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!

Libraries offer so many public health benefits to our communities! Today we chat with two wonderful guests—Ben Zenitsky from Columbus Metropolitan Library and Katy Hite from the State Library of Ohio—about what’s going on at our local libraries and why literacy is so important. We also answer important questions like: If you had a biography written about you, what would the title be?

We have apps to find food trucks, so why not have an app to find mobile healthcare? Today’s guest Lauren Van Petten from Nationwide Children's Hospital has all the details about the new Mobile Health Locator app, how to access it and where it’s going in the future. And later, spooky season is a great time to talk about our biggest fears and look at some of the most common phobias, such as heights, snakes and...Spider Man?

When we think of public health, we may not always consider the role that technology plays. Three of our IT experts, Sondra Burns, Nik Shipman, and DeAngela Watson join the podcast today to talk about protecting your digital health, keeping devices safe at home, and how AI factors in to public health. We even get a quick visit from our own unique AI chatbot! Later we discuss grilling, tailgating, and what old technology we still stand by today.

Today's guest, Josh Poland, is the stadium voice of the Columbus Crew as well as the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer with the city of New Albany! We discuss all the wonderful things happening in New Albany and Josh shares some of his favorite Columbus Crew stories! And later, we take a look back at our school days with talk of cornfields, Caligula, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

September is Emergency Preparedness Month and today we chat with our own expert Julio Reyes Gomez about how you can be prepared and the most important things you’ll need in an emergency. We also discuss what a certain 90s action movie can teach us about all this. And later: When were erasers added to pencils? It’s back to school trivia time so get ready for a pop quiz!

Did you know that Reynoldsburg, Ohio is the birthplace of the commercial tomato? Today we head to the Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival and speak with Mayor Joe Begeny about the big event and the long, proud tradition of throwing tomatoes at others. (That sounds like fun!) And later, what apps do you use the most? We look at the most popular apps in the country and decide that we should focus more on building real life connections. See if you agree!

We’re all about active living! Our own Natalie Martin stops by to chat about being an Active Living Coordinator, what all is involved in public health education, and some of the projects she’s most proud of. And we can’t talk about active living without bringing up our favorite workout songs! And later, we debunk some old wives’ tales. Swimming after eating? Do bulls really hate the color red? And what do we think of the 5-second rule?