The Covenant of Water, Stanford University professor Dr Abraham Verghese’s long-awaited follow-up to his 2009 novel Cutting for Stone, traces the lives of a family in southern India negotiating forces of history, fate, and a genetic condition that takes the life of a member in each generation by drowning. JAMA Arts and Medicine Section Editor Michael Berkwits, MD, MSCE, talks with Dr Verghese about the novel’s clinical insights, the craft of writing fiction, the role of the humanities in medicine, of artificial intelligence in literature, and more. Related Content:

• “The Art of the Craft,” From The Covenant of Water
• Physician as Writer: Abraham Verghese Reflects on the Art of the Craft of Writing Fiction (Part 2 of this interview)
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Major medical schools are no longer contributing data to the US News & World Report (USNWR) including more than half the schools that are currently ranked in the top 10 medical schools by the survey. In this podcast, JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, speaks with author Holly J. Humphrey, MD, from the Josiah Macy Jr Foundation in New York, about the recently published Viewpoint "Medical School Rankings—Bad for the Health of the Profession and the Public." Related Content:

• Medical School Rankings—Bad for the Health of the Profession and the Public

Differences among countries in how health care is organized could have implications for health equity. JAMA Associate Editor Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, and Bruce E. Landon, MD, MBA, MSc, professor of health care policy, Harvard Medical School, discuss whether treatment patterns and outcomes for patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction differ for patients with higher vs lower incomes across 6 countries. Related Content:

• Differences in Treatment Patterns and Outcomes of Acute Myocardial Infarction for Low- and High-Income Patients in 6 Countries

JAMA Executive Editor Greg Curfman, MD, speaks with Robert D. Truog, MD, MA, director of the Harvard Center for Bioethics, who describes the 2 approaches to the determination of death (cardiovascular death and brain death) and discusses the possibility that the determination of brain death may soon undergo substantial change, with important implications for organ transplantation. Related Content:

• The Uncertain Future of the Determination of Brain Death

Mary Arakelyan, MPH, and JoAnna Leyenaar, MD, PhD, MPH, vice chair of Research in Pediatrics at Dartmouth, discuss increases in pediatric mental health hospitalizations and suicide-related diagnoses over the past decade. Hosted by JAMA Associate Editor Tracy Lieu, MD, MPH. Related Content: Pediatric Mental Health Hospitalizations at Acute Care Hospitals in the US, 2009-2019. Related Content:

• Pediatric Mental Health Hospitalizations at Acute Care Hospitals in the US, 2009-2019

In 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a mandate to limit acetaminophen (paracetamol) to 325 mg/tablet in combination acetaminophen and opioid medications, with manufacturer compliance required by early 2014. In this podcast, JAMA Deputy Editor Mary M. McDermott, MD, interviews Jayme E. Locke, MD, MPH, and Babak J. Orandi, MD, PhD, about their JAMA study describing results of the FDA announcement on subsequent rates of hospitalizations for acute liver failure due to toxicity from acetaminophen-containing opioid drugs. Related Content:

• Association of FDA Mandate Limiting Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) in Prescription Combination Opioid Products and Subsequent Hospitalizations and Acute Liver Failure
• Moving the Needle to Reduce Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Hepatotoxicity
• Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) and Acute Liver Failure

In this JAMA author interview, Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer, University Hospitals, Cleveland, and an internationally recognized expert in patient safety, discusses his recent article in JAMA on “Misdiagnosis in the Emergency Department.” A new report from AHRQ underscores the seriousness of this problem. Related Content:

• Misdiagnosis in the Emergency Department

Interview with James Stevermer, MD, MSPH, USPSTF member and coauthor of Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes Infection: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement. Hosted by JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS.

Related Content:

• Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes Infection: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement
• Reducing HSV-2 Morbidity and Mortality
• Reaffirmed USPSTF Recommendation Against Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes: Empowering Clinicians and Reducing Potential Harm
• Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes: Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force
• Screening for Genital Herpes (Patient Page)

Susanna Naggie, MD, vice dean for research at Duke University's School of Medicine, discusses the ACTIV-6 trial of fluvoxamine for outpatient treatment of COVID-19 and outlines the role of platform trials during the pandemic. Hosted by JAMA Deputy Editor and Editorial Director for Equity Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ.

Related Content:

Effect of Fluvoxamine vs Placebo on Time to Sustained Recovery in Outpatients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19

In the wake of new legal challenges to race-conscious admission policies, JAMA Interim Executive Editor Gregory Curfman, MD, discusses racial and ethnic diversity in undergraduate and medical school admission policies with Roy H. Hamilton, MD, MS, from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Related Content:

• Defending Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Undergraduate and Medical School Admission Policies