Working from home has its perks: Better coffee, easy commute, no fluorescent lighting. But, as any home office worker can tell you, there are also downsides: No more office social hours, no more ergonomic chairs, and no more quiet train rides to catch up on your podcasts. In this episode of the Better Off podcast, we’ll ask: Is working from home good or bad for our health?   Guests Eileen McNeely, Founder and Executive Director of SHINE, the Health & Sustainability Initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Read a study by Eileen McNeely and SHINE research ..read more

It’s estimated that half a million Americans are experiencing homelessness. Even a brief period of housing insecurity can make existing health issues worse, and bring up new physical and mental traumas. Doctors and nurses who help patients navigate these issues have a prescription: More housing, and more services. Is it possible to end chronic homelessness, even as eviction moratoriums end and rents increase? And is a housing-first model the best way to achieve that goal? Guests: Ana Rausch, Vice President of Program Operations at Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County Kimberley R ..read more

Guests: Ana Rausch, Vice President of Program Operations at Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County Kimberley Richardson, therapist Maggie Sullivan, family nurse practitioner, Boston Health Care for the Homeless and instructor and human rights fellow, FXB Center, Harvard University Credits: Host/producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert The Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Pamela Reynoso, Stephanie Simon, and Ben Wallace Audio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'Connell Additional research: Kate Becker ..read more

What does a plate of healthy food look like? Everyone has an opinion – from doctors to dieticians to wellness experts. But advice on what to eat often ignores a big factor in how and why we make meals: Culture. Americans who trace their heritage back to Latin America or Africa often get messages that discourage them from seeing their home foods as healthy. In this episode, we’ll ask: Are we better off when diet and nutrition advice is informed by culture? Guests: Josiemer Mattei, Donald and Sue Pritzker Associate Professor of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Dalina Soto, re ..read more

Guests:   Shruthi Mahalingaiah, assistant professor of environmental reproductive and women's health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Tamarra James-Todd, Mark and Catherine Winkler associate professor of environmental reproductive epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Visit our website to learn more about our guests, and to find a full transcript. Credits: Host/producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert The Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Stephanie Simon, and Ben Wallace Audio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'Connell Additional research: Kate Becker ..read more

40 million American homes cook their meals with natural gas. But most people don’t think of the little blue flame on their gas range as the end of a very long natural gas pipeline. New research shows that gas stoves pollute our indoor air, but Americans have yet to embrace alternatives, like induction stoves. In this episode, Better Off asks: When it comes to our health, are we better off giving up on natural gas? Guests:   Drew Michanowicz, senior scientist, PSE Healthy Energy Brady Seals, manager, Carbon-free Buildings Program, RMI Jon Kung, chef Visit our website to learn more about ou ..read more

What makes a healthy home?  In 2022, that question feels more important than ever. What are the right foods to eat? The least-toxic shampoos and sunscreens? The best way to prevent loneliness while working from home? On Season 2 of the Better Off podcast, we’ll look at the research behind some of those big questions. We’ll also ask what happens to our health when “home” is a tent encampment, or a 6x9 solitary jail cell. Through six new episodes, host Anna Fisher-Pinkert will talk to leading public health experts about the questions she’s had on her mind as a health communicator, a mom, an ..read more

This episode was first released in December, 2020. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us didn't think about indoor air very much, if at all. But healthy buildings expert Joseph Allen has been studying indoor air for years. He says that since we spend 90% of lives inside, we need to do more to make our offices, homes, and schools places where we can breathe easy. Guest: Joseph Allen, Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health For a full transcript of this episode, visit our website. Subscribe to get new episodes of Better Off in your podcast ..read more

This spring, public health officials have been laser-focused on getting more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19. So why do racial disparities persist around vaccination? And once more Americans are vaccinated, how do we ensure that Black and Latino families aren’t left vulnerable to future public health crises? In the latest episode of Better Off, Mary Bassett talks about the historical roots of health inequities, and the big changes needed to close those gaps. Guest: Mary T. Bassett, director of the François Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. For a ful ..read more

In the 1980's, there were millions of cases of Guinea worm disease across the globe, mostly in rural Africa. Donald Hopkins, MPH '70, has spent 40 years working to eradicate this painful and debilitating disease – and he's had remarkable success. Last year, there were only 27 cases worldwide. In the latest episode of Better Off, Donald Hopkins talks about eradicating a disease that many people thought wasn't worth fighting. Watch the inaugural Donald Hopkins Scholars Lecture. Learn more about The Donald Hopkins Predoctoral Scholars Program. More about Donald Hopkins: Fierce Optimism, Harvard P ..read more