Health & Veritas
Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz, two Yale physician-professors, discuss the latest news and ideas in healthcare and seek out the truth amid the noise.

Episodes
- PodcastEpisode 63Duration 35:33
Healthcare Headlines
Howie and Harlan check in on health issues that are in the news—or will be soon. Harlan discusses his work measuring patient outcomes and new avenues of research on long COVID; Howie reports on the perverse effects of private equity investment in specialty healthcare practices and the looming deadline facing state Medicaid programs.
Links:
"What we learned about the NFL in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest"
Céline Gounder: "Grant Wahl Was a Loving Husband. I Will Always Protect His Legacy."
Harlan Krumholz: “Outcomes Research: Generating Evidence for Best Practice and Policies”
Harlan Krumholz: “Real-world Imperative of Outcomes Research”
Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy: Outcomes Research
"Families First Coronavirus Response Act Medicaid and CHIP Provisions Explained"
"Millions Could Lose Medicaid by April as Pandemic Rules Ease"
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 62Duration 36:10
F. Perry Wilson: The Formula for Medical Misinformation
Harlan answers questions about the cardiac arrest suffered by Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin in a nationally televised football game; Howie reports on the rapid spread of the XBB 1.5 variant of COVID-19. And they are joined by F. Perry Wilson, a Yale nephrologist and an expert in the translation of medical research into clinical care, to discuss his new book, How Medicine Works and When It Doesn’t: Learning Who to Trust to Get and Stay Healthy.
Links:
“Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffers a cardiac arrest during Monday's game”
“What Is Cardiac Arrest? What to Know About Why Damar Hamlin Collapsed”
“Exposed: conman's role in prayer-power IVF ‘miracle’”
“The MMR vaccine and autism: Sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud”
“Omicron offshoot XBB.1.5 could drive new Covid-19 surge in US”
Eric Topol: “A new variant alert”
Eric Topol on Twitter: “Why hasn't Paxlovid implementation lived up to its expectations?”
- PodcastEpisode 61Duration 36:42
Lisa Sanders: The Art of Diagnosis
Howie and Harlan are joined by Lisa Sanders, the Yale internist who writes the "Diagnosis" column in the New York Times. Harlan reports on new studies demonstrating the ineffectiveness of ivermectin in treating COVID-19, and the effectiveness of the bivalent booster in improving outcomes. And Howie reacts to headlines about frequent misdiagnoses in emergency departments.
Links:
Katelyn Jetelina: “Fall bivalent boosters: Science update round 4”
Eric Topol: “A quick update on the bivalent boosters”
“DeSantis calls for grand jury to investigate Covid-19 vaccines”
Diagnosis: Dr. Lisa Sanders on hard-to-solve medical mysteries
“Introducing 'Diagnosis,' a New Show From The Times and Netflix”
“Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review”
- PodcastEpisode 60Duration 33:16
Jeffrey Gruen: The Genetic Roots of Learning Disabilities
Harlan reports on a new study suggesting dramatic health benefits from bursts of vigorous activity; Howie explains how genetic science is starting to illuminate a mystery in his own medical history. And they are joined by Yale physician and scientist Jeffrey Gruen to discuss his work identifying the genetic variants associated with dyslexia and designing early interventions for kids with learning disabilities.
Links:
Dr. Jeffrey Gruen –The New Yale Program for Learning Disabilities Research
“Revenge of the gaslit patients: Now, as scientists, they’re tackling Ehlers-Danlos syndromes”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 59Duration 36:09
Kristen Nwanyanwu: Vision and Equity
Harlan reports on new research on effective prostate cancer screening; Howie explores the potential of the AI language model ChatGPT. And they’re joined by Dr. Kristen Nwanyanwu, a Yale ophthalmologist with a focus on closing the racial gap in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
Links:
“Prostate Cancer Screening with PSA and MRI Followed by Targeted Biopsy Only”
Kristen Nwanyanwu: “Addressing Disparities in Ophthalmic Research”
“U.S. Supreme Court rules on University of Michigan cases”
“The Pandemic’s Legacy Is Already Clear”
Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring
ChatGPT: Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 58Duration 34:18
Dr. Eric Topol: Pushing Medicine into the Future
Howie and Harlan are joined by Dr. Eric Topol, a physician and writer who is widely recognized both as a leading researcher and a public voice on medicine and health. They discuss his career turn toward genomics and digital health, and the fight against misinformation on Twitter.
Links:
“Adding Salt to Foods and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease”
Eric Topol: The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine Is in Your Hands (2015)
Eric Topol: Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again (2019)
Scott Gottlieb on LinkedIn: “The GLP-1s emerge as the largest class of peptide drugs of all time”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 57Duration 34:07
Dr. Nancy Brown: The Power of Mentorship
Harlan reports on a unprecedented recall of ventilators and CPAP machines; Howie discusses a new approach to tackling the issue of antimicrobial resistance. And they’re joined by Dr. Nancy Brown, dean of the Yale School of Medicine, to discuss her career path and her investments in developing talent.
Links:
“Getting to know Yale leaders—Nancy Brown”
WHO fact sheet: antimicrobial resistance
“The PASTEUR Act can help win the war against superbugs”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 56Duration 36:45
Dr. Vineet Arora: Reinventing Medical Education
Harlan provides updates on R.S.V., flu, and COVID-19; Howie considers the growing use of hallucinogens for treatment of severe depression. And they are joined by Dr. Vineet Arora, dean of medical education at the University of Chicago, to discuss the future of medical Twitter and how medical education is changing in the wake of the pandemic.
Links:
“A ‘Tripledemic’? Flu, R.S.V. and Covid May Collide This Winter, Experts Say”
”A fake tweet sparked panic at Eli Lilly and may have cost Twitter millions”
“The ‘bot holiday’ and why clinicians can’t tackle disinformation alone”
“What is #MedMastodon & why might we need it?”
“Some Twitter users flying the coop hope Mastodon will be a safe landing”
University of Chicago: Pritzker EVOLVES
“Colorado Legalizes Magic Mushrooms”
“Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression”
- PodcastEpisode 55Duration 33:11
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith: The Systemic Roots of Inequities in Health
Harlan reports on three negative—but striking—trials presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting; Howie reflects on the victories for health in Tuesday’s election. And they’re joined by Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale internist and nationally known expert on healthcare equity, to discuss her service in the Biden administration and the need for a broad approach to tackling racism in healthcare and systemic inequities in health.
Links:
“Another Fibrate Fails to Show Cardiovascular Benefit”
“DCP: HCTZ vs. Chlorthalidone in Improving CV Outcomes in Elderly Veterans With HTN”
“Nunez-Smith to lead Biden health equity task force”
Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership at Yale University
“Voters will have a say on abortion in 5 states with high-stakes ballot measures”
“South Dakota votes to expand Medicaid”
Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses—2021
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 54Duration 33:29
Dr. Lisa Leffert: Leading in Anesthesiology
Harlan describes a revealing new study on the long-term impacts of COVID; Howie reflects on the escalating costs of health insurance. And they are joined by Dr. Lisa Leffert, Yale’s chief of anesthesiology, to discuss her unusual career path, disparities in maternal mortality, and her approach to tackling the gender pay gap in the field.
Links:
“Cardiovascular disease and mortality sequelae of COVID-19 in the UK Biobank”
Health & Veritas: Saving Mothers’ Lives (Ep. 7)
Lisa Leffert: “The ‘Unexplained’ Portion of the Gender Pay Gap in Anesthesiology”
KFF: 2022 Employer Health Benefits Survey
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.