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America Dissected

On America Dissected, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dr. Katelyn Jetelina explore what’s really making us sick and what we’ll need to take on — be it racism, corporate capitalism, or snake oil salesmen — to keep all of us healthy. New podcast episodes every Thursday. Subscribe wherever you listen.

LISTEN: If childbirth isn’t an illness, why does it happen in hospitals?

LISTEN: If childbirth isn’t an illness, why does it happen in hospitals?

Is a hospital the best place for childbirth? That question is driving a revolution in birthing, focused on creating outpatient birth centers. This National Birth Center Week, Abdul reflects on the birth experience — and who it leaves behind. Then he sits down with the co-founder and CEO of the birth

LISTEN: Are Annual Pelvic Exams Still Necessary?

LISTEN: Are Annual Pelvic Exams Still Necessary?

For more than half of the adults alive, pelvic exams are among the most dreaded parts of getting healthcare. That’s not to mention the troublesome history of how they came to be a part of standard medical practice. Abdul reflects on the gender imbalance in medical innovation. Then he

LISTEN: A Family Physician on meeting “fear with feelings”

LISTEN: A Family Physician on meeting “fear with feelings”

It’s back-to-school season — and that means back-to-school vaccines. Abdul reflects on the roles that ritual and trust play in shaping vaccination. Then he sits down with Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician, to discuss the conversations she has with hesitant families and the future of family medicine. This show

LISTEN: What a life-changing cystic fibrosis drug teaches us about translating science into health

LISTEN: What a life-changing cystic fibrosis drug teaches us about translating science into health

You’ve probably never heard of Trikafta — unless you or someone you love lives with cystic fibrosis. The drug has fundamentally changed cystic fibrosis care, extending life expectancy by decades. But the drug costs $326,000 a year — and requires people to be on it for life. Abdul reflects on

LISTEN: Just Air

LISTEN: Just Air

Environmental injustice leaves too many Americans, mainly Black and brown, breathing air that has been poisoned by smokestacks too close to their homes and schools. Abdul reflects on the process that drives it. Then he sits down with Darren Riley, CEO of JustAir, a company working to build air monitoring

LISTEN: Public Health Across the Divide

LISTEN: Public Health Across the Divide

Public health is universal–or at least it should be. But since the pandemic, it’s been politicized in ways that threaten critical work in conservative communities. Abdul reflects on how the way we talk about public health may be contributing to that. Then he sits down with Dr. Dwayne

LISTEN: This made-up medical diagnosis has been used to justify police violence for decades

LISTEN: This made-up medical diagnosis has been used to justify police violence for decades

The concept of “excited delirium” has been used to justify extreme force from law enforcement and to cover up police violence. Coined by a medical examiner in Florida in the ‘80s, it has its roots in eugenics. Abdul reflects on the way that pseudoscience has too often been used by

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