Shows
Public Health PostThe Search for Hope in Public HealthIn the upcoming season of PHPod, new host Jack Mellom explores the less visible sides of public health to highlight stories of hope.2025-06-2504 min
Public Health PostThe Health Communications ImperativePHPod explores the world of health communications, how it can improve, and why we need it now more than ever.2025-04-2417 min
Public Health PostMeet the 2025 Public Health Post FellowsPHPod sits down with the incoming PHP fellows to discuss their interests in public health and health communication as they head into their year-long fellowships.2025-03-2619 min
Public Health PostTalking TuberculosisPHPod speaks with Leo Martinez, a global health researcher and tuberculosis expert, to explore the historical and epidemiological complexities of TB.2025-02-2624 min
Public Health PostDry Beyond JanuaryPHPod sits down with experts to discuss alcohol use in the U.S. and initiatives to promote healthy drinking habits amidst social pressures.2025-02-1324 min
Public Health PostFrom Facial Hair to Mental Care: Tackling the Crisis of Men’s Mental HealthPHPod host Abby Varker speaks with Krista Fisher, a research fellow at Movember Institute, about the influence of toxic masculinity, intersectionality, and engagement in online spaces on men’s mental health outcomes.2024-11-2631 min
Public Health PostA Healthy DemocracyWhat role does public health play in our elections? PHPod host Abby Varker talks with Matt Motta, a political scientist and assistant professor of health law, policy & management at Boston University School of Public Health, and Marjorie Decker, Massachusetts State Representative and Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, to learn more about how public health is regulated and what we should be paying attention to in an election.2024-10-3031 min
Public Health PostBrain Blitz: Fumbling the Health of our AthletesPHPod host Abby Varker speaks with Drs. Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva, authors of the book "The End of College Football" and co-hosts of The End of Sport podcast, to explore the intersection of football, athlete safety, and public health.2024-09-2530 min
Public Health PostFueling the Route to Public HealthPHPod host Abby Varker explores how public transportation can be a mode of public health improvement with Jed Paul, physician and social media influencer (@jeddeo1), and Jonathan Buonocore, assistant professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health.2024-08-2932 min
Public Health PostThe Lavender Haze: Enabling a Healthy Queer FutureSame-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S. in 2015 through the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Most American queer youth and young adults have grown up in a world where they have more rights and opportunities than those who came before them. But sexuality and gender are still strong determinants of health, and many sexual and gender minorities still suffer from systemic bias that affects their health. With all the progress that’s been made, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) young people still struggle to overcome barriers to health, leading to worse outcomes. These youth should be...2024-06-2627 min
Public Health PostArtful Healing: The Intersection of Tattoo Artistry and Trauma-Informed CareKat O’Hare, a part-time therapist at Mass Bay Counseling and a tattoo artist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, spoke with PHPod about tattooing as a practice of body reclamation, the importance of trauma-informed care in this work, and how she brings patience and empathy to her work to create empowering experiences for her clients.2024-04-2431 min
Public Health PostMeet the 2024 Public Health Post FellowsPHPod sits down with new fellows, Lia Musumeci, Heather Sherr, Jude Sleiman, Abby Varker, and Dani Weissert, to discuss health communications and their public health interests going into their year-long fellowships with Public Health Post.2024-03-2717 min
Public Health PostCensorship In the Classroom: Book Bans and Challenges, Part 2PHPod sits down with Leah Watson, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Racial Justice Program, to discuss book bans happening across the country and censorship in the classroom. Watson is a former high school teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, and her current focus with the ACLU is on classroom censorship efforts, otherwise known as educational gag orders.2024-02-2131 min
Public Health PostCensorship In the Classroom: Book Bans and Challenges, Part 1PHPod sits down with Christina Dobbs, an assistant professor at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development and the director of the college’s English Education for Equity and Justice program, to discuss the current onslaught of book challenges and bans in classrooms across the country and the actions being taken to support teachers and students during this time.2024-01-2532 minPublic Health PostFood Sovereignty and Indigenous Food PracticesPHPod host Kara Schmidt sits down with Ryann Monteiro, a Boston University School of Public Health alum and an Indigenous public health practitioner and educator, to discuss food sovereignty and indigenous food practices related to cultural preservation and revitalization.2023-11-0927 minPublic Health PostFat Liberation and Weight DiscriminationPHPod host host Kara Schmidt sits down with Rev. Dr. Anastasia Kidd, director of Contextual Education at Boston University School of Theology, and Massachusetts State Senator Becca Rausch to discuss the fat liberation movement, weight stigma, and current legislation that has been introduced to address weight discrimination in the Commonwealth.2023-10-2630 min
Public Health PostThe Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women EpidemicThe Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Epidemic by PHPod2023-09-2830 min
The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresOsteopathic Medicine and its Founder, A.T. StillAs the resident Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) on this podcast, Max will lead his MD colleagues through an examination of the roots of osteopathic medicine from its founding by Andrew Taylor Still, its quest to re-define medicine, and its eventual growth into the medical profession it is today. If you've ever wondered why some doctors have D.O. after their name, this episode will hopefully explain it all. This is one of those stories in medical history that does have a happy ending, in our humble opinion.Sources:https://books.google.com/books?id=H08EA...2023-04-271h 23Public Health PostThe Unsung Intersection of Ballroom and Public HealthPHPod sits down with Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga to discuss her work with health policy and the ballroom community. As co-director of the Crystal LaBeija Organizing Fellowship and Commissioner for Gender Equity in New York City, Jennifer shares about her work in HIV and Mpox research and what drives her. Join the conversation and learn more about the intersection of Black and trans communities with health policy and research.2023-04-1918 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresThe History of Emergency MedicineWe'll look inward this week to talk about the history of our own specialty as emergency physicians. People may not be aware that the practice of emergency medicine is relatively new in the house of medicine. Before the 1970's the ER was a very different place as you'll find out. Link to documentary called 24/7/365 on the topic discussed in episode (courtesy of EMRA - the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association): https://www.emra.org/about-emra/publications/legacy-documentary/#247365documentarySources:https://www.annemergmed.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0196-0644%2804%2901836-0https://www...2023-04-1354 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresThe Fungus Among Us: Historically Bad Fungal InfectionsWith the success of "The Last of Us" show, we thought we'd take some time to look at historically important cases of fungal infection. We'll investigate a possible explanation for all those witch trials of yesteryear as well as a common childhood fungal infection that accounted for quite the degree of social upheaval in Victorian England. Also, we'll have our first entry in Mike's mailbag segment. Tune in to see if he gets the question correct. Full show notes on our website.References:https://microbialcell.com/researcharticles/2020a-kainz-microbial-cell/ overview of Fungal infections, Kain...2023-03-301h 05
Public Health PostMeet Our 2023 Public Health Post FellowsFormer writing fellow Connor McCombs sits down with our new fellows to discuss health communication and their public health interests going into their year-long writing fellowship with Public Health Post.2023-03-2911 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresHistorical Medical Case Discussion: The Death of Harry HoudiniThere are many misconceptions and myths surrounding the death of the great magician and skeptic, Harry Houdini. Though many believe he may have died during one of his dangerous escape performances, the truth leads to a common diagnosis with a possible uncommon and unusual cause. FYI: Full show notes will be posted to our website.Sources: -https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/death-escape-artist-harry-houdini-appendicitis-surgery/-https://cbc.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/02012014-AS.pdf-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini#Death-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28673696/ -https://www.hind...2023-03-161h 12The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresEarly Beginnings of the ICU and Critical Care MedicineIn this week's episode we'll trace back the beginnings of the modern intensive care unit and critical care medicine as we know it. Much of this arose thanks to two particular infectious diseases--polio and tetanus. Tune in to find out how intrepid Danish physicians collaborated to save the lives of people dying from these diseases and ultimately led to a whole new concept in medicine--the ability to devote intense care to try and save a life.Source:https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-power-and-peril-of-the-icu-gaffney Support the show-----PHPod Mer...2023-03-0257 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresA History of Diabetes and the Amazing Discovery of InsulinWe're back! Many people know that insulin is an important part of the treatment for diabetes. In this episode we'll talk about how insulin was discovered and first used to treat a disease that, throughout the whole of human history, was previously fatal. We'll explain what diabetes is, how it used to be treated in the age before insulin, and how a brilliant cohort including a Canadian orthopedic surgeon and fellow scientists finally figured out a revolutionary way to treat this disease. We'll also discuss a bit of unsavory history regarding the pharmaceutical industry which managed to pre...2023-02-1656 minPublic Health Post'There Is No Wrong Body for Gymnastics'In this month’s episode of PHPod, hosts Bethany Hallenborg and Connor Mccombs sit down with Abbie Green, the founder and executive director of EveryBODY Gymnastics, a gymnastics incubator focused on teaching the sport to anyone willing to learn. Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, EveryBODY has a mission to show that there is no wrong body, shape, size, or age for gymnastics.2023-02-1523 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresShow Update / Schedule ChangeApologies but we'll have to delay the episode another week. Technical issues + scheduling conflicts + illness have all made for difficulty getting the episode done on our usual schedule. Also, the podcast will be moving back to releases every two weeks. Good changes in Max's career have unfortunately overtaken the free time he'd had to increase the show output. So, starting next Thursday we'll have the next episode out and be returning to our every two week release schedule. Hopefully this ensures we can continue to put the right amount of time and effort into the episodes we relea...2023-02-0900 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresM&M (Museums and Medicine): The Old Operating Theatre Museum in London England with Monica Walker, PhDWhile we've discussed numerous famous Victorian era surgeons, we haven't taken this deep of a dive into their facilities. This week we bring you a conversation with Monica Walker, PhD, all the way from London, England. This episode runs a bit longer than the others but that's just where the interview took us. So many neat tidbits. We'll talk about some of the common surgical procedures performed in the Old Op Theatre, some of the famous surgeons who practiced there, and Dr. Walker will give a fascinating account of what surgery in that space looked like. There's even...2023-02-021h 19The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresThe Hippocratic Oath - Solemn or Silly? With Special Guest, Dr. Brian ElliottDoctors and the Hippocratic Oath just go together like Turner and Hooch. That analogy makes as little sense as it does to keep harping on the Hippocratic Oath as a rite of passage for graduating physicians. There's plenty of myth to dispel here. Fortunately we won't go it alone. This week we are joined by physician and author, Dr. Brian Elliott who has written a book examining several traditions--such as this oath--in the world of medicine. His book is called White Coat Ways: A History of Medical Traditions and Their Battle with Progress and will be released tom...2023-01-2650 minPublic Health PostPHPod Goes to APHA, Part IIAt the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo in November, PHPod spoke with Michael Curry, CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; Nicole Huberfeld, Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law at Boston University School of Public Health; and Christina Dantam and Rhea Manocha, members of the Grassroots Maternal and Child Health Initiative at Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, about their work putting public health into action.2023-01-1925 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresM&M (Museums and Medicine): The Science Museum of Minnesota & Their Questionable Medical Device CollectionThis week we are joined by Laurie Fink, PhD, from the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) to discuss their anatomical collection as well as their super cool exhibit on quackery in medicine. Exhibits from the former Museum of Questionable Medical devices have been incorporated into the SMM's exhibit called "Weighing the Evidence." We'll talk about what's inside that peculiar assortment of bunk medical relics as well as how a museum goes about obtaining anatomical specimens. We hope you'll enjoy!Also, we'd like to welcome our new sponsor, Artery Ink! They're a good local Milwaukee company with a grea...2023-01-1959 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresThe Aorta - A Historically Infamous Blood VesselLet's mix one part anatomy lesson with one part historical overview of a very important blood vessel that has been a problem for numerous famous figures including Lucille Ball and Albert Einstein. We'll talk about what the aorta is, the various ways it can become a problem, people in recent and past history who have had issues with it, and finally how we developed a modern treatment for some of its overall fortunately uncommon problems. Of note we'll be doing our very best not to confuse aortic aneurysms (abnormal weakening of the walls causing a ballooning of th...2023-01-121h 05The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresM&M (Museums and Medicine): The International Surgical Science Museum in Chicago, IllinoisIn addition to introducing us to our prior guest, James Wilke, the International Surgical Science Museum also joined us to talk about the work that their museum is doing. We'll talk about a variety of subjects including some international skeletal remains housed in their collection, paying tribute to an ancient surgical technique. We'll find out what Milwaukee has to do with finding the perfect fit in your next pair of shoes. And we'll see if we can get ourselves a few Poor Historians statues in the museum's Hall of Immortals exhibit. Happy belated New Year to all of y...2023-01-0551 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresThe Epic Surgical Quackery of "Dr." Goat Balls (aka "Dr." John Brinkley)Thanks to a listener suggestion we have this week's masterpiece. In this week's episode we'll talk about "Dr." John Brinkley who's affection for transplanting goat balls would be impressive if he weren't a charlatan. Could you imagine building a career of lies on something like this? No? Well, you're a better person than this guy. We bring you the story of the rise and fall of Dr. Goat Balls. Our exceedingly qualified co-host, Dr. Mike, will take the helm for this one so we're in for a ride.Support the show-----2022-12-291h 02The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresBook Biopsy: Spare Parts - The Story of Medicine Through the History of Transplant Surgery (with Author Paul Craddock)Our guest this week is author Paul Craddock, here to share his new book with us. Spare Parts is his first published work and is an excellent read into the history of one of the most complicated frontiers in medicine, transplant surgery. Stretching back to the 16th century and arriving into the present day, we'll go over some of the discoveries that led to the ability to transplant organs in the modern age. We know you'll enjoy this interview and highly recommend reading this book for yourselves. Paul's exceptional storytelling is apparent in our interview and his wit...2022-12-221h 06The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresSmallpox Part Two: Scourge in the Americas, Edward Jenner and VaccinationAddendum: There were some errors in the original audio file caught by early listeners. These were corrected but early downloaders may have the old version. Apologies for that.This week we bring you part two of our deep dive into the history of smallpox and the discovery of vaccination. We'll talk about smallpox in the Americas and the unimaginable devastation wrought upon the native peoples of the two continents. Then we'll talk about how this awful disease came to its end thanks to the discovery of vaccination, courtesy of Dr. Edward Jenner and the appreciation for the stal...2022-12-151h 10Public Health PostPHPod Goes to APHAPHPod hosts Bethany Hallenborg and Connor McCombs attended the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo held in Boston in November. They met people who are doing public health in action. In this episode, two public health students sat down to talk about their work, their time at APHA, and where they see public health going. Both guests, Emma Blackson and Diana Vasquez, discussed their research in K-12 school settings, their findings, and where they hope to go in the future as they continue working in public health. This is part one of a two-part podcast series.2022-12-0922 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresBook Biopsy: Tik Merauke - An Epidemic Like No Other with Dr. John RichensTik Merauke - An Epidemic Like No Other by Dr. John Richens, available from Melbourne University Publishing. ---->> Click HERE to purchase.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this week's episode we are joined by author and physician, Dr. John Richens, all the way from the U.K. He is a world expert in the disease known as Donovanosis, a unique sexually transmitted infection which nearly decimated an entire culture of people, the Marind of West Papua on the island of New Guinea. His book, Tik Merauke, is a comprehensive account of how this infection affected the Marind in the...2022-12-081h 05The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresSmallpox Part One: A Worldwide Scourge - with James WilkeAny medical history podcast needs to spend some time talking about perhaps the worst and most culturally influential infectious disease we've known: smallpox. So we're going to do this in two parts, starting with an overview of how smallpox affected various areas of the world and truly shaped the whole of human civilization. It's also one of those rare stories that ends in triumph but that will wait for the second part on this topic. It's hard to overstate how intertwined we as humans are, historically speaking, with this virus. In light of that, we invited an expe...2022-12-011h 02The Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresM&M (Museums and Medicine): The Lancaster Medical Heritage Museum with Kim JovinelliThis week brings us to the Lancaster Medical Heritage Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to talk with their director, Kim Jovinelli. She does just about everything at the museum and you might recognize her if you've spent any time looking at medical history stuff on TikTok where she and her staff give glimpses of life at the museum and share fun medical history facts.In addition to learning a bit about the museum, we'll talk about iron lungs and polio. We'll talk about Lancaster's famous vaccine farm. We'll talk about reasons a modern physician may still practice good old...2022-11-2456 minThe Poor Historians: Medical History MisadventuresThe Barber Surgeons - Haircuts, Shaves, and AmputationsIf you can believe it, there once was a time when your friendly neighborhood barber might do more than cut your hair and give a close shave. For many centuries, barbers took on numerous surgical, medical, and even dental procedures when others would not. In this episode we'll talk about the role of the barber-surgeon, from their beginnings to the decline of the profession. Maybe you've heard a thing or two about the barber's pole, but there's much more to this story.Sources: -https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/barber-surgeons-0012613-https://hekint.org/2020/01/28/the-barber-surgeons-their-history-over-the-centuries/...2022-11-1751 min