Public Health On Call podcast | Listen online for free

Available Episodes

5 of 119

917 - Why Some Moms Are Hesitant To Vaccinate
About this episode: For mothers questioning whether or not to vaccinate their children, the decision can be complicated by an overwhelming and, at times, conflicting information environment. In this episode: Health communication researcher Melissa Carrion explores how an onslaught of messaging is informing how mothers decide to vaccinate their kids and how public health experts can better communicate on these key decisions. Guest: Melissa Carrion, PhD, is an assistant professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she researches rhetoric and health communication. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: How one mom is navigating vaccines’ uncertain future—ScienceNews New Research: Childhood Vaccination Rates Drop Across 1,600 U.S. Counties—The 74 "I Don't Understand How These Two Things Go Together": Toward a Theory of Risk Ecologies—Health Communication “You need to do your research”: Vaccines, contestable science, and maternal epistemology—Public Understanding of Science Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
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21:53
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21:53
916 - Childhood Asthma
About this episode: Asthma can cause sometimes debilitating symptoms for children who have it, and some—particularly Black and Hispanic children—can experience higher rates of diagnoses, hospitalizations and emergency department visits. In this episode: pediatrician and immunology researcher Dr. Elizabeth Matsui talks about the known causes behind childhood asthma and how it impacts youths, and how factors like poor housing conditions and barriers to care and medication worsen conditions and undermine long-term lung development. Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Matsui is a pediatric allergist-immunologist and epidemiologist and a leading researcher on the connection between asthma and environmental conditions. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: The Role of Neighborhood Air Pollution in Disparate Racial and Ethnic Asthma Acute Care Use—American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Association of a Housing Mobility Program With Childhood Asthma Symptoms and Exacerbations—JAMA Do upper respiratory viruses contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in emergency department visits for asthma?—The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Tackling Housing Injustice—and Improving Childhood Asthma—Public Health On Call (June 2023) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University
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14:36
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14:36
915 - America's Caregiver Crisis
About this episode: Caregivers—both paid and unpaid—are the silent backbone of the nation’s workforce, providing crucial support to America’s young, aging, and disabled populations. But 24 states stand on the precipice of crisis with looming threats to caregiver stipends, salaries, and other resources. In this episode: what led to this tipping point, how proposed cuts to Medicaid could make it worse, and how to build a more supportive system for caregivers, patients, and loved ones. Guest: Stacey B. Lee, JD is a professor of Law and Ethics at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School, with a joint appointment at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she specializes in business law, health law, and negotiations. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Despite Political Divisions, U.S. Adults Across Parties Back Affordable Care, Support for Caregivers—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management These Are The States On The Brink Of A Caregiver Crisis — And Trump Medicaid Cuts Could Make It Worse—HuffPost America’s Unseen Workforce: The State of Family Caregiving—Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health The Forgotten Youths Who Are Caregivers For Their Families—Public Health On Call (April 2024) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
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15:28
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15:28
914 - Reducing Food Waste to Take Climate Action
About this episode: American farms, restaurants, retailers, and households throw out nearly 30% of the food in our system, landfilling millions of tons of food each year and draining resources like land and energy. Households generate the most waste, with everyday cooks overbuying at grocery stores and throwing away a substantial portion of their purchases—but getting ahead of those scraps can make a big difference. In this episode: ReFED’s Dana Gunders covers the environmental costs of food waste and shares immediate action items to better manage it. Guest: Dana Gunders is a national food systems expert and the president of ReFED—an organization that researches and promotes evidence-based action to end food waste. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: From Surplus to Solutions: 2025 ReFED U.S. Food Waste Report—ReFED Marylanders toss out more than 1 million tons of food each year. How do we reduce waste?—WYPR From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System—Public Health on Call (June 2025) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
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15:42
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15:42
913 - Uncovering America’s Decades-Long PFAS Contamination
About this episode: Since the 1950s, companies have been using PFAS—or “forever chemicals”—to manufacture everyday household items from waterproof mascara to shaving cream to Bandaids. Research and advocacy have not only linked these chemicals to certain cancers, liver disease, and fertility issues, but they have also posited that 97% of Americans have traces of PFAS in their blood. In this episode: guest host Tom Burke talks with writer Rachel Frazin about her new book outlining the dark history of PFAS in American manufacturing, the communities across the country demanding accountability and regulation, and the near future of regulation of drinking water. Guest: Rachel Frazin covers energy and environmental policy for The Hill and is the co-author of the book Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America. Host: Dr. Tom Burke is an emeritus professor at Johns Hopkins and a former top official with the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration. Show links and related content: Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America (book)—Island Press Exposure to “forever chemicals” before birth may raise blood pressure during teen years–American Heart Association Trump Administration to Uphold Some PFAS Limits but Eliminate Others—The New York Times What You Need to Know About PFAS, Or “Forever Chemicals”—Public Health On Call (April 2024) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
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22:05
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22:05