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.

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 (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?

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.

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 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.

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 un

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, Saint Louis University. Why are local public health policies sometimes be in conflict with federal policies? In some states public health officers downplayed the threat of COVID and the benefits of the vaccine. In other states reproductive health services or marijuana laws required crossing state lines. We discuss if there were ways to build bridges between the two, whether political polarization impacted the response to COVID, and whether public opinion and political processes impact how public policy can work to address inequities.