78. Do Kids Cause Divorce?
Couples get divorced for all kinds of reasons. Is having kids one of them? Bapu talks about research that investigates what happens to parents who une...
Freakonomics, M.D.
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About
Each week, physician and economist Dr. Bapu Jena will dig into a fascinating study at the intersection of economics and healthcare. He takes on questions like: Why do kids with summer birthdays get the flu more often? Can surviving a hurricane help you live longer? What do heart surgery and grocery-store pricing have in common?
77. They Make Minimum Wage. They Could Save Your Life.
Doctors and nurses get most of the attention — but a new study suggests we can improve health care by raising wages for a group of workers who are oft...
76. Is a Spoonful of Sunlight the Best Medicine?
In hospitals, a softer pillow or a nicer room might be more than just amenities — they could improve outcomes for patients.
75. What Is Sugar Really Doing to You?
Americans eat a lot of sugar — and it’s hard to determine how it affects our health. Bapu explains how a new study uses data from the 1950s to help so...
74. How Does Playing Football Affect Your Health?
It’s not a new question, but it’s a tricky one to study. Bapu explains why, and talks about how an N.F.L. labor dispute helped him get some answers.
73. Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures?
The most expensive drugs in the world are treatments for genetic diseases. And more of these cures are on the horizon. How will anyone be able to affo...
72. What’s Stopping Us From Curing Rare Diseases?
Breakthroughs in biotech that seem like science fiction are becoming reality. Why aren’t more patients benefiting from them?
71. What Do COVID-19 and Cancer Have in Common?
mRNA vaccines helped bring the pandemic under control. Could they also train the immune system to fight cancer?
70. Why Are There Still So Few Female Surgeons?
Success and failure are hard to measure in medicine. Bapu looks at how surgeons are judged after a bad outcome — and whether men and women are treated...
69. Home Sweet … Hospital?
We take it for granted that, when people are acutely ill, they should be in the hospital. Is there a better way?