The Pulse

Different Country, Different Medicine

Listen Later

Medicine, healthcare — even illness — vary from country to country. Those differences are driven by tradition, culture, even politics. On this episode of The Pulse, we zoom in on those contrasts. In Hong Kong, we learn why acupuncture could be the next frontier for pain treatment. In Germany, we investigate the burnout epidemic affecting stressed-out workers. And in India, we visit a hospital that turns anxious family into trained care companions.

Also heard on this week’s show:

  • Traditional Chinese medicine might seem ancient, but historian Paul Unschuld says its official birth date is in the 1950s.
  • The Syrian Civil War has driven out more than half of the country’s medical doctors. Hear from two physicians who opted to stay — facing shortages and danger in a bid to help desperate patients.
  • Israel recently shuttered a humanitarian project that delivered medical help to thousands of Syrians. One of the final patients to receive treatment: a 14-year-old boy named Ahmad, who received a groundbreaking procedure that saved his leg.
  • In Germany, stressed-out workers are diagnosing themselves with a syndrome they call “Der Burnout.”
  • A history lesson on Mexico’s approach to birth control.
    • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    The PulseBy WHYY
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    305 ratings

    More shows like The Pulse

    View all
    This American Life by This American Life

    This American Life

    90,994 Listeners

    TED Radio Hour by NPR

    TED Radio Hour

    21,790 Listeners

    Radiolab by WNYC Studios

    Radiolab

    43,898 Listeners

    Fresh Air by NPR

    Fresh Air

    38,062 Listeners

    The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

    The New Yorker Radio Hour

    6,826 Listeners

    Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

    Hidden Brain

    43,528 Listeners

    Selected Shorts by Symphony Space

    Selected Shorts

    2,868 Listeners

    On the Media by WNYC Studios

    On the Media

    9,237 Listeners

    On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti by WBUR

    On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti

    3,998 Listeners

    Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

    Reveal

    8,454 Listeners

    Voices in the Family by WHYY

    Voices in the Family

    39 Listeners

    Think from KERA by KERA

    Think from KERA

    932 Listeners

    Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

    Science Friday

    6,435 Listeners

    1A by NPR

    1A

    4,681 Listeners

    Throughline by NPR

    Throughline

    16,399 Listeners

    Short Wave by NPR

    Short Wave

    6,564 Listeners

    Eleanor Amplified by WHYY

    Eleanor Amplified

    2,211 Listeners

    A.I. Nation by WHYY

    A.I. Nation

    192 Listeners