American Journal of Public Health Podcast

In this series, What is Public Health?, Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia interview Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University. Her most recent book is a memoir, Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics (2022) They discuss the role of the role of a public health nutritionist, very practically, and how this role maybe impacted by the current changes at the Human and Health Service agency.

Alfredo Morabia (AJPH) interviews Yi-Ling Tan, Program Manager at NYU Langone Health based in New York City, New York about her APHA 2024 presentation titled “An overview of a community-led process to address problem gambling in the Asian American community.” We discuss the reasons that led her to study problem gambling among Asian Americans, and who were the essential community partners in this work?

Editors Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia (AJPH) interview Trina Adler, Program Leader, Health & Nutrition Department of Family, Health & Wellbeing, U of MN Twin Cities, about her APHA 2024 presentation titled “Native American women practice mino-bimaadiziwin: The good life". What is the relevance for public health, all of us, of "Mino bimaadiziwin," the Ojibwe phrase that translates to "living the good life" or "walking the good path"?

Alfredo Morabia and Vickie Mays (UCLA), editors at the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) conducted an in-person interview of David Rein of the Atlanta Public Health Department focusing on improving vision and eye health using the CDC national Vision and Eye Health surveillance system to increase public awareness of affordable eye care.

2025P2 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Dr. Tianchu Lyu, review highlights of the Jan to Mar 2025 Issues and Supplements. The Editor's Corner features Dr. José Pagán, Professor and Chair of Department of Public Health Policy and Management, School of Global Public Health, New York University

Alfredo Morabia and Vickie Mays (UCLA), editors at the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) conducted an in-person interview of Lauren Weber, who, at The Washington Post, is an accountability reporter focusing on scientific and medical disinformation. She presented her work at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the APHA in Minneapolis.

In this episode Alfredo Morabia explores with Cynthia N. Lebron (Latino Caucus for Public Health), José Pérez-Ramos, (U Rochester), and Anna-Michelle McSorley, (U Connecticut) key health issues facing the Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S., We examine the adequacy of health data collection, questioning whether current tools provide an accurate picture of this diverse community. The episode also discusses the unique health challenges of undocumented immigrants, including barriers to healthcare access and quality. Through these discussions, the podcast aims to highlight critical gaps and opportunities for improving health equity within Hispanic/Latino communities.

In this series, What is Public Health?, Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia speak with Dr. Craig Spencer from the Brown University School of Public Health. They explore the work of American public health professionals abroad—particularly in Asia and Africa—and discuss the real-world humanitarian impact of recent executive orders shutting down USAID and cutting the workforce of federal public health agencies.

In this series, What is Public Health?, Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia interview Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, former Editor-in-Chief of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). They discuss the role of the MMWR, the day-to-day responsibilities of its editor, and the potential consequences of recent executive orders restricting its publication.

In this episode of the AJPH Vickie Mays, Alfredo Morabia and guest podcast co-host Susan Cochran offer reflections of a series of papers on the context of societal conditions that call out the need for public mental health. The interviews are of an author of 4 papers in a special AJPH issue on mental health. Margarita Alegria and her study of which primary care referrals actually enhanced both mental and physical health, Brea Perry and the impact of mental health in emerging young adults use of social media in building social cohension and bonding, Pualani Enos's reflection on the ways in which the land and water right fights are part of the mental health trauma of the Lahaina fires and from Cochran and Mays on their paper on the gendered language of mental health and its importance in assessing men's suicide.

In this AJPH podcast episode, Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia speak with Caroline R. Efird, Derek M. Griffith, and Jonathan Metzl about the often-overlooked concept of whiteness as a determinant of health. They discuss their article, 'Whiteness: A Fundamental Determinant of the Health of Rural White Americans,' exploring what whiteness is, why it should be considered a health determinant, and whether racism within whiteness can backfire. The conversation also addresses how public health professionals can navigate the current pushback against anti-racist health initiatives.

In this episode of the AJPH podcast, Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia interview four experts—Kimberly M. Nelson, Wendy E. Parmet, Kristen Underhill, and Ruqaiijah Yearby—on the intersection of law, policy, and public health. They discuss the importance of studying policies within their legal contexts, the trend of state laws disproportionately targeting marginalized groups, and the broader implications for health and equity. The conversation explores the reasons behind these legal shifts and how research can inform the creation of stronger, more protective policies that promote public health and social justice.

In this AJPH podcast episode, recorded live at the 2025 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia speak with Adrienne R. Ghorashi and Ruqaiijah Yearby about their presentation, "Examining the Role of State Constitutions in Racism, Governance, and Health Equity." They highlight how state constitutions, rather than the federal constitution, play a crucial yet often overlooked role in shaping health inequities. The discussion explores how legal frameworks at the state level contribute to systemic disparities and how constitutional reforms could advance health equity.

2025P1 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Dr. Tianchu Lyu, review highlights of the Oct to Dec 2024 Issues and Supplements. The Editor's Corner features Dr. José Pagán, Professor and Chair of Department of Public Health Policy and Management, School of Global Public Health, New York University

In this episode of AJPH podcast, Alfredo Morabia interviews Professor Vickie Mays, co-host of the podcast and clinical psychologist who is a faculty member at UCLA, about the devastating fires that have ravaged the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Speaking from Los Angeles, Professor Mays provides an up-to-date account of the destruction as of January 16, 2025. She discusses the critical public health priorities for the weeks and months ahead and shares insights on how communities and policymakers can support the victims and aid recovery efforts.

In this episode of AJPH Talks, Alfredo Morabia interviews three distinguished guests: Dr. David Michaels, former Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Dr. Jonathan Samet, Professor and former Dean at the Colorado School of Public Health, and Paul E Sampson, historian at the University of Scranton. Together, they explore the historical context that brought ventilation to the forefront of public health concerns in homes and workplaces, the evolving regulatory framework for protecting workers from airborne transmission, and the progress (or lack thereof) in evidence-based strategies for reducing respiratory infections through improved indoor air management during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alfredo Morabia and Prof. Vickie Mays (UCLA) from AJPH interview Dr Sherry Glied, Dean of New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public and Dr Steven Woolf, Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor, VCU Center on Society and Health about the differences in excess all-cause mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic across the US states. How can we explain the greater excess mortality in states with more conservative governments? Were these deaths preventable and, if so, how? Should governments be accountable for preventable excess deaths?

Alfredo Morabia and Prof. Vickie Mays (UCLA) from AJPH interview Profs Neil Pearce (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), Andrew C. Stokes (Boston University School of Public Health), and Jan P Vandenbroucke (Leiden University Medical Center, Dept. Clinical Epidemiology) in a compelling discussion about excess mortality and its significance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why might excess mortality be a more accurate measure than COVID-19-specific mortality? What is the theoretical foundation for using excess mortality as an evaluative tool? How can excess mortality help determine whether countries or regions performed ‘equally well' during the pandemic? Can it provide insights into what strategies worked—or didn't—during the crisis? Despite delays in obtaining mortality data, how can excess mortality be used to track health emergencies in real time? Finally, what key recommendations should guide those using excess mortality as an outcome measure? Join us for this insightful conversation to better understand the critical role of excess mortality in shaping public health decisions and pandemic evaluations.

2024 P4 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Dr. Tianchu Lyu, review highlights of the July to September 2024 Issues and July Supplement. The Editor's Corner features Dr. Lin Fang, Professor from Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Canada.

Alfredo Morabia and Prof. Vickie Mays (UCLA) from AJPH interview Sarah Moreland-Russell, PhD, Associate Professor of Practice, and Caitlin McMurtry, PhD, Assistant Professor, both at Brown School, Washington University, Saint Louis. Why are local public health policies sometimes in conflict with federal policies? In some states public health officers downplayed the threat of COVID-19 and the benefits of the vaccine. In others, receiving reproductive health services requires crossing state lines. We discuss if there are ways to build bridges between state and federal government, whether political polarization impacted the response to COVID-19, and whether public opinion and political processes can impact how public policy addresses inequities.

Alfredo Morabia and Prof. Vickie Mays (UCLA) from AJPH interview Admiral Rachel L Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services, and Elana Redfield, J.D., Federal Policy Director at the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. HHS is to be applauded for its work in making visible the health, mental health, and data needs of the Transgender population in the US. Some of the foundation for this work has been accomplishments in states. Most of the federal governments targets particularly in public health come from population-based data. How have data about transgenders grown within federal data collection as well at other levels, what actions have been taken to provide evidence for policy development in transgender health? The Williams Institute is known for its data and its use for policy development: What are some of the worries that you have about this population? While there is a lot of progress what are two or three of the things still needing to be lifted up or improved in order to see even better outcomes?

Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu, Pengfei Guo, and Tianchu Lyu report on Dr. Alfredo Morabia's interviews with the Deans of three schools of public health in China in July 2024.

Alfredo Morabia and Prof. Vickie Mays (UCLA) from AJPH interview Masoomeh Faghankhani (Dr.PH student at Colorado SPH) and Alice Igisaro (MBA student, Washington University in St Louis). In this podcast, we explore how public health students can be equipped to respond to and prevent war. Massoomeh and Alice emphasize that foundational skills for this work can be developed by engaging with disadvantaged communities in the neighborhoods surrounding U.S. schools of public health.

In this episode of the AJPH Student Think Tank podcast, we focus on the social and political determinants of indoor air quality. We talk to Elaine LaFay and Paul Sampson about the drought history of ventilation. We hear from Jennifer Ahumada about community-based air filtration workshops with the USC Environmental Justice Research Lab. And we have a zine by WormyOrchids, read by our very own Mateo Frumholz. Links: Ventilation and Public Health: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38843476/ Environmental Justice infographics: https://ejresearchlab.usc.edu/en/infographics/ Wormy Orchids zine: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2NgSI-LdFX/

Alfredo Morabia and Prof. Vickie Mays (UCLA) from AJPH interview Anna K. Hing (University of Minnesota), Jennifer L. Pomeranz (New York University), and Marian Moser Jones (Ohio State University) to discuss whether voting rights are a political determinant of health. Key discussion points include: What have been the political consequences of the US Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County v Holder, which invalidated the Voting Rights Act's preclearance provision? Which communities are most affected by the restriction of the right to vote? What is the mechanism by which voting rights translates into health? How relevant are these results for the present context and the coming 2024 presidential, senatorial, house, and state elections? What can be done to advocate for the reinstatement of preclearance?

Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu, and Tianchu Lyu review highlights of the April to June 2024 Issues and Supplements. The Editor's Corner features Dr. Stella S. Yi, Associate Professor from the Department of Population Health, New York University.

AJPH Editors Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia interview Tamara Rushovich (Harvard), lead author of "US Voting Rights Act Impact on Black and Black vs. White Infant Death Rates in Jim Crow States, 1959–1980 and 2017–2021" (Am J Public Health. 2024; 114(3): 300–308), and Jesse H. Rhodes (UMass Amherst). We discuss the definition of "Jim Crow Laws" and states, the public health effects of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and its impact on infant mortality. We also explore whether current Supreme Court decisions are eroding voting rights and how to defend them. Podcast producer: Troels Drasbech. Journal Assistant: Keira McCarthy.

Welcome to "Forging Radical Hope," a special podcast series from the American Journal of Public Health 2024 Student Think Tank. In our first episode, we explore the future of public health with insightful pitches from our esteemed guests. Part 2 features Marcus Weinman, a PhD Candidate at the University of Vermont, who shares his visionary ideas on the future of pandemic preparedness across states, as well as health communication and online community engagement. Marcus emphasizes the importance of enhancing empathy, listening, and community organizing among academic researchers. Don't miss this thought-provoking discussion on the future of public health. Subscribe for more episodes and join the conversation! Follow the AJPH Student Think Tank on LinkedIn for more student highlights and to continue the conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ajph-student-think-tank/ You can connect with Marcus on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/homozygoat on Bluesky at bsky.app/profile/homozygoat.bsky.social or at X/Twitter at https://twitter.com/Homozygoat_ Music by Quincas Moreira.

Welcome to "Forging Radical Hope," a special podcast series from the American Journal of Public Health 2024 Student Think Tank. In our first episode, we explore the future of public health with insightful pitches from our esteemed guests. Part 1 features Kathleen Patti, an MPH student at the University of North Florida, who shares her visionary ideas on the future of sexual health education. Kathleen emphasizes the importance of enhancing interpersonal communication and understanding personal boundaries to improve sexual health outcomes. Don't miss this thought-provoking discussion on the future of public health. Follow the AJPH Student Think Tank on LinkedIn for more student highlights and to continue the conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ajph-student-think-tank/ You can check out some of the resources Kathleen mentioned here: https://amaze.org/ https://flhealthyyouth.org/ Music by Quincas Moreira.

Participant: Michael McGinnis, Executive Director at National Academy of Medicine Hosts: Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia (AJPH) This podcast addresses critical questions such as: How was public health before 1988 and what triggered the writing of the report? How important was the ongoing AIDS pandemic in this process? Is the report a milestone, marking a shift in US public health? Can we compare the failure of the public health response to the Swine Flu threat in 1976 with the success of the response to COVID-19? Do we need a new NAM report on the Future of Public Health?

This month AJPH Editors Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia interview Julie Ward (Vanderbilt University), Guy Seymour (Psychologist in Public Safety), and Brandon del Pozo (Brown University). Interest in the potential fatal consequences of police encounters has grown in recent years. Julie Ward and her colleagues have shown that the statistics about fatal shootings only include 55% of injury-causing police shootings. Many of these incidents are non-fatal, not even taking into consideration shootings that do not result in injuries.

Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia, of AJPH, conducted an insightful interview with Dr. Jerome Adams, the 20th US Surgeon General and Distinguished Professor of Practice at Purdue University. The discussion centered around his latest book, "Crisis and Chaos: Lessons from the Front Lines of the War Against COVID-19," published by Post Hill Press in 2023. Dr. Adams candidly shared his personal experiences and the formidable challenges inherent in the role of US Surgeon General. From recounting his proudest achievements to delving into the most trying moments of his tenure, he offered a comprehensive perspective on his journey and on what it takes to be a US Surgeon General.

2024P1 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Pengfei Guo, highlight some of the contents of the January to March 2024 Issues and Supplements of the American Journal of Public Health. The Editor's Corner features Dr. Guoqing Hu, Dean of the School of Public Health and Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics at the Central South University of China.

In this is second part of Black History Month AJPH podcasts, Katherine M Anderson, MPH, AJPH Student Editor, and Alfredo Morabia interview Regina Davis Moss, PhD, MPH, about her new book "Black Women's Reproductive Health and Sexuality: A Holistic Public Health Approach" (APHA Press, 2023). They explore her motivations for writing the book, what it contributes to our understanding of the factors alienating Black women from controlling their reproductive health and sexuality, and the intended audience for the book.

AJPH's Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia had an in-person conversation with Derek M Griffith, PhD, Center for Men's Health Equity about what it takes to achieve the goal of the center, equity in men's health. Dr Griffith reflects on the importance of the inclusion of concepts of manhood, trustworthiness, intersectionality, and individual tailoring that can be incorporated into community-based and policy strategies to promote health and well-being, particularly for African American men.

Alfredo Morabia, AJPH, tuvo una conversación en persona con la Prof Maria Elena Trinidad Young, PhD (UC Merced) acerca de su trabajo comparando el estado de salud de los inmigrantes latinos y asiáticos en California. Discutimos los resultados del estudio RIGHTS (Investigación sobre la Salud de los Inmigrantes y Políticas Estatales) que muestran las experiencias de los inmigrantes en áreas como la atención médica, servicios sociales, empleo, educación y aplicación de la ley, y cómo estas experiencias han tenido un impacto en su salud y acceso a la atención médica

AJPH's Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia had an in-person conversation with Maria Elena Trinidad Young, PhD (UC Merced) about her work comparing the health status of Latin and Asian immigrants in California. We discuss the results of the RIGHTS (Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy) Study that show the experiences of immigrants in the areas of health care, social services, employment, education, and law enforcement and how these experiences have had an impact on their health and access to health care.

At APHA 2023, in Atlanta, Prof Vickie Mays and Alfredo Morabia interviewed Enbal Shacham (Saint Louis University) and Este Geraghty (ESRI) about the risks and opportunities of digital innovations in public health. The system needs to be responsive to lots of threats. There is also an explosion of disruptive and innovative technologies which can help but also pose privacy risks and have the potential to fragment services and widen inequities. Also as a video on APHA channel. Music: Francis Jacob paraphrases the song "Sympathy for the Devil" by Jagger and Richard.

2023P5 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Pengfei Guo, review highlights of the October to December 2023 Issues. The Editor's Corner features Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, Associate Editor of AJPH, Senior Scientist at the Injury Prevention Research Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lately, Dr. Dasgupta was named to TIME100 Next list of rising global leaders.

Prof Vickie Mays (UCLA& AJPH) and Alfredo Morabia (EIC, AJPH) asked Barry S. Levy (Tufts University School of Medicine, and former APHA president) and Bob Gould (APHA Peace Caucus and former president of Physicians for Social Responsibility) what is the public health dimension of wars, why wars are always global, and what can public health professionals do to prevent wars and to attenuate their consequences.

Prof Vickie Mays (UCLA) and Alfredo Morabia (EIC of AJPH) interview Prof Anne Case, from Princeton University and author with Prof Angus Deaton, of "Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism." Prof Case argues that understanding the relationship in the US between educational attainment and poor social and economic outcomes may greatly add to our ability to make sense of the mortality landscape that we face.

Fatal overdoses seem to double within 6-min walk of drug arrests. Do drug busts increase overdose deaths? New study from Indianapolis suggests it might double the risk. Do America's drug policy policymakers need to reconsider the priority given to police drug seizures cannot as opposed to harm reduction. Alfredo Morabia and Prof Vickie Mays (UCLA) discuss these issues with Prof. Brandon del Pozo (Brown University), Lisa Daugaard, Co-Executive Director/Purpose Dignity Action (Seattle, WS) and Dr Nabarun Dasgupta (U North Carolina)

With our two guests, Vickie Mays and I discuss the concerning decline in life expectancy in the United States compared to other countries with Prof. Steven H. Woolf (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Prof. Lauren Gaydosh (University of Texas at Austin). Why is life expectancy an important public health measure? What causes the decline? Why are so many other countries doing better than the US? What are the main recommendations to stop the decline?

2023P4 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Pengfei Guo, doctoral candidate at Yale University, review highlights of the June to September 2023 Issues. The Editor's Corner features a new publication in AJPH (September 2023) and a commentary by Dr. Hui Wang, Dean and Distinguished Professor of the School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Population-based monitoring of COVID-19 infections has dramatically being absent in most populations on the planet. However, the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) was one of the rare exceptions. With Prof Paul Elliott, principal investigator of REACT @ Imperial College, London and Prof Natalie E Dean @ Emory University, Atlanta, we review how REACT was done, what it did, and in how much it could serve as an example for the US. Moderators are: Alfredo Morabia @ AJPH and Prof Vickie Mays @ UCLA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected health care and other essential workers more than other groups in the US, but can we quantify the damage? To what extent did it aggravate the inequities that were prevalent before the pandemic? What should public health do better next time to both prevent some harm and monitor the harm that cannot be prevented? Alfredo Morabia (AJPH) and Vickie Mays (UCLA) discuss these issues with J. Paul Leigh, PhD (UC Davis Medical School, CA); Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot, PhD, Columbia University, NY; and Adam Gaffney, M. D., M. P. H., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

2023P3 Regional Editor of AJPH, Prof. Jihong Liu and Pengfei Guo, doctoral candidate at Yale University, review highlights of the March to June 2023 Issues. The Editor's Corner features new publications in AJPH (May & June 2023). Dr. Yueqi Yan, a professor from the University of California, Merced provided an overview of the substance use among Asian Americans from 2016-2020. In the second podcast, our podcaster Guo Pengfei synthesized the methods in population monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infection via random sampling during the COVID-19 pandemic. You are welcome to read full papers at AJPH.

This week Vickie Mays and I discuss with Michael Fraser Chief Executive Officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and Brent Ewig, Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer, Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) about their new book: “Vaccinating America: The Inside Story Behind the Race to Save Lives and End a Pandemic”

2023P2 Regional Editor of AJPH, Professor Jihong Liu and Pengfei Guo, doctoral candidate at Yale University, review highlights of the December 2022 to February 2023 Issues, Supplement 9 of 2022, and Supplement 1 of 2023. The Editor's Corner features two articles published in AJPH (January 2023, December 2022). Miss Xueqing Liu, a doctoral student in Biostatistics from Duke-NUS Medical school provided an overview of the experimental design of MRTs and the intervention design of just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) in the area of mobile health. In the second podcast, Miss Fanzhen Mao from Jiangsu Institute of Parasite Diseases reported the effects of behavioral change communication-based interventions in reducing pinworm infection among preschool children in China. Welcome to read the full articles in AJPH.

With Bibhas Chakraborty, Duke-NUS Medical School, and Nick Seewald, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, we discuss current limitations for public health of the classical way of conducting RCTs, give examples of these limitations, and explain why sequential, multiple-assignment randomized trials (SMARTs) and microrandomized trials (MRTs)help overcoming these limitations.

Guests: Dr Georges Benjamin (APHA) and Dr Richard Besser (RWJF) Moderators: Alfredo Morabia and Prof Vickie Mays (UCLA) We discuss the state of public health after 3 years of pandemic, what are the challenges ahead, and the role of the APHA to help addressing these challenges