As Climate Worsens, Environmentalists Grapple With the Mental Toll of Activism
While growing up in the ’90s in Johnson County, Kansas, in a suburb of Kansas City, I had a friend, Kevin Aaron, who was a dedicated environmentalist. To strangers, Kevin appeared to be a laid-back punk-rock music fan with a dry and slightly mischievous sense of humor, but those of us who knew him best […]
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade on the Rocks
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on PRX. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here for a transcript of the episode. Judging by oral arguments this week, the Supreme Court appears ready to uphold a Mississippi law barring most abortions […]
For Older Adults, Smelling the Roses May Be More Difficult
The reports from covid-19 patients are disconcerting. Only a few hours before, they were enjoying a cup of pungent coffee or the fragrance of flowers in a garden. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, those smells disappeared. Young and old alike are affected — more than 80% to 90% of those diagnosed with […]
With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work
Economists and public health experts alike say paid sick leave is an essential tool — like testing, masks and vaccines — in the effort to prevent covid-19 infection and keep workplaces safe. Yet the U.S. is in the midst of another covid holiday season, and federal laws that offered covid-related paid sick leave to workers […]
Omicron and Other Coronavirus Variants: What You Need to Know
Americans, already weary of a pandemic nearly two years long, were dealt a new blow during the long Thanksgiving weekend: the announcement that a new coronavirus variant had emerged. The omicron variant, officially known as B.1.1.529, surfaced in November in several southern African nations. It set off alarm bells worldwide when public health officials in […]
Con el fin de las licencias pagas por covid, empleados sienten la presión de ir a la oficina
Tanto economistas como expertos en salud pública dicen que la licencia por enfermedad con goce de sueldo es una herramienta esencial, tanto como las pruebas, las máscaras y las vacunas, en el esfuerzo por prevenir la infección por covid-19 y mantener seguros los lugares de trabajo. Sin embargo, Estados Unidos se encuentra en medio de […]
Todo lo que hay que saber sobre omicron y las otras variantes del coronavirus
Los estadounidenses, cansados ya por una pandemia que dura casi dos años, recibieron un nuevo golpe durante el largo fin de semana de Acción de Gracias: el anuncio de la aparición de una nueva variante del coronavirus. La variante omicron, conocida oficialmente como B.1.1.529, apareció en noviembre en varios países del sur de África. Las […]
‘An Arm and a Leg’: How to Avoid the Worst Health Insurance
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Click here for a transcript of the episode. This episode kicks off with a wild ride: How one journalist nearly got roped into a scam. While hunting for a new health insurance plan, award-winning journalist Mitra Kaboli got an offer that seemed too good to be true — and […]
Black Tech Founders Want to Change the Culture of Health Care, One Click at a Time
When Ashlee Wisdom launched an early version of her health and wellness website, more than 34,000 users — most of them Black — visited the platform in the first two weeks. “It wasn’t the most fully functioning platform,” recalled Wisdom, 31. “It was not sexy.” But the launch was successful. Now, more than a year […]
It Takes a Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies on a Close-Knit Group in Her Final Days
[Editor’s note: Dr. Susan Massad, who is featured in this story, died Nov. 29.] The decisions have been gut-wrenching. Should she try another round of chemotherapy, even though she barely tolerated the last one? Should she continue eating, although it’s getting difficult? Should she take more painkillers, even if she ends up heavily sedated? Dr. […]