More than three years after COVID first shuttered schools, researchers are taking stock of how children are doing academically. Hopkins biostatistician Elizabeth Stuart speaks with Stephanie Desmon about their research about learning gaps and why it’s so important to invest in regaining lost ground while still letting kids be kids. She also explains how this data can help inform difficult policy decisions like school closures in the event of another public health emergency.

What can we learn from depictions of pandemics in films and series like The Last of Us, I Am Legend, and Contagion? Dylan George, director of the new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics at the CDC, recently participated in a panel at Awesome Con to discuss these and other depictions of dystopian realities in media. Dr. George talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what these iconic pieces got right, where they took some creative liberties, and what they reveal about gaps in our own public health systems and abilities to respond.

If a product is available for sale, it’s probably safe. Right? Not so fast. Taplines podcast host Dave Infante talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about Four Loko, the popular caffeinated alcoholic drink from a decade ago, and his role as Deputy Commissioner of the FDA during the agency’s analysis of the safety of the beverage. This podcast was originally released by VinePair and the full video can be seen here: https://vinepair.com/taplines-podcast/four-loko/

ChatGPT has lots of potential for use in public health, but how well does it actually perform? Public Health On Call intern Caroline Wang and Lindsay Smith Rogers discuss three potential uses—seeking personal medical advice, public health research for students, and as a practical resource for practitioners. They go over some specific prompts and analyze what the chatbot does well and where it’s limited. Caroline is a Masters of Health Science student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health studying clinical epidemiology and has been an intern for the podcast since March 2020.

Earlier this month, a WHO group declared that aspartame, a synthetic sweetener found in everything from breath mints to diet sodas, is a possible carcinogenic. While more data is needed to confirm the link, there is research showing that artificial sweeteners are not, as we thought, “metabolically inert” and do actually impact our gut health which can impact our overall health. In this episode from the archives, Hopkins microbiologist Dr. Jotham Suez talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the complexities of our microbiomes, why taking probiotics may not “reset” our systems after antibiotics, and how artificial sweeteners can cause imbalances that upset the trillions of microorganisms that keep us healthy. (This episode was originally released on September 1, 2021.) Learn more: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/the-microbiome-and-your-health

Virologist Dr. Andy Pekosz returns to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about shots, shots, shots! Updated COVID vaccines, how the flu vaccine might perform this year, and a new RSV vaccine are all in the mix. They discuss when each of these vaccines may roll out and how there’s potential to head off another “tripledemic” winter.

After last year’s “tripledemic” of flu, COVID, and RSV, we’re all wary of what this coming year might bring. Infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. David Dowdy returns to the podcast to talk with Lindsay Smith Rogers lessons learned, what can be expected as of right now, and potential impacts from new vaccines and treatments, like the game-changing antibody that protects kids from RSV, are entering the mix. Tl;dr: Get vaccinated for everything as soon as you’re able to and we might be in better shape for the years to come.

There’s a paradox in sci-fi movies: Even in the most futuristic, technologically advanced societies depicted in film, main characters often die because of a lack of basic medical care. Two movie fans, Johns Hopkins ICU physician Dr. Jack Iwashyna and his son, Sage, talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about some scenes in the Star Wars and Aliens franchises and how they can be used to appreciate the gaps that remain in health care today.

For Disability Pride Month, Dr. Stephanie Van, a Johns Hopkins rehabilitation physician and founder of YouTube’s @‌ThisAbilityClinic, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about her work as a pain management specialist and disability advocate. They discuss how she helps patients with newly acquired disabilities and what she’s learned about the disability community in the process, as well as what needs to change from the individuals to industries to make the world a little more inclusive. This episode is also available as a video here: https://youtu.be/T2PUYFOBVYk 

Learn more about disability and accessibility with the resources recommended in this episode by Dr. Van:

Hashtags to follow on social media: #Disability, #Accessibility, #DisabilityVisibility

Read or listen: Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau

This episode was co-produced by Aliza Rosen

In early June, a major Ukranian hydroelectric dam was destroyed. The situation is incredibly complex with widespread fallout and the potential for long-term public health risks. WHO incident manager Dr. Heather Papowitz talks with Stephanie Desmon about why the situation is so precarious, what the major concerns are, and how humanitarian efforts are coordinated and prioritized.