On this week’s episode, we speak with Jeff Ketchel, Executive Director of the Washington State Public Health Association, about the state of public health 18-plus months into a centenary pandemic.

It’s slow, painstaking work done by diligent people in the messy environment of human frailty, government funding, society, culture and politics. Not complicated at all!

Then you throw covid into the mix and all of those variables suddenly become amplified and even more unpredictable.

There’s the bad news we’re mostly aware of, and some good news that’s under-reported. So all-in-all, we think you’l walk away from this episode feeling marginally better about things!

And plus it gives us an excuse to showcase the Swiss Cheese Model of disease prevention. Most of those slices are impacted, directly or indirectly, by public health policy.

Further reading

Pandemic and politics drive mass exodus of WA public health leaders (Crosscut)

Local Public Health 101 (RANGE)

Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret? (New Yorker)

How does health spending in the US compare to other countries? (Health System Tracker)

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