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

Jan 29, 2026

About this episode:

The U.S. takes a unique approach to health care by tying coverage to employment. This has led to high rates of uninsured Americans, the creation of the Affordable Care Act, and ongoing fights about health care spending culminating in a government shutdown late last year. In this episode: Jonathan...


Jan 28, 2026

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Today: a human rights perspective on immigration enforcement and public protest in Minneapolis. Professor Joe Amon is the director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has also studied human rights issues in more than 40...


Jan 26, 2026

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for reviewing the safety and effectiveness of vaccines—a job that requires deep scientific understanding as well as thoughtful regulatory judgment. In this episode: Dr. Jesse Goodman, a former top vaccine regulator and chief scientist at the FDA,...


Jan 22, 2026

About this episode:

It started as a time-limited series of interviews with public health experts at the start of a global pandemic. Over nearly six years, Public Health On Call expanded to a wide range of topics, including humanitarian health, aging, and vaccines, becoming a home for nuanced public health discussions...


Jan 21, 2026

About this episode:

Nothing can make your skin crawl quite like the mention of lice or bed bugs, especially if you’re the parent of young children. The good news: though these blood-sucking pests are a nuisance, they pose limited risk to human health. In this episode: Parasitologist Conor McMeniman explains why...