Free Associations
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Free Associations
Mad musings from the messy world of science
Episodi recenti
154 episodi
Episode 155: Probiotics and AI Chatbots
Matt and Jess discuss the ethics of probiotics for children and whether AI chatbots can help reduce misinformation. Study link: https://www.nature.com...
Episode 154: Gun Violence and Maternal Morbidity
Matt, Jess and guest host Jon discuss a study of the effect of experiencing gun violence and maternal morbidity. Study link: Fatal Police Violence and...
Episode 153: Time Waits for No One
Matt and Jess and guest host Harold discuss the ways that we experience time (with a slight diversion into our dental traumas) and Matt explains why w...
Episode 152: Is Dark Chocolate Good for You? Really?
Matt and Jess and guest host Harold discuss whether dark chocolate is really good for preventing type II diabetes, or if the research isn’t there yet,...
Episode 151: The Role of Advocacy and Activism in Public Health
In an expansive, thought-provoking discussion ahead of the pivotal changes in Washington, DC, Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss the role...
Episode 150: Menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy and the Role of Activism
Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss a paper that reviews the results of a series of trials that were highly influential in a move away fro...
Episode 149 - Outdoor Light Pollution and Alzheimer’s disease
In a new format for the “Free Associations” podcast, we split our usual podcast into two bite-sized morsels. In the first segment, Jess, Matt and gues...
Episode 146 - The effects of early cessation of oxytocin
Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla discuss a study of early discontinuation of oxytocin during delivery, they try to predict the future of journ...
Episode 145 - Tweets and changes in racial sentiments
Matt, Jess, and guest host Allegra Gordon discuss a study using tweets to see if there have been changes in racial sentiment over time, they debate wh...
Episode 144 - Human mobility and economic segregation
Matt, Jess, and guest host Jonathan Jay discuss a study using cell phone data to see if living in cities gives us better economic integration, they ex...
Episode 143 - Workplace interventions for cardiometabolic health
Matt, Jess, and guest host Amruta Nori-Sarma examine a study testing the effect of a workplace intervention for cardiometabolic health, they discuss m...
Episode 142 - A blood-based screening for cancer?
Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla discuss a study testing the efficacy of a blood-based cancer screening tool, they debate the role of the work...
Episode 141 - Do taxes and warning labels affect meat purchases?
Matt, Jess, and first-time guest host Allegra Gordon discuss a study of the effect of taxes and warning labels on purchases of red meat, they lament t...
Episode 140 - Neighborhood environment and childhood physical fitness
Matt, Jess, and guest host Jonathan Jay discuss a study on child opportunity in the built environment and physical fitness, they debate whether to get...
Episode 139 - Wildfires and medical visits
Matt, Jess, and guest host Amruta Nori-Sarma examine a study of the effect of proximity to wildfires on medical visits, they discuss housing as harm r...
Episode 138 - Can hearing aids prevent dementia?
Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla examine a study on the use of hearing aids to prevent dementia, they discuss whether loneliness is a public h...
Episode 137 - A breakthrough for meningitis vaccination?
Matt and Jess go solo and Jess hosts for the first time! They discuss a study of the effectiveness of a new meningitis vaccine, whether active shooter...
Episode 136 - The Best of Amazing and Amusing V (Chris Gill Edition)
We are taking a one-month break this summer. Please enjoy this “best of” episode celebrating Chris’ contributions to the podcast.
Episode 135 - Is coffee bad for your heart?
Matt, Jess, and Chris examine a crossover study of the effects of coffee consumption on heart health, they discuss the commercial determinants of heal...
Episode 134 - Did we have any effect on COVID?
Matt, Jess, and Chris discuss a complex ecologic study on the effect of various interventions for COVID, they debate whether living evidence syntheses...
Episode 133 - Do masks work for COVID?
Matt, Jess, and Chris examine a meta-analysis on whether masks reduce respiratory virus transmission, they discuss the peer review madness, and Jess t...
Episode 132 - Gestational age at birth and cognitive outcomes
Matt, Jess, and Chris discuss a study on the impact of gestational age at birth and cognitive outcomes, they debate who should be an author on an acad...
Episode 131 - Are magic mushrooms the answer to severe depression?
Matt, Jess, and Chris discuss a phase 2 clinical trial on the use of psilocybin to treat severe depression, they lament the state of health literacy,...
Episode 130 - The best of Amazing and Amusing IV
Please enjoy this compilation of the best of Amazing and Amusing. Regular episodes will return in February.
Episode 129 - RSV during the COVID pandemic
Matt, Jess, and guest host Leo Martinez discuss a study on the respiratory syncytial virus during the pandemic, they debate the value of the evidence...
Episode 128 - Effects of racism on health in New Zealand
Matt, Jess, and guest host Collette Ncube examine a study using different types of measurement to look at the effects racism has on health outcomes in...
Episode 127 - Synergistic mindsets to reduce stress
Matt, Jess, and guest host Sarah Lipson examine a study on synergistic mindsets to reduce stress in adolescents, they discuss what it’s like to study...
Episode 126 - Redlining and preterm birth
Matt, Jess, and guest host Jonathan Jay examine a study on the impact of historical redlining and structural racism on preterm birth rates in New York...
Episode 125 - All the pretty COVID models
Matt, Chris (that’s right, he’s back for an episode), and guest host Brooke Nichols review one of the earliest COVID modelling papers, they discuss th...
Episode 124 - Cyclones and health
Matt, Jess, and guest host Amruta Nori-Sarma examine the impact of cyclones on mortality in the US, they discuss the uneven impacts of global climate...
Episode 123 - Cardiovascular risk factors in childhood
Matt, Jess, and guest host Marcia Pescador Jimenez discuss the impact of cardiovascular risk factors in childhood and their relation to cardiovascular...
Episode 122 - Acetaminophen and blood pressure
Matt, Jess, and guest host Junenette Peters examine a study on whether acetaminophen (paracetamol) increases blood pressure, they discuss what the bes...
Episode 121 - Did the NFL defeat COVID?
Matt, Jess, and returning guest host Jacey Greece consider how well the NFL did with their COVID protocols, they discuss intervention mapping with res...
Episode 120 - Pesticides and glioma?
Matt and Jess go it alone this week and discuss a study looking at whether pesticide ingestion on fruit and vegetables increases the risk for glioma,...
Episode 119 - Is free fruit and veg enough?
Matt, Jess, and guest host Jacey Greece examine a study looking at whether giving free fruit and vegetables to school kids in Norway reduces BMI, they...
Episode 118 - A strong case for a viral cause of multiple sclerosis
Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a study looking at whether the very common Epstein-Barr virus is causally related to multiple sclerosis, they debate abou...
Episode 117 - What can VAERS tell us about vaccine exemptions?
Matt, Chris, and Don examine a study that looked at whether changes in reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System are linked to a vaccine e...
Episode 116 - Could a bigger house prevent hypertension?
Matt, Chris, and Jess discuss a study looking at the relationship between livable space and hypertension, they consider what we have learned from the...
Episode 115 - HIV self-testing kits in Zambia
Matt, Chris, and Jess examine a study looking at whether giving pregnant women HIV self-testing kits can increase HIV testing and access to care for m...
Episode 114 - Daily COVID testing in schools
Matt, Chris, and Don examine a study of the effect of daily COVID-19 testing in the UK for school contacts to stay in school rather than isolate, they...