Matt and Jess discuss the ethics of probiotics for children and whether AI chatbots can help reduce misinformation.

Study link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03971-5

Matt, Jess and guest host Jon discuss a study of the effect of experiencing gun violence and maternal morbidity.

Study link: Fatal Police Violence and Maternal Morbidity Study

Matt and Jess and guest host Harold discuss the ways that we experience time (with a slight diversion into our dental traumas) and Matt explains why we can’t have nice things.

Study link: Memorability Study

Matt and Jess and guest host Harold discuss whether dark chocolate is really good for preventing type II diabetes, or if the research isn’t there yet, and we discuss the challenges of turning research into practice and how we communicate research to policy makers.

Study link: Dark Chocolate Study

In an expansive, thought-provoking discussion ahead of the pivotal changes in Washington, DC, Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss the role of advocacy and activism in public health and the changing views on the role of public health in society.

(This discussion was originally part of the December episode, but we felt the subject matter was both timely and relevant enough to highlight on its own.)

Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss a paper that reviews the results of a series of trials that were highly influential in a move away from use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy, but newer analyses suggest the implications maybe be more nuanced than that.

Study Link: Women’s Health Initiative Reviews

In the second segment (29:30), Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss the role of advocacy and activism in public health and what the future holds for both as the administration changes and views on the role of public health in society are changing.

In a new format for the “Free Associations” podcast, we split our usual podcast into two bite-sized morsels. In the first segment, Jess, Matt and guest host Salma discuss an article that examines the effect of nighttime ambient light on risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Journal club article:

Alzheimer’s Disease Study

In the second segment, Jess, Matt and Salma discuss what attending a predatory conference is like and Salma explains why we should (or maybe shouldn’t) care about a rehabilitated beaver.

Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla discuss a study of early discontinuation of oxytocin during delivery, they try to predict the future of journals alongside a mass editorial board resignation, and Matt and Salma reveal their love for octopuses.

Journal club article:

Oxytocin discontinuation study

Matt, Jess, and guest host Allegra Gordon discuss a study using tweets to see if there have been changes in racial sentiment over time, they debate whether in-person or remote work is better for paradigm shifts, and Allegra tells us how birds are smarter than people who don’t want birds nesting on their roofs.

Journal club article:

Twitter and racial sentiment study

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Matt, Jess, and guest host Jonathan Jay discuss a study using cell phone data to see if living in cities gives us better economic integration, they explore whether AI will be developing our hypotheses in the future, and Matt naps with penguins.

Journal club article:

Human mobility and economic segregation study