Show Notes:
Public health is all around us, yet difficult to describe. Most people have little-to-no idea what we do (including our parents). This podcast is a heartfelt – and probably half-baked – attempt to understand public health through history, humor, and stories from professionals in the field. Our mission is to create a cozy corner for public health nerds to listen and laugh with us as we try to describe a field that is constantly changing and adapting. Welcome to Viral.
My name is Linsey Grove. I’m the owner and Chief Creative Officer of eunoia Media Lab, a graphic/web design and social marketing firm that specializes in public health and nonprofits. I’m also a giant nerd who loves space, cats, and sexual health.
My name is Quinn Lundquist. I am a former public health policy fellow from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and currently work at the Florida Department of Health.
On this show, we will have guests that include epidemiologists, veterinarians, historians, health communications specialists, policy experts, and more. The world of public health is so diverse and so woven into the fabric of society that we barely know it exists unless something goes wrong.
What is an epidemic? What is a risk factor?
How do we tell bogus studies apart from real ones? (Wait, you’re saying that if I eat a chocolate bar every day…I won’t live to 100?)
What are health systems like in other countries?
Who invented the vaccine? Why don’t we hear about smallpox anymore?
We take for granted the fact that 100 years ago, way more people died of infectious diseases than they do today. We take for granted that child labor laws and seatbelt laws saved countless little fingers from getting lopped off in machinery and people flying through windshields. We don’t notice how water fluoridation has prevented cavities and tooth infections, or how different forms of contraception and birth control has existed in various forms since Roman times. There’s a lot out there, while we don’t expect to cover everything, hopefully we can spark your interest in this field that we love and help foster the next generation of public health nerds out there.
Every week I like to end things with a piece of public health-related trivia. Approximately 620,000 people died during the American Civil War. Two-thirds of them died from disease, not in battle.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download