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.

Health & Fitness
Science
Medicine
826
Medical Notes: Week of November 29, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of November 29, 2020 including: Two COVID vaccines showing a better than 90-percent effectiveness rate now have the data to seek emergency approval from the FDA. Then, a study shows that signs of...
1 min
827
Medical Notes: Week of November 22, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of November 22, 2020 including: Scientists say they’ve come up with a simple skin test that can accurately diagnose Parkinson’s. Then, a new Covid-19 test could be coming that requires you to simply...
1 min
828
“Flat Head Syndrome”
Since the beginning of the “baby on back” movement to reduce sudden infant death syndrome, many more infants are developing misshapen heads with a flat spot in one place. An expert discusses whether this is serious, how it can be treated with a...
12 min
829
Where Can We Gather? The Zoom Thanksgiving
Getting together with family and friends over the holidays will be different this year due to COVID-19 precautions for families and governmental restrictions on restaurants and bars. The hospitality industry complains it’s unfairly targeted, but...
18 min
830
Music Therapy
Some people are finding relief from mental health issues through music therapy, a combination of psychotherapy and music-making. A noted music therapist describes what the practiced is and how it works.
12 min
831
Medical Notes: Week of November 15, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of November 15, 2020 including: A study finds that some occupations may be more at risk of getting seriously ill. Then, a new study shows that men in jobs with hard physical work have a 55 percent...
1 min
832
The Effects of 2020 Stress
2020 has produced an ongoing barrage of stressful events, and psychologists say the months of strain have started to show in both physical and mental breakdowns among increasing numbers of people. Three mental health professionals discuss the signs...
17 min
833
Time Blindness
Someone who is always late for everything and never finishes any project on time is often labeled as irresponsible, lazy, or purposely insulting. But they may be suffering from a brain abnormality called time blindness that’s often a part of ADHD,...
18 min
834
How Deep Are The Differences Of Left Handers?
Handedness is a central part of a person’s identity. Left-handers are often seen as somehow different than the rest of us, and over history they’ve been stereotyped as more quirky, intelligent, and sinister than righties. Science shows that some...
14 min
835
Medical Notes: Week of November 8, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of November 8, 2020 including: One of the biggest questions about the coronavirus is whether people who are infected are immune from reinfection… and if so, for how long. Then, wildfires this year...
1 min
836
Memory Care Farm Animals: Helpful Menageries
Some nursing homes with a large number of patients with dementia have found that farm animals on-site and even in rooms can be helpful in raising spirits and reducing the need for medications. A therapist and program director at one such nursing home...
15 min
837
Medical Notes: Week of November 1, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of November 1, 2020 including: The official death toll in the United States from COVID-19 is around 230,000. But a new study shows that the real number could actually be much higher. Then, Covid’s...
1 min
838
Black Lung Disease: Still All Too Present
Black lung disease among coal miners is often thought of as a relic of the past, thanks to environmental laws. The disease is completely preventable, but a distinguished reporter and author has still found plenty of it among today’s miners. He...
14 min
839
The Many Kinds of Grief
Grief can come from the loss of anything important to us—a loved one, a job, a home, a status in the community. Today many people are suffering from unresolved grief, since there are no rituals to ease these forms of grief and prohibitions against...
14 min
840
Planetary Health
The new scientific field of planetary health seeks to analyze how humans are influencing the planet, which in turn rebounds to affect humans. The field encompasses more than environmental science and ecology, and helps to explain pandemics and other...
18 min
841
Medical Notes: Week of October 25, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 25, 2020 including: A new study shows our diets are suffering as a result of stress from Coronavirus. Then, a study finds that when teachers are having a bad day, students pick up on it and...
1 min
842
Medical Notes: Week of October 18, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 18, 2020 including: The leaders of two of the nation’s leading science advisory groups are warning about what they call “Alarming political interference” in the government’s response...
1 min
843
“Perfect Pitch”
The ability to "know" the musical pitch of any sound has traditionally been thought to be learnable only at a very early age through musical training. But new research shows perfect pitch is teachable to adults as well. Experts discuss the...
18 min
844
Organ Thieves: The First Human Heart Transplant...
In the race to perform the first human-to-human heart transplant, ethical corners were sometimes cut. An investigative journalist explains how a black man’s heart was harvested without his family’s consent for the first human heart transplant in...
14 min
845
Medical Notes: Week of October 11, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 11, 2020 including: A group of black physicians has created a task force to vet government decisions about COVID-19 including treatments and a possible vaccine. Then, a study showing that...
1 min
846
Searing Pain In The Face: Trigeminal Neuralgia
A searing, stabbing pain on one side of the face can be so severe it’s sometimes called “the suicide disease,” and may evade diagnosis. Trigeminal neuralgia is often caused by a throbbing artery in contact with nerves at the base of the brain....
12 min
847
Will We Be Ready For A Covid Vaccine?
A COVID-19 vaccine is on the horizon, but while billions have been spent on its development, little has been spent on distribution and there are still many unanswered questions. Experts discuss how vaccine distribution might be carried out, how long...
18 min
848
Food Insecurity In 2020
An estimated 35 million people were food insecure last year, and the dislocations due to COVID-19 have made it much worse now. Experts discuss the health consequences of hunger, the strategies families are using to cope with economic dislocation, and...
18 min
849
Virtual Clinical Trials
Researchers see the new acceptance of telemedicine as an opportunity during clinical trials. Along with Zoom visits, numerous sensors on participants could provide constant monitoring of health conditions without traveling to see doctors, making...
13 min
850
Medical Notes: Week of October 4, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 4, 2020 including: Wearing a face mask may give people a sort of immunity to serious cases of COVID-19. Then, one more reason to save honeybees—their venom is a powerful chemotherapy agent...
1 min