Overdose death rates among Black Americans surpassed those among white Americans in 2020, a sharp reversal from a decade earlier. Hopkins post-doctoral fellows Dr. Keisha Solomon and Dr. Jason Gibbons talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the reasons behind this alarming increase and what can be done to respond.

Mindfulness is sometimes seen as a buzzword, but it’s an evidence-based facet key to our physical and emotional well-being. Mindfulness researcher Dr. Christina Bethell talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about the science behind the practice, the connection to resilience, and how mindfulness can help people recover from trauma and adverse childhood experiences. They also discuss some basic practices you can do yourself and Dr. Bethell leads a short breathing exercise. Learn more about her work here.

In a special episode Tradeoffs host Dan Gorenstein talks about the nation’s new 9-8-8 crisis line, and how local agencies are struggling to find counselors to staff the Lifeline number. A content warning that this episode mentions suicide and other mental health emergencies. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Learn more here: https://tradeoffs.org/

Oral health extends far beyond cleanings and cavities, but coverage schemes are often considered an extra “benefit” and not a necessity. Dentists Leah Leinbach and Sujay Mehta talk with Stephanie Desmon about why oral health goes way beyond “drill and fill” to impacting overall health, the history behind oral health’s divorce from medicine, and how the importance of including dental care as part of health care is being discussed at a global level.

Nonprofits or NGOs often find themselves limited by the terms of available grants, which may be insufficient or too short-term to meet certain needs. Enter development impact bonds, or investments made by a little-known government agency. Dia Martin, a managing director on the social enterprise finance team of the US International Development Finance Corporation talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about these bonds, and two initial projects: a cataract clinic in Cameroon and micro-enterprises for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

Some of the greatest societal inequities are evident in emergency rooms. ER physician Dr. Thomas Fisher, author of Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER, captures some of these moments during the COVID pandemic, illuminating the intimate relationship between doctors and patients. He talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about his book and about how health care—and ERs in particular—uphold systems of inequity even without intending to, and how providers can try to offer everyone coming through the doors the care they deserve. 

In April, Dr. Josh Sharfstein appeared on the Washington Journal segment of C-SPAN to talk about the podcast and answer questions from callers live on TV. Many of the questions stemmed from misinformation that’s proliferated online, but all COVID questions deserve answers. In this bonus episode, we share some of those questions and Dr. Sharfstein’s responses—live and unscripted.

Dr. Lisa Gwynn, president of the Florida chapter of the American Academic of Pediatrics and a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was fired from a state board for advocating for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5. She talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how politics and misinformation in Florida are contributing to a situation that’s harmful to children’s health and strips away medical choices and access from parents.

Lack of green space, abundant concrete, and building materials that trap heat all contribute to why cities are often as much as 10 degrees warmer than surrounding suburbs. Johns Hopkins earth and planetary sciences professor Dr. Ben Zaitchik talks with Stephanie Desmon about urban heat islands which disproportionately affect poorer and minority communities, why heat is known as “the silent killer,” and how investments in urban heat mitigation can help make neighborhoods stronger and safer.

In the late 1970s, residents of a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York learned their community was built on a toxic waste dump that was causing significant health problems. Keith O’Brien, author of Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what became known as the Love Canal Disaster. The incredible story includes mobilized moms, exploding rocks, a hostage situation, and a young Congressman from Tennessee.