It can take years for a water crisis in a predominantly Black city or town to make national news. But contaminated water often harms communities for generations. Beyond the ongoing health threats, dirty water can stifle business and economic development, driving down educational achievement, property values and investment. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by journalist Adam Mahoney who has reported extensively on how undrinkable water in hurting Black communities across the rural south.  
 Guest: Reporter Adam Mahoney of Capital B News 
 Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel 
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A Word: Trouble the Waters

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On this episode: Lucy sits down with researcher and friend of the show Tova Walsh to talk about her work on dads who experience postpartum depression. Paternal mental health is a topic we don’t talk about nearly enough, so we wanted to give you some advice — and some resources to learn more and get help.  
 Tova wants to share the following:
A conversation she hosted about understanding fathers’ mental health
Help for dads via Postpartum Support International
A training on paternal perinatal mental health, geared toward care providers
And a piece of her research on including fathers in perinatal mental health practice.

 
 Lucy, Zak and Elizabeth will also debrief on our week in parenting with a round of Triumphs & Fails — including ROLY-POLIES. 
 Listeners, we want your advice – and your questions – about how to prevent the dreaded summer backslide. You know where to find us (and if you don’t, keep reading).  
 Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. 
 If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work. 
 Podcast produced by Maura Currie.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Care & Feeding: Dads Can Suffer From Postpartum Depression, Too

Ever since it showed up on the Body Mass Index, the label “obese” has been used to judge and often shame people with larger bodies. Medical providers, family and friends, even strangers make assumptions about fat people’s health solely based on their size. At the same time, excess quantities of fat can lead to poor health outcomes such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. Over the decades, medical associations have evolved their understanding of obesity. The American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Obesity Society all classify obesity as a disease requiring medical treatment.  How does that change the way medical providers care for their obese and overweight patients? And does that mean people with fatter bodies can now face less discrimination? As a part of a series of ongoing conversations on Well, Now on weight and health, we discuss the current medical definition of obesity and how to treat it with Dr. Angela Fitch, former Associate Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center. If you liked this episode, check out: The Isolation of a Life-Threatening Diagnosis Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller and Dr. Kavita Patel. Editing and podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with oversight from Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, Now: Doctors Agree: Obesity is a Disease. The Public Needs to Catch Up.

Two years ago, the FDA announced it was banning JUUL nicotine vapes from sale in the U.S.—and then quickly announced it was holding off on the ban to allow for review. How did regulating ecigarettes end up playing catch-up? 
 Guest: Jamie Ducharme, health correspondent at Time, author of Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul.  
 Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. 
 Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. 
   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Next: Wait, Is JUUL Banned or Not?

Christopher Zara didn’t finish high school, and can sometimes feel like an outsider working in a field where it’s more common to have a college degree. Sometimes he’s able to push through his social anxiety, to put on a tough face. But other times his body won’t give him a chance to feel at ease – it seizes up, and in Christopher’s case that means not being able to pee even when he really, really has to.   “Imagine you’re unable to perform a basic function like move your hand or your leg,” Christopher said, “You're standing, in my case, in front of a urinal or wherever the bathroom is, and it just doesn't happen.” In this episode, Christopher talks to producer Zoe Azulay about “paruresis,” more colloquially known as shy bladder syndrome, how it’s been disruptive to his life, how he thinks it's connected to class anxiety, and how it’s gotten better.  Christopher Zara’s memoir is called Uneducated: A Memoir of Flunking Out, Falling Apart, and Finding My Worth Podcast production by Zoe Azulay Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Death, Sex & Money: My Shy Bladder

Each week, we’ve explored wellness from different perspectives, but we haven’t talked about what it means to live a full life while grappling with the real possibility of death.  Most of us hope for a full, long life with “good” health. But a serious, possibly fatal diagnosis changes everything: Our relationships with work, loved ones, and even the way we see ourselves. On this week’s episode of Well, Now we speak with author, journalist, and artist Suleika Jaouad. Many learned about her work in the Oscar-nominated documentary American Symphony – which chronicled her marriage to musician Jon Baptiste as his career soared and her leukemia re-emerged.  But Suleika began documenting illness and identity long before starring in an award-winning film. If you liked this episode, check out: “People Feel Like They’re Drowning”: The Long COVID Survivors Left Behind Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller and Dr. Kavita Patel. Editing and podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Word: Trouble the Waters

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