Public Health Workers Are NOT Okay with Elizabeth Holzschuh
It’s been a long three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And though the pandemic isn’t over — the public health workforce feels done. Public health departments around the country are facing low morale, high vacancy, and a workload that doesn’t want to ease up. Abdul talks about the impact of public health burnout and sits down with Elizabeth Holzschuh, director of epidemiology at a local health department in Kansas to talk about what it looks like on the ground — and what needs to be done to address it.
28 Feb 202356min
Twice as Hard with Jasmine Brown
Becoming a doctor is hard. Becoming a doctor when you face discrimination because of your race AND gender? Twice as hard. Abdul reflects on the obstacles that hold back promising future healthcare providers. He interviews Jasmine Brown, a medical student and author of a new book, Twice as Hard, detailing the history of America’s pioneering Black women doctors.
21 Feb 20231h 5min
Caffeinated with Murray Carpenter
Caffeine is the most important drug that no one is willing to label. Across its forms–whether coffee, tea, coke, or energy drinks–93% of Americans report regular caffeine use. Abdul reflects on caffeine’s highs and lows. Then he sits down with Murray Carpenter, journalist and author of “Caffeinated: How our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us.”
14 Feb 202352min
The Fate of Football (Players) with Garrett Bush
Last month, as millions watched a Monday Night Football game, Damar Hamlin, a safety on the Buffalo Bills football team, suffered a rare and potentially deadly injury while making a routine tackle. Abdul reflects on his complicated relationship with football. Then he interviews Garrett Bush, sports commentator and former college football player, who recently went viral over a rant about America’s sordid love affair with football.
7 Feb 20231h 2min
Cooking with Gas with Rebecca Leber
The rightwing ecosystem went up in flames a couple of weeks ago over gas stoves. Beyond the fact that burning stuff into our lungs is probably bad for us, this opposition to government action in the name of health may signal something broader–that emerging out of pandemic-era opposition to lockdowns, masks, and vaccines, the rightwing culture war is taking aim at public health more broadly. Abdul sits down with Vox journalist Rebecca Leber to understand what all the hot air is about, and what it means for the broader effort to protect folks in America.
31 Jan 202347min
Weight, Weight, Don’t Tell Me with Prof. Harriet Brown
Obesity has tripled since 1970. And since, it’s spawned all sorts of trends, ostensibly to help folks eat less, exercise more, and lose weight. But what is obesity, exactly? And is all this advice actually helping — or could it be doing more harm than good? Abdul reflects on weight, weight stigma, and the weightloss industrial complex. He sits down with Prof. Harriett Brown, author of “Body of Truth,” which digs deep into the evidence about weight and health and explores the consequences of weight stigma.
24 Jan 20231h 3min
Under the Skin with Linda Villarosa
People of color, and particularly Black folks, suffer higher rates of disease in America. That has less to do with anything about personal characteristics — like genetics or behaviors — and more to do with the way society treats people because of the color of their skin. In her new book “Under the Skin,” health journalist Linda Villarosa explores how racism gets under the skin. She sat down with Abdul to talk about that — and what we do about it.
17 Jan 202353min
Making Your Resolutions Stick with Prof. Katy Milkman
Imagine setting a New Year’s Resolution — and actually achieving it! Living healthier and losing weight accounts for more than 40% of all New Year’s resolutions. But actually achieving them? That’s a different story. To be sure, “personal fortitude” and “effort” pale in comparison to the role of place and resources when it comes to our health. But for so many of us, even when all the other variables line up, our goals feel a bit too daunting. Abdul reflects on what makes setting big goals so challenging — and why so many of us struggle with our health goals. Then he sits down with Professor Katy Milkman, a behavioral science professor at Penn’s Wharton School, and author of “How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” to talk about the science of sticking to those New Year’s resolutions.
10 Jan 20231h
