An Ongoing Conversation about Health and Healthcare
Health & Veritas
In the 200th episode of Health & Veritas, Harlan offers end-of-the-year reflections on medicine drawn from his editor’s notes in JACC (the Journal of the American College of Cardiology), and Howie provides updates on gun violence, flu, measles, and the health benefits of yoga. Show notes: Editor’s notes by Harlan Krumholz Gun violence, flu, and measles The benefits of yoga In the Yale School of Management’s , you’ll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's offers a rigorous public...
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Basmah Safdar: Why Women Experience Illness Differently
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Basmah Safdar, a Yale School of Medicine emergency physician and an expert on sex-specific differences in cardiovascular and microvascular health, which have important implications for the understanding and treatment of heart attacks, long COVID, and other conditions. Harlan reports on Australia’s ban on social media for kids, and a Medicare pilot program that will pay providers based on improved outcomes in chronic conditions. Howie unpacks the consequences of the CDC’s change to its recommendations for newborn hepatitis B vaccination. Show notes: Social...
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Sudhakar Nuti: Bringing Healthcare to the Unhoused
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Sudhakar Nuti to discuss his work improving healthcare for homeless New Yorkers, as a street-medicine doctor and a population-health leader at NYC Health + Hospitals. Harlan reports on a proposed law that would cut off funding for U.S. scientists who collaborate with colleagues in China; Howie provides updates on the measles outbreak and a leaked FDA memo claiming that COVID-19 vaccines have killed 10 children. Show notes: Science Across Borders Sudhakar Nuti Measles FDA Leak In the Yale School of Management’s , you’ll get a full MBA...
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Peter Hotez: Mapping the Anti-Science Machine
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert and an outspoken opponent of health misinformation, to discuss vaccine skepticism and the forces—from wellness influencers to HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—that amplify it. Harlan reports on research reinforcing the link between social media and mental illness; Howie highlights two potential areas of common ground with the administration’s health policy. Show notes: Social Media and Mental Health Peter Hotez ACA Subsidies Site-Neutral Payment In the Yale School of Management’s ,...
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The Cost Curve, Flu, and Other News
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan discuss the outlook for U.S. healthcare spending over the next five years, the state of seasonal and avian flu, and an expensive AI-based cardiac test. Show notes: Life expectancy and expenditures ACOs and cost savings World Prematurity Day AI concerns Bird flu Cardiology and AI Free speech and drug promotion Medicare premiums In the Yale School of Management’s , you’ll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's offers a rigorous public health education for working...
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Jerry Avorn: Countering the Drug Marketing Machine
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Harvard internist Jerry Avorn to discuss his research on the pharmaceutical industry and his work promoting evidence-based prescribing. Harlan highlights new results from the American Heart Association meeting, including a one-time CRISPR-based therapy for high cholesterol; Howie reports on an outbreak of infant botulism. Show notes: Research from the American Heart Association Meeting Jerry Avorn Infant Botulism In the Yale School of Management’s , you’ll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your...
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Ali Rahimi: A Cardiologist in Your Pocket
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by cardiologist Ali Rahimi, the founder of ALYKA Health, which uses a personalized mobile app to help patients manage their heart health between doctor's visits. Harlan discusses new developments in GLP-1 obesity drugs, including untested microdose treatments; Howie reviews a landmark study investigating whether broad prostate cancer screening saves lives. Show notes: GLP-1 Drugs Ali Rahimi New Evidence on Prostate Cancer Screening and Breast Cancer Treatment In the Yale School of Management’s , you’ll get a full MBA education in 22...
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Nate Wood: Cooking Lessons for Better Health
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Nate Wood, a Yale School of Medicine internist and trained chef, to discuss his work combining lifestyle guidance with hands-on training in making healthy, tasty food. Harlan shares new guidance on what counts as a healthy blood pressure; Howie provides an update on rising health insurance costs. Links: Blood Pressure Obesity Drugs Culinary Medicine Health Insurance Costs .
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Akiko Iwasaki: What Have We Learned About Long COVID?
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Medicine immunologist Akiko Iwasaki, a leading authority on vaccines and long COVID. Harlan reflects on America’s crisis of trust in federal agencies; Howie provides some good news about bird flu. Links: Losing Trust Akiko Iwasaki Bird Flu .
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Rajlakshmi Krishnamurthy: Coordinated Care, Better Care
Health & Veritas
Howie and Harlan are joined by Rajlakshmi Krishnamurthy, the Yale School of Medicine's associate dean for population health, to discuss her work building holistic systems for care at multiple institutions. Harlan discusses healthcare headlines including the launch of "TrumpRX"; Howie reports on a new study taking a novel approach to understanding the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine. Links: Healthcare Headlines Population Health The COVID-19 Vaccine .
info_outlineHowie and Harlan are joined by Stephen Waxman, a leading neurology researcher, to discuss the promise of new methods developed by his lab to treat the ravages of pain. Harlan talks about the importance of ratings for Medicare Advantage plans; Howie assesses two sobering new reports on the solvency of Medicare.
Links:
Harlan’s Section
Slides from Humana's Investor Day
"Humana’s cautious defense of Medicare Advantage"
"What Are the Medicare Star Ratings?"
"Early analysis: How health plans fared in the 2025 Medicare Advantage star ratings"
Interview with Dr. Waxman
"F.D.A. Approves Drug to Treat Pain Without Opioid Effects"
"A brief historical perspective: Hodgkin and Huxley"
Nobel Prize: “Speed read: Signal to charge"
"Targeting a Peripheral Sodium Channel to Treat Pain"
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: "Ronald Niedermann"
"Peripheral Sodium Channel Blocker Could Revolutionize Treatment for Nerve Pain"
"Interplay of Nav1.8 and Nav1.7 channels drives neuronal hyperexcitability in neuropathic pain"
"A historical perspective on the discovery of statins"
"The Two Sides of NaV1.7: Painful and Painless Channelopathies"
"Dr. Stephen Waxman awarded Sharpey-Schafer Prize for pain research"
"Scientists Identify Method to Study Resilience to Pain"
"Chasing the genes behind pain"
"Stephen Waxman: pioneer in axons, their disorders, and pain"
"I Feel Like I’m Burning Alive. It’s Hard for People to Believe Me"
"‘How badly does it hurt?’ Challenges of measuring pain in clinical trials"
Howie’s Section
"2025 Medicare Trustees Report"
"Analysis of the 2025 Medicare Trustees' Report"
"Medicare gets a big (unofficial) surprise: a 17-year extension on when it’ll run dry"
"Evan Sussman: Expanding Access to Fertility Drugs"
"Trump gives major lift to 2026 Medicare Advantage payments"
"June 2025 Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System"
"How UnitedHealth turned a questionable artery-screening program into a gold mine"
"From boom to bitcoin: A device maker’s surprising pivot amid a Medicare crackdown"
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