905 - Tonsillectomy, Adenoidectomy, and Ear Tubes for Children
Release Date: 06/11/2025
915 - America's Caregiver Crisis
Public Health On Call
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: is a professor of Law and Ethics at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School, with ,...
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914 - Reducing Food Waste to Take Climate Action
Public Health On Call
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: is a national food systems...
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913 - Uncovering America’s Decades-Long PFAS Contamination
Public Health On Call
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...
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912 - The Correlation Between Movement and Health As We Age
Public Health On Call
About this episode: Consumer wearables like Fitbits track a lot of our activity, from time spent standing to estimates of calorie expenditure. What if they could also alert us to possible health issues as we age? In this episode: How movement patterns change with aging, and how researchers are examining ways to measure those patterns to determine what’s normal and what may be associated with cognitive decline and other neurological issues. Guest: is the director of the . Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and...
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911 - Book Club—We Are Eating The Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System
Public Health On Call
About this episode: Growing and producing our food comes at an extreme cost to the environment. In this episode: a conversation about climate and agriculture with journalist and author Michael Grunwald, whose blunt new book looks at how the food system is wiping out wetlands, forests, and other carbon reservoirs that protect us from global warming. Guest: is a journalist and author who covers public policy. He’s written for Politico Magazine, The Boston Globe, and Washington Post, and Time. His new book is . Host: is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the...
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910 - Climate Change and Meteorology: 2025 Update
Public Health On Call
About this episode: What might be in store for the 2025 hurricane season? Meteorologist Brian McNoldy returns to the podcast to talk about how things are shaping up, a look back at how last summer’s unprecedented mix of heat and moisture played out in an extremely active season, and a zoomed-out look at climate change trends as larger patterns beyond individual events and year-over-year comparisons. Guest: is a senior research associate at the Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmosphere and Earth Science at the University of Miami. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the , an...
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909 - From the Archives: Reflecting on Juneteenth with Janice Bowie
Public Health On Call
About this episode: Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in 2021 but many people don’t know the history or how to recognize the day. In this episode: a look back at a 2022 conversation with Janice Bowie about how to celebrate, reflect, and recommit to social justice this Juneteenth. Guest: is a Bloomberg Centennial Professor in Health, Behavior, and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on health equity and disparities. Host: is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public...
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908 - A Sharp Decline in Homicides
Public Health On Call
About this episode: Homicides in the U.S., particularly those involving gun violence, peaked in 2022 following a rapid rise during the COVID pandemic. In the years that followed, there were notable decreases and 2025, so far, shows one of the most dramatic reductions in homicides in decades. In this episode: A look at some of the reasons behind the rise and fall of deaths, and why staying the policy course may be key to avoiding another spike. Guest: is a Bloomberg Professor of American Health who has studied gun violence and prevention for more than thirty years. Host: is vice dean for...
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907 - Humanitarian Health in Gaza and Beyond
Public Health On Call
About this episode: Humanitarian health systems provide relief like food, water, and medicine in crisis situations. They operate within a carefully organized framework built on core principles including impartiality and neutrality. In this episode: what's happening with humanitarian aid in Gaza and the importance of a new framework for global humanitarian efforts. Guest: is a physician, epidemiologist and the director of the at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr Spiegel has worked in humanitarian emergencies for the last 30 years. Host: is vice dean...
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906 - Here To Understand: How Braver Angels Is Orchestrating Tough Public Health Conversations
Public Health On Call
About this episode: In 2016, the nonprofit Braver Angels was founded to bring together diverse groups of people to try and figure out why productive communication has become so difficult. During the pandemic, the conversations got even harder. In this episode: How Braver Angels is bringing together questioners and supporters of public health to hear each other out with a goal of humanizing, understanding, and remembering that “everyone is worth listening to.” Guests: Dr. Leslie Lapato is a retired psychiatrist who has worked with since 2017 in a variety of roles including alliance chair,...
info_outlineAbout this episode:
A recent MAHA report from the Department of Health and Human Services stated that a trio of common procedures for children—tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and tympanostomy tube (ear tube) placement—“cause harm without offering benefits.” In this episode: a look at what these surgeries are, the advantages and risks, and what the report said—and didn’t say—about the value of these procedures when properly indicated.
Guests:
Dr. Emily Boss is the director of pediatric otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.
Show links and related content:
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The MAHA Report: Make Our Children Health Again—The White House
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MAHA kids’ health report misinforms about tonsillectomies and ear tubes—STAT (Opinion)
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Tympanostomy Tubes or Medical Management for Recurrent Acute Otitis Media—The New England Journal of Medicine
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