KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A(nother) Very Sad Week


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This week’s mass shooting of elementary schoolers in Texas (just 10 days after a racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store) has reignited the gun debate in Washington, D.C., and around the country. But the political disagreements over guns and their appropriate role in American society are as insoluble as ever.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma becomes the first state to try to ban all abortions, as the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case it is expected to use to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers criticize the FDA for its handling of the infant formula shortage, rekindling a debate over whether food should be regulated by a separate agency.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine. Baron co-authored a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine about how the medical community should deal with doctors who spread medical misinformation on social media.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: “Strangerville” podcast’s “Episode 203: Jacob,” by Jessica and Justin Van Wyen

Joanne Kenen: NBC News’ podcast “Needle In/Tiffany Dover Is Dead*” by Brandy Zadrozny

Anna Edney: ProPublica’s “The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19,” by Michael Grabell

Rachana Pradhan: The Washington Post’s “We’re Ignoring a Major Culprit Behind the Teen Mental Health Crisis,” by Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright

Also discussed on this week’s podcast:

Vox.com’s “The School Shooting Generation Grows Up,” by Marin Cogan

Stat’s “Viruses That Were on Hiatus During Covid Are Back — And Behaving in Unexpected Ways,” by Helen Branswell

The New York Times’ “More Than 1 in 5 Adult Covid Survivors in the U.S. May Develop Long Covid, a C.D.C. Study Suggests,” by Pam Belluck

The Texas Tribune’s “Businesses That Help Employees Get Abortions Could Be Next Target of Texas Lawmakers if Roe v Wade Is Overturned,” by Zach Despart


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