In Good Health
Each week, In Good Health, from the creators of Radio Health Journal, breaks down important news in medicine, science and technology with the help of world-renowned experts. Our three weekly segments will help guide you to a happier, healthier life – with some fun facts to share at dinner parties. Can magic mushrooms cure your depression? Have we outrun natural selection?
Hosted by Elizabeth Westfield, Greg Johnson and Maayan Voss de Bettancourt and produced by Kristen Farrah and Amirah Zaveri. New shows posted each Sunday by 5 a.m. EST. Subscribe, listen, and rate. If you’re looking for older episodes, you can find our entire segment catalog on our website ingoodhealthpodcast.org. Also, check out the latest on FB, IG, X, and YouTube @ingoodhealthpod.
651
Can 911 Respond To Mental Health Crises?
Up to 15 percent of calls to 911 involve people having a mental health breakdown, yet many call centers, especially in rural areas, have no one with any training on what to do or who to dispatch in those cases. Typically they send police, who may also...
14 min
652
Children’s “Psychotic-Like Experiences”
Children and young adolescents may experience perceptual distortions or strange thoughts, but if they become frequent and disruptive, they can be an early tipoff to serious future mental health distress. An expert discusses this new field of mental...
10 min
653
Medical Notes: Week of January 9, 2022
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 may flame out as quickly as it rose. Then, a new study shows that traditional books are making a come-back. And finally, your microwave could be making your dog really anxious.
1 min
654
Hoarding Disorder: More Than Just Too Much Junk
Hoarding disorder affects at least five percent of Americans, and despite TV programs showing its effects, it is still widely misunderstood. Experts discuss the danger hoarding poses to others, including neighbors, children, and first responders; why...
14 min
655
Dealing With Lifelong Disease
Life-threatening, lifelong chronic diseases from infancy are at the top of the list of medical challenges. A woman who has dealt with cystic fibrosis her entire life discusses how mindset is often the biggest factor in living a full life with such a...
9 min
656
Medical Notes: Week of January 2, 2022
A new finds that patients showing up at rural hospital ERs have extremely similar outcomes compared to patients in urban-area ERs. Then, new research sheds light on why more girls don't go into STEM. Plus, pandemic depression linked to sitting and...
1 min
657
Advances That May Eliminate Scarring
Scars are a public health as well as aesthetic threat, as internal scars can compromise the function of organs and tissues. Scientists are now devising medications that promote healing without producing scars. One of the scientists on the front lines...
11 min
658
Saving Preschool Education
Preschool teachers have left the profession in huge numbers, closing some schools and threatening others. With nowhere to safely leave their children, millions of people are unable to return to work, sabotaging economic recovery. An expert discusses...
13 min
659
Medical Notes: Week of December 26, 2021
Some theories claim that Covid-19 was created in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but a study now has turned up more evidence confirming the wet market theory. Plus, what restaurants and supermarkets you have in your neighbor can predict your health. And...
1 min
660
Easing the Opioid Epidemic
Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 Americans in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, as pressures built and users sometimes had to get their fix from unfamiliar sources. Experts discuss how the pandemic cost lives beyond COVID, and how...
15 min
661
New Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Category
Many people who need hearing aids never get them, in part because they currently require a prescription and expensive treatment. An expert discusses the FDA’s new proposed category of over-the-counter hearing aids which should be within reach of...
9 min
662
Medical Notes: Week of December 19, 2021
Johns Hopkins says we're a lot better off than we were last year at this time. Plus, you may be getting a lot of gift cards as presents for the holidays due to supply chain issues. And finally, a study finds that you can decontaminate used face masks...
1 min
663
The Damage of Too Little Sleep
Getting less than six hours of sleep per night has long been known to be hazardous to health, but the discovery of the mechanisms behind those hazards is leading scientists to strengthen their warnings. Too little sleep or poor sleep carries heart and...
13 min
664
Building the Covid Vaccine
The vaccine for Covid-19 was developed with record speed while still following required safety protocols. A noted investigative reporter discusses the development process he uncovered for his exhaustive book and explains why the hundreds of interviews...
10 min
665
Medical Notes: Week of December 12, 2021
An antidepressant called Fluvoxamine significantly reduces the chance someone getting Covid would need hospitalization. Match.com dating survey finds singles today are seeking emotional maturity rather than looks. STING drug shown to be an effective...
2 min
666
Medical Notes: Week of December 5, 2021
Triple negative breast cancers have an especially poor prognosis… and now an analysis finds that black women have a higher risk for these kinds of cancer than previously known. Then, online dating violence begins at an early age—as early as age...
1 min
667
When TBI's Change Personality
Traumatic brain injury can profoundly change the injured in personality and temperament, as well as physically and cognitively. Spouses bear the brunt of these changes to the point many feel like they’re living with a stranger. Two experts and the...
16 min
668
Humanizing the ICU
Medicine in intensive care units has become so technically focused that many doctors believe they’ve lost their connection with the humanity of patients. The result is a high degree of post-ICU PTSD. A noted physician discusses how doctors can...
12 min
669
Kids’ Covid Vaccines: Fact and Fiction
Covid-19 vaccines are now approved for children as young as 5, but while people are afraid of getting the vaccine themselves, they’re even more nervous about getting it for their children. Misinformation is accelerating against use of the vaccine in...
16 min
670
Improving Vaccine Communication
The White House and many health officials have taken an aggressive approach to communicating the need for Covid-19 vaccines. Most people are prompted to get vaccinated by mandates and words that generate fear, but it’s clear that they backfire with...
10 min
671
Medical Notes: Week of November 28, 2021
There are now two new pills that can prevent people from getting severely ill after contracting Covid-19. Then, a new type of magnetic brain stimulation is showing promise as a treatment for depression. And finally… if you crave one type of food...
1 min
672
Homeless Americans: Myth vs. Reality
Around a half million people are homeless in the US on any given night, but the street homeless who are most visible often incorrectly influence our assumptions about all of them. A noted researcher discusses myths and truths about their addictions,...
16 min
673
Older Dads, Younger Kids
The average age when men first become fathers has risen to 31, and more men are also becoming dads in their 40’s and 50’s. A National Book Award-winning author discusses his experience as a first-time dad at 56, and now as a 75-year old father...
13 min
674
Medical Notes: Week of November 21, 2021
A new analysis in the journal JAMA Network Open finds that most insurance companies are no longer waiving co-pays and deductibles for Covid hospitalization. Plus, a study finds depression rates are even higher now than they were in 2020. 17% of four...
1 min
675
Staffing Struggles Threaten Survival of Rural H...
Rural hospitals have long struggled to maintain staffing levels of nurses and other professionals that are adequate for good care. The pandemic has made it much worse, as staffers have quit and patient loads have increased. Experts discuss the roots...
16 min