Public Health On Call

Latest Episodes:

979 - Why Are More People Choosing Not to Vaccinate Their Pets? Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

As hesitancy about human vaccines rises, so too does skepticism of routine pet immunizations. In this episode: Veterinarians Meghan Davis and Kaitlin Waite explain what's behind growing anti-vaccine sentiment among pet owners, how veterinarians are navigating this divide, and why an understanding of the human-animal bond can yield better public health outcomes for all.

Guests:

Meghan Davis, PhD, MPH, DVM, is a veterinarian and public health researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a joint appointment at the School of Medicine.

Kaitlin Waite, MPH, DVM, is a veterinarian and a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she also serves as the Deputy Director of Outreach Core at the POE Center.

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:

Here's Why Fewer People Are Vaccinating Their Pets—TIME
Vaccine Skepticism Comes for Pet Owners, Too—New York Times
The importance of vaccinating your pet—Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Could One Health Prevent the Next Pandemic?—Public Health On Call (September 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.

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.

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

978 - Advancing Robotic Telesurgery Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Robotic telesurgery allows providers to conduct minimally invasive surgeries across long distances, reaching remote communities. In this episode: Binita Ashar, a surgeon with a background in policy, discusses the revolutionary role this technology can play in medicine and what issues need to be addressed—from cost to cybersecurity—in order to greenlight more procedures in the United States.

Guests:

Binita Ashar, MD, MBA, is a general surgeon who previously served as the Director of the FDA's Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices. She also serves on the board of the Society of Robotic Surgery.

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:

Transcript information:

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.

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

977 - The Health Risks of Alcohol Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Long-cited research has promoted potential health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. But updated information disproves these claims and links drinking at any amount with increased cancer risk. In this episode: Professor Johannes Thrul, whose research covers substance use and addiction, details recent research on this topic and shares how to communicate these findings to help people make their own decisions around drinking.

Guests:

Johannes Thrul, PhD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 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:

Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
Alcohol Causes Cancer. We Should Be Drinking Less.—MedPage Today
Preventing Alcohol Misuse, Use Disorders, and Deaths—Public Health On Call (February 2024)

Transcript information:

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.

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

976 - Championing the Just Treatment of People Who Use Substances Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

A single court case in North Carolina is holding skilled nursing facilities accountable to adopt anti-discrimination policies for those with a history of substance use. In this episode: Sally Friedman, part of the team behind this lawsuit, explains the case and why it could set a national precedent for the just treatment of people who use substances in health care.

Guests:

Sally Friedman, JD, is the Senior Vice President of Legal Advocacy at the Legal Action Center, where she leads a team of attorneys and paralegals that help over 1,500 clients annually to access jobs, housing, health care, and other basic rights.

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.

Show links and related content:

Nursing facilities can't blanket ban people with addiction history, per N.C. settlement—STAT
Q&A with Disability Rights North Carolina's Sara Harrington and Dane Mullis—Legal Action Center
Disability Rights North Carolina—http://disabilityrightsnc.org
Discrimination Against Patients With Substance Use Disorder in Health Care Settings—Public Health On Call (January 2024)

Transcript information:

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.

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

975 - A Tumultuous Year for NIH Funding Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Between lawsuits, layoffs, and lags in funding, NIH has undergone significant changes in how it reviews and approves grant proposals for critical research. In this episode: Jeremy Berg, a former NIH leader, talks about what's changed and what's to come for indirect cost reimbursements, funding approvals, and the scientific research ecosystem as a whole.

Guests:

Jeremy M. Berg, PhD, is a professor of computational and systems biology at the University of Pittsburgh, where he is also the Associate Senior Vice Chancellor of Science Strategy and Planning. He previously served as the Director of the National Institute for General Medical Sciences at NIH.

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:

Appeals court judges seem skeptical of Trump administration's defense of capping NIH overhead payments—STAT
Trump order gives political appointees vast powers over research grants—Nature
Life-saving medicines begin in the basic research DOGE wants to stop funding—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Transcript information:

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.

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

974 - Caring for Children in War-Torn Ukraine Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

As the conflict in Ukraine nears its fourth year, what help is available for vulnerable children caught in the crossfire? In this episode: Irwin Redlener, co-founder of the Ukraine Children's Action Project, discusses how he's operationalizing care for children's medical, psychological, and educational needs, and urges for an end to the conflict.

Guests:

Dr. Iriwin Redlener is a pediatrician and the co-founder of the Ukraine Children's Action Project. A longtime humanitarian activist, he is also the co-founder of the Children's Health Fund and the founder of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University.

Host:

Show links and related content:

UCAP Report: October 2025—Ukraine Children's Action Project
Dr. Redlener: Firsthand Report from Ukraine—MSNBC
Zelensky, 2022—Joan Baez Art
Ukraine's Humanitarian Crisis—Public Health On Call (March 2022)

Transcript information:

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.

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

973 - Baltimore's Record Low in Homicides Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Since taking office in 2020, Mayor Brandon Scott and his administration have embraced a public health approach to reducing gun violence. The results include an unprecedented reduction in the number of homicides and other violent crimes. Baltimore's homicide rate is now the lowest that it has been in decades. In this episode: Mayor Scott shares what is behind the city's progress and what comes next.

Guests:

Brandon M. Scott is the 52nd mayor of Baltimore, serving his second term. A lifelong Baltimorean, he previously served as President of the Baltimore City Council.

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.

Show links and related content:

Baltimore homicides down 31% from 2024, Mayor Brandon Scott says—Baltimore Sun
How Baltimore's violent crime rate hit an all-time low: 'This is not magic. It's hard work'—The Guardian
Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS)—City of Baltimore
A Sharp Decline in Homicides—Public Health On Call (June 2025)

Transcript information:

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.

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

972 - Inside Rising Health Insurance Costs Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Cuts to Affordable Care Act subsidies are setting higher premiums and pushing coverage out of reach for many Americans. In this episode: the yearslong political battle behind elevating insurance costs, ripple effects across health care providers, and what it will take to build a healthy insurance system.

Guests:

Gerard Anderson, PhD, is an expert in health policy and a professor in Health Policy and Management and International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 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:

'A lifeline' - Americans fear spike in healthcare costs, making some Republicans nervy—BBC
How Affordable Care Act subsidies became a sticking point in the government shutdown—ABC News
The New Reality Facing Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA—Public Health On Call (August 2025)

Transcript information:

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.

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

971 - An Update on Syphilis in the Great Plains Region Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Last spring, Dr. Meghan Curry O'Connell joined Public Health On Call from ground zero of a syphilis outbreak among American Indian and Alaskan Native people in the Great Plains Region. In this episode: She provides an update on the situation, explaining how a collaborative team has been able to overcome obstacles and make progress.

Guests:

Dr. Meghan Curry O'Connell, MPH, is the chief public health officer at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board and a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Host:

Show links and related content:

Efforts to curb SD's syphilis outbreak yield results, but public health advocate says work remains—South Dakota Searchlight
How a fight over data made South Dakota's bad syphilis outbreak worse—Vox
A Public Health Emergency: Syphilis Surges in the Great Plains Region—Public Health On Call (May 2024)

Transcript information:

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.

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

970 - What We Know—and Still Don't Know—About Long COVID Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Millions of people across the globe continue to grapple with debilitating long COVID symptoms, as researchers untangle the unknowns of the condition. In this episode: Alba Azola, who leads long COVID research and treatment at Johns Hopkins, lays out the data on who's being diagnosed with long COVID, available treatment options, and the future of post-infectious chronic disease research.

Guests:

Dr. Alba Azola is a rehabilitation physician and the co-director of the Long COVID/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Clinic at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

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: