Better Off

Better Off episodes:

• 03.22.2023

  Is working from home unhealthy?

  Working from home has its perks: Better coffee, easy commute, no fluorescent lighting. But, as any home office worker can tell you, there are also downsides: No more office social hours, no more ergonomic chairs, and no more quiet train...

  
• 02.01.2023

  How can we protect the health of incarcerated people?

  As COVID-19 swept through American prisons and jails in 2020, wardens scrambled to keep prisoners and corrections officers from getting sick. One strategy was to increase solitary confinement. Health experts warn that solitary confinement increases the risk of mental illness...

  
• 01.04.2023

  Can we end chronic homelessness?

  It’s estimated that half a million Americans are experiencing homelessness. Even a brief period of housing insecurity can make existing health issues worse, and bring up new physical and mental traumas. Doctors and nurses who help patients navigate these issues...

  
• 11.30.2022

  What makes a meal healthy?

  What does a plate of healthy food look like? Everyone has an opinion – from doctors to dieticians to wellness experts. But advice on what to eat often ignores a big factor in how and why we make meals: Culture....

  
• 11.16.2022

  Is clean beauty for real?

  It seems like every brand of makeup, fragrance, and hair care wants consumers to believe that their products are safe, natural, and clean. Is this all just greenwashing? The beauty industry is remarkably unregulated – and women, particularly Black women,...

  
• 11.02.2022

  Is cooking with natural gas unhealthy?

  40 million American homes cook their meals with natural gas. But most people don’t think of the little blue flame on their gas range as the end of a very long natural gas pipeline. New research shows that gas stoves...

  
• 10.19.2022

  Introducing Better Off Season 2: Home

  Season 2 of Better Off starts November 2. This season, we're asking public health experts what it means to have a healthy home – exploring how we cook, the foods we eat, and the products we use every day. We're...

  
• 04.12.2022

  Update: We’re better off when we can breathe easy

  While you wait for new episodes of Better Off, we wanted to give you an update on our very first episode about indoor air. In the last two years, Joseph Allen has been talking about indoor air and health all...

  
• 08.26.2021

  We're better off when we unstick the stereotypes around eating disorders

  Eating disorders affect a population the size of the state of Texas, cost the economy tens of billions of dollars, and kill 10,000 Americans per year. If eating disorders are so common, expensive, and deadly, why don't we talk about...

  
• 08.02.2021

  We’re better off when we age with resilience

  During the earliest days of the pandemic, younger people were told to protect the older adults in their lives from COVID-19 by isolating at home. Concerns about the virus and pandemic restrictions have taken a toll on everyone's mental well-being....

  
• 06.24.2021

  We're better off with Juneteenth

  In a special bonus episode, recorded a day before Juneteenth was made a federal holiday, we listen in on a conversation between Opal Lee, an activist and teacher often called the "grandmother of Juneteenth," and Harvard University professors Annette Gordon-Reed...

  
• 05.05.2021

  We're better off with health equity

  This spring, public health officials have been laser-focused on getting more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19. So why do racial disparities persist around vaccination? And once more Americans are vaccinated, how do we ensure that Black and Latino families aren’t left...

  
• 03.17.2021

  We’re better off when we stop pandemics before they start

  When Aaron (Ari) Bernstein met his first pediatric patient infected with COVID-19, he realized that this little girl's health was connected to an infected bat on the other side of the world. Climate change and deforestation have made it easier...

  
• 03.05.2021

  We’re better off when life-altering illnesses can be eradicated

  In the 1980's, there were millions of cases of Guinea worm disease across the globe, mostly in rural Africa. Donald Hopkins, MPH '70, has spent 40 years working to eradicate this painful and debilitating disease – and he's had remarkable...

  
• 02.24.2021

  We're better off with mRNA vaccines

  The technology that is helping us combat COVID-19 is also poised to help us tackle tough infectious and non-infectious diseases. Immunologist Sarah Fortune explains how these vaccines work, and how the mRNA platform could transform the prevention and treatment of...

  
• 01.20.2021

  We're better off when we swipe right on public health

  When Antón Castellanos Usigli was asked to help bring younger LGBTQ people into a Brooklyn clinic for sexual health services, he thought it would be a piece of cake. But after his first attempts failed, Antón turned to the one...

  
• 01.06.2021

  We're better off when kids are resilient

  Are kids going to be okay when the pandemic is over? That’s the question on many parents’ minds as remote learning continues, and friends and family remain six feet apart. Better Off talks with psychologist and researcher Archana Basu about...

  
• 12.16.2020

  We're better off when science leads the way

  Better Off talks with Harvard Chan School's Howard Koh about lessons learned from the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, also known as swine flu, and how the incoming administration can use those lessons to respond to COVID-19.

  
• 12.11.2020

  We're better off when we can breathe easy

  Until the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us didn't think about indoor air very much, if at all. But healthy buildings expert Joseph Allen has been studying indoor air for years. He says that since we spend 90% of lives inside,...

  
• 12.08.2020

  Introducing: Better Off

  How can we make our families, communities, and our world a little bit better during the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond? That's the question we're asking on Better Off, a new podcast from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health....

  
• 04.21.2020

  Confronting the Climate Crisis: Earth Day at 50

  What has the environmental movement accomplished since the first Earth Day in 1970? Where is the movement headed? Gina McCarthy, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council and chair of the Board of Advisors at the Harvard Center...

  
• 03.06.2020

  Gaining insight into women's health

  Could an app help scientists better understand menstruation, fertility, and menopause? On the latest episode of This Week in Health, Shruthi Mahalingaiah and JP Onnela talk about the groundbreaking Apple Women’s Health Study. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, an assistant professor of environmental,...

  
• 02.06.2020

  Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Lessons Learned from New York City

  Before Mary Bassett was director of Harvard’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, she was New York City’s Health Commissioner. Bassett talks about her experience dealing with the growing opioid epidemic in the city—what worked, what didn’t, and what...

  
• 01.30.2020

  Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Unpacking Stigma

  Shelly Greenfield to unpacks the stigma that surrounds addiction. A psychiatrist from Harvard’s McLean hospital, Greenfield specializes in addiction—how patients cope with it, how it factors into treatment, and how it works its way slowly into policy. Greenfield sat down...

  
• 01.28.2020

  Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Ending Over-Prescription

  Physicians’ over-prescription of opioid painkillers opened the door to the current opioid crisis. What can health care providers do to fix it? Chad Brummett, a pain management specialist from the University of Michigan, shares a new approach to combat Michigan's opioid...

  
• 08.08.2019

  August 8, 2019: Using music to combat HIV in Zambia

  Each year in Zambia, 60,000 people are infected with HIV, and more than 20,000 die of AIDs. In all, it’s estimated that more than 1.2 million people in the country are living with HIV. Research shows that over 90% of...

  
• 07.25.2019

  July 25, 2019: Professional sports and health

  In this week’s episode we're talking about new research comparing the health of athletes in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. The study looked at 6,000 athletes between the years of 1979 and 2013. During that period, there...

  
• 07.11.2019

  July 11, 2019: Human flourishing and public health

  What does it mean for someone to flourish? Flourishing is more than just being happy—although that’s a part of it. But the idea of flourishing expands beyond happiness to look at a person’s overall well-being, taking into account things like...

  
• 06.19.2019

  June 19, 2019: Creating an inclusive environment for transgender and gender-nonbinary teens

  A new study shows that transgender and gender-nonbinary teens face a greater risk of sexual assault in schools that prevent them from using bathrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. In this week's episode we speak with the...

  
• 06.06.2019

  June 6, 2019: Women are America's 'supermajority'

  In this week's podcast we're sharing a special conversation between Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood and one of the co-founders of Supermajority, and Mary Bassett, director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. Richards spoke about...

  
• 05.31.2019

  May 31, 2019: A new approach to fighting malaria

  Each year, more than 200 million people around the world are infected with malaria and more than 400,000 die. For the past two decades, the most successful method of malaria prevention has involved treating bed nets with long-lasting insecticides that...

  
• 05.10.2019

  May 10, 2019: Transforming America's 'sick care' system

  Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams has been caring for people since she was just a child. When Trent-Adams was just 12 she volunteered as a candy striper at Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia. The Rear Admiral later served as a nurse...

  
• 04.25.2019

  April 25, 2019: There are no 'low-hanging fruits' in science

  Noncommunicable diseases—or NCDs—are the leading cause of death around the world. And of those NCDs, chronic cardiometabolic conditions—such as heart disease and diabetes—are particularly deadly. For more than two decades, Gökhan Hotamışlıgil, James Stevens Simmons Professor of Genetics and Metabolism...

  
• 04.18.2019

  April 18, 2019: The future of cancer prevention (part 2)

  In 2018, colorectal cancer was the third-most common diagnosed cancer among both men and women in the U.S., and data indicate that younger adults are increasingly being diagnosed with it. A new research initiative will examine how the microbiome—a collection...

  
• 04.04.2019

  April 4, 2019: The future of cancer prevention (part 1)

  The statistics on cancer worldwide are staggering:  In 2018, more than 18 million people worldwide were diagnosed with the disease, and nearly 10 million died from it. And the burden of cancer is only expected to grow in the coming decades,...

  
• 03.22.2019

  March 22, 2019: What can design do for public health?

  When many people think of design they’re probably picturing a product, like a new smartphone or car. But the design principles that lead to the creation of those products—such as the focus on human behavior or the use of prototyping—can...

  
• 03.07.2019

  March 7, 2019: Many U.S. schools aren't testing drinking water for lead

  The traditional public health mantra is that there is no safe level of lead for kids. But a new report from the Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity finds that many kids in the U.S. could be...

  
• 02.21.2019

  February 21, 2019: The connection between coral reefs and human health

  Coral reefs aren’t just beautiful. They’re the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the oceans, and can provide food, jobs, and protection from storms for coastal communities. But reefs around the world are under threat from a variety of a factors...

  
• 02.05.2019

  Feb. 5, 2019: The toll of gun violence in America

  Each year in the U.S. more than 30,000 people are killed by guns—with two-thirds of those deaths being suicide. And there are tens of thousands non-fatal injuries. Yet research into preventing firearm violence remains limited and under-funded. In a special...

  
• 01.24.2019

  January 24, 2019: Heat is a 'silent killer'

  Climate change will mean more extreme weather, including heat waves. And it’s not a distant threat—we’re already seeing the effects now in the United States. In this week’s episode, we explore the health threat posed by severe heat and how...

  
• 01.10.2019

  January 10, 2019: A virtual visit with your doctor

  For many Americans, a visit with their doctor no longer requires an actual trip to the doctor’s office. More physicians are offering so-called “telemedicine” services, where they provide care to patients via smart phones, tablets, and computers. And while telemedicine is...

  
• 12.19.2018

  December 19, 2018: The simple solution that has saved millions of lives

  Oral rehydration solution (ORS)—a mixture of water, sugar, and salt that is administered as part of oral rehydration therapy (ORT)—is credited with preventing tens of millions of deaths from cholera and other diarrheal diseases. In this week's podcast you'll hear...

  
• 12.07.2018

  December 7, 2018: The power of a family meal

  For busy families, gathering together for a meal—whether it’s breakfast or dinner—can be difficult. But a growing body of research shows that these meals together can have an important influence on the quality of food that children and teens eat....

  
• 11.21.2018

  November 21, 2018: A conversation with a public health pioneer

  In this week's episode we bring you an in-depth conversation with a public health pioneer. During her five-decade career, Marie McCormick, Sumner and Esther Feldberg Professor, emerita, at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has worked on a range of issues:...

  
• 11.02.2018

  Nov. 02, 2018: How accurate are health headlines in your social media feed?

  Every day we are bombarded with health news in our social media feeds: from studies touting the benefits—or harms—of a particular food to research on a new treatment for a disease. But how accurate are those headlines? That's the question...

  
• 10.18.2018

  October 18, 2018: Your phone knows how you feel

  Many of us spend hours each day on our smartphones, whether it's texting friends or using our GPS for directions. And each of those actions leaves behind a digital breadcrumb. In this week's episode we're digging into our archives to...

  
• 09.27.2018

  Sept. 27, 2018: Can we solve the migration crisis?

  Every minute 24 people around the world are forced to leave their homes—and it’s estimated that more than 65 million people are currently displaced. In this week’s episode, we explore the global refugee and migration crisis with Jacqueline Bhabha, Professor...

  
• 09.06.2018

  September 6, 2018: A call for redesigning American streets

  In this week’s podcast we’ll explore how America’s streets can be redesigned to benefit bicyclists and pedestrians—and we’ll explain why doing so may even help mitigate the effects of climate change. A new study from Anne Lusk, research scientist in the...

  
• 08.10.2018

  August 10, 2018: Designing for climate change

  A new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that students who lived in dormitories without air conditioning during a heat wave performed worse on a series of simple tests compared with students who lived in air-conditioned...

  
• 07.24.2018

  July 24, 2018: Food Insecurity as a public health issue

  The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps 40 million low-income Americans afford food each month. But the program's future is uncertain as Congress debates the Farm Bill, a multi-year spending bill that will expire on September 30. The Trump administration...