Public Health On Call

By The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Evidence and experts to help you understand today’s public health news—and what it means for tomorrow.... more

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FAQs about Public Health On Call:

How many episodes does Public Health On Call have?

The podcast currently has 997 episodes available.

Public Health On Call episodes:

June 04, 2025902 - Gun Violence Awareness Month: Safe Storage Saves Lives
About this episode:
June is Gun Violence Awareness Month with a focus on safe storage, a key factor in preventing gun-related injuries and deaths. In this episode: a look at how safe storage saves lives, evidence-based tools and tips for lawmakers, gun owners, parents, pediatricians, and more; and how to normalize conversations about safe storage in everyday life.
Guests:
Dr. Katherine Hoops, is a pediatrician and the director of Clinical Practice at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

Cass Crifasi is the co-executive director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

Gun Violence Awareness Month Campaign—The Center For Gun Violence Solutions

Safe & Secure Gun Storage Prevents Injuries (PDF)

How To Talk To Other Parents About Guns In The Home (PDF)

Safe and Secure Gun Storage Solutions—The Center For Gun Violence Solutions

What The Conviction of a Parent of a High School Shooter Could Mean—Public Health On Call (March 2024)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
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@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
16min
June 03, 2025901 - Changing Recommendations for COVID Vaccines
About this episode:
Last week, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., announced that the COVID vaccine will no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women. In this episode: a vaccine policy expert unpacks the announcement — how it differs from past policy changes, and its potential impact on Americans. Note: This episode was recorded on May 28, 2025.
Guest:
Sarah Despres has over 25 years of experience in public health policy and advocacy and is an expert on immunization policy. She has served on the HHS National Vaccine Advisory Committee from 2012-2017. She has also served on the board of Vaccinate Your Family, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring children and adults have access to vaccines.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

U.S. Will No Longer Recommend Covid Shots for Children and Pregnant Women—The New York Times

Who Decides Which Vaccines Americans Should Get and When?—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (March 2025)

Pediatric COVID Vaccines—Public Health On Call (May 2025)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
20min
June 02, 2025900 - How To Be A Better Tourist With Cameron Hewitt
About this episode:
Travel can open our eyes to the world and make us better global citizens. But there’s no denying the environmental impacts of travel. Plus, with climate change happening everywhere, it’s becoming more difficult for tourists to predictably see and do some things without factoring in extreme weather. In this episode: how travelers can be more mindful and a look at how a travel company is thinking about the industry’s carbon footprint.
Guest:
Cameron Hewitt is a travel writer and photographer, and for the last 25 years he’s been a co-writer for Rick Steves’ Europe, one of the biggest names in travel for guidebooks, public television, radio, and tours. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

Our Climate Smart Commitment—Rick Steves’ Europe

How a traveler’s mindset can grow your understanding—Rick Steves, TEDxSeattle Salon

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
19min
May 23, 2025899 - Pediatric COVID Vaccines
About this episode:
The approval of pediatric COVID vaccines during the height of the pandemic brought reassurance to many parents and pediatricians who were caring for children with severe infections and, sometimes, Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MISC)—a rare but extremely dangerous condition that could impact even the healthiest kids after a COVID infection. But what’s the picture of pediatric COVID vaccination now? In this episode: a discussion about the risks and benefits of pediatric COVID vaccination in 2025.
Guest:
Dr. Erica Prochaska is a pediatric infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.
Show links and related content:

New FDA framework on Covid vaccines leaves pediatricians confused and concerned—STAT News

A Pediatric Cardiologist on What We Know—And Don’t Know—About COVID-19-Related Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children—Public Health On Call (June 2020)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
14min
May 22, 2025898 - The Measles Response in Lubbock, Texas
About this episode:
A look inside the ongoing public health response to measles outbreaks in Lubbock, a city in West Texas.
Guest:
Katherine Wells is the director of Lubbock Public Health in West Texas.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.
Show links and related content:

Lubbock’s public health director fights to stop measles and build public trust—The Texas Tribune

Texas Isn’t Declaring a Measles Victory Yet—Bloomberg

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
17min
May 21, 2025897 - Interview With A Graduate: A Doctor of Health Policy Looks At AI and Health Insurance
About this episode:
It’s graduation time at the Bloomberg School! Doctoral candidate Jeff Marr joins the podcast to talk about how an economics major and an early internship at a health care system led to an interest in examining how health care markets and public policy work. Soon-to-be Dr. Marr discusses his dissertation looking at how predictive algorithms lead to decisions about care coverage.
Guest:
Jeffrey Marr is a healthcare economist and doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In July 2025, he will join Brown University as an Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.
Show links and related content:

Algorithmic Decision-Making in Health Care: Evidence from Post-Acute Care in Medicare Advantage

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
14min
May 19, 2025896 - World No Tobacco Day: Unmasking the Appeal of New Products
About this episode:
While cigarette use has radically declined in the U.S., many still die from smoking here and around the world. World No Tobacco Day—celebrated annually on May 31 since the 1980s—has helped expose tobacco industry tactics and highlight progress in global tobacco control. This year, a look at how manufacturers are increasing efforts to hook younger users on new products like e-cigs with fun packaging, new flavors, fashionable designs, and gimmicks including video games and social media integration.
Guests:
Kevin Welding is an economist studying corporate influence on public health at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control.

Tuo-Yen Tseng is a health policy researcher who studies social and behavioral change at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

World No Tobacco Day 2025 Evidence and Resources—Institute for Global Tobacco Control

25 Years of Fighting Tobacco—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Quit Smoking—American Lung Association

The Inside Story of the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report That Changed How Americans Viewed Smoking—Public Health On Call (July 2024)

An Update on Efforts to Prevent Tobacco-Caused Death and Disease—Public Health On Call (February 2024)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
17min
May 16, 2025895 - The Executive Order on Prescription Drug Pricing
About this episode:
This week, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at lowering prescription drug costs. In this episode: a look at why the U.S. spends three to four times more for drugs than many peer countries, its current approach to drug pricing policy, the directives laid out in the Executive Order, and how other countries negotiate their prices. Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
Guest:
Dr. Gerard Anderson is an expert in health policy and a professor in Health Policy and Management and International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

Delivering Most-Favored Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients—Executive Order, The White House

The Potential Impacts of Cuts to Medicaid—Public Health On Call (March 2025)

What’s Next For Prescription Drug Pricing?—Public Health On Call (February 2023)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed
...more
17min
May 15, 2025894 - Is There an Autism Epidemic?
About this episode:
Diagnoses of autism are on the rise, but is this the result of more children being affected by the condition, or is more of a consequence of broader criteria and more screening? In this episode: a look at a new study about the number of children diagnosed with autism and what this research shows—and doesn’t show.
Guest:
Dr. Christine Ladd-Acosta is an autism researcher and vice-director of the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. She is the lead Maryland investigator on a national study about the rate of autism.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.
Show links and related content:

Prevalence and Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 4 and 8 Years - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 16 Sites, United States 2022—CDC’s MMWR

RFK Jr.’s autism study to amass medical records of many Americans—CBS News

The NIH-Funded Autism Study Hoping to Pinpoint Gene-Environmental Interplay—Public Health On Call (March 2025)

Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism. Why Do Some People Think They Do?—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health

Discovering How Environment Affects Autism—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine (2023)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
13min
May 14, 2025893 - “On Going Backwards”: A New HIV/AIDS Epidemic?
About this episode:
In 2003, George W. Bush’s President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was the largest commitment to a single disease in U.S. history. Renewed under every subsequent presidency since, PEPFAR has saved more than 25 million lives and prevented some 5 million perinatal infections globally. But now, policy changes that effectively end PEPFAR have the potential to completely reverse course and the world could see HIV/AIDS infections on par with a time even before effective antivirals existed. In this episode: Dr. Chris Beyrer talks about his recent Lancet essay, “On Going Backwards,” why any retreat now will make it harder to regain lost ground, and how this policy change has the potential to impact millions of lives.
Guest:
Dr. Chris Beyrer is the past president of the International AIDS Society and an expert in global health and human rights.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

On Going Backwards—The Lancet (Perspectives)

By executive order: The likely deadly consequences associated with a 90-day pause in PEPFAR funding—Journal of the International AIDS Society

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:

@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
...more
19min

FAQs about Public Health On Call:

How many episodes does Public Health On Call have?

The podcast currently has 997 episodes available.

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