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
901
Nursing Homes Try To Fend Off Covid-19
Nursing homes have been a hotbed of fatal COVID-19 infections. The virus was loose in many of them before they could even know it. An industry expert discusses what nursing homes are doing now to keep the virus out and their patients safe.
10 min
902
Medical Notes: Week of May 3, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of May 3, 2020 including: By now, most of us are familiar with the main symptoms of a COVID-19 infection—fever, cough, and respiratory distress. But doctors are learning that the virus may also attack...
1 min
903
Maintaining Mental Health During The Lockdown
Mental health is difficult to maintain when people are required to stay inside at home. In fact, we’re asked to engage in activities that normally would indicate mental distress. A noted psychologist with the NIH discusses ways to stay mentally...
14 min
904
Rules For Who Lives, Who Dies In The Pandemic
A lack of ventilators potentially puts doctors in the position of deciding which of their COVID-19 patients get a ventilator and live, and which ones don’t get one and die. New rules for making such decisions have been released which are designed to...
10 min
905
Opening America Again: When Is It Safe?
Many Americans are impatient with social distancing as a result of COVID-19 despite the success of the tactic. However, reopening the country too quickly could allow the virus to come roaring back, resulting in thousands more deaths and even more...
14 min
906
Medical Notes: Week of April 26, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of April 26, 2020 including: A blood test for many types of cancer has been a long-sought goal of researchers, and now they’re much closer. Then, a team of faculty and students at Rice University has...
1 min
907
Medical Notes: Week of April 19, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of April 19, 2020 including: If you’ve been taking the drug Ranitidine for reflux or ulcer prevention, the FDA says stop. Then, a new study shows that parents are yelling at their children since most...
1 min
908
Staying Fit While Staying Home
The national effort to shelter in place has closed gyms and led many people to complain of weight gain. Two exercise experts discuss how people can maintain fitness at home with no equipment.
11 min
909
Will Covid-19 Bankrupt the Healthcare System?
Hospitals are scrambling to get extra equipment and outfit more beds and ICU units for COVID-19 patients. Their treatment is time-consuming and expensive. At the same time, hospitals’ lucrative elective procedure business has largely been...
15 min
910
Domestic Abuse and the Pandemic
With hundreds of millions of Americans sheltering at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds and fear of domestic abuse are rising. The leader of a noted shelter and counseling program discusses the increase, the difficulty of counteracting it...
15 min
911
Foreign Accent Syndrome
People who suddenly speak with what sounds like a foreign accent often have a brain injury due to a stroke or other trauma. Experts discuss the syndrome and chances of recovery.
11 min
912
Medical Notes: Week of April 12, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of April 12, 2020 including: A study that says taking large amounts of Ibuprofen may be worse for your liver than we thought. Then, a new study finds that there’s no harm in letting your baby "cry it...
2 min
913
Easing Coronavirus Stress
Virtually no one in the US has been unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic, and stress is at high levels. A public health and brain expert discusses why “sheltering in place” is so important in spite of the stress it generates, and a few simple...
10 min
914
Misinterpreting Perinatal Depression
Perinatal depression (previously known as postpartum depression) is seldom brought up by a new mother, so healthcare providers must screen for it carefully. However, sometimes they err on the side of caution in efforts to prevent the mother from...
16 min
915
Medical Notes: Week of April 5, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of April 5, 2020 including: Experts say most people infected with COVID-19 under age 60 will have symptoms much like a cold or the flu, and it’s no reason to panic. Then, we’ve heard the advice a...
2 min
916
Kidney Disease And High Blood Pressure
Most people who have kidney disease are not aware of it. In fact, nearly half of people with severe kidney disease don’t know it. Kidney disease is often silent, and one of its main risk factors, high blood pressure, is silent as well. The head of...
10 min
917
Medical Notes: Week of March 29, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of March 29, 2020, including: A treatment combining radiation and chemotherapy could be much more effective for colorectal cancer. Then, scientists have discovered that a WWI helmet is actually superior...
1 min
918
Easing The Stress Of Working At Home
Millions of Americans are suddenly having to work from home for the first time as a result of coronavirus. Many do not have a good home office setup, tech skills, family makeup or the temperament to do it. A remote working expert discusses the do’s...
14 min
919
The Effect of Public Policies on the Coronaviru...
The effectiveness of efforts to contain coronavirus often depend on governmental policies determined years or even decades ago that, at the time, had nothing to do with public health. A health policy expert discusses some of these policies and what...
11 min
920
The U.S. Takes On Coronavirus
In the past 10 days, the US has finally begun to institute aggressive tactics against coronavirus that may limit its spread and the death toll. But many Americans remain confused about what they should do and why. One of the nation’s most...
16 min
921
Medical Notes: Week of March 22, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of March 22, 2020, including: It’s getting much more dangerous to walk where you’re going with pedestrian fatalities up by more than 50 percent in the last decade. Then, a report that an...
1 min
922
Medical Errors, 20 Years After “To Err Is Human”
The Institute of Medicine report “To Err Is Human” in 1999 shook health care with the finding that as many as 120,000 Americans die each year due to medical mistakes. A noted researcher re-examines how far we’ve come since then and the difficult...
16 min
923
Medical Notes: Week of March 15, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of March 15, 2020, including: There is a higher risk of heart disease for women who've experienced domestic abuse. Then, a study that shows that the pulse can vary wildly between people. Plus, can being...
1 min
924
Intermittent Fasting
Studies show that by this time of year, most of us have failed new year’s resolutions to lose weight. A noted expert discusses how most people get in trouble with obesity and a more reasonable way to try to lose weight than most people follow....
12 min
925
Medical Notes: Week of March 8, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of March 8, 2020, including: The chemical known as BPS can pass through the placenta of pregnant rats and hindered brain development in their offspring. Then, for those under age 50 who develop...
1 min