Health & Veritas

Howie is joined by guest host Megan Ranney, dean of the the Yale School of Public Health, for a live episode recorded at the Yale Innovation Summit, featuring conversations with five innovators at the intersection of healthcare, public health, and entrepreneurship.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Nicholas Christakis, director of Yale’s Human Nature Lab, to discuss his research on social networks, human connection, and the forces that help societies cooperate and endure. Harlan discusses promising phase 3 results for retatrutide, Eli Lilly’s experimental “triple G” obesity drug; Howie provides an update on the fast-growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Howie and Harlan discuss how AI is transforming medical research and publishing, the growing role of consumer health platforms and wearables, new advances in stroke treatment, and the debate over rising hospital costs. They also examine the FDA’s approval of flavored vaping products and the nomination of a new surgeon general.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Josh Geballe, head of Yale Ventures, to discuss how changes in Yale’s mindset, policies, and support systems have helped turn university research into impactful companies. Harlan examines the growing problem of AI-hallucinated citations in published research; Howie provides an update on the deadly Andes hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Lee Schwamm, the Yale School of Medicine’s associate dean for digital strategy & transformation and chief digital health officer of the Yale New Haven Health System, to discuss how the system is working to rapidly evaluate and deploy AI tools without compromising patient safety and oversight. Harlan highlights vaccine studies reportedly held back from publication and argues for greater scientific transparency; Howie reports on a deadly outbreak of Andes hantavirus aboard a cruise ship.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Medicine liver specialist Wolfram Goessling, who reflects on his experience surviving a rare cancer and how it reshaped his approach to patient care, communication, and leadership. Harlan discusses a Utah pilot program that is letting AI authorize prescription renewals, prompting alarm from physicians; Howie reports on a study challenging the effectiveness of a widely used knee procedure.

Howie and Harlan take on tough questions at the intersection of medicine and society. They trace the deadly history of anti-vaccine activism, unpack Yale’s report on trust in higher education, and explore the peptide craze. They also confront the rising moral distress among clinicians working in systems that too often prevent them from caring for patients the way they were trained to. Plus, student research assistant Tobias Liu stops by for a farewell conversation.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Stephen Latham, a Yale School of Medicine senior research scholar and the director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Stephen reflects on his journey to a career at the intersection of law and medicine, and explains why the legal definition of death is becoming less useful in an era of rapidly advancing medical technologies. Harlan unpacks recent analysis of smoking rates in the U.S.; Howie contextualizes recent accusations of Medicaid fraud in New York.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Medicine gastroenterologist Deborah Proctor, who reflects on her decades of work in Honduras and how her approach to service has shifted from short-term medical missions to sustained, community-driven partnership. Harlan reports on an AI breakthrough with implications for the security of healthcare systems; Howie marks National Public Health Week with a look at two centuries of major public health gains.

Howie and Harlan are joined by trauma surgeon Selwyn Rogers, who reflects on caring for victims of gun violence and speaking with families in their darkest moments—and explains why the problem must be understood as a shared societal responsibility. Harlan examines new evidence suggesting U.S. healthcare spending has grown more slowly than expected; Howie discusses a retracted Lancet article that highlights the risks of undisclosed conflicts of interest.