America Dissected – Details, episodes & analysis

Abdul and Katelyn break down the week’s top headlines, including what Trump’s troubling cabinet picks say about his priorities, the latest H5N1 case in Canada, and some good news about vaccination rates this fall. And then later, Abdul talks to strength training coach and physician Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum about his approach to evidence-based strength training in a world full of fitness influencers. This show would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. America Dissected invites you to check them out. This episode was brought to you by: Marguerite Casey Foundation: Join the MCF Book Club at CaseyGrants.org/BookClub. Reclaimed: This podcast takes you back to the very beginning when the Navajo reservation was first created. And it reveals the history of oppression and exclusion that led the Navajo to this point — and why their future is still uncertain. You can listen to “Reclaimed” wherever you get podcasts. You can find Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum at www.barbellmedicine.com

Sharing an episode of the podcast Reclaimed. It centers on a group of Americans who’ve been denied a basic human right: water. I’m talking about the Navajo people. More than one-third of households in the Navajo Nation do not have access to clean water. Right now, there’s a landmark bill in front of Congress that could change this — but it took more than 150 years to get here. “Reclaimed” takes you back to the very beginning when the Navajo reservation was first created. And it reveals the history of oppression and exclusion that led the Navajo to this point — and why their future is still uncertain. You can listen to more episodes of Reclaimed at https://abcaudio.com/podcasts/reclaimed-navajo-nation/

Over the past several years, cities, counties, and states have elected to relieve their residents’ medical debt. That’s cascaded into a national movement to relieve it — which has been picked up by the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign. Abdul reflects on the particular pain of medical debt. Then he interviews Allison Sesso, President and CEO of Undue Medical Debt, the nation’s leading non-profit for medical debt relief.  This show would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. America Dissected invites you to check them out. This episode was brought to you by: Marguerite Casey Foundation: Join the MCF Book Club at CaseyGrants.org/BookClub. Rhone: Upgrade your closet with Rhone and use AD to save 20% at  https://www.rhone.com/AD.    Blueland: Reinvent cleaning essentials to be better for you and the planet, with the same powerful clean you’re used to. Right now, get 15% off your first order by going to Blueland.com/america.

Did you know that modern emergency medical services owe their origins to an all-Black paramedic team in Pittsburgh in the ‘60s? Author and former paramedic Kevin Hazzard tells the story in his new book “American Sirens.” Abdul reflects on the stories we tell — and the ones we don’t — about American healthcare. He sits down with Hazzard to learn more about the Freedom House Emergency Medical Services. To hear more about Freedom House Emergency Medical Services, check out the recent episode of Pod Save the People "Find a Book."

Public Health was on the ballot in the 2022 midterm elections — and public health won! Abdul reflects on the politics of public health. He sits down with de Beaumont Foundation President & CEO and former Georgia State Health Director Dr. Brian Castrucci to break down the biggest public health victories — and challenges — coming out of the midterms.

RSV! Flu! COVID! It’s fall, and respiratory illnesses are raging. RSV, in particular, is filling up pediatric hospitals as it infects our society’s youngest and most vulnerable. Abdul dissects why we’re facing a “tripledemic” this fall  sits down with epidemiology professor and author of the Your Local Epidemiologist substack Dr. Katelyn Jetelina to dig into what we can do to protect ourselves.

America Dissected comes to you LIVE from Boston at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Abdul reflects on what brought him to public health. Then he sits down with Jane Coaston, host of the New York Times Podcast “The Argument” to talk about what public health gets right (and wrong) about racial justice, public communication, and politics.    You can find a full transcript of this episode at: crooked.com/podcast/america-dissected

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 wasn’t the only thing going viral. In fact, mis- and disinformation ultimately framed so much of society’s response to the virus itself. In her new book, “What the Fact?,” physician and author Dr. Seema Yasmin traces the evolution of information disorder — and what we can do to protect ourselves and society. Abdul sat down with her to talk about it, and what it means for the future of health communication and beyond.

Nobody quite represents the seedy underbelly of American medicine like Dr. Oz. His career is a living description of what happens when ego and greed get an “MD,” and then use it to pump quack treatments in search of fame and fortune. Now he’s running for Senate in Pennsylvania — despite being from New Jersey. Abdul breaks down the cautionary tale that is Mehmet Oz. Then he speaks with Trip Gabriel of the New York Times as well as Gisele Fetterman.

So much of public health revolves around collective action — that is government working on our behalf to do things like fund biomedical research, regulate polluting factories, or clean our water. But what happens when we lose trust in government? Adam Conover is a comedian and host of the podcast Factually, as well as the new Netflix series “The G Word.” He joined Abdul to talk about how he uses comedy as a tool for truthtelling, what he learned about our public health system, and what it’ll take to fix it.