Public Health On Call

About this episode:  
The wellness industry covers everything from fitness to biohacking, yoga to peptides, and it's backed by culturally and financially powerful players. In this episode: a new paper in the Milbank Quarterly covers how social media fuels the industry's proliferation, the growing skepticism of traditional medicine that allows it to thrive, and the tension between the concepts of wellness and public health.
Guest: 
Nancy Karreman, PhD, is a researcher of public health interventions at the University of Cambridge. 
Nason Maani, PhD, MPH, is a senior lecturer in inequalities and global health policy at the University of Edinburgh. 
Host: 
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009. 
Show links and related content: 
The Political Economy of Wellness: Commercial Determinants of a Burgeoning Industry—Millbank Quarterly 

The Outlook on Direct-to-Consumer Health Care—Public Health On Call (February 2026) 

Dietitian Influencers On Social Media Are Being Paid By the Food Industry to Promote Products and Messages—Public Health On Call (October 2023) 

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
Vaccines for the Zaire ebolavirus have been licensed since 2019, but no such treatment exists for the current outbreak of Bundibugyo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this episode: Anna Durbin, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Immunization Research, introduces listeners to three candidate vaccines and discusses the hurdles to deploying new treatments. 
Guest: 
Dr. Anna Durbin is a professor of International Health and the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Immunization Research. 
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. 
Show links and related content: 
Three Ebola vaccines in development amid growing outbreak fears—BBC 

USAID's closure led to 'entirely preventable' deaths, latest Ebola outbreak: House Dem report—The Hill 

HHS confirms Americans with high-risk Ebola exposures will have access to experimental therapy—STAT 

Regeneron's Ebola Antibody Recommended by World Health Organization for Investigational Use in Response to Current Bundibugyo Ebolavirus Outbreak—Regeneron 

What Will It Take to Contain the Central Africa Ebola Outbreak?—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

The Use of Investigational Drugs in an Outbreak: Separating Science and Politics With Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19—Public Health On Call (May 2020)

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:
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@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
Two health policy experts could not disagree more about the Affordable Care Act. Yet they're working together to tackle what they see as a root cause of unaffordability. In this episode: A 1954 change to federal tax code made employer-provided health benefits tax-free, incentivizing employers to cover workers' health insurance—but this policy is one explanation for high healthcare costs for Americans today. 
Guests: 
Michael F. Cannon, JM, MA, is the director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute. 
Elizabeth Fowler, PhD, JD, is a distinguished scholar in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 
Host: 
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009. 
Show links and related content: 
This policy is at the root of unaffordable health care—Washington Post 

The New Reality Facing Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA—Public Health On Call (August 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:
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@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
Dr. Craig Spencer became sick with Ebola while treating patients in West Africa in 2014. He ultimately recovered at a treatment center back in the United States before returning to Guinea to continue his work. In this episode: he talks about what scares him about the current Ebola outbreak, what it's like to treat the disease on the ground, and what lessons he fears we still haven't learned about this "disease of compassion."  
Guest: 
Dr. Craig Spencer, MPH, is an emergency medicine physician, public health researcher, and associate professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at Brown University School of Public Health. 
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. 
Show links and related content: 
I Survived Ebola. This Is What Scares Me Most About This Outbreak.—The New York Times 

Is The U.S. Stepping Up In The Fight Against Ebola?—KFF 

HHS confirms Americans with high-risk Ebola exposures will have access to experimental therapy—STAT 

White House resisted letting doctor with Ebola return to U.S.—Washington Post 

Guinea families transport bodies in public taxis—Associated Press 

Protests against US Ebola facility in Kenya turn deadly—ABC News 

An Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa—Public Health On Call (May 2026) 

The Use of Investigational Drugs in an Outbreak: Separating Science and Politics With Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19—Public Health On Call (May 2020) 

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:
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@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
Recovering from a substance use disorder while in college is a unique challenge mired by stigma and social pressures to drink or use drugs. But collegiate interventions for young adults can change the trajectory and even save lives. In this episode: Noel Vest, an addiction recovery researcher, explains what makes a good collegiate recovery program and why now is a great time for higher education institutions to expand support for students.  
Guest: 
Noel Vest, PhD, is an assistant professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health. 
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: 
Drug recovery is now US national policy. Campuses need to step up—Times Higher Education 

ADDRESSING ADDICTION THROUGH THE GREAT AMERICAN RECOVERY INITIATIVE—The White House 

Association of Recovery in Higher Education 

What is SAFE Campuses?—SAFE Project 

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

@‌PublicHealthPod 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.