What's Health Got to Do with It?

Actress Annabelle Gurwitch shares how a Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped her life. Then, many people hear “palliative care” and think the worst. Why that misunderstanding can prevent patients from getting the support they need most.

From psychedelic depression treatments to an uptick in tick bites, our health experts unpack the month's biggest medical headlines.

For a special Memorial Day program, we examine how veterans navigate the complexities of the healthcare system, and we highlight the critical need for specialized care for service members after service ends.

We explore the connection between the heart and brain — how an irregular cardiac rhythm can increase the risk of stroke and how even simple movement like walking can protect the brain.

Adoption is often framed as a selfless and courageous act, but is it truly a choice made by birth mothers or a result of policy and inequality? Then, she's known for her on-screen work like "Jurassic Park" and "Big Little Lies," but off camera Laura Dern's most epic role was caregiving for her mother, though it was not without a plot twist.

Our medical experts discuss the month's biggest health headlines, from falling fertility rates to violence against health care workers.

Nearly 2 million brain cells die each minute a stroke remains untreated. We break down the biggest advances in stroke care and what survivors can teach us about resilience.

How race, identity and weight shape patient care — and what happens when medical professionals get it wrong.

Most Americans have never donated plasma — but for some, it's the difference between life and death. Then, a stranger's final act became her new beginning. The human side of organ donation, told by someone living it.

From fine air pollution to an outbreak of sexually transmitted ringworm, our health experts unpack the month's biggest medical headlines.

Caregivers turn their experience into art. An author illuminates the realities many child caretakers face, and a filmmaker revisits his past through the lens of his family's decade-long caregiving journey.

The U.S. spends more on health care than any nation, so why do so many American patients feel lost in the system? Then, could ALS finally become a treatable disease?

Immigrant physicians are the backbone of the U.S. health system. What happens if that pipeline weakens? Then, a retired oncologist traces his path from a small village in Bangladesh to the front lines of American medicine.

How simple, early conversations about boundaries, secrets and trust can help prevent childhood sexual abuse. Then, a rare brain disorder sparks a parent-led global research movement.

Medical experts discuss the month's biggest health headlines — from heart disease risk in women to a new genetics study sure to affect how mental health is treated in the future.

Medicine redesigned. Can a new kind of medical training fix health care? Then, from reactive medicine to proactive health, how disease prevention transforms lives.

Give your heart the love it deserves — what sleep habits and stress levels reveal about your heart's health. Then, after living with heart failure and surviving two heart transplants, a songwriter uses music to inspire hope in others.

On this week's program, how prescription drugs can be used as a window into much larger questions about medicine, culture and uncertainty. Then, from daily pills to long-acting injections, a doctor explains why HIV prevention isn't one-size-fits-all.

Our panel of medical experts discusses the month's biggest health headlines — from a shrinking childhood vaccine schedule to a reimagined food pyramid.

What if the greatest threat to vaccines isn't science but human psychology? We discuss how fear and misinformation are reshaping global health. Then, an app that works to sharpen focus instead of stealing it.

The hidden realities of living with inflammatory bowel disease, from navigating doubt and misdiagnoses to overcoming daily symptoms and setbacks. Then, how a personal misdiagnosis led an emergency room physician to help others advocate for themselves.

How physical therapy can help you stay strong, steady and independent as you age. Then, after suffering from heart failure and told he had only a few months to live, a man now known as “the walking guy” made movement his mission.

Vaccines, Tylenol and stem cells. We cut through the headlines and myths, delving into what scientific evidence actually says about autism. Then, a biotech innovator explains how personalized medicine is reshaping breast cancer care.

As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on the state of American health care and how decisions made in congressional chambers trickle down to exam rooms.

Our panel of medical experts discuss the biggest health headlines of the month from federal changes in vaccine guidance to the effect of sleep on longevity to the reinvention of weight loss drugs.

In a season that inspires hope, we unwrap stories of devotion — from a trailblazing children's hospital to a patient encounter that shaped the career of a transplant nurse and inspired her advocacy work.

On this week's program, an Alzheimer's diagnosis met with courage, curiosity and determination to change the “D” word. Then, after competing in multiple marathons and ironmans, a Navy veteran faces his toughest challenger yet — and every second counts.

Dr. Joe Sirven and his panel of medical experts discuss this month's biggest health headlines, from a deadly listeria outbreak to the FDA's removal of "black box" warnings on hormone replacement therapies.

How music can reshape the brain in ways words cannot, and how art helped a Parkinson's patient steady her hands and connect to healing.

When illness tests the body, can imagination heal the spirit? We discover a place where science connects to the soul. Then, surprising ways isolation affects the brain, and how gratitude and connection can restore it.

A former NIH director discusses the urgent need to put public health above party lines. Then, a pancreatic cancer survivor reflects on his diagnosis and the complex Whipple procedure that saved his life.

Headaches, blurred vision and high blood pressure — how a routine checkup became a race against time for an expectant mother. Then, the toll of gun violence on American children.

Dr. Joe Sirven and his panel of medical experts discuss this month's biggest health care headlines, from shifting trends in obesity rates to inflammation's effect on aging.

From the quiet struggles of depression to new insights on a misunderstood neurological disorder — we delve into conditions that remain unseen.

Public health data in action — turning medical metrics into health solutions. Then, coping with cancer in early adulthood.

On this week's program, how a hidden hole in a cowboy's heart nearly ended his rodeo career and sparked his mission to help others. Then, a physician hero at the forefront of treating life-threatening brain aneurysms.

Dr. Joe Sirven and his team of medical experts discuss this month's biggest health care headlines from kissing bugs to Tylenol use during pregnancy.

A 52-year-old jogger collapses on his morning run and is found unresponsive without a pulse. How hands-only CPR saved his life. Then, a neuroscience pioneer shares her personal journey.

On this week's program, how a severe yet symptomless spike in blood pressure can turn deadly. Then after losing her husband to ALS, one woman is using open-source AI to study and track the disease.

What do federal funding cuts mean for MS researchers and those living with the disease? Then, should you kiss your dentist goodbye?

From battlefield surgeons improvising with bone saws at Gettysburg to a modern-day mom navigating 15 life-threatening allergies every time her son eats, this week's program is about how far emergency care has come and how deeply personal it remains.

Dr. Joe Sirven and his team of medical experts discuss this month's biggest health care headlines, from raw milk illnesses to a deadly Legionnaires' cluster.

Are screens and social media rewiring younger children's emotional development? Then, how stroke care at its highest level is transforming patient outcomes.

On this week's program, Dr. Joe Sirven explores the invisible dangers of stroke. Then, compelling stories from the frontiers of neuroscience.

From a medical mystery that hits close to home to the growing caregiving crisis, we explore two caregiving stories that embody love, sacrifice and resilience.

Dr. Joe Sirven and his team of medical experts discuss this month's biggest health care headlines from a game-changing menstrual pad to disease-sensing canines.

On this week's program, protecting children from gun violence. Then, the benefits of breastfeeding.

On this week's program, the dangers of blind spots in women's health care and solutions to correct education gaps. Then, advocating for the voiceless on the frontlines of care.

On this week's program, could vision and cognitive changes be normal signs of aging or symptoms of something more serious? Then, the science behind longevity.

The science and politics behind the commander in chief's annual physical. Then, from sore throats to broken bones, we break down the differences between emergency and urgent care.

Dr. Joe Sirven and his team of medical experts discuss this month's biggest health headlines, from brain-eating amoebas to at-home test kits for cervical cancer.