We love taking the show on the road, and today we’re coming to you from the Statehouse in downtown Columbus! We're joined by two healthcare professionals who also happen to serve in state government: Representative Anita Somani and Senator Beth Liston! We ask them how they balance their roles and what their health priorities are as legislators. And we also talk about some of our favorite places in Franklin County, including restaurants! Are we fans of Jeni's or Graeter's?

In this fun new series, we look at movies from a public health lens! In this episode we discuss 2005's "Waiting..." and chat about what we like about it and what we can learn from it. Joining us today is James D. Smith, FCPH's Food and School Safety Supervisor. You'll never guess how many health violations he found!

Let's reduce the burden of cancer in Ohio! Christin Brown from the American Oncology Network and our own Layla Abraham are here to discuss a statewide coalition called Ohio Partners for Cancer Control. And later, friend of the pod Mary Nern is back to talk about trending foods for summer, adult rec league soccer, and much more!

We talked with a professor on our last show, now it’s time to meet the students! We have two public health interns here to chat about their experiences working and studying, and what made them discover they wanted to be in the field of public health. We also play a fun Jeopardy game to test our Millennial and Gen-Z knowledge. And later, we welcome quite the "character" to Health is Real: Coach Ron Fast stops by to draw up a play for us to eat healthy.

Class is now in session! Our guest today is Rob Braun, Professor of Public Health at Otterbein University. He talks about what it’s like teaching the next generation of public health workers and how things have changed in the last few years. And later, which fruits and vegetables are trending right now? We debut our fun new "Learn with Nern" segment featuring healthy food expert Mary Nern.

A double dose of FCPH experts! First, we chat with Alex Jones about her role with infectious disease control and response, and we have some fun coming up with vaccines ideas to prevent some of humanity’s worst flaws! And later we speak with Mary Nern about healthy food access, and we share some healthy food options from every color in the rainbow.

No matter the season, our parks are a great place to improve your health! We love chatting with people who are passionate about what they do, and that’s exactly what we have today: Tim Moloney from Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks! We discuss the incredible health benefits of parks, the current Winter Hikes series and learn some of the best kept parks secrets right here in central Ohio!

The acronym of the day is CHAT! That stands for Community Health Action Teams, and our own Kevida Bowry is here to talk about what they do, the CHAT Summit happening this year, and some projects that you might recognize in your community. And later, we read some public health headlines including news about takeout food, measles in Ohio, and creative ways you can help your brain. We welcome a variety of fun voices to help us make sense of it all!

Happy New Year! Health is Real is starting off 2026 by chatting with Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola as well as Ken Wilson, the County Administrator for Franklin County Board of Commissioners. We learn a little about them, find out the biggest moments in Franklin County from the last year and look ahead to what’s happening in 2026.

OUR HOLIDAY SPECIAL! So much festive fun! We chat with our own Kristin Howard about the best and worst holiday music—get ready for some hot takes! Plus so much more: we have trivia, holiday party experts, bros, Bostonians, and plenty of ghosts. We even share an unforgettable Christmas song of our own!