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 988 episodes available.

Public Health On Call episodes:

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.
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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
19min
May 12, 2025892 - Health Policy in Trump’s First 100 Days
About this episode:
A look back at health policy in the first 100 days of Trump’s second presidential administration including global health, vaccines, and the Department of Health and Human Services restructuring—plus a few things to keep an eye on for the future. Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
Guest:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein served in a number of political roles in his career including as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as Commissioner of Health for Baltimore City, and as a Congressional health policy advisor. He is currently a health policy distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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:

The First Week’s Executive Orders—Public Health On Call (January 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
...more
17min
May 07, 2025891 - B’More For Healthy Babies: A Look Back at 15 Years of Infant Mortality Reduction in Baltimore
About this episode:
In the early 2000s, babies in Baltimore were dying at an alarming rate. In this episode: a look at Baltimore’s enormously successful health program to reduce infant mortality and close unacceptable disparities in infant death and how it has developed into a program that offers support and resources for individuals and families across the lifespan.
Guests:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is the vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former Baltimore City Health Commissioner.

Rebecca Dineen is the assistant commissioner for Maternal and Child Health at the Baltimore City Health Department.

Stacey Stephens is the director and clinical instructor of B’More For Healthy Babies at Promise Heights.
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:

B’More For Healthy Babies

B’More for Healthy Babies Turns 15—Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

The Public Health Strategy Behind Baltimore’s Record-Low Infant Mortality Rate—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Baltimore City Youth Data Scorecard: Babies Born Healthy Indicator Details—Baltimore’s Promise

Babies kept dying in Baltimore. People worked together to understand why.—Maryland Matters

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
26min
May 05, 2025890 - What's Happening to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)?
About this episode:
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services with a mission to protect the nation’s workforce from occupational hazards and illnesses. Their work includes setting policy and best practices around safety standards for things like exposure to toxic chemicals, firearms in the workplace, and even protecting workers’ data. NIOSH is among the many Centers that suffered personnel and funding cuts under HHS’s recent restructuring. In this episode: a look at NIOSH’s work and how the cuts may impact worker safety—particularly at a time when there is great interest in leveling up the manufacturing industry in the U.S.
Guest:
Ram Ramachandran is the director of the Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health.

Cass Crifasi is the director of Occupational Injury Epidemiology and Prevention Program at the Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and 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, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

American workers deserve better than to lose their safety watchdogs—The Hill (Opinion)

The CDC’s critical occupational safety institute has been virtually wiped out—STAT

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
16min
April 30, 2025889 - Zyn Nicotine Pouches
About this episode:
Zyn nicotine pouches are suddenly everywhere. What are they and how can they impact health? In this episode: A look at the popular products, what they are and how they work, how they’re marketed, and what we know—and don’t yet know—about their long-term health impacts or whether they could be a tool to help people quit tobacco products.
Guest:
Meghan Moran is an associate professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a researcher who studies how communications from advertising to misinformation shape public health issues such as vaccine promotion, cancer screening, and tobacco control.

Johannes Thrul is an associate professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a substance use disorder researcher.
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:

A Cross-Sectional Survey on Oral Nicotine Pouches; Characterizing Use—Motives, Topography, Dependence Levels, and Adverse Events—Nicotine & Tobacco Research

What’s That in Your Mouth, Bro?—The New York Times

What We Know (and Don’t) About Nicotine Pouches—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Electronic Cigarettes Part 1: Do E-cigs Help People Quit Smoking?—Public Health On Call (May 2024)

Electronic Cigarettes Part 2: How Serious are the Health Risks Associated with E-cigs?—Public Health On Call (May 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
19min
April 29, 2025888 - A Conversation With Alabama’s State Health Officer
About this episode:
Dr. Scott Harris has worked as a leader in Alabama’s public health department for eight years and recently became that national president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. In this episode: A conversation with Dr. Harris about lessons learned from the pandemic and how the current moment is presenting new challenges with measles outbreaks and plenty of unknowns. He also talks about keeping his staff motivated and on task to meet their bottom line: protecting the health and safety of Alabamians.
Guest:
Dr. Scott Harris is the State Health Officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health and the President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
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:

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
...more
17min
April 28, 2025887 - It’s Tick Season!
About this episode:
May is Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Awareness Month. In this episode: Dr. Nicole Baumgarth talks all things ticks including how climate change is increasing their territory, the diseases they spread such as Lyme and Heartland virus, disease prevention, and the latest on vaccines and treatments.
Guest:
Dr. Nicole Baumgarth is the director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute.
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, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:

Lyme Disease: Diagnosis, Prevention, and How Long COVID is Helping to Advance Awareness and Research for Chronic Lyme—Public Health On Call (June 2022)

Tick Talk—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine (2022)

Healthy Ecosystems, Healthy Humans—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine (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
April 24, 2025886 - An Accord For A Global Pandemic Treaty
About this episode:
Since 2021, countries have been drafting a treaty to help the world better prevent and respond to pandemics. On April 16, the WHO announced an agreement for the world's first pandemic treaty. In this episode: a look at what it took to get here, what provisions were included and excluded, and what it means that the U.S. was not at the table for negotiations and will not be a signer.
Guest:
Alexandra Phelan is an expert in global health law and an associate professor and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
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:

Why We Desperately Need—and Still Don’t Have—A Global Pandemic Treaty—Public Health On Call (June 2024)

Center for Health Security Urges the Inclusion of Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) in Pandemic Agreement—The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Countries Agree on Treaty Aimed at Preventing Global Health Crises—The New York Times

Global pandemic treaty finalized, without U.S., in ‘a victory for multilateralism’—http://Science.org

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
April 23, 2025885 - World Malaria Day: Advocacy on Capitol Hill—Funding, Research, and Global Impact
About this episode:
World Malaria Day is April 25. In this episode: guest host Thomas Locke takes us to Capitol Hill where we meet malaria champions, scientists, and leaders who gather in Washington, DC, as part of the ‘United to Beat Malaria’ campaign urging Congress to continue supporting global malaria efforts.
Show links and related content:

The Malaria Minute Podcast—The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute

United to Beat Malaria

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
April 22, 2025BONUS - The Case For Planetary Health—Can We Change?
About this episode:
In honor of Earth Day, we bring you a special episode of Public Health On Call: an essay read by Sam Myers, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health. In his essay, he explores the incredible human evolution and technological innovation that has brought us to a moment in time where our own ascendance is threatening our future well-being on this planet. It’s time to face a crucial question: Can we change?
Guest:
Sam Myers is the founding director of the Planetary Health Alliance and the faculty director at the brand new Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health.
Show links and related content:

The Case for Planetary Health (essay)—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health

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
9min

FAQs about Public Health On Call:

How many episodes does Public Health On Call have?

The podcast currently has 988 episodes available.

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