic conditions need urgent interventions
- Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions
- 62 percent of young adults would not want to live in state with abortion ban
- Gov. Mike DeWine says 24-hour waiting period for abortion should remain in Ohio law
- Sexual Harassment Rampant in Ob/Gyn Field, Despite Majority Female Workforce — power dynamics may be more critical than gender
- About 56 percent of pregnant smokers quit during pregnancy
- Privately insured new moms face about $3,000 in additional out-of-pocket spending
- Drugmakers in Medicare negotiations spent more on shareholder payments and marketing than R&D last year
- Amgen Drugmaker Plows Ahead With Costly, Highly Toxic Cancer Dosing Despite FDA Challenge
- Pre-Approval Plan Proposed for Medicare Advantage Insurers — “No prior authorization without prior authorization,” Senate Budget Committee chair says
- Workers legal battles over health costs could change workplace benefits
- Caring for young caregivers, a hidden population of 14 million under age 24
- Colorectal cancer cases more than tripled among teens over two decades
- Study raises concern over exposure to flame retardant chemicals used in some automobile seats
- Plastic, Plastic Everywhere — Even at the UN’s “Plastic Free” Conference industry insiders were given access to vital negotiations
- After decades fighting Big Tobacco, Cliff Douglas now leads a foundation funded by his former adversaries
- Study finds discrimination accelerates aging at molecular level
- FDA considers updating blood donation guidelines to keep nation’s supply safe from malaria
- Bird flu keeps rewriting the textbooks. It’s why scientists are unsettled by the U.S. dairy cattle outbreak.
- Cows have human flu receptors, study shows, raising stakes on bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle
- As livestock move around the country, so does H5N1. The U.S. needs real-time tracking of livestock movements
- H5N1 communication has been strictly for the birds. Didn’t the federal government learn anything from Covid?
- Farmers resist push for workers to wear protective gear against bird flu virus
- Officials pledge reimbursements for dairy farms impacted by avian flu
- Track local air quality at AirNow.gov as fire season begins
- We know late-night screens are bad for sleep. How do you stop doomscrolling in bed?
- How Much Do Our Thoughts Shape Our Health? Mind-Body connections are powerful
Week of May 6, 2024 [episode #256]:
Featuring: Study shows the dramatic impact of extreme poverty on mortality in a racially diverse low-income population (1:50); The public’s health is heavily influenced by corporations selling tobacco, forever chemicals, fossil fuels and ultra-processed foods (5:49); As federal menthol ban languishes, Black smokers are left to the mercy of marketers (13:47); Statehouses are a hotbed of tobacco lobbying and legislation (16:09); Health sector working to ramp up voting, civic engagement (19:08); EPA introduces new rules for legacy coal ash pond cleanup (21:45); People with gas and propane stoves breathe more unhealthy nitrogen dioxide (23:15); American adults polled express increasing anxiousness — stress, sleep key factors impacting mental health (28:12);3 in 4 Americans feel that mental health takes a back seat to physical health, and 60% give a poor or failing grade to how mental health is treated (31:02); 12% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide last year, 39% seriously considered, nationwide survey says (32:59); New Medicaid rule expected to lower wait times for home-based care, raise caregiver wages (35:19); 4 years after COVID, we are still lacking an international prevention plan (38:17); Maternal deaths have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, new U.S. data says (43:18).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Headed Toward the Finish Line, Plastics Treaty Delegates “Work is Far From Over,” as some see U.S. as obstacle to a robust treaty
- 6 million health care workers call for stricter limits on global plastics
- Should Synthetic Bioplastics Be Allowed in Organic Compost?
- EPA Bans Consumer Use of Toxic Chemical Methylene Chloride Known to Cause Liver, Lung Cancers
- EPA Proposes Ban on Neurotoxic Pesticide Acephate Widely Used on Fruits and Vegetables (after ProPublica investigation)
- Potential exposure of adults and children to particulates from resuspended nano-enabled consumer sprays
- America’s growing preference for larger vehicles exacerbates safety risks for pedestrians and increases carbon emissions
- Better Inhalers Can Help Patients and the Planet
- A new form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo’s biggest outbreak
- WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.
- Too big to care: It is time for a Glass-Steagall Act for health care, to break up huge conglomerates
- Some 100,000 “dreamers” expected to sign up for Obamacare under new rule
- U.S. panel, cancer groups differ on new breast cancer screening guidelines
- It May Be Safe to Extend Time Between Colonoscopy Screenings, Large Study Says
- What’s keeping the U.S. from allowing better sunscreens already available elsewhere?
- A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%
- Inherited traits can be overstated
- Smokers, former smokers may gain lung function from switch to plant-based diet
- Global study reveals stark differences between females and males in disease burden causes
- Johnson & Johnson to pay $6.5 billion to resolve nearly all talc ovarian cancer lawsuits in U.S.
- New research finds resident-to-resident aggression common in assisted living
- Potatoes will remain classified as a vegetable, not a grain
- U.S. intelligence chief warns Congress of rise in cyberattacks, especially in health care
- More States Are Allowing Child Support Payments to Reach Children
- Bird Flu Is Bad for Poultry and Dairy Cows. It’s Not a Dire Threat for Most of Us — Yet.
- Texas dairy farm worker’s case may be first where bird flu virus spread from mammal to human, scientists say
- Tracking bird flu virus changes in cows is stymied by missing data
- Spikes of flu virus in wastewater raise questions about spread of bird flu
- One in four U.S. women will have a clinical abortion in their lifetime
- Partisan gap on abortion “larger than ever,” survey shows
- After Roe, the network of people who help others get abortions see themselves as “the underground”
Week of April 29, 2024 [episode #255]:
Featuring: Premature mortality higher among bisexual and lesbian women (1:52); The decline in American life expectancy harms more than our health; it sickens our economy (5:26); How many lives have vaccines saved? New WHO study comes out with breathtaking estimate of 154 million in last 50 years (12:47); Survey finds loneliness epidemic runs deep among parents (16:46); New school lunch rules target added sugars, salt (18:26); Trust in health institutions declines as more rely on own judgment (21:44); CVS pharmacy workers move to unionize (26:69); Turning point — COVID-era hospital reporting on respiratory infections ending (28:21); A new platform, FencelineData.org, enables easy access to information on companies emitting harmful chemicals (31:02).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Biden administration punts menthol cigarette rule indefinitely
- Minneapolis City Council passes tobacco ordinance that sets $15 minimum price for cigarettes
- Tire Toxicity Faces Fresh Scrutiny After Salmon Die-Offs
- Big Oil and Gas Industry’s Dangerous Secret of Radioactive Waste
- 10 Times as Much of This Neurotoxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal Which Ignores Official Recommendation
- USDA tells producers to reduce salmonella in certain frozen chicken products
- U.S. air pollution worst in 25 years as new environmental regulations finalized
- Researchers identify connection between air pollutants and allergic diseases
- Bioplastics as harmful as traditional plastics
- Bioplastics create a composting conundrum
- What you eat could alter your unborn children and grandchildren’s genes and health outcomes
- “Forever chemicals” are known for lingering in the body. Menstruation helps expel them
- Detoxifying masculinity: How men’s groups reshape attitudes
- Women caregivers are stressed; transportation infrastructure could help
- How treatment of miscarriages is upending the abortion debate
- EMTALA, a vital health law you’ve never heard of, is in danger
- The grim reality of relocating to get access to gender-affirming care
- Soldiers Charged With Violent Crimes Will Now Face More Scrutiny Before They Can Simply Leave the Army
- Lawsuit Alleges Obamacare Plan-Switching Scheme Targeted Low-Income Consumers
- You’ve covered your copayment; now brace yourself for the “facility fee”
- 25-year decline in heart failure deaths has been undone, led by people under 45
- Quiet! Our Loud World Is Making Us Sick
- Study argues traffic noise is a novel risk factor for cardiovascular diseases
- Rise and grind? Working late, volatile hours may lead to depression, illness
- Study highlights heavy global burden of infectious diseases [28% overall, 44% for kids under 5]
- Global measles cases nearly doubled in one year
- 1 in 5 samples of pasteurized milk had bird flu virus fragments, FDA says
- Are We Testing Enough for H5N1 (bird flu)?
- There’s never a good time to drink raw milk. But now’s a really bad time as bird flu infects cows
- Sluggish uptake of new antibiotics threatens future development and supply for highly resistant infections
- Understaffed nursing homes more likely to overuse antipsychotics as “chemical restraints”
- Antipsychotics Pose New Risks for People With Dementia
- Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
- States botched more executions of Black prisoners.
- Drug, alcohol abuse goes untreated in many ex-prisoners
- Difficult lives explain depression better than broken brains
- How hot is too hot? New weather forecasting tool can help figure that out
- Opioids Came for Country Music. It’s Fighting Back
Week of April 22, 2024: GREATEST HITS SHOW #9, stories from January to April, 2022 [episode #224]
GREATEST HITS SHOW #9, stories from January to April 2022, featuring: A Healthy Diet Is Too Costly for Three Billion People (1:53); Financial incentives for smoking cessation proves highly cost effective for society but not for individual businesses (3:23); Resolved to quit smoking this year? Experts offer tips (6:42); In helping smokers quit, combining treatments is key (9:18); Health-Care Disparities: A Way of Life for Black Ohioans? (12:39); Incarceration increases long-term mortality rates among blacks but not whites (14:55); For the uninsured, crowdfunding provides little help in paying for health care and deepens inequities (17:02); Eat your legumes — How a healthier diet can add 10 or more years to your life (18:44); Why are alcohol- and drug-related deaths rising in the U.S. and not elsewhere? (21:02); Pressure to feel good associated with poorer individual wellbeing in happier countries (24:02); Why the pursuit of happiness can be bad for you, and what you should pursue instead (25:45); Overlooked and underfunded — experts call for united action to reduce the global burden of depression (30:00); More spice could help seniors avoid salt (35:23); One in ten Americans say they don’t eat meat, a growing share of the population (36:56); Some of the world’s lowest rates of dementia found in Amazonian indigenous groups (37:41); High blood pressure, obesity, and physical inactivity have the biggest impact on dementia cases (41:09); Diet quality decreased for U.S. seniors from 2001 to 2018, dropping to 61% with poor quality (41:56); “Stand your ground” laws linked to 700 additional firearm homicides each year in U.S. (45:36); Amid war and disease, World Happiness Report shows bright spot of increased benevolence (47:56); Cities are making us fat and unhealthy: A “healthy location index” can help us plan better (51:04); Subsidy would improve fruit and veg intake by as much as 15%, say economists (53:23); Sci-Hub Offers the Quickest, Easiest, and Greatest Access to Science — all for free, though illegally (55:16).
Week of April 15, 2024 [episode #254]:
Featuring: Ohio health report card ranking continues poor showing, ranked 43rd in population health (1:47); New WIC rules include more money for fruits and veggies, and expands food choices (9:14); Justice Department Issues Final Rule to End the “Gun Show Loophole” (12:44); Abortion bans and divorce restrictions can aggravate domestic violence for pregnant people (15:30); Fall of Roe drives spike in permanent contraception among young adults, particularly women (17:26); Almost 1 in 4 people disenrolled from Medicaid are now uninsured (19:23); High physician empathy could offer patients with lower back pain lasting benefits (22:10); A majority of Americans say they would feel better if they slept more (26:22); “Deaths of despair” among Black Americans surpassed those of white Americans in 2022 (30:11); Toxic “forever” chemicals found in excessive levels in global groundwater (32:27); Biden administration green-lights massive oil terminal, sparking backlash (33:53); Hepatitis viruses kill 3,500 people a day, the second-biggest infectious killer, narrowly trailing tuberculosis (35:54); H5N1 bird flu in U.S. cattle — A wake-up call to action (36:59); Artificial intelligence can help people feel heard, unless they know a message is from AI (43:01).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Ohio State of the State address focused on child health
- State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco Cessation Treatments improves but in most states access barriers are common
- PFAS exposure from seafood may be underestimated
- Chemicals stored in home garages linked to ALS risk
- Lunchables shouldn’t be on school menus due to lead, sodium, cadmium, Consumer Reports tells USDA
- Lead in Lunchables: Why lead keeps showing up where it’s not supposed to
- Dietary fiber critical in managing hypertension
- Suicides among college athletes have doubled over the past 20 years, growing faster than other young adults
- Young people are getting unhappier: Lack of childhood freedom and independence may be partly to blame
- As a rule, rape exceptions for abortion don’t work
- When Rogue Brokers Switch People’s ACA Policies, Surprising Tax Problems Can Follow
- Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes
- Record number of drugs, hundreds, are in short supply around the U.S.
- Surgery More Cost-Effective Than Wegovy in Adults With a BMI 35+
- Congress Likely to Kick the Can on Continuing Covid-Era Telehealth Policies
- Some hospitals are adopting a more nonjudgmental response when babies are born exposed to drugs
- Shifts in hair relaxer use to Africa highlight health concerns about equitable regulation of toxic consumer products
- Draining the World of Fresh Water — Our thirst for technology and resource consumption drives extractive industries overwhelming fresh water supplies
- Texans turn to Europe to thwart methane gas terminals, organizing globally
- Is there a place in Congress for the most trusted profession in America? [nurses]
Week of April 8, 2024 [episode #253]:
Featuring: Since 1990, life expectancy globally increased over 6 years as world addressed major killers including diarrhea, lower respiratory infections, and stroke (1:47); Consensus statement calls for urgent action to address chronic kidney disease on the global public health agenda (6:50); Low-income U.S. adults left behind while rest of U.S. experienced large declines in heart attack, stroke risk over 30 years (8:57); More than 25% of cancer survivors report significant levels of disability after cancer diagnosis (11:32); Start of a New Trend? Hepatitis C Cases Drop in the U.S. (14:42); Urgent action needed to combat antimicrobial resistance (18:13); How climate change is driving a global epidemic of immune health problems, and how to stop it (22:08); LGBTQ Americans twice as likely to experience discrimination in health care (29:31); Few Hospitals Follow Recommended Practices for Evidence-Based Suicide Care (32:30); Key findings from AP’s investigation into police force that isn’t supposed to be lethal (36:02); WHO announces giant rollout of cholera tests as cases surge (41:34).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Bracing for a Surge in Prostate Cancer Diagnoses — Demographic changes will lead to a doubling of cases, 85% increase in mortality by 2040
- Global cancer statistics 2022: estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries
- What to Know About the Debate Over U.S. Maternal Mortality Rates
- Whooping cough is resurging worldwide due to superbugs and lower vaccination rates
- Why a leading bird flu expert isn’t convinced that the risk H5N1 poses to people has declined
- FDA approves first prescription digital therapy to aid major depression treatment
- AI tools offer promise for public health — when used ethically
- 1 in 7 women of reproductive age have a personal connection to abortion restrictions., and 1 in 5 in states with bans
- Florida’s stricter ban on abortions could put more pressure on clinics elsewhere
- Florida’s abortion fight is headed to voters after court allows for a 6-week ban
- Ohio law banning nearly all abortions now invalid after referendum, attorney general says
- Ten Doctors on FDA Panel Reviewing Abbott Heart Device Had Financial Ties With Company
- Rogue Insurance Agents Are Switching ACA Plans Without Enrollees’ OK
- As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push “anti-diet” advice — General Mills warns of “food shaming”; dietitian influencers promote junk foods and discourage weight loss efforts
- Average person with heart disease consumes twice the recommended sodium level
- A nation with too few pediatricians could see health care costs soar and health fall
- Gambling addiction hotlines say volume is up and callers are younger as online sports betting booms –Smartphone apps and pervasive ads have taken sports gambling mainstream.
- Does addiction make you un-American? Weaponizing Substance Use and Addiction Against Immigrants
- 20 percent of Americans say violence may be needed to get U.S. back on track
- Drone strikes on Ukraine’s nuclear plant prompt major safety concerns
- Hope is not the same as optimism, a psychologist explains—just look at MLK’s example
- Anti-smoking groups sue FDA again over menthol ban delays
Week of April 1, 2024 [episode #252]:
Featuring: Gaza is now in famine (2:03); U.S. life expectancy rate increased as COVID deaths wane and drug overdoses persist (3:12); Social, environmental factors raise risk of developing heart disease and stroke (5:54); Secondhand e-cigarette vapor may pose risk to children (9:03); U.S. Tuberculosis Cases Reach Highest Level in a Decade (12:01); Sen. Sanders calls for Novo Nordisk to slash Ozempic, Wegovy prices, as they cost less than $5 per month to make (15:43); Why Isn’t Dental Health Considered Primary Medical Care? (17:26); How to help your child get enough healthy, brain-boosting sleep (21:42); CDC releases ventilation guidance for curbing indoor respiratory virus spread (30:51); EPA reviews formaldehyde risks, signaling potential restrictions (32:43); “Plastic People” — A documentary that changed my view on plastics (34:09); Number of Black women who say they are scared of having children rises (35:36); Global fertility forecasts in 204 countries and territories bodes large societal changes (36:38).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Hazmat containers breached during bridge collapse
- EU’s green laws on shaky ground as countries pull back
- U.S. appeals court curtails EPA’s ability to regulate PFAS under toxic substances law
- Chemical exposure may reduce the success of weight loss surgery
- EPA unprecedented “data alignment” could make it easier for industry to meet soot standard
- Exploring the link between household chemicals and neurological disorders
- Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help reduce risk of autism, ADHD in children
- Chick-fil-A is putting antibiotics back in its chicken
- Common livestock feed additive for growth poses risks to human health, lawsuit says
- New report sparks questions and controversy over possible causes for Iowa “cancer crisis” — binge drinking versus environmental toxins
- Dairy cattle in multiple states test positive for bird flu
- New book, “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry”
- Wood burning in villages poses health risks
- Housing and health — Ohio policy fact sheet
- Heavy-smoking West Virginia becomes the 12th state to ban lighting up in cars with kids present
- “I could kill someone” — Most U.S. troops aren’t getting enough sleep, report warns
- Calls for “smartphone free” childhood grow in UK
- The U.S. needs a bipartisan industrial policy for the life sciences and health security
- Can AI Replace Human Research Participants? These Scientists See Risks
- Does Long-Term Benadryl Use [and related drugs] Increase Dementia Risk?
- Our Brains Are Getting Bigger, MRIs Show — Does this explain why dementia incidence is falling?
- Biden rolls back Trump expansion of short-term “junk” insurance plans
- Industry Payments to Physicians Topped $12 Billion Over Nearly a Decade — More than half of eligible physicians received payments, most related to a marketed product
- Hospitals Cash In on a Private Equity-Backed Trend: Concierge Physician Care
- The Burden of Getting Medical Care Can Exhaust Older Patients
- A biased test kept thousands of Black people from getting a kidney transplant. It’s finally changing
- Study finds poverty is the main reason people sell a kidney
- “Everyone Will Die in Prison”: How Louisiana’s Plan to Lock People Up Longer Imperils Its Sickest Inmates
- Inside the Historic Suit That the Gun Industry and Republicans Are on the Verge of Killing
- Why the mpox outbreak in the Congo is worrying infectious disease doctors
- Mpox cases in the US are on the rise as vaccination rates lag and new threats loom
- People more often are origin of infectious diseases in animals than vice versa
- Global AIDS program survives, but backers “not satisfied” with single year renewal
- Women with obesity do not need to gain weight during pregnancy, new study suggests
- Eliminate the waiting period for sterilization covered by Medicaid
- Revitalizing the right to health is essential to securing better health for all
- Criminalized Care: How Louisiana’s Abortion Bans Endanger Patients and Clinicians
- Controversial Travel Policy for Military Reproductive Care Rarely Used
- Exclusive poll: Americans strongly back abortion pill access, FDA drug powers
- America’s Climate Boomtowns Near The Great Lakes Are Waiting
- The Invisible Shield, a four-part PBS documentary series, reveals a little-known truth: that public health saved your life today and you probably don’t even know it.
- Understanding the psychology of what lies behind irrational opinions
- Public Health Programs Unwilling to Address Capitalism as a Fundamental Cause of Health Inequities
Week of March 25, 2024 ,GREATEST HITS SHOW #8 [episode #222]:
GREATEST HITS SHOW #8, stories from September to December 2021, featuring: High-quality diet tied to lower migraine frequency, severity (1:56); Higher sodium intake may be tied to worse migraine outcomes (2:32); Consuming fruit and vegetables and exercising can make you happier (3:06); Top tips if your child is a fussy eater (4:15) A Little Radiation Is Not Good For You (6:12); Science Alone Can’t Heal a Sick Society (7:25); Corporate versus public control of science and technology: Forging a framework for the 21st Century (13:41); How placebos work is not fully understood, but alternative theory of consciousness holds some clues (20:57); Researchers trace the outlines of two cultures within science, one of which promotes greater equity and inclusivity (25:30); Investing $1 per person per year in hand hygiene could save hundreds of thousands of lives (30:42); Only about half of U.S. adolescents get sex education that meets minimum federal standards (34:03); New look at nutrition research identifies 10 features of a heart-healthy eating pattern (36:59); What Makes Some Countries Happier Than Others? (44:22); Seven questions to assess how wise you are (47:42); Protective effect of education against midlife mental health struggle waning for Americans (49:41); Junk food portion sizes need to be reigned in (51:18); Our meat habit is causing pollution issues — by way of our poops (54:20).
Week of March 18, 2024 [episode #251]:
Featuring: Early childhood deaths at record low, but progress “precarious” (1:52); Imminent famine in northern Gaza is “entirely manmade disaster” (4:38); Large Increases in Food Insecurity in Recent Decades Seen in U.S. Families With Older Adults (8:20); Few Physicians Participate in Both Medicaid and Marketplace Plans, forcing many to change provider networks (9:40); How Your In-Network Health Coverage Can Vanish Mid-Year Before You Know It (11:55); U.S. drug approvals align with U.S., but miss global health needs (15:41); Delta 8 THC use reported by 11% of high school seniors (17:18); Despite rising deaths from bacterial infection, meat industry under little pressure to wean itself off antibiotics (20:48); Plastic chemicals are more numerable and less regulated than previously thought (28:25); Gulf Coast sees petrochemical surge, raising environmental and economic concerns (30:21); New study quantifies health impacts from oil and gas flaring in U.S. — limiting could save operators money and communities’ health (32:20); New EPA Rule to Slash Cancer-Causing Emissions From Sterilization Facilities (33:32); Metro Phoenix has confirmed record-smashing 645 heat-associated deaths last year (38:28); Lead exposure may have played role in Maine shootings (40:30).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of all types of cancer
- Salty foods are making people sick − in part by poisoning their microbiomes
- Too much of a food thing: A century of change in how we eat
- Wildfire smoke warnings need to be issued sooner, with focus on how to prepare
- How low humidity could be a boon for viruses: Study finds excess ventilation may counteract public health interventions
- U.S. measles milestone: 60 cases so far in 2024 — more than all of 2023
- Gangsters, Money and Murder: How Chinese Organized Crime Is Dominating America’s Illegal Marijuana Market
- Permitless open carry laws may lead to more firearm-related suicides
- HIV is no longer a death sentence. But states still have laws targeting people who live with it, becoming another tool to criminalize Black people, LGBTQ+ people and sex workers.
- “Last mile” solutions shown to increase vaccination coverage in poor countries
- Study finds most restaurants and bars still serving alcohol to intoxicated patrons
- Pentagon tries to dodge PFAS lawsuits by claiming immunity over a product it helped invent
- Forget “Oppenheimer” — nuclear power is having its moment in Washington
- The Obscene Energy Demands of A.I. — How can the world reach net zero if it keeps inventing new ways to consume energy?
- Using X (formerly Twitter) has a negative impact on well-being — “We couldn’t find any positive effects on well-being.”
- Two or more hours of daily screen time tied to lower well-being in preschoolers
- “Boys are disappearing” from mental health care as signs of depression go undetected, as boys’ depressive symptoms often irritability or anger/aggression
- Menstrual health literacy is alarmingly low—what you don’t know can harm you
- When Copay Assistance Backfires on Patients
- Concerns Grow Over Quality of Care as Investor Groups Buy Not-for-Profit Nursing Homes
- Lawmakers want to help California be happy, with its newest select committee
- Paying Attention to Sensations Can Help Reset the Mind and Improve Mental Health
Week of March 11, 2024 [episode #250]:
Featuring: Ohio foundation begins process to distribute millions in opioid settlement money (2:20); Sudan war threatens “world’s largest hunger crisis” (4:37); Girls are starting puberty earlier than ever — for some, that comes with major mental health risks (7:07); Globally, 230 million females have undergone genital mutilation, 30 million more than in 2016 (15:50); Domestic violence often leads to traumatic brain injury (18:54); Firearm access and gun violence exposure found to be common in Black and native communities (21:06); California May Face More Than $40M in Fines for Lapses in Prison Suicide Prevention (23:25); Despite their prevalence and health burden, arthritis, neck and back pain receive few research dollars (26:25); New study links microplastics to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and death (29:35); Communities of color across the U.S. suffer a growing disproportionate burden from polluted air (31:14); Air pollution linked to more than 700 health conditions (33:04); Cancer-causing PCB chemicals found in high levels despite decades-old ban (34:48); More evidence of harmful health effects posed by gas stoves (36:35); Environmental activists’ prosecutions underline a democratic crisis (39:03).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Policy considerations for cannabis regulation in Ohio
- Operating in the Red: Half of Rural Hospitals Lose Money, as Many Cut Services
- Liberty University Hit With Record $14 million in Fines for Failing to Handle Complaints of Sexual Assault, Other Crimes
- Fluoride in public water has slashed tooth decay, but some states may end mandates
- West Virginia lawmakers OK bill drawing back one of the country’s strictest child vaccination laws
- Tennessee vaccine law pits parental rights against public health
- How states giving rights to fetuses could set up a national case on abortion
- 1 in 8 voters cite abortion as most important issue
- Syphilis Is Killing Babies, and the only drug that treats syphilis during pregnancy is in short supply.
- For new moms who rent, housing hardship and mental health are linked
- Cuts in social spending in European nations are tied to increases in “extreme worry”
- A leading public health expert describes how reparations can close the life expectancy gap for Black people in America.
- Free tuition won’t fix medicine’s diversity problem without admissions reform
- Why Public Health is Playing Catch-up to Deepen Insights Into Stopping Gun Violence in America
- Firearm ownership is correlated with elevated lead levels in children, more so than lead paint
- More than half of American Indian youth may have abnormal or high cholesterol
- There’s Plastic in My Plaque!
- Plastic food packaging contains thousands of hormone-mimicking chemicals
- Bioplastics: sustainable solution or distraction from the plastic waste crisis?
- Big brands commit to disclosing and cutting down on plastic usage under investor pressure
- Ground cinnamon sold at discount stores is tainted with lead, FDA warns
- Effectiveness and policy implications of health taxes on foods high in fat, salt, and sugar
- CDC updates isolation guidance, and their scientific rationale
- The U.S. Health System’s Single Point of Failure — cybercriminals see the nation’s vulnerabilities far more clearly than regulators do.
- Health care cyberattack spawns threat of patient lawsuits
- A nuclear strike is more likely now that at any point since the Cold War
- Tensions rise at Europe’s largest nuclear facility amid occupation
- What a Major Solar Storm Could Do to Our Planet — and emergency preparedness
- VIP Health System for Top U.S. Officials Risked Jeopardizing Care for Needy Soldiers
- Ageism in health care is more common than you might think, and it can harm people
- The Ethos of Emergency Medicine — any patient, any time, any problem — Hangs in the Balance of a Supreme Court ruling on pregnant patients’ emergency care
- It’s time to stop treating menopause like a disease, researchers argue in series of Lancet articles
- Kindness a Key Component of Treating Pregnant Patients With Substance Use Disorders — “They’re expecting us to not treat them nicely”
- With a million cases of dengue so far this year, Brazil is in a state of emergency
Week of March 4, 2024 [episode #249]:
Featuring: More than 1 billion people worldwide have obesity, including 159 million young people (1:51); FDA to develop new “healthy” logo this year – and only about 3% of manufactured foods could qualify (4:30); How the fall of Roe has degraded contraceptive access and use (7:28); Abortions via telehealth medication have been on the rise, now accounting for 1 in 6 of reported abortions (9:56); School Shootings in U.S. Reach Highest Recorded Levels, and fatality rate of school mass shootings also has increased (10:37); Excessive alcohol drinking drove about 488 deaths per day during the pandemic (14:53); EPA delays natural gas plant emission regulations, opting for more comprehensive approach (19:12); Air pollution linked to increased hospital admission for major heart and lung diseases, with no safe pollution threshold (20:43); PFAS “forever chemicals” no longer sold in U.S. to package greasy food (24:26); Prevalence of arthritis in U.S. adults is 19%, with greater prevalence for women, poor, and rural Americans (26:41); Medicare Advantage patients get less home health care (29:15); Cyberattack on UnitedHealth still impacting prescription access — “These are threats to life” (31:17); Prices for new U.S. drugs rose 35% in 2023, more than the previous year (32:32); Blood shortage imperils US ability to treat patients who require blood on any given day (34:40).
BONUS stories to read online!
- New Zealand’s new government set to scrap world-first tobacco ban
- Closing the women’s health gap would yield a $1 trillion annual dividend in improved lives and economies
- Menopause is getting worse with each generation. What do we know?
- Anti-abortion chaos is creating preventable health care crises
- How fertility coverage mandates could clash with IVF restrictions
- Why Discarding Embryos Is Inherent to the IVF Process
- Transgender mental health status continues to worsen
- Health care quality took a big hit during COVID, Medicare report finds
- High cost cancer drugs without proof of added benefit are burdening health systems
- New study links hospital privatization to worse patient care
- Medicare Advantage is bad for patients and bad for investors
- Money proves to be poor motivator for high-quality medical care
- A Litany of Market Failures: Diagnosing and Solving the Economic Drivers of Antibiotic Resistance
- CVS to pay Ohio $1.5 million in penalties over understaffing and other safety issues at pharmacies
- America Worries About Health Costs — And Voters Want to Hear From Candidates
- 2023 to 2024 seasonal influenza vaccine effective for reducing risk
- Why Are We Still Flu-ifying COVID? The diseases are nowhere near the same.
- CDC Shortens COVID Isolation Recs
- CDC advisory panel says people 65 and older should get a Covid spring booster shot
- Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ scores
- For thousands of common chemicals, there is “no safe level,” says report by Endocrine Society
- EU fruit and veggies increasingly tainted by “forever-chemicals”
- Scientists confirm first cases of bird flu on mainland Antarctica
- Israel’s campaign in Gaza is fueling demands to make “ecocide” an international crime
- “Quite radical”: the feeling of exhaustion is key to tackling climate change, says author
- Ultra-processed foods linked to 32 health problems: What to know
- How Americans View Weight-Loss, Weight-Loss Drugs, and Obesity in the U.S.
- The Pros of Early Time-Restricted Eating
- High-intensity exercise can reverse neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s, study suggests
- Health is political, Americans are divided. How new CDC head aims to fix that.
Week of February 26, 2024 [episode #248]:
Featuring: Statewide dashboard of data to help Ohioans select nursing homes goes live (1:47); Wake-up call for us all to establish regular healthy sleeping patterns (3:40); A quarter of smokers quit within a year or two of menthol bans (6:01); Poll shows strong support among Black voters for menthols ban (9:48); America’s drug overdose crisis has profound ripple effects (16:02); Tuna’s mercury levels remain unchanged despite environmental efforts (18:00); Banned toxic chemicals found in recycled flooring materials (19:22); Common personal care products may reduce the success of IVF treatments (20:33); Widespread global barriers to curative hep C treatment access (23:17); Almost All Docs Are Feeling Burned Out, Survey Finds (25:57); Climate change events linked to rise in mental distress among teens (30:15); Antidepressant Dispensing to U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults rose rapidly from 2016 to 2022 — but only for females not males — accelerating even more after COVID (32:42); U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization calls for food systems-based dietary guidelines, taking into account sustainability (34:53).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The Rising Cost of the Oil Industry’s Slow Death, as unplugged oil and gas wells accelerate climate change, threaten public health and risk hitting taxpayers’ pocketbooks.
- America is replacing its pipes, and ductile iron pipe a good alternative for plastic
- Some experts worry California wildlife could be vulnerable to an avian flu “apocalypse”
- More than half the world faces high measles risk, WHO says
- Deadly synthetic opioid detected in wastewater for the first time
- Research finds collective downturn in Europe’s psychological well-being following the outbreak of war in Ukraine
- War zone or not, Ukraine seeks to reclaim its role as a hub for clinical trials
- What the Science Says About Time-Restricted Eating
- New research reinforces importance of boosting potassium for blood pressure control
- Women may realize health benefits of regular exercise more than men
- Maternal mental conditions drive their climbing death rate in U.S.
- Child tax credits provided significant relief to families experiencing economic shocks during COVID
- Those getting eviction notices during COVID pandemic at greater risk for death
- Towards Solving the Long Covid Puzzle — Latest Advances
- Inside the plan to diagnose Alzheimer’s in people with no memory problems — and who stands to benefit
- In California, Faceoff Between Major Insurer and Health System Shows Hazards of Consolidation
- The Powerful Constraints on Medical Care in Catholic Hospitals Across America
- If You’re Poor, Fertility Treatment Can Be Out of Reach
- Protecting Immigrant Children: A Public Health of Consequence
- Why Doctors Avoid Talking With Patients About Gun Safety
- Artificial intelligence is making critical health care decisions. The sheriff is MIA.
- Health care data breaches hit 1 in 3 Americans last year: Is your data vulnerable?
- Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-based Health Impact Projections — 75,000 lives in balance in next 6 months
- As catastrophe grips Sudan, heroic midwives help women deliver babies in a warzone
Week of February 19, 2024 [episode #247]:
Featuring: Quitting smoking at any age brings big health benefits, fast (1:52); Smoking impairs immune response, even after quitting (3:42); Prevalence of Immunosuppression Among U.S. Adults is 6.6 % (8:12); A pandemic legacy — Majority of mental health appointments stay remote (10:57); Maternal syphilis rates tripled between 2016 and 2022 (14:14); Why is this largely unknown pesticide (chlormequat) showing up in our bodies? (16:03); DDT exposure linked to changes in sperm that could be passed to future generations (18:55); EPA reapproves controversial herbicide (paraquat) despite Parkinson’s disease link (21:09); Farmers get green light to use dicamba weedkillers despite court ruling (22:55); Plastics Reckoning — PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long (24:18); Contamination incidents in Michigan incentivize a push for stronger polluter pays” laws (38:14); Bayer fights string of Roundup trial losses including new $2.25 Billion verdict (39:43).
BONUS stories to read online!
- “They lied” — plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals
- Petrochemical conglomerates take to the classroom in a concerted effort to focus responsibility for plastic waste on the consumer while absolving industry.
- Juul’s internal playbook opens a rare window into influence in Washington
- In Fight Over Medicare Payments, the Hospital Lobby Shows Its Strength in maintaining status quo of much higher payments for identical services delivered in hospital versus outpatient.
- A top official fears Biden might let politics interfere with public health in long delayed ban on menthol flavored cigarettes.
- Medicare beneficiaries see first savings from out-of-pocket spending cap on brand-name drugs, at about $3,500 for 2024, and dropping to a cap for all drugs of $2,000 next year.
- Gun shops that sell the most guns used in crime revealed in new list
- Judge orders Houston to temporarily stop ticketing for feeding the homeless in Food Not Bombs case, affirming publicly feeding of homeless as a right of protest.
- Opportunities for Increasing Access to Person-Centered Abortion Care Through Telehealth
- Abortion pills that patients got via telehealth and the mail are safe, study finds
- 52% of health care workers say that racism against patients is a major problem. [Full Report here]
- Three ways AI is improving public health
- I’ve reported on the health of every president since Reagan. Here’s what I think about Trump and Biden
- CDC plans to drop five-day Covid isolation guidelines.
- Just 39% of eligible children have at least one dose of HPV vaccine, including only 57% of oldest children.
- Global cholera vaccine stocks “empty” as cases surge.
- Ebola vaccine cuts fatality even in people who were infected before the jab.
- Afghan population increasingly vulnerable to malnutrition, illness, Human Rights Watch reports.
- The “Madness” of Inpatient Psychiatry
- Finding joy in the little things really can benefit your wellbeing – a scientist explains.
Week of February 12, 2024 [episode #246]:
Featuring: Ohio suicide rates have been climbing in Ohio, faster for women, Blacks, and Hispanics (3:24); CDC report finds teens use drugs — often alone — to ease stress and anxiety (8:03); Physical activity can’t overcome cardiovascular risk associated with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (12:05); Pregnant women especially should avoid ultraprocessed, fast foods (15:37); Prenatal phthalate exposure causes 57,000 preterm births and $3.8 Billion in associated costs annually (17:38); Pregnant women living in states with limited access to abortion found to face higher levels of intimate partner homicide (18:10); Black women six times more likely to be murdered than white women (21:51); Vulnerabilized: Revisiting the Language of the Vulnerable in Public Health (23:23); The Resignation on Race as describing racialized populations (27:53); The effect of police violence on racialized Black Americans’ health is documented in 2 new studies on Taser use and on disturbed sleep (30:47); Over 80% of Nurses Face Workplace Violence (34:06); Cheap and easy oral rehydration salts could save half a million children with diarrhea each year, and why it’s underprescribed (36:33).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Ohio abandons plans to restrict trans care for adults
- FirstEnergy scraps 2030 climate goal in rare embrace of coal
- Ohio still trying to tweak new adult-use marijuana law, and most revenue likely to go to law enforcement rather than prevention or treatment
- Disease sweeping through Gaza’s refugee camps
- As Israel Floods Gaza’s Tunnels with Seawater, Scientists Worry about Aquifer Contamination
- Famed climate scientist wins million-dollar verdict against right-wing bloggers
- EPA Reports “Widespread Noncompliance” With the Nation’s First Regulations on Toxic Coal Ash
- For a second time, U.S. court bans dicamba weed killers, finds EPA violated law in Trump ban reversal
- Progress in clean air in U.S. reversed in 2016 and is set to wipe out 20+ years of progress
- Consumption of teas, takeout, hot dogs could come with a side of “forever chemicals” driven by contact with plastics
- The Power of Poetry: Rethinking How We Use Language in Global Health Research
- “We’re Here, We’re Queer, Get Used to It”: Advancing LGBTQ+-Inclusive Language in Public Health
- The Census Bureau is dropping a controversial proposal to change disability statistics
- A death sentence: Native Americans have least access to liver transplant system while having greatest need
- Moving from crisis response to crisis prevention in U.S. mental health systems
- Cities Know That the Way Police Respond to Mental Crisis Calls Must Change. But How?
- Contact sports cause CTE. So why are Americans watching more football than ever?
- A neuropsychologist clarifies science on aging and memory in wake of Biden special counsel report
- To Fix Drug Shortages, Bring Manufacturing Home
- New report highlights weak FDA oversight of foreign firms making medications for U.S. market
- Gun Violence Exposure Associated With Suicidal Behavior Among Black Americans
- Guns Are Not Just a Public Health Problem
- A school shooter’s mom is found guilty. Will it prevent other tragedies?
- Think Twice Before Drug Testing Your Black Patients — It’s time for a bias check
- Federal Records Show Increasing Use of Solitary Confinement for Immigrants, with average duration longer than torture definition.
- Half of trans people in U.S. have considered moving out of state because of anti-LGBTQ laws, 5% already have.
- Childbirth experiences greatly affected by “dehumanizing” treatment
- Halfway Through “Unwinding,” Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
- Medicaid enrollment cuts led to more evictions, study finds
- GoFundMe Is a Health-Care Utility Now
- U.S. Social Policy Is in Crisis. Academic Medicine Should Address It.
- India’s “warrior” moms are taking on toxic air, now a norm. But can they cut through a fog of apathy?
- The “Unthinkable” New Reality About Bedbugs, with growing pesticide resistance plus the march of a stronger species
- Outpatient Visits Among Veterans Increased After COVID, reflecting persistent health effects of infection
- Do We Simply Not Care About Old People?
- Are married people happier than those who are not? A new poll has some answers
- Anger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful
- Even With Alzheimer’s Pathology, Healthy Lifestyles May Preserve Cognition
- High Blood Pressure is the world’s leading killer. Let’s make “the silent killer” the focus of the next breakthrough.
- A 103-Year-Old Doctor on the Secret to Happiness and Whole-hearted Living
Week of February 5, 2024 [episode #245]:
Featuring: Ohio reverses local flavored tobacco bans, infuriating doctors (1:53); The U.S. hasn’t seen syphilis numbers this high since 1950 (5:33); 1965 U.S. Voting Rights Act Impact on Black and Black Versus White Infant Death Rates in Jim Crow States, 1959–1970 (8:33); Growing cancer burden masks inequity among rich and poor nations (9:37); Wasting in a World of Plenty (12:06); Possibility of Wildlife-to-Human Crossover Heightens Concern About Chronic Wasting Disease (17:12); Access to Abortion Drug is a National Security Issue (22:00); U.S. permanently eases some opioid treatment restrictions (24:11); U.S. prescription drug prices are 2.8 times those in other wealthy nations (25:41); Health insurance premiums are eating into workers’ wages (27:12); Majority of debtors to U.S. hospitals now people with health insurance (29:48); A study of how Americans die may improve their end of life (35:57); Loneliness is plaguing Americans in 2024 (38:32); Why attention spans seem to be shrinking and what we can do about it (40:51).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Disinformation Is the Real Threat to Democracy and Public Health, whether vaccine denial, climate denial, election denial or war-crime denial.
- For profit journals are corrupting scientific advancements, a new model is needed.
- Ohio, Pennsylvania mark the one year anniversary of East Palestine train crash
- Vinyl Chloride Industry Keeps Expanding Despite East Palestine Disaster
- An OxyContin advertiser will pay $350 million in the first-ever opioid marketing settlement
- The FTC Is Attacking Drugmakers’ “Patent Thickets”
- Medicare Advantage lobbying fends off major reform in an election year
- As investors pile into psychedelics, idealism gives way to pharma economics
- Juul spent big to court Black leaders to promote its e-cigarettes, new documents show
- Racial Bias in Arrests for Mental Health Symptoms
- Why L.A.’s battle against a deadly disease relies on unpaid volunteers
- “The politics have changed”: South warms to expanded health benefits
- Silicon Valley county becomes first in U.S. to declare loneliness a public health emergency
- Deer Are Beta-Testing a Nightmare Disease. Prion diseases are poorly understood, and this one is devastating — Chronic Wasting Disease, 100% fatal
- Nearly six million American women (1 in 20) became pregnant from rape, sexual coercion, or both during lifetime
- Heat and Wildfire Smoke Are Even More Harmful When Combined
- Why did NIH abruptly halt research on the harms of cell phone radiation?
- Your appendix is not, in fact, useless.
- Children who have dogs, especially girls, get an exercise boost, study finds
- Updated Covid vaccine 54% effective at preventing symptomatic infection
- Extraction of raw materials to rise by 60% by 2060, says U.N. report
- The Roman Empire’s Worst Plagues Were Linked to Climate Change
- Cleaning Water Naturally the Ancient Maya Way
Week of January 29, 2024 [episode #244]:
Featuring: Post-pandemic, U.S. cardiovascular death rate continues upward trajectory, wiping out a decade of progress (1:52); Obamacare enrollment surged in red states with large Medicaid disenrollments (6:13); Congress must pass the child tax credit deal to support kids’ health (7:55); 2009 update to WIC cost-effective for reducing childhood obesity (13:07); Learning for life — The higher the level of education, the lower the risk of dying (14:27); Urban heat islands have a substantial health cost (17:25); Nearly 65,000 pregnancies from rape have happened in states with abortion bans (19:02); HPV vaccine study finds zero cases of cervical cancer among women vaccinated before age 14 (23:03); Cervical cancer deaths rise among low-income Americans (25:43); Why diphtheria is making a comeback (27:54); Potassium-enriched salt is the missing ingredient in hypertension guidelines, say experts (33:45); People in the world’s “blue zones” live longer — Their diet could hold the key to why (39:05).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Ohio lawmakers override DeWine veto of gender-affirming care ban, transgender athlete restrictions
- A call to add sexual orientation and gender identity data to electronic health records
- Ohio State study documents success of mental health interventions as key to recovery for trauma victims
- Why Measles Keeps Popping Up in Pockets of the U.S.
- As measles spreads in England, health authorities warn the outbreak could snowball
- The malaria vaccine that just rolled out has surprise benefits for kids
- Why many more people are lining up for a flu shot than a Covid vaccine
- Shipyard veterans may have been exposed to cancer-causing radioactive materials. The Navy has not told them.
- How the chemical-industry lobby pushes “safe use” exemptions
- Certain indoor air pollutants can be absorbed through the skin – here’s what you need to know
- The impact of electric cooking on reducing nitrogen dioxide–related diseases
- Medicine, Nazism, and the Holocaust — Essential Lessons for Health Professionals
- Political concerns about U.S. support for Israel slowed CDC help for Gaza
- Texas Gov. Abbott’s vow to ‘eliminate rape’ draws scrutiny after study on rape-related pregnancies
- Survey data reveal uptick in anxiety, depression among women in states with trigger laws post-Dobbs abortion decision
- What Biden’s latest actions on reproductive health mean
- How Big Pharma Is Fueling a Radical MAGA Agenda
- How Fringe Anti-Science Views Infiltrated Mainstream Politics — And What It Means in 2024
- The U.S. just sold its helium stockpile. Here’s why the medical world is worried — MRI machines need thousands of liters of liquid helium to function.
- New York City designates social media a public health hazard
- Study links social media use to increased inflammation over time
- Meta whistleblower says regulators are our “last hope” at fixing social media
- Social Media Is Getting Smaller—and More Treacherous
- Ouch. That “Free” Annual Checkup Might Cost You. Here’s Why.
- Treatment can do more harm than good for prostate cancer. Why active surveillance may be better
- Why you should feed both a cold and a fever
- Gummy Vitamins Are Just Candy — The false promise of sweet, chewy supplements
- More than half of U.S. adults don’t know heart disease is leading cause of death, despite 100-year reign
- A Record Number of Californians Are Visiting Emergency Rooms for Dog Bites
- Ancient zombie viruses in melting permafrost could cause new pandemic
- Six surprising things about placebos everyone should know
- Defunding liberal arts is dangerous for health care
- Learning to Plan for the Next 500 Years, learning from Indigenous communities
- Food system report and analysis defines and sets up metrics for first time
Week of January 22, 2024 [episode #243]:
Featuring: Adult diabetes worse in Luas County than Ohio and U.S., especially for Latinos (1:36); Global tobacco use shrinking despite industry efforts (4:47); The Cost of Freeing Drinking Water from “Forever Chemicals” (8:19); Women’s health worldwide no better than at pandemic height (21:19); Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis (23:42); Minority children in U.S. get poorer health care (28:58); Chronic inflammation and poverty are a “double whammy” for mortality risk (31:22); Drinking 100% fruit juice tied to weight gain (35:58); Cancer care improves in Medicaid expansion states (37:58); Who is most efficient in health care? Study finds, perhaps surprisingly, it’s the VA (39:29); WHO appeals for $1.5 billion to address crises from Gaza to Afghanistan (44:23).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Diets rich in plant protein may help women stay healthy as they age
- Could potatoes lose their status as a vegetable? The debate has deep roots.
- Your body has a built-in system that works like weight loss meds: Food and your gut microbiome
- At 93, he’s as fit as a 40-year-old. His body offers lessons on aging. The human body maintains the ability to adapt to exercise at any age, showing that it’s never too late to start a fitness program.
- What We’re Getting Wrong About Nutrition and Mental Health — Helping patients understand the connection and improve their diet can go a long way.
- The ideal vacation length for peak relaxation, according to experts
- How climate disasters hurt adolescents’ mental health
- Rising Suicide Rate Among Hispanics Worries Community Leaders
- After domestic abuse ends, the effects of brain injuries can persist
- “I’m Not Safe Here” — Schools Ignore Federal Rules on Restraint and Seclusion
- Researchers document health provider impacts from post-Dobbs abortion bans
- America’s Health System Isn’t Ready for the Surge of Seniors With Disabilities
- MedPAC Report on Medicare Advantage Growth, High Costs Generates Kerfuffle
- Data shows nursing home closure often linked to care issues, not just money
- Employers are struggling to figure out if they’re overpaying for health care due to lack of transparency
- The Truth About What Health Information Exchanges Can and Cannot Do — They have the potential to be an incredible tool, but fragmentation endemic
- Could AI Put Clinical Knowledge at Risk? Relying on AI for basic tasks may undermine physicians’ skill sets
- Trump Official Who OK’d Drugs From Canada Chairs Company Behind Florida’s Import Plan
- How Wealthy Corporations Use Investment Agreements to Extract Millions From Developing Countries through pseudo-governmental tribunals
- First Uranium Mines to Dig in the U.S. in Eight Years Begin Operations Near Grand Canyon
- To keep building materials out of landfills, cities are embracing “deconstruction”
Week of January 15, 2024 [episode #242]:
Featuring: Another layer of misery — women in Gaza struggle to find menstrual pads, running water (2:22); 2023 Lucas County Community Health Assessment documents overall physical and mental health worse than other Ohioans and Americans as a whole (5:06); Ohio House votes to overturn governor’s veto of transgender health care ban, athlete restrictions (8:11); Plastic chemicals linked to at least $249 billion in U.S. health care costs in 2018 alone (10:44); More than 900 widely used chemicals may increase breast cancer risk (20:55); U.S. heart disease deaths linked with substance use rose 4% per year between 1999-2019 (27:11); Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records (29:25); New estimate doubles likely deaths from fungal disease globally (39:11); WHO declares Cape Verde free of malaria (41:33).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Want to Get More Healthcare Bills Passed? Fix the Filibuster
- Millions of U.S. women, children risk hunger without more WIC funding
- Congress nears deal to partially restore Biden’s expanded child tax credit at cost of expanding corporate tax breaks
- Republican governors in 15 states reject summer food money for 8 million kids
- To get fresh vegetables to people who need them, the city of Boulder puts its soda tax to work
- Colombia is taxing ultra-processed foods
- New data shows just how many Ohioans traveled out of state to obtain an abortion in 2022 after Roe fell
- Applying global lessons to protect abortion access in the United States, such as destigmatizing and decriminalizing abortion, framing abortion as a human right, and reproductive rights as part of health equality and freedom of conscience.
- How megacities are tackling air pollution
- Air Pollution Is Ruining Your Skin. Wildfire smoke and exhaust fumes are triggering spikes in eczema and other skin conditions.
- How America’s Animal-based Diet Is Feeding the Groundwater Crisis
- “It lives in geologic time”: Nuclear contamination and health risks remain throughout Colorado
- Bottled water contains thousands of nanoplastics so small they can invade the body’s cells
- Covid-19 research roundup
- America Is Having a Senior Moment on Vaccines, as millions of the people most at risk of dying aren’t getting COVID shots.
- Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis. Absenteeism nearly doubled since the pandemic. With state and federal governments largely abdicating any role in getting kids back into classrooms, some schools have turned to private companies for a reimagined version of the truant officer.
- Survey finds many U.S. health care workers face harassment, burnout
- Docs’ Vacation Habits May Be Fueling Burnout
- A Culture of Silence Persists in Medicine Despite #MeToo
- As she drives research on structural racism in health care, Rachel Hardeman faces a painful reckoning
- Millions of Dollars of Pharma Money Went to The Diagnostic Manual Authors
- U.S. Diet Panel Adds Another Researcher With Alcohol Industry Ties. After dropping two Harvard experts who had received industry support, the National Academies turned to a colleague with a similar background.
- Americans overwhelmingly favor health care price transparency
- Private equity firms are gnawing away at U.S. health care
- The climate costs of war and militaries can no longer be ignored. More than 5% of global emissions are linked to conflict or militaries.
- New Research Explores a Restorative Climate Path for the Earth. Existing green growth policies are leading nowhere fast, so scientists say it’s worth exploring alternatives like degrowth to stay within planetary boundaries.
- Quest for personalized medicine hits a snag: Current models have limited effectiveness to predict treatments
- Landmark study finds prescribing opioids dramatically reduced deaths, overdoses for drug users, who typically rely on unreliable and dangerous sources.
- Gender dysphoria diagnoses are rising nationwide
- Baths, books and sex: Survey explores Americans’ regular bedtime routines
- PTSD, depression, and anxiety nearly doubles in Israel in aftermath of Hamas attack
- Sludge Videos (with multiple clips playing simultaneously) Are Taking Over TikTok—And People’s Mind
- Toddlers’ Screen Time Tied to Abnormal Sensory Outcomes
- How living like a hunter-gatherer could improve your health
- Researchers report dramatic decline in cigarette use among U.S. teens over 3 decades
- American Red Cross issues urgent plea for blood donations as shortage worst in 20 years [Call 1-800-RED-CROSS]
Week of January 8, 2024 [episode #241]:
Featuring: 2024 was a year of global public health wins and tragedies, but without peace, there is no health, and without health there can be no peace (1:52); Gov. Mike DeWine didn’t betray GOP base by vetoing Ohio’s anti-trans bill — he saved lives (7:53); 2023 Lucas County Community Health Assessment is released and this show will run a series of stories to make sense of it (12:10); U.S. seizes more illegal e-cigarettes, but thousands of new ones are launching (14:31); “Polluter pays” doctrine will take on new meaning (19:09); Child Care Gaps in Rural America Threaten to Undercut Small Communities (23:51); Americans less satisfied with almost every part of the health system (28:42); Researchers find that regret is rarer than believed among patients who undergo gender affirming surgery (30:41); Landmark study shows that human beliefs about drugs could have dose-dependent effects on the brain (32:57).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The science behind building healthy habits can help you keep your New Year’s resolution
- New Year, New Possibilities: Start Living a Smokefree Life Today!
- Placebo Effect—Not Antidepressants—Responsible for Depression Improvement
- Resilience and recovery: Navigating mental health challenges in disaster response
- A Plant Proposed in Youngstown, Ohio, Would Have Turned Tons of Tires Into Synthetic Gas. Local Officials Said Not So Fast, enacting a one-year moratorium after EPA raised multiple environmental justice concerns, from toxic air to hazardous waste.
- The Science on Benzene Keeps Getting Scarier. Industry Remains in Denial.
- As the world swims in plastic, some offer an answer: Ban the toxic two, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Hunger for gold means the Amazon has reached “tipping point” of mercury contamination from illegal mining
- “Nanoplastics” Could Be Worse Than Microplastics and We Know Almost Nothing About Them
- Tampa’s new water filtration system is expected to help remove forever chemicals
- Long-term wildlife impacts at Chornobyl, Fukushima may yield “a new ecology” and highlights nuclear level toxicity of human civilization
- Evolution might stop humans from solving climate change
- Cleaner air from plant-based diets could save 200,000 lives around world
- Hate salad or veggies? Just keep eating them. Here’s how our tastebuds adapt to what we eat
- Less beef, more leftovers: 21 food sustainability resolutions for 2024
- Working to End “Food Apartheid.” In low-income areas of Los Angeles without supermarkets, small stores are learning to profitably sell healthy foods their customers can afford.
- We can’t allow the food and beverage industry to destroy our kids’ health. A good place to start would be to ban junk food ads targeted to kids.
- Cities with soda taxes saw sales of sugary drinks fall as prices rose
- Mental hospitals warehoused the sick. Congress is on the verge of allowing Medicaid to cover substance use treatment in the facilities.
- It keeps people with schizophrenia in school and on the job. Why won’t insurance pay?
- Overhauling Our Mental Health System, the need for Chicago’s new “Treatment Not Trauma” initiative
- Prisoner First, Patient Second — How hospitals ignore the rights of incarcerated patients and how they can do better
- Insurance companies are forcing psychiatrists like me to stop accepting their coverage
- Seeing the human in every patient, from biblical texts to 21st century relational medicine
- How Dominican women fight child marriage and teen pregnancy while facing total abortion bans
- States Expand Health Coverage for Immigrants as GOP Hits Biden Over Border Crossings
- The Year in Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need to Know
- Why haven’t health care cost increases exceeded inflation? One reason is bundled payments have shifted cost-saving incentives from atomized fee for procedures
- Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans
- “They will come at me”: Study documents fear of retaliation in America’s nursing homes
- As Need Rises, Housing Aid Hits Lowest Level in Nearly 25 Years
- On the Health Docket for the Supreme Court’s 2024 Term
- There’s a public health crisis lurking in our data: the Census option “some other race”
- Why are Americans getting shorter? A case study in America’s health reversal
- The upside of regret: How a painful emotion can lead to better mental health
- Think you’re good at multitasking? Here’s how your brain compensates—and how this changes with age
- How opioid overdoses in public restrooms led an electrician to invent “safe bathrooms”
- Today’s at-home microbiome testing industry is fraught with snake oil
- How Much Vitamin D Do You Need to Stay Healthy? Commonly overhyped claims aren’t borne out by recent research
- A Virginia plant promised PPE for health workers. $123M later, it’s mothballed.
- Simply requiring defibrillators at more public places might not be enough
- Whatever Happened to Zika? The problem with jumping between emergencies
- The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?
- The pandemic’s 2nd biggest wave of infections and what the JN.1 variant is telling us
- Is Vaccination Approaching a Dangerous Tipping Point?
Week of January 1, 2024, GREATEST HITS SHOW #7, stories from May to August, 2021 [episode #216]
GREATEST HITS SHOW #7, stories from May to August 2021, featuring: New position statement declares that sleep is essential to health (2:02); Better sleep — Less fast food and screen time, more physical activity (5:12); America’s unhealthy lifestyles (10:34); Women now drink as much as men (13:45); Beyond remission — From alcohol dependence to optimal mental health (17:38); The link between structural racism, high blood pressure and Black people’s health (22:17); Study suggests unmedicated, untreated brain illness is likely in mass shooters (26:28); The Food System’s Carbon Footprint Has Been Vastly Underestimated (29:57); Pesticides Are Killing the World’s Soils and Their Biodiversity (37:52); The total health and climate consequences of the American food system cost three times as much as the food itself (42:24); The food system is unfair to real farmers and creates overabundance of highly processed foods (48:11); Researchers Critique the Medical Model of Mental Health, Propose an Alternative (50:17); Think leisure is a waste? That may not bode well for your mental health (54:44).
Week of December 25, 2023, GREATEST HITS SHOW #5, from October, 2020 thru April, 2021 [episode #173]:
GREATEST HITS SHOW #5, from October, 2020 thru April, 2021, featuring: global rates of unplanned pregnancies still too high (2:03): how drugs damage the environment (5:19); science supports new dietary guidelines limiting alcohol consumption, especially for reducing cancer in men (12:37); can local food feed big cities? yes, if we cut down on meat (16:17); concentration in the food business — to high, too risky (20:33); hospitals profit on junk food (22:12); how hope can make you happier with your lot in life (26:12); suicide rates did not decrease when antidepressant drugs were introduced (28:10); giving poor people money is more effective for mental health than brief therapy (29:50); people in societies where money plays a minimal role can have very high levels of happiness, comparable to the happiest industrialized nations (33:51); Atlanta creates the nation’s largest free food forest with hopes of addressing food insecurity (35:10); what to do when your friends and family are unsupportive of your depression (38:16); food systems responsible for one-third of human-caused emissions (43:58); greenhouse gas emissions associated with dietary guidelines vary between countries — following U.S. guidelines would increase emissions (44:38); book review — Bittman on food history — Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal (46:18); the surprise catch of seafood trawling — massive greenhouse gas emissions as much as the aviation industry (47:47); feeding cattle seaweed reduces their greenhouse gas emissions 82 percent (48:45); land could be worth more left to nature than when farmed (49:58); study finds evidence of 55 new chemicals in people (52:03); starting smoking cessation in hospitalized patients would reduce many premature deaths (53:43); A new way to measure human wellbeing towards sustainability — Years of Good Life (56:17).
Week of December 18, 2023 [episode #240]:
Featuring: Unintentional drug overdoses in Ohio dropped 5% in 2022 (1:49); Ohio House votes to override Gov. DeWine’s veto of bill to prohibit flavored tobacco bans locally (3:22); Ban flavored vapes, WHO says, urging tobacco-style controls (5:21); Fuming over setback to casino smoking ban, workers light up in New Jersey Statehouse meeting (6:32); “We Are All Sick” — Infectious Diseases Spread Across Gaza (9:57); Eating meals early could reduce cardiovascular risk (11:32); U.S. adults found to eat a meal’s worth of calories in snacks each day (14:27); U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Draft Calls for Lifestyle Shift — Not Meds — for Kids With Obesity(16:13); Millennial women are facing the first decline in well-being since the Silent Generation (19:56); Exposure to chemicals found in many household products can lower odds of getting pregnant (20:45); Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in menstrual products including tampons, pads, and liners (24:37); Study finds social factors, including race, drive use of scented menstrual products tied to health risks (27:16); Health impacts of abuse more extensive than previously thought (29:42); Globally, girls bear the brunt of new HIV infections (32:25); CDC presents estimates of sexual activity, contraceptive use for teens (33:21); Emergency contraception use doubles since over-the-counter approval (34:41); Kate Cox is one of hundreds, or even thousands, in Texas denied abortions despite serious health risks (37:11); 43% of veterans screened found to have potential toxic substance exposure (39:06); A substantial number of Parkinson’s disease cases can be attributed to preventable risk factors (40:22); CDC warns providers of “urgent” need to boost vaccination against COVID, flu, RSV (42:02).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Ohio bill with gender-affirming care ban and trans sports restrictions heads to governor’s desk
- Michigan farm czar: Our fight against Lake Erie pollution isn’t working
- We raise 18 billion animals a year to die — and then we don’t even eat them. From farm to plate, one in four animals raised on factory farms are wasted.
- We must choose lead pipe replacement material carefully, avoiding toxic PVC
- Methadone clinics spar with addiction doctors on bill that would widen access
- Sobering centers offer a safe place to recover from intoxication. Every community should have one
- Adding Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) to Methadone Treatment Provides Therapeutic Benefits for People With Opioid Use Disorder and Chronic Pain
- “They See a Cash Cow” — Corporations Could Consume $50 Billion of Opioid Settlements
- A “Food Is Medicine” Approach to Disease Prevention — Limitations and Alternatives
- How Anxiety Became Content — The way we commonly discuss mental-health issues, especially on the internet, isn’t helping us.
- Students say their New York school’s cellphone ban helped improve their mental health
- Mental health care and research must confront systemic racism to improve health, lives of Black Americans
- Racism produces subtle brain changes that lead to increased disease risk in Black populations
- Texas’s war on pregnant women
- Fatal Attraction: The seductive appeal of irrationality, anti-science and toxic extremism
- Inside the Notorious Gun Shop Linked to Hundreds of Chicago Guns
- Our Patients Need Us to Stand Up to Big Oil — The industry protects profits over public health
- An EPA rule dramatically reduced smog pollution — in the 38 states that haven’t sued to stop it
- House passes bipartisan bill allowing schools to serve whole milk
- The red/blue divide in American food choices
- Facility fees charged by hospitals for colonoscopy procedures higher than those charged by surgical centers
- Thousands of Patients May Be Undergoing Vascular Procedures Too Soon or Unnecessarily
- Doctors With Histories of Big Malpractice Settlements Work for Insurers, Deciding If They’ll Pay for Care
- Don’t expect cost savings from precision medicine
- Doctors call out ableism in cancer care: “The biggest accommodation is attitude”
- NIH panel calls for fewer, better-paid postdocs in bid to halt loss of scientists to industry
- Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?
- Kids with cats have more than double the risk of developing schizophrenia
- The silver bullet that wasn’t: Glyphosate’s declining weed control over 25 years
- U.S. healthcare spending rises to $4.5 trillion in 2022
Week of December 11, 2023 [episode #239]:
Featuring: Tobacco-related annual health care costs of U.S. Minorities who smoke are double that of white peers (1:53); Chronic fatigue syndrome is not rare, says new CDC survey; it affects 3.3 million U.S. adults (5:00); Getting the lead out of the water supply –How one health expert crunched the numbers and prodded the EPA (7:57); In historic decision, FDA approves a CRISPR-based medicine for treatment of sickle cell disease (11:11); New Sickle Cell Therapies Will Be Out of Reach Where They Are Needed Most (13:50); More than 1 in 3 women worldwide have lasting health problems after giving birth (18:32); It’s taking longer to get an abortion in the U. S. and doctors fear riskier, more complex procedures (22:44); Many people of color worry good health care is tied to their appearance (28:34).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Legal weed takes effect in Ohio as lawmakers scramble to change voter-passed law
- Working night shifts is associated with sleep disorders in more than half of workers
- WHO calls on countries to increase taxes on alcohol and sugary sweetened beverages
- EPA orders packaging firm to stop making PFAS
- The Air Force is expanding a review of cancers for service members who worked with nuclear missiles
- Public health groups alarmed at White House delay of menthol cigarette ban
- Don’t Neglect Tobacco Use in People Experiencing Homelessness — Cessation programs can save lives and improve financial stability
- U.S. medical schools aren’t teaching future doctors about 7.4 million of their patients with intellectual disabilities
- Mpox surge in Congo raises concerns world will ignore warnings again
- Stigma, regulatory barriers delay mpox response in country that needs it most
- “Stalemate” on AIDS relief (PEPFAR) to drag into 2024
- Indian companies are bringing one of the world’s most toxic industries to Africa. People are getting sick.
- New England Journal of Medicine reckons with its racist past and complicity in slavery
- Changes to race, ethnicity data collection will impact health by improving assessment
- After living with sickle cell disease for 39 years, I’m both excited and skeptical about the newly approved gene therapies
- Cost of lead poisoning drug jumps from $3,500 to $32,000, making it hard for hospitals to stock
- Gaming the Patent System Can Keep Biosimilars Off the Market for Decades
- White House Says It Can Seize Taxpayer-supported Drug Patents to Lower Prices
- FDA Inspections of Foreign Drug Manufacturers Haven’t Bounced Back After Pandemic
- Millions of People Used Tainted Breathing Machines. The FDA Failed to Use Its Power to Protect Them.
- Investigation Reveals How a Hospital Bowed to Political Pressure to Stop Treating Trans Teens
- Corporate Ownership Worsens Patient Care, Surveyed Docs Say — Reduced autonomy, and focus on financial incentives among top negative impacts cited by doctors
- Biden Wants States to Ensure Obamacare Plan Networks Cover Enough Doctors and Hospitals
- “The Pain and the Trauma Lasts Longer Than a News Cycle” — White House has a new special office to tackle gun violence. Can it stop the bloodshed?
- They watched their husbands win the Heisman – then lost them to CTE, a deadly reminder of a sport’s violent toll.
- Clients bring politics into the therapy room. Here’s what that means for the therapist
- Navajo Nation faces possible new threats after decades of uranium mining and the largest nuclear disaster in American history
- Mexico’s activist “companion networks” quietly provide abortion pills and support to U.S. women
- Debunking the holiday suicide myth
- From a Detour to Global Dominance, the rise of the JN.1 variant
- Screen time tied to mental health problems in kindergarten children
- Opening a New Path on Climate and the Future. Adapting to climate change does not address the societal systems and values that spawned the current crisis. What’s needed is “systemic adaptation” that fundamentally changes our economy, our politics, and our priorities in ways that put community and the planet first.
Week of December 4, 2023 [episode #238]:
Featuring: Biden Administration to Require Replacing of Lead Pipes Within 10 Years (1:55); COVID activity picks up pace alongside other respiratory viruses (5:09); Suicide deaths reached a record high in the U.S. in 2022, despite hopeful decreases among children and young adults (6:26); How much is the economic loss of untreated mental illness? One state did the math (9:38); Breathing highway air increases blood pressure (11:48); Large decline in excess mortality seen in first decade after quitting smoking (14:32); Chemical additives replace menthol in new “non-menthol” cigarettes in tobacco industry dodge (15:58); Big Weed today is a whole lot like Big Tobacco in the 1950s (18:30); U.S. Clean Air Act cleanup of lead is associated with increased average lifetime earnings of 3.5% (28:01); Your hair care routine might carry health risks by increasing indoor air emissions from hair-straightening products and devices that use heat (30:36); More Americans could get dental coverage under Biden proposal (32:44); Aging America faces a senior care crisis of affordability and availability (34:38); Personal consumption by world’s richest 1% emits as much carbon as bottom two-thirds (37:42).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Doctors warn of New Zealand health tragedy after smoking ban scrapped
- Disease could be bigger killer than bombs in Gaza, warns WHO
- Psychiatry, Violence, and the State: California’s Systematic Failure of Its Unhoused Population
- How to break the cycle of childhood trauma? Help a baby’s parents
- Many owners see little value in storing their firearms securely, finds study
- A lead ammo compromise? Incentives edge out bans.
- New research supports potential link between low-level lead exposure and liver injury
- U.N. human rights experts express alarm over PFAS pollution in North Carolina
- A New Law Regulating the Cosmetics Industry Expands the FDA’s Power But Fails to Ban Toxic Chemicals in Beauty Products
- Why We’re Still Breathing Dirty Indoor Air
- How to Overcome the Biggest Obstacle to Abortion Care in Blue States: So-called “Pregnancy Crisis Centers”
- Poland’s radical antiabortion law didn’t have the intended “pro-natal” effect
- “Nobody cared”: Women who have reported mistreatment while giving birth say CDC report validates their trauma
- Vaccine disparities are worse post-emergency as efforts whither
- The 10 Chilling Laws of Pandemics
- We’re Living the Reality of the Pandemic’s Simplest Math — Sick season will be worse from now on.
- Medicaid “Unwinding?” Makes Other Public Assistance Harder to Get
- Medicare Advantage Increasingly Popular With Seniors — But Not Hospitals and Doctors
- FTC Chief Gears Up for a Showdown With Private Equity
- Why Doctors and Pharmacists Are in Revolt. Once accustomed to a status outside the usual management-labor hierarchy, many health professionals now feel as put upon as any clock-punching worker.
- Maker of Wegovy, Ozempic showers money on U.S. obesity doctors, concentrating that money on an elite group of obesity specialists who advocate giving its powerful and expensive drugs to tens of millions of Americans.
- The U.S. pharmacy industry is crumbling. Here’s how to fix it.
- Scientists in Discredited Alcohol Study Will Not Advise U.S. on Drinking Guidelines
- The next Census could undercount the number of disabled Americans by 20 million
- Invisible in the data: Broad “Asian American” category obscures health disparities
- Keto diet promotes greater lean muscle loss
- Vitamin D supplements do not prevent bone fractures in children, finds study
- We’re “Processivores”’ How Do We Rebuild Our Eating Habits?
- Study shows price discounts on healthful foods leads to increase in consumption
- Tackling climate change and alleviating hunger: States recycle and donate food headed to landfills
- Can Agriculture Kick Its Plastic Addiction?
- Recycled plastics contain more chemicals than original plastics
- How to end plastic pollution on Earth for good
- Too much stuff: can we solve our addiction to consumerism?
- America Is Getting Lonelier and More Indoorsy. That’s Not a Coincidence. Our relationship to nature and our relationships with one another are deeply intertwined.
Week of November 27, 2023: GREATEST HITS SHOW #4
GREATEST HITS SHOW #4, from December, 2019, thru September, 2020, featuring: hospital alarms prove a noisy misery for patients (1:54); long work hours linked to both regular and hidden high blood pressure (6:20); every American family basically pays a yearly $8,000 “poll tax” under U.S. health system (7:42); Ecopsychology — how immersion in nature benefits your health (11:12); Why drinking diet soda makes you crave sugar (15:50); slow carbs over low carbs – fiber matters (19:06); Hormone-altering chemicals threaten our health, finances and future (22:28); Why sequencing the human genome hasn’t cured many diseases (36:57); In an age of mass protests, what “less lethal” weapons actually do (42:11); Awareness of our biases is essential to good science (51:34).
Week of November 20, 2023 [episode #237]:
Featuring: COVID era increased gender life expectancy gap in U.S. to 6 years (1:51); Walking has plummeted across America (4:56); Planned Parenthood to invest in Ohio following abortion amendment (6:48); CDC reports increase in kindergarten vaccine exemptions, Ohio is above the national average (7:57); “Staggering” rise in measles cases last year, says WHO and CDC (9:04); Americans Struggling With Addiction, Mental Health, Fed Survey Shows (10:37); U.S. fails again in report on preterm birth, a leading cause of infant mortality (15:08); FDA grants approval for first time to a home test for chlamydia and gonorrhea (17:32); Progress in childhood cancer has stalled for Blacks and Hispanics (19:37); The Cost of Not Getting Care: Income Disparities in the Affordability of Health Services Across High-Income Countries (21:39); Current uses of asbestos vastly exceed exposure limits (24:40); Type 2 diabetes prevention programs can work at large scale, study finds (26:40); One-quarter of Americans have little to no confidence in scientists to act in public’s best interests (31:17); Can little actions bring big joy? Researchers find ‘micro-acts’ can boost well-being (33:32).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Israel battles Hamas near another Gaza hospital sheltering thousands
- U.S. Military Says National Security Depends on “Forever Chemicals”
- Most States Ban Shackling Pregnant Women in Custody, Yet Many Report Being Restrained
- Ohio has enshrined the right to an abortion. But major obstacles remain for patients and providers
- Ohio commission approves fracking in state parks and wildlife areas despite fraud investigation
- How the next Republican president could stop most abortions without Congress: ban mailing of abortion medication
- “Do Your Job.” How the Railroad Industry Intimidates Employees Into Putting Speed Before Safety
- The Unusual Way a Catholic Health System Is Wielding an Abortion Protest Law: charge patients refusing to be unsafely discharged with trespassing
- Michigan health official is taking her county to court over $4 million resignation offer, after commissioners couldn’t fire her without cause
- We tried to quantify how harmful hospital ransomware attacks are for patients.
- New study on hunter-gatherer moms suggests Western child care has a big problem with little human touch
- It’s Not All in Your Head—You Do Focus Differently on Zoom
- Over-stressing Stress: American Psychological Association Report Omits Oppression
- Social factors, rather than biological ones, drive higher numbers of adverse drug events in women
- Colleges face gambling addiction among students as sports betting spreads
- Super Meth and Other Drugs Push Crisis Beyond Opioids. Poly-addiction is making treatment far more difficult.
- Revisiting the Black-White Mental Health Paradox During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Race Cannot Be Used to Predict Heart Disease, Heart Association Scientists Say
- Why Some Seniors Are Choosing Pot Over Pills. Older people are using cannabis more than ever. A primer on pot’s potential medicinal benefits and side effects as we age.
- Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care, as the United States has no coherent system for providing long-term care.
- Poor Cost-Effectiveness of Antiobesity Drugs for Adolescents With Severe Obesity
- Bayer ordered to pay $1.56 billion in latest U.S. trial loss over Roundup weedkiller
- The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centered response in a world facing irreversible harms
- It’s not just extreme weather: “Climate-sensitive” diseases spreading through the U.S.
Week of November 13, 2023 [episode #236]:
Featuring: Majority of workers at America’s nursing homes unvaccinated against flu, COVID (1:51); U.S. faces almost daily hazardous chemical accidents (4:01); Mercury is still an environmental threat (7:11); The FDA Is Still Not Tracking How Farms Use Antibiotics, affecting antimicrobial resistance efforts (14;32); The World’s Broken Food System Costs $12.7 Trillion a Year, 10 percent of global GDP (20:20); Dietary guidelines may soon warn against ultraprocessed foods (24:30); Cutting 1 teaspoon of salt works as well as blood pressure meds (32:21); 42% of people who use drugs in rural areas were recently incarcerated, pointing to treatment opportunities (35:08); Underdiagnosed and Undertreated, Young Black Males With ADHD Get Left Behind (37:38).
BONUS stories to read online!
- After Ohio vote, advocates in a dozen states are trying to put abortion on 2024 ballots
- How Ohio’s Election Results Will Both Protect Abortion and Affect Maternal Mortality in the State
- Ohio GOP lawmakers call to block courts from implementing new abortion amendment
- How is Ohio managing the Medicaid unwinding process and eligibility? [better than most states]
- Supreme Court looks poised to uphold ban on guns for accused domestic abusers
- Narcissism, immorality and lack of empathy: The dark psychology that can poison elites
- Public health approaches to gambling: a global review of legislative trends
- Tapped Out: New Orleans drinking water testing procedures don’t follow gov’t regulations
- U.S. Regulators Order Minnesota to Clean Up Nitrate Contaminated Water that is due to manure pollution
- FDA moves to pull common drug used by pork industry, citing human cancer risk
- Reducing pesticides in food: Major food manufacturers earn an F grade
- Polluting Industries Say the Cost of Cleaner Air Is Too High [for them, not public]
- Pollution Is Driving Today’s Reverse Great Migration. The first Great Black Migrations built the Midwest. In return, Black communities received pollution and toxic contamination.
- How pharmacy deserts are putting the health of Black and Latino Americans at risk
- Pulse oximeters’ inaccuracies in darker-skinned people require urgent action, AGs tell FDA
- Countless kids are colorblind — and don’t know about it. Here’s how to help.
- 10 Ways MedPAC Commissioners Think Regulators Should Fix Medicare Advantage Plans
- You Have a Right to Know Why a Health Insurer Denied Your Claim. Some Insurers Still Won’t Tell You.
- Feds Launch “Birthing-Friendly” Designation on Web-Based Care Compare Tool
- Ambulance rides for just $100? Government advisers want major billing fixes
- VA reports major uptick in veterans’ care after passage of toxic exposure law
- How to unlock healthier communities? Team up with librarians.
- Syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketed in 2022, highlighting hole in basic public health infrastructure.
- Why It’s So Tough to Reduce Unnecessary Medical Care [profits and “more is better”]
- Mind-altering ketamine becomes latest pain treatment, despite little research or regulation
- After Antidepressants, a Loss of Sexuality. Some patients are speaking up about lasting sexual problems after stopping antidepressants, a poorly understood condition.
- Common cat-borne parasite is positively associated with frailty in older adults.
- Is the U.S. reporting system for vaccine safety broken?
- HPV vaccines are so effective that new screening policies may be in order
- History of 18th and 19th century disease outbreaks speaks powerfully to the present
- U.S. CDC to expand surveillance of traveler samples for respiratory viruses
- More Americans Say They’re in a Cognitive Fog. Adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s are driving the trend. Researchers point to long Covid as a major cause.
- The rise and fall of antibiotics. What would a post-antibiotic world look like?
- The “Gas Masks for All” Approach to Air Pollution: What Could Possibly Go Worng?
- WHO warns of “worrying trends” in disease spread in Gaza
- The Great American Smokeout — Take the First Step Toward a Smokefree Life
Week of November 6, 2023 [episode #235]:
Featuring: Ohio Issue #1 to enshrine reproductive health rights (2:17); Public health crisis of genocide in Gaza worsens (2:17); Scapegoating mental illness is ineffective in preventing mass shootings — easy access to firearms is main driver (2:51); Lawn equipment spews “shocking” amount of air pollution, highlighting need to electrify (5:33); The U.S. infant mortality rate rose last year — the largest increase in two decades (10:55); Vaping by high school students dropped this year (12;10); Americans carry “collective trauma” from COVID pandemic era, mental health survey suggests (15:02); Latest data shows millions of eligible Americans have been disenrolled from Medicaid (21:48); Medical Debt Is Disappearing From Americans’ Credit Reports, Lifting Scores (24:06); Only about half of those eligible for WIC in 2021 received benefits (29:15); Medicare Expands the Roster of Available Mental Health Professionals (31:40); 1 in 4 U.S. medical students consider quitting, most medical and nursing students don’t plan to treat patients (37:24); Poll shows more Americans are familiar with the work of their local health department and most have favorable opinion (39:17); Practicing kindness is good for your health and others’ (41:43).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The Signs Were All There. Why Did No One Stop the Maine Shooter? Shortcomings in mental health treatment, weak laws and a reluctance to threaten personal liberties can derail even concerted attempts to thwart mass shootings.
- A public health response helped reduce fatal car wrecks in Texas. Can it do the same for gun deaths?
- The Supreme Court Will Decide if Domestic Abuse Orders Can Bar People From Having Guns. Lives Will Be at Stake.
- Firearm Homicides of U.S. Children Precipitated by Intimate Partner Violence
- Why many scientists are now saying climate change is an all-out “emergency”
- Food justice advocates didn’t set out to save the climate. Their solutions are doing it anyway. Urban gardening connects food justice and climate mitigation.
- Flight attendants say their uniforms made them seriously ill. Four flight attendants were awarded over $1 million in a California lawsuit against uniform manufacturer.
- American Cancer Society expands lung cancer screening guidelines for cigarette smokers
- Antibiotics for common childhood infections no longer effective in many parts of the world
- Check out the Hospital Safety Grade of your hospital
- “Worse Than People Can Imagine”: Medicaid “Unwinding” Breeds Chaos in States
- Pregnant farmworkers in California are eligible for paid time off — but many don’t know it exists
- Paid family leave found to boost postpartum well-being, breastfeeding rates
- Despite post-COVID efforts, the U.S. is still undersupplied with domestic-made PPE
- EPA testing shows the power of D-I-Y air filters to trap viruses
- Science Says Teens Need More Sleep. So Why Is It So Hard to Start School Later?
Week of October 30, 2023 [episode #234]:
Featuring: Blacklisting in America –Journal Editor Fired for Hamas-Israeli Conflict Comments (1:57); Medical exceptions to abortion bans often exclude mental health conditions (4:31); Abortions in the U.S. rose slightly overall after post-Roe restrictions were put in place (6:17); Mini Research Roundup (9:48); Warning signs for the U.S. health system staffing shortages are piling up (14:15); Paying for It — How Health Care Costs and Medical Debt Are Making Americans Sicker and Poorer (19:33); Health Care Cost Worries Threaten Retirement Dreams for Many (22:10); Food insecurity rose sharply in 2022, new report from USDA shows (25:43); Easy diet changes can lower carbon footprint (30:31).
BONUS stories to read online!
- “Partial-birth abortions” is banned in the U.S. — Why is it a hot topic in fight over Ohio’s abortion amendment?
- Ohio joins 40 states suing Meta alleging that Instagram and Facebook are harmful for kids
- Twice as many parents report specific concerns about internet addiction than substance addiction.
- Children today have less independence. Is that fueling a mental health crisis?
- Young adults suffer from anxiety, depression twice as often as teens. Many of them are grappling with high housing prices, a lack of connection in the workplace, misinformation exacerbated by social media and a loneliness epidemic
- How Climate Change Drives Conflict and War Crimes Around the Globe
- Rising Temperatures, Extreme Weather Threatening to Propel Malaria
- Why Ending Childhood Lead Poisoning is a Top-Tier Global Development Challenge, Killing More Than Either TB, HIV/AIDS, or Malaria
- Worldwide vaccination coverage increased in 2022, but still below 2019 levels
- Prescription for disaster: America’s broken pharmacy system in revolt over burnout and errors
- Some pharmacy staff from Walgreens, other chains are walking out again, in what organizers have dubbed “Pharmageddon”
- What will it take to end health care worker burnout?
- Want to end historic nursing strikes? Fix a broken, outdated reimbursement model
- What Financial Engineering Does to Hospitals — Raising Debt, while Cutting Staff and Services, all to enrich investors
- A New Era of More Costly Vaccines Raises Issues of Cost-Benefit.
- Exercise found to be nearly as good as Viagra in overcoming erectile dysfunction
- The Science Behind Food and The Dangers of Ultra-Processed, Artificial, Non-Food [PODCAST]
Week of October 23, 2023 [episode #233]:
Featuring: A view from the “nightmare” of Gaza’s hospitals (1:56); “I’d rather not know”: Why we choose ignorance (6:08); Domestic violence calls about “reproductive coercion” doubled after the overturn of Roe (9:18); Health Care “Game-Changer”? Feds Boost Care for Homeless Americans through “Street Care” (12:04); Already second leading cause of death worldwide, stroke deaths may rise by 50 percent by 2050 (15:38); Eating for Stroke Prevention (17:07); CDC sees vastly inconsistent gains in HIV prevention prescriptions by race/ethnicity (21:14); The story behind soaring near-sightedness among kids — too much time indoors and with screens and too little time outdoors (23:02); Pediatricians’ report spills the milk on toddler so-called “formulas,” questions marketing of drinks (25:50); 10 Medicaid holdout states scramble to improve health coverage, with little success (28:37); EU abandons promise to ban toxic chemicals in consumer products (36:40).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Study identifies the top 12 PFAS producers in the world and reveals shocking societal costs at 1,000 times the market price for PFAS chemicals
- FDA faces pressure to act nationwide on red dye in food
- Once hailed as a drought fix, California moves to restrict synthetic turf over health concerns
- How gas utilities used tobacco industry tactics to avoid gas stove regulations
- Abortion Coverage Is Limited or Unavailable at a Quarter of Large Workplaces
- Information about abortion care largely omitted or buried on 80% of health systems’ patient-facing websites
- More Than a Third of Women Under 50 Are Iron-Deficient — The condition can cause fatigue and other symptoms but is rarely tested for
- Pregnant and Addicted: Homeless Women See Hope in Street Medicine
- The mental health crisis among doctors is a problem for patients
- Is there a nursing shortage in the United States? Depends on whom you ask
- Studies highlight risks of excluding people with obesity from drug trials
- As the number of vaccines for pregnant women rises, so does vaccine hesitancy
- Tiny, Rural Hospitals Feel the Pinch as Medicare Advantage Plans Grow
- Using Opioid Settlement Cash for Police Gear Like Squad Cars and Scanners Sparks Debate
- Why Failed Psychiatry Lives On: Its Industrial Complex, Politics, & Technology Worship
- Ketamine’s effect on depression may hinge on hope
- I’m a Neurosurgeon. Social Media May Change Your Kid’s Brain.
- Fatty Liver Disease Rising in Kids as Ultraprocessed Diets Surge
- Dementia’s staggering financial cost revealed in new report: It’s “bankrupting families”
- Sleep problems can increase as you age. These tips can help.
- U.S. income inequality grew through pandemic years, despite massive income support
- Tobacco purchases rise following restrictions on e-cigarette sales
- Lake Erie is full of algae again. Southwestern Ontario’s exploding greenhouse sector won’t help
- The Key to Stopping Tooth Decay is Limiting Refined Sugar
Week of October 16, 2023 [episode #232]:
Featuring: In Ohio, Black women get abortions at a much higher rate (1:51); Pharmacies begin dispensing abortion pills (3:42); Surgeon General Murthy says rebuilding social connection has to be a “national priority” (7:42); How kangaroo mother care can help millions of pre-term babies each year (10:04); The depressing relationship between your job and your odds of drug overdose (13:34); Improving Prison Care and Re-entry: An Unexpected Answer to the Opioid Epidemic (21:25); The U.S. is waking up to the plastic pollution crisis, but is it too little too late? (23:56); How U.S. Hospitals Undercut Public Health — The U.S. health care industry is one of the world’s worst polluters, causing many of the deaths it seeks to prevent (27:11);26 Potentially harmful chemicals used in many cosmetic products banned by California (34:40); Arthritis Is Massive Public Health Problem, affecting 0ne in five adults, nearly half of seniors (37:45); Largest ever study on light exposure proves its impact on mental health — too much light at night, too little during the day (40:20).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Why Gaza health care facilities and workers have suffered so much violence
- Israeli health minister instructs public hospitals not to treat Hamas members
- First large study of hair relaxers among black women finds increased risk of uterine cancer
- FDA plans to propose ban on hair-straightening chemical products linked to health risks
- Roundup herbicide ingredient connected to epidemic levels of chronic kidney disease
- 800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry has gone “missing”
- U.S. oil production hits all-time high, conflicting with efforts to cut heat-trapping pollution
- Corporate interests and the UN treaty on plastic pollution: neglecting lessons from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
- Leadership of Patient Advocacy Organizations Tied to Pharma and Device Industry
- How to free ourselves from the scholar-activist dilemma
- Incidence of lung cancer higher in women versus men aged 35 to 54 years
- Misogyny in medicine impacts us all
- Medicare Enrollees Can Switch Coverage Now. Here’s What’s New and What to Consider.
- Scammy Medicare ads and unsolicited calls bombard seniors shopping for health insurance. Will federal efforts help them?
- Insurers often shortchange mental health care coverage, despite a federal law. The Biden administration is pushing insurers and state regulators to ensure that mental health care is treated like other care.
- FDA warns of dangers in treating psychiatric disorders with ketamine
- Illicit E-Cigarettes Flood Stores as F.D.A. Struggles to Combat Imports
- The New Vaccines and You: Americans Better Armed Than Ever Against the Winter Blechs
- RSV Vaccine Maintains Efficacy Across Two Seasons in Seniors
- Yes, everyone should get an updated Covid-19 vaccine (8 reasons why)
- COVID might raise odds for immune disorders like Crohn’s, alopecia
- Paxlovid cuts hospitalization, death only in at-risk COVID patients with weak immune systems
- Review estimates 69% 3-dose vaccine efficacy against long COVID
- Rare “Flesh-Eating” Bacterium Spreads North as Oceans Warm
- Ohio Issue 1: Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative
- Ohio votes on abortion rights this fall. Misinformation about the proposal is spreading
- Ohio Issue 2: An act to regulate adult use of cannabis, decriminalize and tax
Week of October 9, 2023 [episode #231]:
Featuring: Type 2 diabetes diagnosis at age 30 can reduce life expectancy by up to 14 years (1:51); AMERICA’S LIFE EXPECTANCY CRISIS — AN EPIDEMIC OF CHRONIC ILLNESS IS KILLING US TOO SOON (3:58); HOW RED-STATE POLITICS ARE SHAVING YEARS OFF AMERICAN LIVES — Ohio vs. Pennsylvania and New York (21:32); Child gun deaths and fatal drug poisonings skyrocketed over past decade (45:078); Violence dropped in California — but was alarmingly high for trans and nonbinary (47:22); Medicare Advantage Plans Overcharge 22-35% (48:39); EPA moving to ban more harmful chemicals after toxics law overhaul (50:18); Awe-inspiring science can have a positive effect on mental well-being (52:33).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Dengue will “take off” in southern Europe, US, Africa this decade, WHO scientist says
- Why dengue in Europe could spell disaster for the rest of the world — Increased investment into previously neglected diseases could see poorer countries left behind.
- How a Big Pharma Company Stalled a Potentially Lifesaving Vaccine in Pursuit of Bigger Profits
- We know how to regulate new drugs and medical devices–but we’re about to let health care AI run amok
- Industry ties could muddy U.S. dietary guidelines, watchdog says
- Nursing schools are turning away thousands of applicants during a major nursing shortage. Here’s why.
- Medicare’s proposal on nursing home staff meets insane impasse between huge profits and poor staffing and wages
- Language services a legal right in health care, but often not a reality
- As conservative views collide with science, doctors find themselves navigating political landmines
- Idaho Banned Abortion. Then It Turned Down Supports for Pregnancies and Births.
- “They just tried to scare us”: How anti-abortion centers teach sex ed inside public schools
- Severity of RSV Hospitalizations Rivals COVID in Older Adults
- Walgreens walkout: Your pharmacy might be closed this week
- How barring medical debt from credit scores could impact borrowers
- Cleveland Accelerates Its Ambitions for Hitting Net Zero Energy
Week of October 2, 2023 [episode #230]:
Featuring: Narcan, naloxone boxes being installed at Ohio highway rest stops (1:48); Suicide rates of teenage boys are skyrocketing because of firearm access (3:21); CDC launches “wild to mild” flu vaccine campaign to emphasize prevention of flu severity not just infection (12:55); New report shows Food is Medicine interventions would save U.S. lives and billions of dollars (14:35); Rising prevalence of obesity in developing countries approaching levels found in high-income countries (17:50); Women spend 20% more per year on out-of-pocket health costs (20:27); Women face host of disadvantages in cancer prevention and care, commission finds (23:20); What it will take to eliminate disparities in fertility care for Black women (29:50); Biden administration looking to expand coverage of over-the-counter birth control, other products (34:02); Children of color and from low-income families disproportionately harmed by toxic chemicals (36:02); Millions more students eligible for free school meals (38:09); Report on Improving Mental Health Outcomes by focusing on People, Place and Purpose (39:46).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Clouds now contain plastic, risking contamination of “everything we eat and drink”
- PFAS “forever chemicals” harming wildlife the world over
- Decades Later, Closed Military Bases Remain a Toxic Menace
- FDNY deaths from 9/11-related illnesses now equal the number killed on Sept. 11
- “Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
- Louisiana’s struggle with influx of salt water prompts a request for Biden to declare an emergency
- Lead contamination could rise as salt water enters New Orleans-area water systems and corrodes pipes
- “We can’t drink oil”: how a 70-year-old pipeline imperils the Great Lakes
- Mosquitoes Are a Growing Public Health Threat, Reversing Years of Progress
- Mainstay malaria drug may be beginning to fail in the Horn of Africa
- Study suggests poor environmental controls and poor sanitation may aid spread of resistant pathogens to humans
- FDA releases draft guidance on antibiotic duration limits in food animals
- Nitazenes: Synthetic opioids more deadly than fentanyl are starting to turn up in overdose cases
- Elevated temperatures and climate change may contribute to rising hospitalizations from drug and alcohol disorders
- A Decades-Long Drop in Teen Births Is Slowing, and Advocates Worry a Reversal Is Coming
- Abortion restrictions repel graduating OB-GYNs from conservative states
- Prostate cancer—a notable killer of Black men—can be made less deadly by modifying key risks
- Black people are more likely to be physically restrained in emergency rooms
- “An understaffed and broken system”: 900,000 Texans have lost Medicaid as others struggle to access SNAP benefits
- Medicaid rolls are being cut. Few are finding refuge in ACA plans.
- As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines
- Vaccine rollout is a mess today, but wasn’t during the pandemic.
- Free Rapid COVID Tests Are Back. How Should We Use Them?
- Peak COVID viral loads at 4th to 5th day of symptoms onset may influence best home-test timing
- Did the government get a bad deal on the Covid-19 boosters?
- Biden administration draws commitment from health insurers to cover COVID-19 shots
- U.S. to rein in algorithms that limit Medicare Advantage care
- Two Large Medical Groups Shun Medicare Advantage Plans
- Disability groups win fight to be included in health equity research at NIH
- Exodus of life scientists from academia reaches historic levels
- Kids and teens are inundated with phone prompts day and night
- To prevent gun violence, these peacemakers start with the basics
- What’s a food forest? Metro Denver already has 19 of them.
- Forget About Living to 100. Let’s Live Healthier Instead.
- Study pinpoints the length of incidental activity linked to health benefits
Week of September 25, 2023 [episode #229]:
Featuring: These 7 habits can cut the risk of depression in half, a new study finds (1:49); More than 4 in 10 Americans are now obese, a new record high (12:01); High blood pressure affects 1 in 3 adults worldwide, and most are not properly treated (12:47); Work stress can double men’s risk of heart disease (16:07); Study finds firearm injuries increase 62% in gentrified neighborhoods (20:06); Type 2 diabetes rates in U.S. youth rose 62% after COVID pandemic began (22:12); Biden administration relaunches free at-home COVID testing program by mail at COVIDtest.gov (24:07); Google could play a big role in protecting the health of American children by limiting unhealthy food marketing online (24:59); FDA must do more to penalize retailers that illegally sell tobacco to kids, government review finds (28:57); How new non-profit model boosts supply and lowers prices for generic drugs (35:46); Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do — Countries who outperform the U.S. system have three things in common (39:06); Even a partial electrification of vehicles could saves lives and money, with outsized benefits for Black and Latino residents (44:10); The Reach of Wildfire Smoke Is Going Global and Undoing Progress on Clean Air (46:04).
BONUS stories to read online!
- A healthy diet may lower dementia risk — even if you start late
- Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition
- The quickest way to improve your family’s mental health: start talking, even about your mental health struggles
- Redefining the non-communicable disease framework to incorporate oral diseases and sugars
- When You Think About Your Health, Don’t Forget Your Eyes
- In North Carolina, a radical experiment targets social determinants of health with fresh produce and safe housing
- Biden to announce first-ever federal office of gun violence prevention
- Hep C’s Number Comes Up: Can Biden’s 5-Year Plan Eliminate the Longtime Scourge?
- Medicare Advantage ads will look different this fall
- White House aiming to scrub medical debt from people’s credit scores, which could up ratings for millions
- Brain drain, skills loss, and other unintended consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade
- United States scores a C on global LGBTQ+ human rights scorecard, and may be flunking soon, as 62% of countries are now.
- The Republican Betrayal of PEPFAR, threatening a signature George W. Bush program, and potentially killing millions with HIV/AIDS
- How Will Rural Americans Fare During Medicaid Unwinding? Experts Fear They’re on Their Own
- A Black Community in West Virginia Sues the EPA to Spur Action on Toxic Air Pollution
- As oceans warm, pathogenic bacteria are turning up more frequently in northern regions
- The Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Decision: The liquefied-natural-gas buildout—and fossil-fuel exports—challenge progress on global warming.
- What the *#@%?! How to respond when your child swears.
- Nearly half of women with disabilities report experiencing sexual harassment or assault at work
- Only 2 percent of U.S. doctors are Latina, despite diversity leading to better care for patients
- Inside the gold rush to sell cheaper imitations of Ozempic weight loss drug
- Melatonin warnings: Nearly half of parents give it to their kids to help them sleep, but experts urge caution. Melatonin is “not a regulated substance,” doctor warns
- Does the risk of getting long Covid increase each time you get reinfected?
Week of September 18, 2023 [episode #228]:
Featuring: Malnutrition early in life sets stage for poor growth and death, affecting 150 million children worldwide (1:52); Child poverty in the U.S. jumped and income declined in 2022 as coronavirus pandemic benefits ended (3:57); The Lancet Commission on gaining peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality (6:37); Food from tobacco-owned brands more “hyperpalatable” than competitor’s food (11:29); Prescription opioid shipments declined sharply even as fatal overdoses increased (16:52); U.S. school shootings hit another annual record high (18:58); High rate of mental health problems and political extremism found in those who bought firearms during COVID pandemic (20:33); Heat-Related Deaths Are Up, and Not Just Because It’s Getting Hotter (25:14); Extreme heat is linked to higher risk of life-threatening delivery complications for pregnant people (27:48); Superbugs catch a ride on air pollution particles spreading anti-microbial resistance (32:22); RSV season may have already begun (36:50); Why the CDC Has Recommended Newly-updated Covid Vaccines for All (39:41); Half of Americans interested in updated COVID vaccine (42:48); Here’s Another Racial-Ethnic Disparity in Back Pain Care (43:19); Sexual assault survivors can now track their rape kits in most states (44:32).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Food Can Be Literally Addictive, New Evidence Suggests. Highly processed foods resemble drugs of misuse in a number of disturbing ways.
- How a supplement company became a haven for health misinformation
- The food industry pays “influencer” dietitians to shape your eating habits
- Anemia afflicts nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide, but there are practical strategies for reducing it
- No deal in sight for global AIDS program as deadline looms
- States considering later high school start times as teens’ health and school performance improve with more sleep
- Climate Change a “Major Threat” for Respiratory Patients, Experts Warn
- Fentanyl plus stimulants drives “fourth wave” of overdose epidemic in the U.S.
- FDA Reviewers Say Over-The-Counter Decongestant Doesn’t Work
- Why the F.D.A. Took Decades to Tackle a Disputed Cold Remedy
- Patients might finally receive practical information with prescriptions — if the FDA doesn’t blow it
- Without “high-touch” strategies, cancer’s breakthroughs will increase disparities — people, not drugs, are the key.
- A Huge Threat by Medicare to the U.S. Budget Has Receded. And No One Is Sure Why.
- Medicare encourages states to test global health budgets to cut costs and align incentives to patient outcomes
- “The rule has sticks as well” — Biden’s getting tough with health insurers over denials of mental health care and mental health parity.
- Americans don’t trust politicians on abortion and gender-affirming care, poll finds
- They’re immigrants, farmworkers, and new moms. And they’re facing postpartum depression at high rates
- Concerned About Your OB-GYN Visit? A Guide to What Should Happen — and What Shouldn’t. How to Avoid Sexual Misconduct and Receive Good Care.
- Survey shows American men are less healthy than they believe.
- Marriage could mean losing life-saving benefits for people with disabilities. So they’re protesting.
- How Advance Care Planning Neglects Black Americans
- U.S.-funded hunt for rare viruses halted amid risk concerns
- Amid another rise in cases, Covid’s new normal has set in
- The latest on COVID-19 vaccine fall update
- This Season’s Flu Shot Appears Effective Against Serious Cases
- Health Workers Warn Loosening Mask Advice in Hospital Infection Control Would Harm Patients and Providers
- Why you may want to think twice before throwing out those old at-home COVID tests
- Eating a vegan diet could reduce grocery bill by 16%, a savings of more than $500 a year.
Week of September 11, 2023: GREATEST HITS SHOW #6, stories from April thru May, 2021
GREATEST HITS SHOW #6, from April thru May, 2021, featuring: Devastatingly pervasive — 1 in 3 women globally experience violence (1:59); Stress from work and social interactions put women at higher coronary heart disease risk (6:11); Physicians are more likely to doubt black patients than white patients (7:42); Women’s pain not taken as seriously as men’s pain (8:53); Study finds Americans eat food of mostly poor nutritional quality — except at school (11:12); Time to shift from “food security” to “nutrition security” to increase health and well-being (16:48); How to gain a sense of well-being, free and online –free course with full reference materials, “The Science of Well-being” (20:02); Children born to Chernobyl survivors don’t carry more genetic mutations (22:03); Even “safe” ambient carbon monoxide levels may harm health (24:11); Music improves older adults’ sleep quality (25:22); Spanking may affect the brain development of a child similar to more severe violence (26:34); The clear message on promoting body positivity (28:11); How a shocking environmental disaster was uncovered off the California coast after 70 years (30:57); The Sense, and Dollars, of Food as Medicine (37:47); New approach to understanding our wellbeing — the ability to connect and feel a sense of belonging (44:42); Providing medications for free leads to greater adherence and cost-savings (46:14); Long term use of prescription meds for insomnia not linked to better quality sleep (48:19); Number of smokers has reached all-time high of 1.1 billion globally (49:51); Leading global cardiovascular organizations release joint opinion on achieving the “tobacco endgame” (53:00).
Week of September 4, 2023 [episode #227]:
Featuring: New research links wildfire smoke to increased risk of emergency room visits for people of all ages (2:01); Dirty air is biggest external threat to human health, worse than tobacco or alcohol (4:06); Students face new school year with jump in bullying (6:15); Suicides among U.S. veterans jumped 10-fold in decades after 9/11 (9:12); Shooting survivors have “distressingly high” risk of repeat firearm injury, especially young Black males (11:53); Brain Damage, Including CTE, Seen in Athletes Who Died Young (18:37); New flame retardants found in breast milk years after similar chemicals were banned (20:47); TB research shows a good diet can cut infections by nearly 50% (25:39); Medicaid-eligible people who aren’t enrolled far more likely to delay care (27:48); Prevalence of disabilities for older Americans plummeted from 2008 to 2017 (33:03).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Removing Fukushima’s melted nuclear fuel will be harder than the release of plant’s wastewater
- Gender Affirming Surgeries Nearly Tripled in the U.S. From 2016 to 2019 — Breast and chest procedures most common, followed by genital reconstruction
- Evidence Undermines “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” Claims. Fears of “social contagion,” used to support anti-transgender legislation, are not supported by science
- Canada warns LGBTQ people of U.S. state laws in updated travel advisory
- Fruit and vegetable “prescriptions” may lead to better heart health
- How New York’s Public Hospitals Cut Carbon Emissions: More Vegetables. Making plant-based meals the default has reduced food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 36 percent. Just don’t say “vegan.”
- The myths we tell ourselves about American farming. “Agricultural exceptionalism,” explained.
- Kellogg’s is going to war over Mexico’s nutrition label rules. A similar fight is coming to the U.S.
- How Menopause Affects Women of Color — Symptoms can be more severe than they are for white women and last longer. Doctors often don’t realize this.
- What People Misunderstand About Rape — Sexual assault often goes unpunished when victims fail to fight back. But freezing is an involuntary response to trauma.
- American study estimates 1.87 million excess deaths occurred in China two months after its zero COVID policy ended
- COVID-19 boosts risks of health problems 2 years later, giant study of veterans says
- High levels of exposure to COVID-19 virus may reduce protection provided by vaccination and prior infection — dose matters.
- Top review says COVID lockdowns and masks worked, period.
- ProMED infectious disease surveillance website issues ultimatum to striking moderators, as questions about site’s future persist
- “Valley fever” fungus surging northward in California as climate changes
- America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow
- The true cost of climate pollution? 44% of corporate profits. Yet governments are still pouring $7 trillion into subsidies for fossil fuels.
- How the twin crises of climate change and poor public housing are harming people’s health
- Workers exposed to extreme heat have no consistent protection in the U.S.
- Study shows no change in U.S. dental antibiotic prescribing rates
- EPA punts ozone standard review
- Hospitals swallowing independent practices found to lead to higher costs, worse patient health outcomes
- Will drug price negotiations work? Here’s what you need to know.
- Not Everything We Call Cancer Should Be Called Cancer
- Optimizing tobacco cessation treatment with lung cancer screening
- Why isn’t there any enforcement of the ACA mandate to support breastfeeding?
- Toddlers’ Screen Time Linked to Delayed Development — More time on devices at 1 year was associated with specific delays at 2 and 4 years
- 5,000 pilots suspected of hiding major health issues. Most are still flying.
- Music can serve as therapy. Here’s how it can help reduce anxiety.
Week of August 28, 2023: GREATEST HITS SHOW #10, stories from April to July, 2022 [episode #226]
GREATEST HITS SHOW #10, stories from April to July 2022, featuring: New article outlines the characteristics of a “longevity diet” (2:00); New expert consensus statement published on achieving remission of type 2 diabetes using diet as a primary intervention (3:26); Vegan diet eases rheumatoid arthritis pain (5:14); The U.S. is soon to become a net food importer (6:48); World’s vulnerable are being polluted in their own homes as they cook (8:04); Men – especially from rich countries – still dominate the boards of global health groups (9:44); High cost of cancer care in the U.S. doesn’t reduce mortality rates (12:09); Heart attack mortality rate higher in the U.S. compared to other high-income countries (14:22); Locking People Up Is No Way to Treat Mental Illness (16:48); PTSD costs in U.S. civilian, military populations combine for more than $230 billion, surpassing costs for conditions such as anxiety and depression (20:34); Study finds disparities in improper antibiotic prescribing, which is commonplace (24:44); What are the Radiation Risks from CT Scans? and CT Scans Cause About 40,000 Cancers Deaths Per Year, Similar to Breast and Prostate Cancers (26:54); Up to 540,000 lives could be saved worldwide by targeting speed and other proven traffic crash prevention interventions (34:08); United States had highest motor vehicle crash mortality rate among comparable countries (36:12); Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year in U.S. (37:48); Toledo ranks as 10th most stressed city in U.S. (38:08); Reasons Why Most Young Adults Sweep Depression Under the Rug (40:52); A new study shows benefits to dispatching mental health specialists in nonviolent 911 emergencies (42:05); Global abortion facts and health care standards (44:23); “Set them up for failure” – Sex education not required in many states where abortion is or will be banned (49:28); One-Week Social Media Break Reduces Anxiety, Depression (54:11).
Week of August 21, 2023 [episode #225]:
Featuring: U.S. suicide deaths reached record high in 2022 (1:53); Cancer screenings have saved the U.S. at least 12 million years of life and $6.5 trillion over 25 years (2:28); Risk of cancer death after exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation underestimated, says study of nuclear industry (4:44); EPA’s new definition of PFAS could omit thousands of “forever chemicals” (7:51); Middle-aged U.S. adults binge drinking and marijuana use at record levels (11:46); Younger adults increasingly view alcohol as unhealthy (14:11); Americans’ biggest fears: Opioids surge past guns (15:23); Some Health Workers See Double the Risk for Fatal Drug Overdoses (17:06); Drinking, often heavy, is common among cancer survivors (18:03); Two-thirds of Americans say their lives have been affected by addiction (19:42); A marijuana legalization question will be on Ohio’s fall ballot after lawmakers failed to act on it (21:01); Negotiations for lower drugs prices are at risk again — this time in the courts (22:02); The U.S. pays much more for newer weight loss drugs than its peer countries (26:02); Few Early Alzheimer’s Patients Qualify for Newest Drug (26:47); Feds raise concerns about long call center wait times as millions dropped from Medicaid (29:24); In emergency rooms, marginalized patients more likely to be skipped in line (30:31); Nurse Home-Visit Program Shows No Benefit for Prenatal Care, Pointing to Larger Social Determinants (33;36); Older discharged COVID patients at twice the risk of death as older flu patients (35:47); NFL announces more steps to reduce head injuries, as injuries continue to increase (36;49).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Environmental groups sue SoCal air regulator over ozone pollution for failing to impose regulatory fees on major industries polluting
- The EPA is rejecting calls for tougher regulation of big livestock farms. It’s promising more study.
- New Top Cop at the E.P.A. Aims to Get Enforcement Back on Track
- Maui wildfire survivors face new threat from chemical contamination that could linger for months
- Maui water is unsafe even with filters, one of the lessons learned from fires in California
- Many users of skin-lightening products are unaware of risks
- Teenage smokers have different brains than non-smoking teens
- Eels, Cocaine and Climate Change — Forget “Cocaine Bear” and “Cocaine Shark.” To really understand the environmental threat of illicit drugs, look to eels.
- What does the U.S. abortion pill ruling mean for patients?
- Why so few get screened for lung cancer, the deadliest cancer in the U.S.
- Removing Race-Corrected Pulmonary Function Tests May Alter Lung Cancer Care
- A New Medicare Proposal Would Cover Training for Family Caregivers
- The definition of clinical trial diversity must include disabled people
- Why Doctors Spend Millions on Fees That Could Be Spent on Providing Care. The shift to electronic medical reimbursements gave rise to payment processing companies demanding a 1.5% to 5% fee every time a doctor gets paid by insurers. The government banned such fees — until a company lobbyist got involved.
- Low Regret, High Satisfaction Long Term After Gender-Affirming Mastectomy
- Turning the tide on obesity? Prevention efforts that address all of the factors that contribute to obesity must be bolstered, not abandoned, to ensure that the next generation will not require lifelong medication to maintain metabolic health.
- AI Causes Real Harm. Let’s Focus on That over the End-of-Humanity Hype
- Thousands of scientists are cutting back on Twitter, seeding angst and uncertainty
- 1 in 3 men worldwide have genital HPV infection
- 81% of infants in ICU for RSV were previously healthy, born full-term
- “Underwhelming” — NIH trials fail to test meaningful long Covid treatments — after 2.5 years and over $1 billion spent
- Amid the New Normal of COVID, There’s an Old Normal Too — Low-income working families and people of color continue to be hit hardest.
- COVID-19 may trigger new-onset high blood pressure
- Right Price, Wrong Politics — People want to live in states with access to abortion care and liberal policies. They just can’t afford to.
- Just 4,000 daily steps may lower your risk of death, study finds, with additional benefits the more you walk
Week of August 7, 2023: GREATEST HITS SHOW #9, January to April, 2022 [episode #224]
GREATEST HITS SHOW #9, stories from January to April 2022, featuring: A Healthy Diet Is Too Costly for Three Billion People (1:53); Financial incentives for smoking cessation proves highly cost effective for society but not for individual businesses (3:23); Resolved to quit smoking this year? Experts offer tips (6:42); In helping smokers quit, combining treatments is key (9:18); Health-Care Disparities: A Way of Life for Black Ohioans? (12:39); Incarceration increases long-term mortality rates among blacks but not whites (14:55); For the uninsured, crowdfunding provides little help in paying for health care and deepens inequities (17:02); Eat your legumes — How a healthier diet can add 10 or more years to your life (18:44); Why are alcohol- and drug-related deaths rising in the U.S. and not elsewhere? (21:02); Pressure to feel good associated with poorer individual wellbeing in happier countries (24:02); Why the pursuit of happiness can be bad for you, and what you should pursue instead (25:45); Overlooked and underfunded — experts call for united action to reduce the global burden of depression (30:00); More spice could help seniors avoid salt (35:23); One in ten Americans say they don’t eat meat, a growing share of the population (36:56); Some of the world’s lowest rates of dementia found in Amazonian indigenous groups (37:41); High blood pressure, obesity, and physical inactivity have the biggest impact on dementia cases (41:09); Diet quality decreased for U.S. seniors from 2001 to 2018, dropping to 61% with poor quality (41:56); “Stand your ground” laws linked to 700 additional firearm homicides each year in U.S. (45:36); Amid war and disease, World Happiness Report shows bright spot of increased benevolence (47:56); Cities are making us fat and unhealthy: A “healthy location index” can help us plan better (51:04); Subsidy would improve fruit and veg intake by as much as 15%, say economists (53:23); Sci-Hub Offers the Quickest, Easiest, and Greatest Access to Science — all for free, though illegally (55:16).
Week of August 7, 2023 [episode #223]:
Featuring: 7 out of 10 people worldwide protected by at least one best practice tobacco control measure (1:52); A majority of Americans support universal background checks, gun licensing and an assault weapons ban (5:02); Miami’s top cop shot himself — Mental health remains an issue for first responders (7:33); Attacks at U.S. medical centers show why health care is one of the nation’s most violent fields (9:29); Doctors in states that ban abortion can still refer patients elsewhere — Why are so few doing that? (14:55); Enough with the health care policy patchwork — It’s time for universal insurance (23:12); 10% of cancer risk lurks in your genes, and testing is cheaper now — Why do so few people get it? (32:21); Without a plan to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs, the Cancer Moonshot will never achieve liftoff (36:07); The Real Costs of the New Alzheimer’s Drug, Most of Which Will Fall to Taxpayers — $82,500 per year (40:00).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Study shows 8 out of 10 child deaths in low-income countries could be prevented
- Legislators rolling back child labor protections
- The World Is Not Prepared for Another Cholera Wave
- ProMED, an early warning system on disease outbreaks, appears near collapse
- 17 percent of U.S. toddlers falling short on childhood vaccinations
- Measles was once seen as a childhood disease. Increasingly, adults are susceptible, too
- EPA Approved a Fuel Ingredient Even Though It Could Cause Cancer in Virtually Every Person Exposed Over a Lifetime
- “Halliburton Loophole” Allows Fracking Companies to Avoid Chemical Regulation
- Outdoor air pollution may increase non-lung cancer risk in older adults
- Black Women Weigh Emerging Risks of Hair Straighteners
- Doctors Sound Alarm About Child Nicotine Poisoning as Vapes Flood the U.S. Market
- Lawsuit over Texas abortion ban could be a model in other states where doctors and hospitals are afraid to end dangerous pregnancies
- Doctors Emerge as Political Force in Battle Over Abortion Laws in Ohio and Elsewhere. Ohio is among at least five states where physicians have mobilized to protect reproductive rights.
- Drugmakers go under the skin with injectables, skirting early U.S. Medicare price negotiations
- Doctors say insurers are ignoring orders to pay surprise billing disputes
- Millions more Americans have medical debt than student debt. Where’s their relief?
- “I’m going to be homeless” — Ohio Medicaid collects $87.5M from families after loved ones’ death
- Options, resources available to help avoid Medicaid taking your assets
- All U.S. racial and ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in Alzheimer’s neuroimaging research
- Marijuana addiction is real. Those struggling often face skepticism.
- The Wild West of Online Testosterone Prescribing
- How do doctors’ personal political affiliations affect how they care for their patients?
- Climate change is hitting close to home for nearly 2 out of 3 Americans, poll finds
- The NIH Ices a Research Project on Science Communication. Is It Self-Censorship?
- How the ADA paved the way for workplace protections for women and LGBTQ+ people
- Mississippi Remains an Outlier in Jailing People With Serious Mental Illness Without Charges
- Changes in heat-related illnesses
- In a summer marked by extreme heat, some suggest it is time for a national cooling standard
- Mom of two dies from drinking too much water after feeling dehydrated on family trip
- Field sobriety tests cannot reliably identify drivers under the influence of cannabis
- “Oppenheimer” is a must-watch for everyone who works in AI and health care
- It’s a busy, noisy, bright world. For millions, going out is hard, due to sensory processing disorder that makes sights, sounds and smells feel overwhelming
- As black lung disease declines, silicosis in miners is taking its place
- After decades of delays and broken promises, coal miners hail rule to slow rise of black lung driven by silicosis
- Fatigue Can Shatter a Person — Everyday tiredness is nothing like the depleting symptom that people with long COVID and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome experience
- Switching from the average American omnivore diet to a fully plant-based diet saves 1.15 acres of land.
- The Life-Changing, Solar-Charged Power of Sustainable “Regenerative Travel” that reconnects us with nature
- The COVID Virus is Learning New Tricks and We Humans Keep Falling Behind
- U.S. News & World Report HOSPITAL RANKINGS for TOLEDO [None in top tier]
Week of July 31, 2023 ,GREATEST HITS SHOW #8 [episode #222]:
GREATEST HITS SHOW #8, stories from September to December 2021, featuring: High-quality diet tied to lower migraine frequency, severity (1:56); Higher sodium intake may be tied to worse migraine outcomes (2:32); Consuming fruit and vegetables and exercising can make you happier (3:06); Top tips if your child is a fussy eater (4:15) A Little Radiation Is Not Good For You (6:12); Science Alone Can’t Heal a Sick Society (7:25); Corporate versus public control of science and technology: Forging a framework for the 21st Century (13:41); How placebos work is not fully understood, but alternative theory of consciousness holds some clues (20:57); Researchers trace the outlines of two cultures within science, one of which promotes greater equity and inclusivity (25:30); Investing $1 per person per year in hand hygiene could save hundreds of thousands of lives (30:42); Only about half of U.S. adolescents get sex education that meets minimum federal standards (34:03); New look at nutrition research identifies 10 features of a heart-healthy eating pattern (36:59); What Makes Some Countries Happier Than Others? (44:22); Seven questions to assess how wise you are (47:42); Protective effect of education against midlife mental health struggle waning for Americans (49:41); Junk food portion sizes need to be reigned in (51:18); Our meat habit is causing pollution issues — by way of our poops (54:20).
Week of July 24, 2023 [episode #221]:
Featuring: Toledo ranks 84th among top 100 U.S. cities on fitness index (1:51); What’s in your sports supplement? Not what’s on the label, study finds (3:37); The Supreme Court Should Back Firearms Restraints That Save Lives through domestic violence civil protection orders (7:44); Hepatitis C Infections in Pregnancy Skyrocketed Over the Past Two Decades (16:36); Misdiagnoses cost the U.S. 800,000 deaths and serious disabilities every year (17:37); Insurers Deny Medical Care for the Poor at High Rates (25:41); The Overlooked Reason Our Health Care System Crushes Patients — administrative burden on patients and providers (31:32); Cancer experts call for cancer care to be centered on patients rather than commercial interests (37:02); Just more than a third of hospitals are complying with price transparency rules (38:57); A Positive Covid Milestone — excess deaths each day is no longer historically abnormal (41:16); A clue to China’s true covid-19 death toll — likely 1.6 million deaths in 3 month of wave (43:05).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Headers linked to memory issues, raising questions about soccer safety as the World Cup kicks off
- Trump COVID Shot Ad Boosted Vaccination in Red Counties
- WHO urges governments to set up surveillance for people at risk from heatwaves
- Why ultra-processed foods matter: they worsen the state of world hunger
- What Happened When Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs
- The Painful Legacy of ‘Law and Order’ Treatment of Addiction in Jail
- Providers still hesitate to prescribe buprenorphine for addiction, despite ‘X-waiver’ removal
- Medical Debt Is Making Americans Angry. Doctors and Hospitals Ignore This at Their Peril.
- Medicare Advantage could get up to $1.6 trillion more than it’s entitled to over the next decade, due to coding oddities and healthier patients, and that could hurt the Medicare trust fund
- A program to bring internet access to low-income people is running out of money. Health care will suffer.
- Health care providers are raking in profits by exploiting programs meant for the poor
- POLICY PRIMER: THE PROBLEMS WITH MEDICARE ADVANTAGE
- In some states, gender dysphoria is a protected disability — and momentum could be growing
- FTC and HHS Warn Hospital Systems and Telehealth Providers about Privacy and Security Risks from Online Tracking Technologies
- Biden’s HIPAA expansion for abortion draws criticism, lawsuit threats
- Blue-state doctors launch abortion pill pipeline into states with bans
- C-section Rates Are Way Too High. We Need to Hold Doctors and Hospitals Accountable
- “Nudges” from electronic health records could improve the implementation of tobacco use treatment almost three-fold over standard care for cancer patients
- America’s food program for the poor should focus on nutrition
- Undue influence? Anonymous donations to World Health Organization’s new foundation raise concerns
- Top DEA official resigns after report on high-priced consulting work for pharma
- Light pollution is fixable. Can researchers and policymakers work together to dim the lights?
- As Climate Clock Ticks, U.S. Government Has Been Using Credits for Burning Trash to Look Green
- Climate Change Threatens U.S. Nuclear Strike Capability through flooding and heat waves
- Trinity Nuclear Test’s Fallout Reached 46 States, Canada and Mexico, New Study Finds
- A Meatless Diet Is Better for You—And the Planet
- Being Anxious or Sad Does Not Make You Mentally Ill — We easily pathologize bad feelings, but they’re a normal, even healthy part of human experience.
Week of July 17, 2023 [episode #220]:
Featuring: Hunger and famine are not accidents — they are created by the actions of people — the connection to violent conflict and profiteering (1:52); Where Was Climate Change at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health? (8:13); EPA makes major move to reduce childhood exposure to lead-based paint dust (11:12); Electric vehicle tires — a lesser-known pollution headache (14:58); FDA approves first over-the-counter birth control pill (20:12); Cost could limit demand for over-the-counter birth control pills (21:50); Why more Americans aren’t using the 988 mental-health crisis hotline (24:36); Most patients using weight-loss drugs like Wegovy stop within a year (28:44); Investigating the XY (male-female) factor in disease (31:17); East Palestine, Ohio, Railroad Derailment — Lessons to Learn, Actions to Take (34:18); My Epidemiologist — Lessons I learned during the pandemic (39:02).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Houston just started enforcing a decade-old ban on feeding the homeless. Food Not Bombs volunteers are fighting back.
- New York City hotline to advise police on involuntary hospitalizations has gotten zero calls
- Understanding effects of heat on mental health
- Saharan dust plume arrives in Houston, another health risk as temperatures approach 100
- Takeaways from AP’s examination of nuclear waste problems in the St. Louis region
- The U.S. Will Send Depleted Uranium Munitions to Ukraine
- Decades after the dangers of lead became clear, some cities are leaving lead pipe in the ground
- Why tires — not tailpipes — are spewing more pollution from your cars (brakes too)
- EU to drop ban of hazardous chemicals after industry pressure
- Johnson & Johnson sues researchers who linked talc to cancer
- As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending
- Who Employs Your Doctor? Increasingly, a Private Equity Firm.
- Why nearly half of Americans with Parkinson’s don’t see a neurologist
- Unlocking Ohio’s economic potential: The impact of eliminating racial disparities on Ohio businesses, governments and communities
- Melanoma an even more deadly disease in black men
- The end of affirmative action will lead to more preventable deaths
- Will Our Healthcare Workforce Ever Look Like America?
- Why maternal mortality is so hard to measure — and why the problem may get worse
- Drowning Is No. 1 Killer of Children age 1 to 5. U.S. Efforts to Fix It Are Lagging.
- India demands higher manufacturing standards from small drugmakers
- Presenting a sham treatment as personalized increases the placebo effect in a randomized controlled trial
- Kidney stones are rising among children and teens, especially girls
- Is aspartame a carcinogen?
- Can ChatGPT Defend the Long-term Use of Antipsychotics?
- How abortion bans will strain an already failing foster system
- Right-wing politicians are stoking renewed moral panic about HIV
- “Greenhushing” — Why some companies quietly hide their climate pledges
- Judge holds Washington state in contempt for not providing services to mentally ill people in jails
- Mental Health Respite Facilities Are Filling Care Gaps in Over a Dozen States
- Chronic insufficient sleep leads to overeating and eating more junk food
- Want to keep your memory sharp? Here’s what science recommends [exercise and eating well]
- Having a negative view of aging may be hurting your health and shortening your lifespan. 5 ways to change your mindset.
Week of July 10, 2023 [episode #219]:
Featuring: Places With Smoke-Free Laws Have the Best Health Outcomes, with less cardiovascular, respiratory system disease, and adverse birth outcomes (1:52); Here are the 12 states — including Ohio — where smoking rates are 50% higher than the rest of the country (4:18); Ohio has much room for improvement in state tobacco control ratings (6:49); CDC helping states address gun injuries after years of political roadblocks (9:00); CDC to Reduce Funding for States’ Child Vaccination Programs due to debt ceiling bill (14:32); Idaho Drops Critical Panel Investigating Pregnancy-Related Deaths as U.S. Maternal Mortality Surges (16:05); Equity in decline — fair distribution in a worse-off world (21:19); More than one third of young women in U.S. suffer from iron deficiency (33:31); Fewer than half of new drugs add substantial therapeutic value over existing treatments (36:51); New Federal Decisions Make Alzheimer’s Drug Widely Accessible, despite safety risks, marginal benefit, and high costs (38:51); Emergency lights and sirens on ambulances may do more harm than good (46:30).
BONUS stories to read online!
- U.S. livestock, pet industries, and various animal markets pose disease threat to people
- Report: Animal Markets and Zoonotic Disease in the United States (PDF)
- In Arizona Water Ruling, the Hopi Tribe Sees Limits on Its Future
- How private interests benefit from tribal water settlements
- New Biden initiative targets controversial hospital “facility fees” that often surprise patients
- Biden takes aim at “junk” insurance, vowing to save money for consumers being played as “suckers”
- Billing the Hospital Billing Department [WARNING: This is satire]
- The Problems With For-Profit Nursing Programs
- The U.S. Banned Farmers From Using a Brain-Harming Pesticide on Food. Why Has It Slowed a Global Ban?
- How to Lose a Century of Progress: Fret About Imperfect Public Health Delivering Huge Results
- Pro-Vaccine Views Are Winning. Don’t Fear the Skeptics.
- What could cause a malaria comeback in the U.S. — and what could stop it
- More States Legalize Sales of Unpasteurized Milk, Despite Public Health Warnings
- Ohio governor asks Biden to declare disaster over train derailment
- Texas Pipeline Operators Released or Flared Tons of Gas to Avert Explosions During Heatwave
- To Save the Planet, Should We Really Be Moving Slower? Balancing Growth of Green Technologies While Leveraging Degrowth Movement
- What to Do When You Can’t Fall Asleep May Surprise You — get up, relax, do something boring
- How Focusing on Care Can Change Our Relationship to Food while building a better world
Week of July 3, 2023 [episode #218]:
Featuring: Air quality affects skin health — A dermatologist explains as more Canadian wildfire smoke hits the U.S. (2:07); Vaping a gateway to smoking for non-smokers (4:17); “Jarringly” Low Hepatitis C Cure Rates a Decade After New Treatments (6:07); Nearly half of tuberculosis cases in prisons worldwide go undetected (9:54); More Americans see gun violence as major problem, poll finds (12:03); More in new poll say pandemic is over, but fewer than half say lives are back to normal (14:42); As AIDS epidemic raged, a rogue Reagan official taught America the truth (17:55); Chemical industry used big tobacco’s tactics to conceal evidence of PFAS “forever chemical” risks (25:26).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Threats to Democracy Are Threats to Health
- Harassment against scientists is out of control
- Misinformation Obscures Standards Guiding Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
- Millions face a relentless summer of smoke that won’t end anytime soon
- Extreme Heat Is Here to Stay. Why Are We Not More Afraid?
- Texas heat isn’t letting up at night
- Pressure builds for FEMA to declare deadly heat events as disasters
- Heat, humidity, and smoke… oh my. [epidemiological brief]
- How Safe Is Your Office Air? There’s One Way to Find Out. [measure it]
- We’re Building Infrastructure Based on a Climate We No Longer Live In
- A Grid Collapse Would Make a Heat Wave Far Deadlier
- The EPA was on the cusp of cleaning up “Cancer Alley.” Then it backed down.
- The ugly side of beauty: Chemicals in cosmetics threaten college-age women’s reproductive health
- How Plastics Are Poisoning Us. They both release and attract toxic chemicals, and appear everywhere from human placentas to chasms 36,000 feet beneath the sea. Will we ever be rid of them?
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a game changer for U.S. women. Here’s why.
- “I felt like I was dying”: How women with postpartum depression fall through the cracks of U.S. health care
- Life in the Throes of Postpartum Depression
- “Man Down!”: Surviving the Texas Heat in Prisons Without Air-Conditioning
- Conditions at Guantánamo Are Cruel and Inhuman, U.N. Investigation Finds
- Sickle cell disease is 11 times more deadly than previously recorded
- Opioids are overrated for some common back pain
- That essential morning coffee may be a placebo
- WHO’s cancer research agency to say aspartame sweetener a possible carcinogen
- As Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Hit the Market, Anti-Smoking Groups Press for Wider Standard
- Georgia launches Medicaid expansion in closely watched test of work requirements
- Supreme Court strikes down use of affirmative action, a blow to efforts to diversify medical schools
- George W. Bush’s AIDS-fighting program’s new critics: Republicans
- Malaria has always been a risk, but U.S. outbreaks are rare thanks to surveillance
- States and CDC to track cronobacter cases [which triggered baby formula crisis] like other infectious diseases
- Melted, pounded, extruded: Why many ultra-processed foods are unhealthy. Industrial processing fundamentally changes the structure of food.
Week of June 26, 2023 [episode #217]:
Featuring: Air pollution, even at low levels, made COVID much worse for patients and hospitals (1:52); Air pollution from intensive agriculture and urban emissions linked to Kawasaki disease (5:03); A cheap fix to global warming, reducing methane emissions, is finally gaining support (6:53); E-Cigs Are Still Flooding the U.S., Addicting Teens With Higher Nicotine Doses (10:08); Report finds nationwide spike in preventable deaths, maternal mortality and medical bills (18:11); Diabetes cases worldwide to double to 1.3 billion by 2050 (23:25); Danger afoot — U.S. pedestrian deaths at highest level in 41 years (25:57); “Mosquito days” are getting more common nationwide due to climate change (29:23); Belize certified malaria-free by WHO (30:26); Traumatic brain injury should be recognized as chronic condition (32:08); Bloated patient records are filled with false information, thanks to copy-paste (33:23); Online harassment of doctors is a public health issue (38:35).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The World Rallied to Find Missing Titan Sub but Ignored Shipwrecked Migrants
- Heat Waves Are Unleashing a Deadly but Overlooked Pollutant — Ozone
- Wildfire Smoke Reacts with City Pollution, Creating New Toxic Air Hazard — Ozone
- How America solved its first air pollution crisis — and why solving the next one will be harder
- The New War on Bad Air (for better ventilated buildings)
- Meet the Texas commissioners who could stymie Biden’s climate agenda by approving methane releases
- How to build a zero-waste, circular economy. These businesses say: reuse, refill, return.
- Navy weapons tests in Potomac spark environmental lawsuit
- Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River case, voiding water rights
- Harsh New Fentanyl Laws Ignite Debate Over How to Combat Overdose Crisis: Law Enforcement Versus Public Health
- Abortion bans are causing “chilling effect” for OB/GYNs says poll of OB/GYNS
- Even in states where it is legal, abortion isn’t as accessible as the laws make it seem
- Malpractice Lawsuits Over Denied Abortion Care May Be on the Horizon
- Abortion is ancient history: Long before Roe, women terminated pregnancies
- States with abortion bans or severe limits far outpace those offering paid family leave. None of the 25 anti-abortion states offer any paid family leave. This double whammy of mandated birth and state neglect has grave health consequences.
- Medical Exiles: Families Flee States Amid Crackdown on Transgender Care
- Everything you need to know about gender-affirming care
- How does trauma spill from one generation to the next?
- Americans are drinking as much alcohol now as in Civil War days
- Head Hits, Not Concussions, Tied to CTE
- New study links combined contraceptive pills and depression
- In-Hospital Delivery-Related Maternal Mortality on the Decline — But the prevalence of severe maternal morbidity increased
- BMI vs Body Fat Percentage When Classifying Obesity
- “Night owls” more likely to die younger, study says. But the problem isn’t sleep; it’s drinking and smoking.
- “It’s beyond unethical”: Opaque conflicts of interest permeate prescription drug benefits
- The Biotech Edge: How Executives and Well-Connected Investors Make Exquisitely Timed Trades in Health Care Stocks
- “You’re not God”: Doctors and patient families say HCA hospitals push hospice care
- The Moral Crisis of America’s Doctors practicing in America’s corporate health care
- L.A. voters could clamp down on pay for hospital executives
- Why Do We Tolerate Our Health Insurance Problem?
- How AI could spark the next pandemic by making it easier to make dangerous germs
- They only want you to believe it’s food — the ultra-processed food industry rules
Week of June 19, 2023, GREATEST HITS SHOW #7 [episode #216]:
GREATEST HITS SHOW #7, stories from May to August 2021, featuring: New position statement declares that sleep is essential to health (2:02); Better sleep — Less fast food and screen time, more physical activity (5:12); America’s unhealthy lifestyles (10:34); Women now drink as much as men (13:45); Beyond remission — From alcohol dependence to optimal mental health (17:38); The link between structural racism, high blood pressure and Black people’s health (22:17); Study suggests unmedicated, untreated brain illness is likely in mass shooters (26:28); The Food System’s Carbon Footprint Has Been Vastly Underestimated (29:57); Pesticides Are Killing the World’s Soils and Their Biodiversity (37:52); The total health and climate consequences of the American food system cost three times as much as the food itself (42:24); The food system is unfair to real farmers and creates overabundance of highly processed foods (48:11); Researchers Critique the Medical Model of Mental Health, Propose an Alternative (50:17); Think leisure is a waste? That may not bode well for your mental health (54:44).
Week of June 12, 2023 [episode #215]:
Featuring: Even Healthy People Should Minimize Exposure to Wildfire Smoke, Experts Say (1:50); Hazardous air quality from wildfire smoke takes a toll on outdoor workers (3:57); Wildfire smoke, COVID-19, and striking comparisons (7:25); Ohio Senate budget slashes help for poor and families while lowering taxes and granting private school tuition vouchers to wealthy (10:43); U.S. COVID deaths and hospitalizations reach record low (15:03); China’s new COVID wave (16:04); What if There Was Never a [respiratory virus] Pandemic Again? Indoor air quality is next frontier for public health (18:08); More kids are anxious but fewer are getting the right help (25:21); More than 3 in 5 children do not receive timely mental health services after firearm injury (28:06); Study identifies “marked disparities” in federal cancer research funding (31:22); Even At Top Hospitals, Racial Health Disparities in Patient Safety Are Steep (32:42); America’s health care paradox: We need smarter spending, not more — investing in social determinants of health (34:14); Your health insurance may not be as good your state requires — and it’s perfectly legal (38:39); How the conversation about moral injury in health care is changing (43;15); LGBTQ health coverage improved after same-sex marriage ruling (46:17).
BONUS stories to read online!
- What Wildfire Smoke, Gas Stoves and Covid Tell Us About Our Air
- How the public health lessons of Covid can help Americans protect themselves from wildfire smoke
- The Air Quality Index Explained: What It Means and How to Stay Safe
- How to pick the right air purifier for your home as wildfire smoke descends
- Climate Crisis Is on Track to Push One-Third of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment
- Fears about the future of the planet will impact all of us—it’s how we act on them that matters, say researchers
- Removing antimicrobial resistance from the WHO’s “pandemic treaty” will leave humanity extremely vulnerable
- UK no longer following EU guides on cutting safe levels of BPA plastic containers. As a result, the safe level of BPA in plastic containers in the UK is now 20,000 times higher than in Europe
- States take matters into their own hands to ban “forever chemicals”
- The Ways Pollution and Climate Change are Linked to Policing and Incarceration
- Industrial disasters may cause higher rates of disability and cancer for future generations
- HHS’ first national STI plan could face obstacles, as STI rates reach record highs
- U.S. government sets penalties on 43 drugs over price hikes
- Exploring the Effect of Law Enforcement Drug Market Disruptions on Overdoses
- Jump in child deaths reveals impact of industrialisation on Amazon’s Indigenous peoples
- Americans are divided on gender identity, pronouns and whether schools should discuss them, survey finds
Week of June 5, 2023 [episode #214]:
Featuring: Fukushima set to release hundreds of millions of gallons of radioactive water into world’s ocean’s (2:52); A $528 billion plan to clean up 54 million gallons of highly radioactive bomb-making waste defies a solution (4:23); Doctors think “advocate” is a dirty word, but it’s our ethical responsibility (17:04); Why reducing air pollution is a “bargain investment” (23:11); New study shows quitting smoking can improve mental health (26:48); U.S. life expectancy growth falling behind dozens of countries, happening since 1950’s (29:51); How to Lower Deaths Among Women? Give Away Cash (31:33); Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks (34:52); Black men were likely underdiagnosed with lung problems because of racial bias built into software (37:21); FDA proposes easy-to-read drug package inserts (40:26); Chemical found in common sweetener (sucralose/Splenda) damages DNA and gut lining (42:02).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Former Gun Company Executive Explains Roots of America’s Gun Violence Epidemic and warns of growing radicalization in the industry
- U.S. lead pipe replacements stoke concerns about plastic and environmental injustice, and need to avoid regrettable substitutions like PVC piping
- Move to limit tracking of U.S. pesticide use sparks protest
- Court ruling on civil immunity casts long shadow over future opioid lawsuits
- States greatly underestimate extreme heat hazards in their emergency plans
- State lawmakers leading new charge for single-payer care
- “A target on my back”: New survey shows racism is a huge problem in nursing
- Trapped at work: Immigrant health care workers can face harsh working conditions and $100,000 lawsuits for quitting, constituting human trafficking
- Rate of pregnant U.S. women who have diabetes keeps rising
- Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics
- Low sexual satisfaction linked to memory decline later in life [poor circulation]
- Junk food may impair our deep sleep
- The myth of the “protective” base tan
Week of May 29, 2023 [episode #213]:
Featuring: Most Americans say curbing gun violence is more important than gun rights in wide-ranging poll on gun violence (1:51); Most Americans don’t know what 988 suicide crisis hotline is for (6:43); Uninsured Rate Hits Record Low of 8.3%. though expected to rise in coming years (8:43); HIV declines, driven by teens and young adults (9:55); White House launches national plan to end gender-based violence (13:40); The NIH must address disparities in women’s health research funding (16:07); How Can Primary Care Be Improved in the U.S.? (20:57); “We’re failing to make progress” — Studies show ongoing toll of premature Black deaths (27:02); Study finds that eight factors account for all of the 59% greater risk of early death of Black versus White Americans (31:23); How a little more silence in children’s lives helps them learn and grow (35:28).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Causal association found between evening social media use and delayed sleep
- Why Scientists Have a Hard Time Getting Money to Study the Root Causes of Outbreaks
- U.S. Nutrition Monitoring System is at Grave Risk
- In the “Wild West” of Outpatient Vascular Care, Doctors Can Reap Huge Payments as Patients Risk Life and Limb
- DEA’s failure to punish distributor blamed in opioid crisis raises revolving door questions
- How doctors buy their way out of trouble
- Why Are Female Doctors Sued Nearly Half as Often as Male Doctors?
- Checklists to screen for patients’ social needs aren’t helping
- A mental-health crisis is gripping science — toxic research culture is to blame
- Denials of Health Insurance Claims Are Rising — And Getting Weirder
- Hundreds of Thousands Have Lost Medicaid Coverage Since Pandemic Protections Expired, a lot for procedural reasons.
- A Catch-22 for Clinics: State Bans Limit Abortion Counseling. Federal Title X Rules Require It.
- Texas wants to wean trans youth off meds in a “safe and medically appropriate” way. Doctors say that’s impossible.
- Gender-affirming hormone therapy reduces psychological distress in transgender people, says systematic review
- A lifetime of racism makes Alzheimer’s more common in Black Americans
- New study indicates treatment patterns, not genetics, drive prostate cancer disparities
- Black children are more likely to have asthma. A lot comes down to where they live.
- What is long Covid? For the first time, a new study defines it, with 12 defining conditions
- “Worse than what we thought”: New data reveals deeper problems with the Bureau of Prisons’ Covid response
- How Supreme Court’s EPA ruling will massively affect U.S. wetlands, clean water
- Plastic waste puts more than 200 million of world’s poorest at higher risk from floods, as plastic pollution blocks drainage systems
- How the Arts Can Benefit Your Mental Health (No Talent Required). Drawing, music and writing can elevate your mood. Here are some easy ways to welcome them into your life.
Week of May 22, 2023 [episode #212]:
Featuring: The debt ceiling deal could make America’s STD problem much worse (1:52); Hundreds of millions of life years lost to pandemic, at 22 years of life lost per COVID death (5:02); Trust in childhood vaccines holds steady, despite skepticism of Covid-19 vaccines (8:07); Americans walk less frequently and less safely compared to other countries (12:21); Rate of fatal falls among U.S. seniors doubled in 20 years (19:40); Investigation unveils increase in deaths from diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a reversal from previous trend (22:03); Depression rates hit new high (23:36); Investigation into suicides on U.S. Navy ship reveals failures in working and living conditions (25:47); Profiteering Off the Body Insecurity of Teens — Keep dangerous supplements out of kids’ hands (27:20); Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: conflict of interest disclosed, sort of (32:53); Prostate cancer “test by request” policies drive over-diagnosis and over-treatment with minimal benefit (34:40); CDC takes a step toward virus-free air in schools and offices (36:58); Gov. Lujan Grisham: “I will use every tool in my toolbox” to block nuclear waste storage in New Mexico (40:33); The Plastic Crisis Finally Gets Emergency Status and a Plan (42:33).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Baltimore children who moved from high-poverty to low-poverty areas saw their asthma improve
- One in five seniors report cost-related medication nonadherence
- Postpartum women face high burden of medical debt
- American women need more maternity leave, access to pregnancy care, says poll
- Hospitals in Two States Denied an Abortion to a Miscarrying Patient. Investigators Say They Broke Federal Law.
- New draft recommendations for mammograms take a one-size-fits-all approach
- After decades of neglecting women athletes, sport and exercise medicine is finally catching up
- Researchers identify 10 pesticides toxic to neurons involved in Parkinson’s
- Chemical exposure may raise your risk for Parkinson’s, says large veteran study
- A “ticking time bomb”: Environmental group says Pentagon moving too slowly on toxic cleanup at military bases
- Three families vowed to stop a killer chemical. Here’s how they did it.
- A simple way to prevent heaps of methane pollution: Composting
- An AI Chatbot May Be Your Next Therapist. Will It Actually Help Your Mental Health?
- State Lawmakers Eye Forced Treatment to Address Overlap in Homelessness and Mental Illness
- Something Weird Is Going On With Melatonin, as pediatric overdoses have increased by 530 percent over the past decade.
- WHO warns against using artificial sweeteners
- Bitten by a Tick: What’s My Risk of Getting Sick?
- Those at high risk of mpox should get 2 doses of vaccine, CDC says
- Appeals Court Pauses Ruling That Threatened Free Preventive Health Care
- Why is a curable disease still allowed to kill millions? [TB]
- The Pandemic Didn’t Really Change Much About Americans’ Sickness Behavior
- People in the U.S. Think They Are Better Than They Actually Are. People in Asia Don’t — a case study of why research bias in WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) societies distorts our understandings of our world
Week of May 15, 2023 [episode #211]:
Featuring: U.S. families experience more chronic food insecurity now than 20 years ago (1:51); Autoimmune disorders found to affect around 1 in 10 people (3:52); Teens should be trained in media literacy and limit their screen time, psychologists say in new guidelines (6:24); U.S. backs study of safe injection sites, overdose prevention (10:03); FDA blocks marketing on 6,500 flavored e-cigarette products (12:05); U.S. support for nuclear power soars to highest level in a decade, representing a dangerous bet in dealing with climate change (14:02); Air pollution from oil and gas production [not consumption] is responsible for $77 billion in annual U.S. health damages (17:22); Breast cancer screening should begin at 40, not 50, and continue every other years until age 74, national health panel recommends (23:03); New research finds telemedicine consistently outperforms in-person visits for cancer care when both are available (30:02); Corporate Giants Buy Up Primary Care Practices at Rapid Pace, bolstering potential profits from huge Medicare Advantage population (32:03); 10 maternity wards have closed in Ohio in the last year, as Ohio leads nation in number losing access to care (38:21); Monkeypox, now known as mpox, showing signs of return (40:30).
BONUS stories to read online!
- THE “ELECTRIFY EVERYTHING” MOVEMENT’S CONSUMPTION PROBLEM. Electrification offers an opportunity to rethink how we use energy. Will we squander it?
- Ohio opioid settlement panel’s records must be public, top state court says
- Ohio Republicans approve August special election that could thwart abortion-rights push in state
- Report documents “Sharp increase” in crimes against abortion clinics post-Roe
- As More Hospitals Create Police Forces, Critics Warn of Pitfalls
- Overdose prevention centers are tough sell in U.S. despite successes
- The tragedy of the Golden Gate Bridge’s $400 million anti-suicide net
- New blood donation rules allow more gay men to give in U.S.
- Federal rules don’t require period product ingredients on packaging labels, so states are stepping in
- A plastic sheet with a pouch could be a “game changer” for maternal mortality
- Cervical cancer screening doubles when under-screened women are mailed at-home testing kits
- Socioeconomic diversity of U.S medical school students has decreased
- Amid Opioid Crisis, Doctors Turn to Antidepressants for Chronic Pain, despite unproven efficacy
- Internal Pharma Documents Reveal Strategies Used to Corrupt the Medical Field
- The Medical Care That Helps No One, an ICU nurse discusses futile care that is confusing and traumatic for family members, demoralizing for doctors and nurses, and dehumanizing for patients.
- Sex? Sexual intercourse? Neither? Teens weigh in on evolving definitions — and habits, as sexual intercourse prevalence among teens continues decline
- Polluting Cooking Methods is a stubborn problem in much of the world
Week of May 8, 2023 [episode #210]:
Featuring: COVID dropped to 4th leading cause of death in U.S. last year (1:51); CDC opens probe after 35 test positive for Covid following CDC conference (3:53); U.S. approves 1st vaccine for RSV after decades of attempts (5:34); Survey of Nurses Reveals Worsening Working Conditions and Career Satisfaction (8:03); “Too greedy” — mass walkout at global science journal over “unethical” fees (12:36); Millions Are Stuck in Dental Deserts, With No Access to Oral Health Care (17:18); Report on medical access finds one-third of Black Americans live in “cardiology deserts” (22:17); Larger welfare checks lead to healthier brains, study finds (26:41); Quitting smoking can lead to a lower risk of household food insecurity (28:49); Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Increased 279% Over Recent Years (31:41); Exposure to airplane noise may increase risk of sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night (32:49).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Why are Americans shooting strangers and neighbors? “It all goes back to fear.”
- Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking, says surgeon general
- Surgeon General: We Have Become a Lonely Nation. It’s Time to Fix That.
- Mobile phone calls linked with increased risk of high blood pressure
- Our Covid Data Project Is Over, but the Need for Timely Data Is Not
- Disease experts warn White House of potential for omicron-like wave of illness
- Why Is One Dose Suddenly Enough for the mRNA COVID Vaccines?
- Why Dead Birds Are Falling From the Sky [pandemic bird flu]
- Democratic AGs are using the courts to win on abortion, gun control
- How to Spot Anti-Abortion “Crisis Pregnancy” Centers
- Birth control pills aren’t available over the counter in U.S. That could change.
- Black Alabamians endured poor sewage for decades. Now they may see justice.
- Heading to a beach this summer? Here’s how to keep harmful algae blooms from spoiling your trip
- Biden Administration Issues New Warning About Medical Credit Cards
- “Ghost” Provider Networks a Big Problem for Patients, Especially in Mental Health
- National Academies Members Demand Answers About Sacklers’ Donations
- Wealth, not health: For this hospital, closing Chicago’s alarming “death gap” didn’t mean more clinics
- Understanding the Emotional Labor of Public Health Equity Work
- When states limit care, some trans people do it themselves
- Examining why Indigenous “Spirit medicine” principles must be a priority in psychedelic research
- An Illinois law required schools to test water for lead. They found it all over the state.
- Elevated cancer rates found near Kansas chemical spill
- UNICEF reports more than 1 million polio vaccines destroyed in Sudan looting
- Study reveals how poor bedroom air quality affects sleep and next-day work performance
Week of May 1, 2023 [episode #209]:
Featuring: Ohio Ranks 44th in Health Value, a composite score of dozens of metrics on public health and healthcare spending (1:52); U.S. adult cigarette smoking rate hits new all-time low (8:19); More voters support assault weapons ban over arming citizens to reduce violence (10:14); Awareness of HPV Infection’s Link to Cancer Lags as Cases Continue to Increase (12:26); Bell’s Palsy Occurred More Frequently With COVID Vaccines — BUT Covid infection tripled the risk over vaccination (15:10); Melatonin levels in some gummies don’t match label, and they contain CBD, often unlabeled (16:46); Older drivers drinking or using drugs up to four times likelier to be at fault during a car crash (19:06); 45% of people with concussion still show symptoms of brain injury six months later (22:26); Study shows NIH investment in new drug approvals is comparable to investment by pharmaceutical industry (24:31); Biden officials propose slate of Medicaid transparency changes [more here] (26:47); Medicaid enrollment among immigrant children higher in sanctuary states (29:41); ChatGPT Answers Beat Physicians’ on Info Quality and Patient Empathy (33:28); A research team airs the messy truth about AI in medicine — and gives hospitals a guide to fix it (39:16).
BONUS stories to read online!
- How journalists can cover RFK Jr.’s antivax presidential run responsibly
- Challenging the FDA’s authority isn’t new — the agency’s history shows what’s at stake when drug regulation is in limbo
- Roadside Drug Tests Used to Convict People Aren’t Particularly Accurate. Courts Are Beginning to Prevent Their Use.
- Finding the Origin of a Pandemic Is Difficult. Preventing One Shouldn’t Be.
- As Federal Emergency Declaration Expires, the Picture of the Pandemic Grows Fuzzier
- Latest polling on Americans’ support for abortion rights
- “Immense And Needless Suffering”: Idaho’s Abortion Ban Is Creating A Crisis Of Care
- Lawyers suggest off-label use a a way around abortion pill restrictions but doctors may be afraid to try it
- “Obstetric racism” prevalent in U.S., fueling rise in questionable labor inductions
- Microplastics in Lake Erie highlight growing concern over potential health effects
- Adults are getting allergies for the first time. Thanks, climate change.
- Led by students, a nascent climate movement is taking hold in medical education
- How a 2019 Florida Law Catalyzed a Hospital-Building Boom
- Physician-Owned Hospitals May Not Be Good for Healthcare
- Health groups sound the alarm over foreign nurse visa freeze
- There’s a surprisingly easy way to avoid a huge number of major amputations: multidisciplinary collaboration
- When Patient Questions Are Answered With Higher Quality and Empathy by ChatGPT than Physicians
- Study finds stool transplants more effective than antibiotics for treating recurring, life-threatening gut infections
- First pill for fecal transplants wins FDA approval
- We’re using less energy when we rest than we did 30 years ago
- We’ve Had a Cheaper, More Potent Ozempic Alternative for Decades: Bariatric Surgery
- Industrialization Bad for Brain Aging, as shown by indigenous communities
- Biden run fuels age debate: Experts weigh in on octogenarian health.
- How to Grow Your Social Network as You Age
- Self-test for Adult Symptom Deficiency Disorder (ASDD) — WARNING: Contains Satire
Week of April 24, 2023 [episode #208]:
Featuring: “Policy Murder” — Research Shows Poverty Is 4th Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (1:47); The Rising Chorus of Renewable Energy Skeptics points to ending culture of extraction and consumption and embracing true sustainability (6:59); The Hidden Injuries of Systemic Oppression confound mental health field, missing opportunities for social justice (9:28); Refined carbs and red meat driving global rise in type 2 diabetes (12:51); Europe seeks drastic cut to BPA exposure, U.S. far behind (15:45); Psychologists map the psyche of extreme altruists — not that much different in many ways, but truly value well-being of strangers and their communities (19:23); Over-the-counter naloxone is a baby step toward making the life-saving medication accessible (22:16); Americans bought almost 60 million guns during the pandemic (28:02); Milder autism far outpacing “profound” diagnoses (38:17); Medicare Advantage is not an advantage for many seniors with cancer (38:23).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Losing Ballot Issues on Abortion, Ohio G.O.P. Now Tries to Keep It Off the Ballot
- “A game changer”: this simple device could help fight the war on abortion rights in the U.S. [manual uterine aspiration]
- Insurers Are Starting to Cover Telehealth Abortion
- The Dobbs Decision — Exacerbating U.S. Health Inequity
- State Abortion Bans May Affect Where Americans Attend College, Poll Finds—Even Republicans
- Gun Violence Is Actually Worse in Red States. It’s Not Even Close.
- A silent crisis of men’s health gets worse
- From swimming pools to gardening, the rich’s privileged lifestyles are driving urban water crises
- As The Midwest Burns, Biden Ignores Plastic Waste Dangers
- 18 years and counting: EPA still has no method for measuring Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations [CAFO] air pollution
- PFAS has more effect than type of diet on weight gain, says study
- Study links air pollution, heat, carbon dioxide, and noise to reduced sleep
- Abundant, Ultra-Processed Food Waste
- After Pandemic Delays, FDA Still Struggling to Inspect Foreign Drug Manufacturers
- Opiod Drugmaker Sacklers Family Gave Millions to Institution That Advises on Opioid Policy
- Why employers should wake up to the value of naps at work
- Lancet Psychiatry: We Are Undervaluing the Placebo Effect
- WHO elevates XBB.1.16 to variant of interest as levels rise in U.S. and other countries
- Researchers detect 2 new SARS-CoV-2 strains on Polish mink farms, suggesting long-term circulation in animal reservoirs
- The heightened risk of autoimmune diseases after Covid
Week of April 17, 2023 [episode #207]:
Featuring: White House launches $5 billion program to speed next generation coronavirus vaccines and treatments (1:51); The Biden administration will hang on to some Covid pandemic emergency powers, such as pharmacies delivering COVID-19 vaccines (3:08); Traditional values closely linked to following COVID-19 precautions, except in U.S. (4:46); 1 in 5 American adults say they have relative killed by a gun (6:47); Why do mass shooters kill? It’s about more than having a grievance — including feelings of loss of significance, perceived pathway to stardom, and network that glorifies shootings (9:16); Rural residents are more depressed and anxious than those in urban areas (16:33); About 21 percent of U.S. adults experienced chronic pain in 2021 (18:17); Syphilis Cases Spike 74% in Four Years (18:57); Men Age 70+ Still Overscreened for Prostate Cancer (22:12); Millions expected to lose dental care coverage after Medicaid disenrollments (23:30); Proposed federal rule would regulate coal plant wastewater pollution for the first time (25:46); Juul to pay $462 million over “less addictive” claims and marketing to kids (33:17); All Opioid Pain Meds to Get New Safety Warnings, including on side effect of increased sensitivity to pain (34:47); Biden to expand access to health care for undocumented immigrants, “Dreamers”, brought to U.S. as children (35:43); Nonprofit Hospitals Often Really Give Back Less Than They Get From Tax Exemption (38:17); Focus on communication, not misinformation (38:17).
BONUS stories to read online!
- What Ohio Patients, Providers and Advocates Need to Know about the Mass Disenrollment of Medicaid
- Report outlines how plastic production harms human health, environment, economy
- Trucks are still taking tainted waste out of East Palestine. One spilled this week.
- Why is the chemical industry pitting public health against economic growth?
- Half of PFAS in drinking water not monitored by EPA
- Legal Abortions Fell by 6 Percent in the Six Months After Dobbs, New Data Shows
- Texas Mifepristone Case Could Lead to Other Drug Approval Lawsuits, Experts Say
- Missouri to limit gender-affirming care for both minors and adults
- Body dysmorphia in boys and men can fuel muscle obsession
- Six Things To Know About Dietary Supplements Marketed for Bodybuilding or Performance Enhancement
- Research with exotic viruses risks a deadly outbreak, scientists warn
- Medicare tests a solution to soaring hospice costs: Let private insurers run it
- I’m a biopharma supply chain specialist — and even I can’t find the Adderall I’m prescribed. Transparency is missing in supply chains.
- Possibilities of AI in the practice of medicine
- Health insurance makes many kinds of hospital care more expensive
- Here’s a new data point for cancer patients to consider: “time toxicity”
- We’re Treating Low Back Pain All Wrong – We Need to Expand Non-Pharmacological Approaches
- Functional Neurological Disorder Still Carries Stigma
- Chronic health conditions in incarcerated people in the U.S. are likely severely undertreated
- Emergency rooms need clear guidelines about how to handle law enforcement
- Almost 90% of U.S. mpox-related deaths were in Black men, CDC reports
- Black men face many more health hurdles. An expert discusses why.
- Chronic Stress and “Mental Illness”
- Polypharmacy Isn’t the Answer for Adolescent Mental Health
- We need a way to tell useful mental health tech from digital snake oil
- People with Down Syndrome Are Living Longer, but the Health System Still Treats Many as Kids
- What SuperAgers show us about longevity, cognitive health as we age — the value of healthy lifestyles and strong social connections
- Education and peer support cut binge-drinking by National Guard members in half
- Now is the time to build up public health departments, not shrink them further
- Four Philly moms explain how cash for expecting parents could be transformative in America’s poorest big city
Week of April 10, 2023 [episode #206]:
Featuring: Global health past and future — The W.H.O. at 75 (1:51); FDA to okay second omicron-targeting booster for age 65+ and the immunocompromised (7:58); Where is the White House’s new mandated pandemic response office? (11:08); It’s Not “Deaths of Despair” — It’s Deaths of Children (13:58); Uptick in Gun Deaths “At the Scene” Point to Increased Injury Lethality (24:20); Another county adopts pilot for universal income (25:39); EPA tightens mercury emissions limits at coal power plants (28:46); For the First Time in Nearly Two Decades, the EPA Announces New Rules to Limit Toxic Air Pollutants From Chemical and Plastics Plants (32:33); “Nature prescriptions” can improve physical and mental health (37:41); Prescribers Often Fail to Support Patients Discontinuing Antidepressants (40:38); Up to 90% prescribed (21 million Americans) may take a hypothyroidism drug (Synthroid) they don’t need (44:01); Air Force Will Allow More Body Fat for Recruits as Service Struggles to Meet Recruitment Goals (45:08); Black women with better access are still at higher risk of maternal mortality than white women with poorer access (46:03); Infertility affects 1 in 6 adults around the world (46:50).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Federal judge suspends FDA approval of abortion pill
- Federal judges issue conflicting rulings in a pill used for medication abortion
- What does 1870s Comstock Act have to do with abortion pills?
- FDA’s power tested by dueling abortion pill rulings
- A maternal mortality review committee law meant to save lives of Idaho mothers is on the chopping block. Will lawmakers keep it?
- “War on drugs” deja vu: Fentanyl overdoses spur states to seek tougher laws
- World Athletics banned transgender women from competing. Does science support the rule? [Not really]
- How a lobbying blitz led to weaker Medicare Advantage reforms
- The big squeeze: ACA health insurance has lots of customers, small networks
- Hospitals that pay trustees offer less charity care
- I declined to share my medical data with advertisers at my doctor’s office. One company claimed otherwise
- Nearly All Hospital Websites Send Tracking Data to Third Parties
- JAMA Psychiatry: We Must Look at the Harms of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
- For Uninsured People With Cancer, Securing Care Can Be Like Spinning a Roulette Wheel
- Study reveals that pollution can cause lung cancer in non-smokers
- Chemicals from grocery stickers may be leaching into foods. Here’s what you need to know.
- U.S. states consider ban on cosmetics with “forever chemicals”.
- How reframing mass shootings as suicide could help prevent them
- Why the new RSV vaccines are a BFD
- Why do we forget after catastrophic events?
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome strikes home for thousands each year: POEM – Death Unexplained [Ode to Harry Gavin]
- Experts address top food myths
- More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults suffers from seasonal allergies
Week of April 3, 2023 [episode #205]:
Featuring: CDC teams studying East Palestine health risks got sick during investigation (2:06); The Farm Bill — transform its focus to food, not feed or fuel (4:11); U.N. food chief says billions needed to avert unrest, starvation (5:32); In much of the world, one of the most powerful public health measures is simply recording every birth and death (6:55); Court ruling on prevention coverage “disastrous for public health”, “deeply flawed” and confusing, affecting 100+ screenings and preventive services (11:07); Lung cancer screening rates extremely low, worst among the commercially insured (18:17); Achieving health for all requires action on the economic and commercial determinants of health (19:55); “We have arrived in the post-antibiotic era” — WHO warns of too few new drugs for deadly superbugs (26:57); Ohio sues prescription drug middlemen over business practices (35:51); American IQs rose 30 points in the last century — now, they may be falling, perhaps due to technology (26:59); Limit screen use in children under six (38:16); Kids’ Mental Health Hospitalizations Surged Over Past Decade, cases more serious (39:32); Researchers call attention to unsupervised youth’s easy gun access (41:06); Alcohol increases risk for gun-involved suicide among Americans (42:53); Ohio joins majority of states with failing grade on annual gun law scorecard (44:34); One COVID-19 bivalent booster is enough for now, CDC finally decides (45:33); New research finds 40% of people over 50 don’t report their hearing loss 47:05).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Are you one of 200K Ohioans losing Medicaid in April? What to know and what to do
- WHO Booster Update: Here’s What They Got Right and Wrong
- Study finds excess harm from overprescribed antibiotics for patients results in widespread side effects
- Don’t expect big changes to preventive services insurance, yet
- Ten Questions and Answers About Narcan
- Get Free Naloxone in Ohio
- Fear of Family Separation a Barrier to Addiction Care During Pregnancy
- Mothers Face Broken Addiction Treatment System
- Black women continue to receive poorer care for endometriosis
- Why experts worry the “magic” in new weight loss medications carries a dark side
- Incidence of type 1, type 2 diabetes increasing in people younger than 20
- Pharmacists are burning out. Patients are feeling the effects.
- Social media is addictive for many girls, especially those with depression
- Research suggests social isolation may be as bad for our health as hypertension, obesity
- Can you die from a broken heart? How emotional distress can wreck your body.
- As a Doctor, I Know Being Ready to Die Is an Illusion
- Adam Peaty withdraws from British swimming championships to focus on mental health
- The public health playbook: ideas for challenging the corporate playbook
- Is Sex ed, birth control, Medicaid: Republicans’ “new pro-life agenda”?
- Women were already unequal in the world of global health. The pandemic made it worse
- KFF/The Washington Post Trans Survey
- To Understand Anti-vaxxers, Consider Aristotle — Science denialism reaches back centuries.
- The lab leak conversation shows it’s time to rethink our biosecurity infrastructure, not just policies
- Pandemic Jump in ED Visits for Firearm Injuries Continued Into 2022 — — biggest increases among kids under 14
- Active shooter drills: Do risks outweigh benefits?
- The gun that divides a nation — The AR-15
- How the Gun Became Integral to the Self-Identity of Millions of Americans
- America’s unique, enduring gun problem, explained
- Scientists make “disturbing” find on remote island: plastic rocks
- Probiotic supplements may do the opposite of boosting your gut health
Week of March 27, 2023 [episode #204]:
Featuring: Global water crisis could “spiral out of control” due to overconsumption and climate change, UN report warns (1:57); Obesity Tied to Density of Food Stores Carrying Less Healthy Options (4:35); Steps have dropped since Covid-19 and the trend is worrisome (6:23); FDA seeks to allow salt substitutes in everyday food formulations (9:52); Road noise can make your blood pressure rise, literally (11:30); Teen overdose deaths have doubled in three years — blame fentanyl (12:47); Study suggests last-resort antibiotic still being widely used in animal feed, worsening antibiotic resistance (17:40); Rapidly spreading fungus already in 28 states presents “urgent” threat, CDC warns (18:47); Bacteria from meat likely to cause more than a half-million urinary tract infections in the U.S. every year (20:17); Health experts call for bold action to prioritize health over profit (23:01); Patients want their medical test results immediately, even when its bad news, survey finds (27:52); More than 20 percent of trans youth lost access to gender-affirming care under new state laws, and more expected (34:06); Autism now more common among Black, Hispanic kids in U.S. (37:40); Troubled U.S. organ transplant system targeted for major overhaul (39:38).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Tuberculosis, not COVID-19, is the plague of the century
- Lead keeps poisoning children. It doesn’t have to. The only way to stop long-lasting harms is to end exposure.
- EPA Asks for More Public Input on Asbestos After ProPublica and Others Reveal New Information
- Prescription for Housing? California Wants Medicaid to Cover 6 Months of Rent
- How to ensure social determinants of health actually improve health care
- World is on brink of catastrophic warming, U.N. climate change report says
- Biden Plan to Cut Billions in Medicare Fraud Ignites Lobbying Frenzy
- Health Providers Scramble to Keep Remaining Staff Amid Medicaid Rate Debate
- Health Inequity Should Be Labeled as a “Never Event”, with a goal of zero
- Intersex surgery is condemned by the United Nations. Anti-trans bills are allowing it.
- How Ivermectin Became a Belief System
- Culture wars are costing lives by distracting us from more important issues
- Federal Study Calls U.S. Stillbirth Rate “Unacceptably High” and Recommends Action
- 80% of receipts at major store chains contain “toxic” chemicals (e.g., BPA)
- Every stage of plastic production and use is harming human health
- Inside the fight over abortion rights in Ohio
- Vaccination halves risk of long COVID, largest study to date shows
- New childhood obesity guidelines face a long road to consensus
- JAMA Psychiatry: No Evidence that Psychiatric Treatments Produce “Successful Outcomes”
- The much-maligned ‘quality-adjusted life year’ is a vital tool for health care policy
- How just walking around, even when accompanied by an adult, is empowering for children
- Why Americans should eat lentils every day
- Americans should be able to register to vote when they apply for health insurance on HealthCare.gov
Week of March 20, 2023 [episode #203]:
Featuring: Increase in mortality rate among kids, teens largest in decades (2:25); Biden Signs Executive Order on Reducing Gun Violence (5:59); Almost 2 in 3 Americans say threat of deadly pandemics is growing (10:24); Vaccine makers prep bird flu shot for humans “just in case”, as rich nations lock in supplies (12:33); Antidepressant withdrawal should be taken seriously — researchers investigating ways to help (14:01); The second age of psychedelic therapies for mental health (22:15); 600 rural hospitals in danger of closing, threatening access to basic health care (27:10); Idaho hospital blames anti-abortion politics for closing of labor and delivery department (29:59); A Third of Docs Blame Prior Authorizations for Serious Harm to Patients, and 4 in 5 say they waste resources, forcing use of ineffective treatments, extra visits (33:18); Aggressive Medical Care Remains Common at Life’s End (37:35).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Exodus of healthcare workers from poor countries worsening, WHO says
- West Nile, Lyme, and other diseases are on the rise with climate change. Experts warn the U.S. is not prepared
- New study cites Wuhan raccoon dogs as possible origin of COVID-19
- There’s a Psychological “Vaccine” against Misinformation
- Florida bill would ban young girls from discussing periods in school
- Social Drivers of Infant Mortality: Recommendations for Action and Accountability in Ohio
- Common dry cleaning chemical (trichloroethylene) linked to Parkinson’s
- Public Health vs. Industry: Toxic Chemical Rules Pose Test for Biden
- Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews
- Take Risk Into Account Before Repeat Surveillance Colonoscopy — 58% of seniors with limited life expectancy, no significant findings were invited for another round
- Researchers Warn of Major Threats to the Validity of Psychedelic Research
- World Happiness Report 2023 [slightly higher than pre-pandemic]
Week of March 13, 2023 [episode #202]:
Featuring: “Infectious host — COVID is in the house!” (1:51); Covid backlash hobbles public health today and future pandemic response (3:03); Massive efforts needed to reduce salt intake and protect lives (5:37); Statin study finds inflammation better predictor of cardiovascular events, death than LDL-cholesterol (9:36); Low-dose radiation linked to increased lifetime risk of heart disease (10:57); Screen All Adults for Hepatitis B, CDC Says (13:00); Opioids Most Common Substance in Young Children’s Fatal Poisonings (15:20); FDA panel to reevaluate the most common over-the-counter decongestant, phenylephrine, criticized as useless (16:57); “All work, no independent play” cause of children’s declining mental health, says study (19:13); Greater gender equality could help both women and men live longer (23:33); It’s legal in 15 states for teachers to hit your child, and 7 more states take no stand (25:43); Body dysmorphic disorder is more common than eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia (29:47); Poll finds more Americans worried about health care understaffing (34:32); Black people in rural areas have greater mental health resiliency than white people (38:34).
BONUS stories to read online!
- A history of smoking, and how we’re making the same mistakes with vaping
- Study finds “alarming” rates of nicotine in sports
- Mental health: How living in the city and country compare
- Does It Matter Where COVID-19 Came From?
- Covid-19 lab leak fight obscures the global rise of high-security biolabs
- Multiple COVID variants found in New York rats
- Indoor air is full of flu and COVID viruses. Will countries clean it up?
- Organization publishing now infamous “mask” review addresses widespread inaccurate and misleading interpretations
- How Publication Bias Threatens Research Integrity and Public Health
- Leading American medical journal omits Black research, reinforcing legacy of racism in medical knowledge
- How one medical school became remarkably diverse — without considering race in admissions
- Medicaid expansion reduced Black-white disparities in preventable hospital visits
- Structural Racism and Pedestrian Safety: Historical Redlining Increases Contemporary Pedestrian Fatalities
- Black Patients Dress Up and Modify Speech to Reduce Bias
- Feds Move to Rein In Prior Authorization, a System That Harms and Frustrates Patients (and Providers)
- Denied by AI: How Medicare Advantage plans use algorithms to cut off care for seniors in need
- AMA, Surgeon General Propose Ways to Prevent Doctor Burnout/Moral Injury
- Prostate cancer treatment can wait for most men
- Females of all ages, ethnicities have more salt- sensitive hypertension than males
- Why are women more affected by plastic pollution (and how can they be protected)?
- How fake sugars sneak into foods and may be disrupting metabolic health
- Six former Phillies died from the same brain cancer. We tested the turf they played on and found dangerous chemicals
- Toxic Chemicals We Consume Without Knowing It
- Good news: Some toxic insecticides are vanishing from the atmosphere
- Jimmy Carter Took on the Awful Guinea Worm When No One Else Would — And Triumphed
Week of March 6, 2023 [episode #201]:
Featuring: CDC says 20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at Asbury University religious revival (1:52); CDC issues warning about rise in highly drug-resistant stomach bug (3:49); Toxic “forever chemicals” about to get their first U.S. limits (5:42); Many firearm owners in the U.S. store at least one gun unlocked, fearing an emergency (7:34); Black People Visit ER for Mental Health at Highest Rates, Receive Less Care (10:23); At the intersection of politics and mental health, women are standing out (11:11); Majority in new poll would be uncomfortable with health care provider relying on AI (16:12); The FDA plans to regulate far more AI tools as devices — the industry won’t go down without a fight (17:57); Infants outperform AI in “commonsense psychology” (18:44); “Alarming” Rise in Colon Cancer Rates Among Younger People (19:33); Diabetes and obesity are on the rise in young adults (20:46); More than half the global population will be living with overweight and obesity within 12 years if prevention, treatment and support do not improve (22:33); U.S.-born Hispanic people may be more vulnerable to chronic diseases than foreign-born counterparts (24:12); Another Republican state (NC) reaches Medicaid expansion deal (27:23): New states have extended Medicaid coverage for new mothers (30:12); Rural Hospitals Are Shuttering Their Maternity Units (32:08); Weight loss drug coming to the U.K. market, and it will cost a fraction of what Americans pay (26:07); Research puts a new face on who is at risk for eating disorders (36:53); Keto vs. vegan: Study of popular diets finds over fourfold difference in carbon footprints (42:33).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled
- The next deadly pandemic is just a forest clearing away. But we’re not even trying to prevent it.
- Is climate change good for insurgent groups?
- HHS’s Environmental Justice Index institutionalizes climate apartheid
- Guns Are the Biggest Public Health Threat Kids Face. Why Aren’t They Getting the Message?
- Documents detail EMTs’ failure to aid Tyre Nichols, beaten to death by police
- After People on Medicaid Die, Some States Aggressively Seek Repayment From Their Estates
- For-profit hospices deliver lower quality care than nonprofit hospices
- Walgreens won’t distribute abortion pills in states where GOP AGs object
- Eli Lilly Slashed Insulin Prices. This Starts a Race to the Bottom.
- “Bailed out by taxpayers” — Data shows Big Insurance profiting massively from Medicare privatization
- Brokers Get Lush Trips and Cash Perks to Sell Costly Medigap Plans
- A Maryland experiment in global budgeting shows a better way to reduce health care spending
- FTC fines BetterHelp $7.8M, alleges it shared consumers’ mental health info with advertisers
- How physician wellness programs blame doctors and overlooks system’s illness
- Despite Pharma Claims, Illicit Drug Shipments to US Aren’t Full of Opioids. It’s Generic Viagra.
- Organ donation cartel is a failure.
- Population-wide gene testing has limited ability to predict disease
- Erythritol, an artificial sweetener may increase heart attack risk
- How common is transgender treatment regret, detransitioning? Likely rare.
- Why human touch matters in health care: the limitations of AI
- The little-known physical and mental health benefits of urban trees
- Are You Considering a Complementary Health Approach?
Week of February 27, 2023 [episode #200]:
Featuring: Flu vaccine worked well in season that faded fast (1:52); Predeparture COVID-19 Testing Among International Travelers Cuts Infections in Half (3:06); “Forever chemicals” disrupt key metabolic processes in children and teens, says landmark study (3:42); Newly-approved “Climate-Friendly” Fuel Comes With an Astronomical Cancer Risk (6:05); Looming Cuts to Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security, Especially in Rural America (11:03); Majority not aware of looming Medicaid eligibility redeterminations (14:30); U.S. plans to allow Medicaid for drug treatment in prisons (15:16); Medicaid during incarceration: a step toward health equity (17:20); Progress on reducing global maternal mortality has stalled since 2015 (18:36); More Investment in Primary Care Needed (21:42); Tighter hospital price transparency enforcement and standardized requirements are on the horizon (25:23); Nonprofit hospitals are failing Americans — Their boards may be a reason why (27:23); Fixing U.S. public health will require a health-systems revolution — and for physicians to take a backseat (33:06); 52% of veterans and 86% of non-veterans with likely PTSD do not receive treatment (40:11); Palliative care doesn’t improve psychological distress, says study (41:01); Disordered eating impacts one in five youth worldwide (42:16); U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends folic acid to prevent neural tube defects (44:05); Foodborne illness outbreaks linked to unpasteurized milk and relationship to changes in state laws (45:33); Exercise more effective than medicines to manage mental health, says study (46:32).
BONUS stories to read online!
- East Palestine Residents Could Get Medicare for Life After Ohio Disaster
- Ohio abortion-rights campaign unveils ballot proposal in first official step for possible statewide November vote
- U.S. abortion rights groups and law firms launch legal defense network
- As the Pandemic Swept America, Deaths in Prisons Rose Nearly 50 Percent
- Cereal, pasta, and other food companies blast the FDA for a too-strict definition of “healthy”
- Tobacco companies pledge “harm reduction” but are doing the opposite
- Passive vaping—it’s time we see it like secondhand smoke and stand up for the right to clean air
- Gun industry could be held liable for shootings under proposed state laws that “empower victims of gun violence to have their day in court”
- It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up rising methane emissions
- In 1996, the EPA was ordered to test pesticides for impacts on people’s hormones. They still don’t. They are being sued, again.
- Needed: a new framework to make sure health companies play fair with patient data
- There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research
- The new scientific review on masks and Covid isn’t what you think — science isn’t easy
- How might the metaverse impact public health?
- Small-aircraft fuel is still poisoning children
- “Stomach flu” on the rise – what to know
- Most young men are single. Most young women are not.
- Health, not age, driving a rise in pregnancy complications
- 10 ways to reduce your risk of dementia
Week of February 20, 2023 [episode #199]:
Featuring: Teen girls “engulfed” in violence and trauma, CDC finds (1:52); Almost half of children who go to ER with mental health crisis don’t get the follow-up care they need (7:30); Unless most people get an annual COVID vaccine, COVID will continue to be much worse than a really bad flu season (12:24); COVID-19 infection may cause a higher risk of developing diabetes (16:26); DNA damage levels similar in vapers and smokers (16:58); As little as one day of wildfire smoke exposure in pregnancy may raise risk of preterm birth (19:02); Americans’ dissatisfaction with gun laws at new high (22:18); Decades of conflict in Iraq have fueled “catastrophic” rise in antibiotic resistance (23:45); High sugar intake, including from fruit juices, linked to elevated risk of heart disease and stroke (25:36); Survey finds cost of heathy food biggest barrier to heart-healthy diet (26:42); Study hints healthier school lunch can reduce obesity (27:59); Unveiling the predatory tactics of the formula milk industry (30:36); Cheese and the Comparison Challenge reveals diary industry’s misleading research (30:36).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop “war” on poultry
- A virus crippled U.S. cities 150 years ago. It didn’t infect humans, rather horses
- Surveillance report shows rise in multidrug-resistant Salmonella from food animals
- Animal viruses jump to humans much more often than thought — how this changes preparing for the next pandemic
- Scientists in global south most likely to save us from next pandemic
- The Ohio train derailment underscores the dangers of the plastics boom. As the petrochemical industry grows, the disaster is a reminder of the health and safety risks that accompany reliance on fossil fuels.
- Dissatisfaction with abortion policy highest since 2000
- Post-Roe, Native Americans face even more abortion hurdles
- High drug prices are not justified by industry’s research and development spending, argue experts
- Doctors Are Disappearing From Emergency Rooms as Hospitals Look to Cut Costs
- Patients still have no protection against surprise ambulance bills. And there’s no solution in sight
- Nearly 80% Of Women With Breast Cancer Face Financial Toxicity
- Cost of getting sick for older people of color is 25% higher than for white Americans
- Scientific institutions must embrace antiracist policies, National Academies report urges
- Now for sale: Data on your mental health, from telehealth and therapy apps
- The Best Way to Boost Workers’ Mental Health Is to Give Them Good Managers
- How “empathetic engagement” can increase access to mental health care
- Indoor Pollutant Concentrations Are Significantly Lower in Homes Without a Gas Stove
- Beyond Medicare and Social Security: Cutting Medicaid after the pandemic would be political madness
- Long COVID Now Looks like a Neurological Disease, Helping Doctors to Focus Treatments
- The haunting brain science of long COVID
- The Future of Long COVID — This emergency is not about to end.
- Have More Sex, Please! [It can be good for your health]
- Can food be medicine? Will insurers cover it? And other big questions about a new health movement
- Want to live a longer life? Try eating and living like a centenarian.
Week of February 13, 2023 [episode #198]:
Featuring: Ohio officials declare measles outbreak over (1:58); How a public health program can usher police and prisons into obsolescence (3:35); Reduce pollution to combat “superbugs” and other anti-microbial resistance (7:48); Even with legal protections, extreme heat and wildfire take a toll on farmworkers (11:46); I treat people with gambling disorder – and I’m starting to see more and more young men who are betting on sports (16:43); Researchers estimate cost of “injury deaths of despair,” including suicide, exceeds $1 trillion annually in the U.S. (21:52); For former football players, concussion and hypertension go hand in hand (24:49); Pregnancy complications heighten heart risks in later life– it’s time to pay attention (26:47); Win to stave off intrusive but profitable middlemen in Traditional Medicare (34:03); Researchers call for prescription charge to be cut to save health and money (39:10); Study highlights nationwide reliance on emergency departments for mental health care — with Ohio most reliant (40:35); Study Finds Wide Variation in Organ Procurement Performance — with only a fourth of organs recovered from potential donors (42:37); Too often, we waste that gift of organ donation (44:22).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Asking incarcerated people for their organs is exploitative
- Toxic gases connected to Ohio train derailment cause concern
- Ohioans may vote on abortion in 2023
- What ending the COVID emergency status actually means
- Tracking the bird flu, experts see a familiar threat — and a virus whose course is hard to predict
- Young people are more likely to die of heart attacks post-COVID
- New mouse study shows genes aren’t only way to pass obesity to next generation
- A Technicality Could Keep RSV Shots From Kids in Need
- Doctors Aren’t Burned Out From Overwork. We’re Demoralized by Our Health System.
- Hospitals at a Breaking Point: Lack of Staff and Resources Leave Emergency Departments in Chaos
- “Hail, Profit”: The Existential Threat of Greed in U.S. Health Care
- Here’s How to End the U.S. Health Disadvantage — Let’s focus on prevention and social policy, not sick care.
- Congress Told HHS to Set Up a Health Data Network in 2006. The Agency Still Hasn’t.
- The Community of Mothers Who Lost Sons to Police Killings
- “The Country Is Watching”: California Homeless Crisis Looms as Gov. Newsom Eyes Political Future
Week of February 6, 2023 [episode #197]:
Featuring: U.S. spends most on health care but has worst health outcomes among high-income countries (2:02); Improvement in the prevalence of disabilities among older Americans from 2008 to 2017 (6:22); All countries “dangerously unprepared” for future pandemics, says International Red Cross (10:12); New gun deaths data in U.S. show continued rise in suicides, as majority of gun deaths (11:43); “Stand Your Ground” Laws Are a Greater Health Threat Than Mass Shootings (19:12); Federal appeals court strikes down domestic violence gun law (23:33); A majority of Americans support banning all tobacco products (24:47); Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy Declines in U.S. from 2016 to 2021 (29:06); In polluted cities, reducing air pollution could lower cancer rates as much as eliminating smoking would (29:32); Venture capital is investing little in new treatment for addiction (32:03); Your child’s academic success may start with their screen time as infants, study says (35:01); New rules would limit sugar in school meals for first time (37:41); States that expanded access to food benefits saw decreases in child neglect and abuse cases (40:19); Nearly two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck (41:39); Relationship between food and disease stronger than you may think (42:20).
BONUS stories to read online!
- We Now Face an Army of COVID Viruses. The pandemic has not ended. It is evolving, with big implications. Here are six.
- Covid emergency’s end will mean new costs, hassles
- Getting vaccinated at pharmacies works: It could soon disappear
- The funding cliff for student mental health
- Public health emergency for mpox officially ends
- Vaccine Makers Kept $1.4 Billion in Prepayments for Canceled Covid Shots for the World’s Poor
- Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated
- Some Addiction Treatment Centers Turn Big Profits by Scaling Back Care
- Rising Physical Pain Is Linked to More “Deaths of Despair”
- How Patent Thickets Keep Cheaper Drugs Off the Market
- UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings.
- Tainted-drug deaths, weak regulation corrode confidence in Indian drugs
- The FTC wants science to back up supplement health claims. What a concept!
- The FTC is finally ready to take on health data leaks by companies and web-sites
- Promises — and pitfalls — of ChatGPT (AI)-assisted medicine
- Unlocking the promise of learning from everyone with cancer through electronic health record standards
- Can Community Programs Help Slow the Rise in Violence?
- MRI scans reveal disparate impact of poverty and other “toxic stress” on brains of Black children
- Drop race adjustment for common genetic prenatal screening test, study urges
- As Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis Worsens, Immigrants Can Bridge the Gaps
- Lawmakers Attempting Takeover of Funds for Jackson’s Water System, Federal Manager Warns
- How to take in traumatic news events and preserve your mental health
- Artificial light harms our bodies and souls. It doesn’t have to be this way
- The Weight-Loss-Drug Revolution Is a Miracle—And a Menace How the new obesity pills could upend American society
- One in 8 Americans over 50 show signs of “food addiction”
- The link between our food, gut microbiome and depression
- What If… DIET were a Vital Sign? A Thought Experiment
Week of January 30, 2023 [episode #196]:
Featuring: Brief COVID-19 update (1:52); Six healthy lifestyle practices linked to slower memory decline in older adults (2:23); PET imaging shows greater lung inflammation in e-cigarette users than cigarette smokers (4:12); 18% of U.S. adults use sleep medications in previous month (5:18); Head injury is associated with doubled mortality rate long-term (6:22); Mental health tops parental concerns about children (8:02); Adding Stigma to Obesity and Heart Disease Expands Harm (9:22); The dangers of “bureaucra-think” — Research demonstrates structural bias and racism in mental health organizations (11:25); Medicalizing childbirth shortens average pregnancy length in the U.S. (13:41); New recommendations say patients don’t need to be “checked for everything” (17:43); The Tests Are Vital, But Congress Decided That Regulation Is Not (22:55); Death by missing data — Uncollected racial and ethnic pandemic data will drive inequities for decades to come (27:17); Congressional District Health Dashboard includes 36 metrics for all 435 U.S. Congressional Districts — OH-9 [Toledo] fares poorly (37:48); Ohio Early Childhood Dashboard shows Ohio ranks 50th in family resiliency (39:01); A Rare Public Health Challenge — Rare Diseases, 10,000 of them (41:20); Eliminating neglected diseases in Africa — There are good reasons for hope (43:45).
BONUS stories to read online!
- Annual COVID-19 booster? FDA cliff notes
- Why are there no eggs? Avian flu and keeping human risk low
- Mass shootings can be contagious, research shows
- Many Americans don’t know basic abortion facts. Test your knowledge
- Abortion Out of Reach: The Exacerbation of Wealth Disparities After Dobbs
- A global rush is on to reduce cow burps — and help save the world from climate change
- The Industry Playbook — PART 1: How Food Companies Distort Nutrition Science; PART 2: Amplifiers of Bad Science; PART 3: Getting Nutrition Science Right
- In the Fight Over Gas Stoves, Meet the Industry’s Go-To Scientist
- Medicare Part D (Drug) Plan Prices May Change Unexpectedly
- How a Drug Company Raked In $114 Billion by Gaming the U.S. Patent System
- A dangerous loophole for drug ads needs to be closed
- After nearly 4 years of deliberation, FDA punts on how to regulate CBD
- CDC Makes Biggest Agency Changes Yet
- Wave of Rural Nursing Home Closures Grows Amid Staffing Crunch
- What will it take to give babies a phthalate-free start in the world?
- Midlife obesity linked to heightened frailty risk in older age
- Intensive blood pressure control may lower risk for cognitive problems in more people
- Antidepressants Blunt Emotions and Cause Sexual Dysfunction
- Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 1: Why a Critical Textbook of Psychiatry? [All chapters to follow]
Week of January 23, 2023 [episode #195]:
Featuring: China’s Covid Deaths Expected to Surge to 36,000 a Day Over Lunar New Year (2:29); In China, doctors say they are discouraged from citing COVID on death certificates (3:16); Record High in U.S. Put Off Medical Care Due to Cost in 2022 (5:07); Record Low — Less than half in new survey rate US health care as excellent or good (7:14); Healthcare ranked lowest for employee satisfaction among 28 industries (9:12); Study finds hospitals are still not posting prices as required (11:03); Patient portals’ digital divide (11:15); Less than a third of heavily advertised drugs have “high therapeutic value” (12:13); FTC asks court to hold “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli in contempt (15:21); 80% of Mississippians favor Medicaid expansion (17:31); Buprenorphine deaths did not increase despite wider access during pandemic (20:05); Nearly 9 in 10 trans youth say recent wave of anti-LGBTQ policies negatively affected their mental health (23:25); Congress barely dents scourge of hunger in military (25:59); Few Studies Assess Social Determinants of Health Intervention by Race (28:02); Mothers in states with abortion bans nearly 3 times more likely to die (30:57); Leaders at Davos need to pay attention to the crossroads of climate change, health, and security (31:49); The struggle to contain the global threat of superbugs (34:16); Study suggests U.S. freshwater fish highly contaminated with “forever chemicals” (36:00); Mexico imposes one of world’s strictest anti-smoking laws (38:51); Political news takes mental toll, but is disengaging the answer? (41:06); Beans in toast could revolutionize British diet (43:05); WHO calls for soda taxes (46:39).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The December Omnibus Bill’s Little Secret: It Was Also a Giant Health Bill dealing with mental health, drugs, pandemic preparedness, new Medicare benefits and Medicaid expansion
- White House Aims to Reflect the Environment and Value of Ecosystems in Economic Data
- An Old TB Vaccine Might Help Stave Off Diabetes, Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and More
- Why Kids’ Medication Shortages Aren’t Going Away
- Drug shortages are an urgent national danger. Here’s how we fix them.
- “Just Say No” to the Medication Switches Dictated by Insurers
- “Hot mess”: Abortion pills at pharmacies could face legal quagmires, especially in restrictive states
- Mental health benefits of gender-affirming hormones for teens persist for two years in new study
- Racist beauty standards leave communities of color more exposed to harmful chemicals
- The costly lesson from COVID: Why elimination should be the default global strategy for future pandemics
- The science (and business) behind COVID-19 disinformation. And what to do about it.
- COVID-19 vaccines and sudden deaths: Separating fact from fiction
- HHS policy for monitoring gain-of-function virus research unclear, GAO says
- The Health Risks of Gas Stoves Explained
- Reducing total calories may be more effective for weight loss than intermittent fasting
- Family dynamics and doctors’ emotions drive useless end-of-life care, says study
- Military probing whether cancers linked to nuclear silo work
- Therapy Beats Drugs for Depression for Long-Term Outcomes — Adding drugs to therapy didn’t help
- Researchers have followed over 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here’s what they discovered.
Week of January 16, 2023 [episode #194]:
Featuring: COVID-19 update (1:52); The doctor won’t see you now — Covid winters are making long hospital waits the new normal (3:37); Law enforcement officers’ deaths due to COVID fell by 83% in 2022, but COVID still kills more officers in line of duty than shootings (9:31); U.S. childhood vaccinations dip again in 2021-22 school year (13:09); U.S. traffic deaths fell slightly in first nine months of 2022, but still at high level (16:12); Sanders tells Moderna planned COVID vaccine price hike is “unacceptable corporate greed” (17:53); Even as NY nurses return to work, more strikes likely to follow (21:03); Medicare Advantage Plans Take Top Spot in Shkreli Awards for greedy and unethical behavior (22:48); Providers say Medicare Advantage hinders new methadone benefit (30:31); Medicaid expansion linked with fewer postpartum hospitalizations (40:53); A closer look at outdoor air pollution and health as Ohio ranks 46th (42:05); Drought, extreme rains linked to infectious diseases in kids (43:58); Insect Loss Stunting Fruit and Vegetable Production, Leading to More Than 400,000 Early Deaths a Year Globally (45:39); The ozone layer is on track to recover within decades as harmful chemicals are phased out (46:57); Use this “4-part prescription” to wake up alert and refreshed every morning (48:47).
BONUS stories to read online!
- The U.S. Could Help Solve Its Poverty Problem with a Universal Basic Income
- Citizen scientists are seeing an influx of microplastics in the Ohio River
- “Forever chemicals” expose the need for systemic changes
- Why EPA’s long-awaited proposal on two “forever chemicals” is bound to be controversial
- Scientists are finding increasing evidence for a link between air pollution and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s
- Too many smelly candles? Here’s how scents impact the air quality in your home
- Consumer product safety agency chair, White House say there are no plans to ban gas stoves
- FTC’s proposed ban on noncompete agreements could be a game changer for some physicians
- For addiction treatment, longer is better. But insurance companies usually cut it short
- Sen. Bernie Sanders to target high healthcare costs as leader of influential committee
- Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence
- Antipsychotic withdrawal—an unrecognized and misdiagnosed problem
Week of January 9, 2023 [episode #193]:
Featuring: COVID-19 update (1:52); Long COVID stemmed from mild cases of COVID-19 in most people (5:14); Amid low demand, global coronavirus vaccination set to slow in 2023, even as low-income countries have low vaccination rates (7:18); Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes flavored tobacco ban bill, signals support for statewide ban (8:47); Priorities for 20203 pile up for HHS, FDA, CMS, NIH, and other health agencies (12:22); FTC Asks for Randomized Controlled Trials, Not Vague Health Claims (19:55); Paying research participants — a lot — may be a key to increasing diversity in studies (21:38); The bad business of developing new antibiotics (23:02); U.S. new drug price exceeds $200,000 median in 2022 (26:37); Drugstores make slow headway on staffing problems (29:04); Air pollutants in low-income urban areas linked with youth asthma attacks (31:05); As respiratory diseases rise, EPA tightens air quality standards (33:07); Increasingly under fire as potential health hazards, gas stoves could be banned in 2023 (35:59); Firearms assaults too often classified as “accidental” (38:06); Study suggests one solution to America’s opioid epidemic: Tell doctors their patients fatally overdosed (39:53); Good hydration linked with lower risk of chronic disease, increased longevity (44:00).
BONUS stories to read online!
- “Not business as usual”: Health lobbyists brace for Bernie Sanders — lobbyists concerned they’ll be unable to blunt criticism of their clients’ profits or corporate executive salaries.
- 500,000 people die of strep A every year. Why isn’t there a vaccine?
- More Orthopedic Physicians Sell Out to Private Equity Firms, Raising Alarms About Costs and Quality
- Health care for transgender adults becomes target in 2023 state legislative sessions
- What does the FDA’s new rule allowing retail pharmacies to dispense abortion pills mean for the fight over abortion pills?
- Postal Service is clear to deliver abortion drugs, DOJ says
- New York’s supervised injection sites have halted nearly 700 overdoses in just over a year
- Weighing Risks of a Major Surgery: 7 Questions Older Americans Should Ask Their Surgeon
- Your Response to Stress Improves as You Grow Older
- Social Media Use Is Linked to Brain Changes in Teens, with an increasing sensitivity to peer feedback
- New Pediatrics Guidelines: “Watchful Waiting”‘ No Longer the Right Call for Child Obesity
- Unsettling Arrival: Pediatric Obesity Guidelines
- Hospitals More to Blame Than the Pandemic for Nurse Staffing Woes
- A ragtag coalition of public-health activists believe that America’s pandemic restrictions are too lax—and they say they have the science to prove it.
- In county jails, guards use pepper spray, stun guns to subdue people in mental crisis
- Four ways to make mental health a priority in the new year
- Great Salt Lake on track to disappear in five years, threatening toxic dust clouds
- New Human Metabolism Research Upends Conventional Wisdom about How We Burn Calories — no adolescent boost or midlife decline.
- Want a Clue on Health Care Costs in Advance? New Tools Take a Crack at It [Promedica Tool, Mercy Health Tool]
Week of January 2, 2023 [episode #192]:
Featuring: Brief COVID-19 update (1:52); COVID in China, the U.S., and everything in-between (2:25); Measles outbreak in Ohio now up to 82 kids infected, most of them unvaccinated (6:13); Experts challenge the narrative for this season’s flu activity (7:16); Many reproductive-age women receive their preventive health care from OB-GYNs (9:43); Abortion Access Tied to Suicide Rates Among Young Women (12:05); Senate passes milestone protections for pregnant workers and new mothers (13:24); Medicaid expansion linked with improved cancer survival in young adults (14:32); Racism leads to troubled sleep — and it’s putting Black Americans’ heart health at risk (15:22); Most hospitals include “extraordinary collection actions” in their attempts to collect medical debt (29:50); Medical Debt Is Being Erased in Toledo, Ohio and Elsewhere (35:54); U.S. starts grappling with ‘travesty’ of untreated hepatitis C (44:23); Diabetes control stagnant in US from 1988 to 2020 (48:55); U.S. Pays to Clean Up Agent Orange on Vietnam War 50th Anniversary (50:06).
BONUS stories to read online!
- How Central Ohio Got People to Reduce Their Food Waste
- Three things to watch in chronic disease in 2023: obesity drugs, long Covid and health care costs
- “No Surprises Act” Implementation Is Full of Surprises
- Classifying aging as a disease could speed FDA drug approvals
- High number of mosquitoes found with mutation that resists insecticides
- Study finds lack of racial, ethnic inclusivity in OB-GYN research
- She Says Doctors Ignored Her Concerns About Her Pregnancy. For Many Black Women, It’s a Familiar Story.
- Racist Doctors and Organ Thieves: Why So Many Black People Distrust the Health Care System
- UCSF apologizes for experiments done on prisoners in the ’60s and ’70s
- It’s Been a Tough Year for Transgender Medicine
- Can politics kill you? Research says the answer increasingly is yes.
- In Child Welfare Cases, Most of Your Constitutional Rights Don’t Apply
- The Bittersweet Defeat of Mpox — The epidemic has largely subsided, but largely because queer men seem to have learned more from AIDS and Covid-19 than the authorities did.
- Under new rules, methadone clinics can offer more take-home doses. Will they?
- Psychotherapy: Less Expensive and Better Than Pills, It’s What the Patients Want but Don’t Get
- Major effort needed by FDA to remove illegal vaping products, review finds
- Tobacco: Vaping and smoking drive environmental harm from farm to fingertip
- Resolve to be Smokefree in ‘23 — Resources and Tips to Help
ViewSHOW ARCHIVES from 2021 and earlier