Radio Health Journal
Each week, 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 radiohealthjournal.org. Also, check out the latest on Facebook and Instagram @radiohealthjournal and on X @RadioHealthJrnl.
676
Covid And Crashes
The number of cars on the road has been dramatically lower during the pandemic, yet the number of crash deaths has actually increased. That means the number of crashes and traffic deaths per mile driven have skyrocketed. Experts discuss this...
15 min
677
Vaccine Passports
Proof of having received COVID-19 vaccine may soon be required for boarding a plane, going to a ball game, going to school, having a job or eating in some restaurants. An expert involved in the design of a passport app discusses how it would all work.
9 min
678
Exhaustion On The Covid Front Lines
Healthcare workers in ER’s and ICU’s are in their 11th month of fighting COVID-19 and its exhaustion and depression. Two front line doctors describe how they’re managing to stay optimistic amid so much chaos, and how the vaccine has given them a...
14 min
679
Superstitions In Sports
Professional athletes are among the most superstitious of all people. While we may be tempted to think these rituals have no effect on performance, psychologists say that if an athlete believes it helps, then it actually does. Experts explain how...
10 min
680
Medical Notes: Week of February 7, 2021
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of February 7, 2021 including: New statistics from the American Cancer Society show that cancer deaths are continuing to drop. Then, a study finds that reopening schools doesn’t increase...
1 min
681
Preventing Food Waste
During the Super Bowl, leftovers from gatherings—even small ones--may threaten to take over the refrigerator. An expert discusses consumer-friendly how-to’s, including how to read labels, that can lengthen food life and help avoid food waste.
9 min
682
Covid Update: Infectious New Variant & Stretchi...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that a new, more contagious version of COVID-19 will become the predominant strain by March, testing the new vaccine’s effectiveness. At the same time, researchers are trying to find ways to...
15 min
683
Medical Notes: Week of January 31, 2021
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 30, 2021 including: The world may cross the point of no return on climate change sooner than we thought. Then, taking glucosamine could be just as beneficial to your health as exercise. And...
1 min
684
Medical Notes: Week of January 24, 2021
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 24, 2021 including: A study finding that 60 percent of all cases of COVID-19 are spread by people who have no symptoms. Then, children under age two may suffer effects from antibiotics later...
1 min
685
Living Too Clean During Covid
The COVID pandemic has prompted people to clean and disinfect more than ever. However, experts believe that humans need a certain amount of germs for our immune systems to work properly. One expert discusses her concern that we’re living too clean...
10 min
686
Fibbing To Your Doctor
Surveys show that as many as 80 percent of people omit information, stretch the truth or outright lie to their doctors. Experts discuss why it happens, consequences, and methods that might reduce the amount of less-than-truthful answers to doctors’...
14 min
687
What Determines Our Food Preferences?
Scientists are discovering that our food preferences are much more than a matter of taste, and that taste itself is more complicated than we thought. Psychology also plays a role. An expert discusses what determines preferences, such as why some...
10 min
688
Requiring Employees To Get Covid Vaccines
Some Americans say there is no way they’ll get a COVID-19 vaccine, yet some may have no choice if they want to keep their jobs. Law allows workplaces to require safety-related vaccines for workers. Businesses may even begin to require proof of...
16 min
689
Medical Notes: Week of January 17, 2021
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 17, 2021 including: Glaucoma is the world’s number one cause of blindness … and those daily eye drops are not always successful. Then, the number of times a woman has given birth affects...
1 min
690
Smart Cars And Smart Roads
Cars will soon be able to provide data as well as receive it. Experts explain how cars can talk with roads, traffic signals and central computers, and how roads themselves may collect data on the cars they carry. In the future, autonomous cars may use...
15 min
691
Overcoming Black Distrust In The Covid Vaccine
Success of COVID-19 vaccines depends on about 75 percent of people getting them, but distrust of medicine and of vaccines among African-Americans means they may not come close to that milepost. Two experts discuss historical reasons for distrust, how...
11 min
692
Medical Notes: Week of January 10, 2021
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 10, 2021 including: Doctors consider people at high risk for a stroke if they have medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure. But maybe they should consider whether they’re...
1 min
693
Childhood Trauma, Later Disease
Researchers have found that severe emotional trauma in childhood triggers physical disease later in life, and has a cumulative effect. An award-winning science writer who has researched the topic discusses findings.
12 min
694
Covid Messaging: Why Communication is Life and ...
Poor communication and mixed messages have contributed greatly to poor acceptance of anti-coronavirus actions such as masking and social distancing, and experts fear it may be the same with the new vaccines. Experts discuss what we’ve done right in...
18 min
695
Medical Notes: Week of January 3, 2021
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 3, 2021 including: The incidence of cancer is increasing among teenagers and young adults. Then, This is the time to make new year’s resolutions… but mental health experts say this year...
1 min
696
Medical Notes: Week of December 27, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of December 27, 2020 including nearly 40 percent of Americans are attending family gatherings with more than 10 people this weekend, despite authorities’ continuing pleas to stay home. Then, if you...
1 min
697
Broke: Patients Open Up About Money Woes
Millions of Americans are in financial straits due to COVID layoffs and furloughs. A doctor describes how he gets patients to talk about why they’re in trouble and what they do about it to create an eye-opening portrait.
14 min
698
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is increasing, and soon to be the second leading cancer killer, since it is rarely detected in early stages. Two physicians discuss pancreatic cancer and its symptoms, as well as their research into methods to find the disease in...
16 min
699
The Good and the Bad of Medical Crowdfunding (2...
Medical campaigns account for a third of monies raised on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, and many people who’ve fallen through the holes of the safety net have been helped this way. But studies show that fraud is rampant in crowdfunding, with...
16 min
700
Navigating A Covid Christmas
This holiday season will be unlike any we’ve ever had before, with “loss” as a major theme—loss of little things such as routines as well as big ones. Two experts weigh in on how families can navigate this season while keeping it festive.
12 min