COVID in Indian Country

We’ve all lived through a pandemic now. But did you know that so much of our pre-pandemic lives was the result of … pandemics? Abdul reflects on the marvel that for so many of us, the risk of dying of an infectious disease is so low — and why we’re at risk of losing that. Then he sits down with Prof. Jon Kennedy, Co-Director of the Center for Public Health and Policy at Queen Mary University in London and author of the new book “Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues.”

22 Elo 202352min

Dying … is not a topic most of us like to talk about. But we probably should, considering that all of us are going to do it someday. But how do we have those conversations — and why don’t we when it matters most? Abdul reflects on our odd relationship with the one thing all of us will do. Then he speaks to Nurse Hadley Vlahos, a hospice nurse, and author of the new book “The In-Between.”

15 Elo 202349min

One of the biggest mistakes we make in health is to mistake healthcare for public health. More tests or treatments simply can’t make up for the ways that the air you breathe, the water you drink, or the school you went to shape your health trajectory. Abdul reflects on the powerful role of place in public health. Then he sits down with Prof. Luke Shaefer, Director of Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and co-author of a new book, “The Injustice of Place,” about America’s internal “colonies,” and how they shape what’s possible for too many in our country.

8 Elo 20231h 5min

You can’t miss them, HOKAs — those clunky athletic shoes with the thick foamy sole — are everywhere. But why? Abdul reflects on the broader juxtaposition between fitness and health. Then he sits down with Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician and founder of “Iron Strength,” a New York City-based fitness community, to talk about fitness, why we carry so much baggage about it, and … those HOKA shoes.

1 Elo 202351min

Think about your favorite place. Chances are you thought about how it looks — but not necessarily how it sounds. Sound is all around us, so constant that we often ignore it. But it turns out that sound can have serious implications for our health. Abdul breaks down the ways sound can shape our health. Then he sits down with Prof. Erica Walker, an epidemiologist who studies sound and health to understand more about sound’s health implications, and the inequities that so often shape the different sounds we’re exposed to.

25 Heinä 20231h

What is gender-affirming care — and why is the far right trying to ban it? Abdul reflects on the way misinformation intended to flatten and decontextualize gender-affirming care has been critical to driving a cycle of hatred against trans people. Then he talks to Dr. Kellan Baker, the Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Institute and an expert on gender-affirming care about what it is, the impact of bans, and what everyone who believes in freedom can do to push back.

18 Heinä 20231h 1min

For most of America’s medical history, the idea of a doctors’ union has been an oxymoron. Doctors were management, rather than labor. But the consolidation of healthcare over the past several decades has taken power away from doctors while forcing them into inhumane situations. The pandemic brought those challenges to a rolling boil, particularly for residents–trainee physicians who are the lifeblood of hospitals. That’s prompting resident physicians around the country to unionize for fairer wages, more humane working hours, and more say over their workplaces. Abdul sits down with Dr. Lorenzo Gonzalez, a family medicine resident and the president for one of the most powerful unions on the front line of physician organizing.    Want Pod Save America ad-free? Subscribe to Friends of the Pod: crooked.com/friends

11 Heinä 202356min

Putting a taste-less, odorless, colorless chemical in our water is among the most effective public health interventions known to humans. So why are there so many conspiracy theories about fluoride? Abdul reflects on the low-key importance of oral health. Then he sits down with Tooka Zokaie, Senior Health Policy Analyst for the California Dental Association to talk about fluoridation and its detractors.

27 Kesä 202349min