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- UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
The 30 Minute Stories
These deepen understanding of the root causes of disease, render
visible the pathways by which social conditions affect physiology, and
bring viewers face to face with innovative initiatives for health
equity.
Bad Sugar (wt)
This episode travels to the O’odham Indian reservations of southern Arizona which are marked by the dubious distinction of perhaps the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the world. There we explore a re-conceptualization of chronic disease as the body’s response to ‘futurelessness,’ a condition arising from decades of poverty, oppression and historical trauma. We look at the prospects for a new approach that places a community taking control of its own destiny as fundamental to regaining health.
Place Matters (wt)
Recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving increasingly into what have been neglected black urban neighborhoods—and now their health is being eroded too. What policies and investment decisions create neighborhood environments that can harm—or enhance—the health of residents. And what actions can make a difference?
When the Bough Breaks (wt)
African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as white Americans. African American mothers with graduate degrees face the same risk of having pre-term, low birth-weight babies as white high school drop-outs. Researchers investigating possible causes are circling in on evidence pointing to the chronic stress of racism over the life-course as an added risk factor that can become embedded in the body.
Is America Making Us Sick? (wt)
Recent Mexican immigrants, though poorer, tend to be healthier than the average American. But the longer they’re here, the worse their relative health becomes even as their socio-economic status improves. This is known as the “Hispanic Paradox.” Is there something about life in America that is harming their health? Conversely, what is protective about new immigrant communities that we can all learn from? We travel to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the mushroom capitol of the U.S., to find out.
More Than a Paycheck (wt)
How does employment policy and job insecurity affect our health? Residents of western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and an uptick in heart disease and diabetes when the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a Swedish company, where shutdowns, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign events, for some even an opportunity. Why the difference?
Specks on a Map (wt)
Patterns of uneven development mark the Pacific islands and diabetes, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, even tuberculosis, are taking a growing toll on our Pacific Islander populations. Many end up in Honolulu--with too few facilities, doctors, or beds--and no money. How much longer can our health system take the strain? Isn’t it time to intervene “upstream”?
Bad Sugar (wt)
This episode travels to the O’odham Indian reservations of southern Arizona which are marked by the dubious distinction of perhaps the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the world. There we explore a re-conceptualization of chronic disease as the body’s response to ‘futurelessness,’ a condition arising from decades of poverty, oppression and historical trauma. We look at the prospects for a new approach that places a community taking control of its own destiny as fundamental to regaining health.
Place Matters (wt)
Recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving increasingly into what have been neglected black urban neighborhoods—and now their health is being eroded too. What policies and investment decisions create neighborhood environments that can harm—or enhance—the health of residents. And what actions can make a difference?
When the Bough Breaks (wt)
African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as white Americans. African American mothers with graduate degrees face the same risk of having pre-term, low birth-weight babies as white high school drop-outs. Researchers investigating possible causes are circling in on evidence pointing to the chronic stress of racism over the life-course as an added risk factor that can become embedded in the body.
Is America Making Us Sick? (wt)
Recent Mexican immigrants, though poorer, tend to be healthier than the average American. But the longer they’re here, the worse their relative health becomes even as their socio-economic status improves. This is known as the “Hispanic Paradox.” Is there something about life in America that is harming their health? Conversely, what is protective about new immigrant communities that we can all learn from? We travel to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the mushroom capitol of the U.S., to find out.
More Than a Paycheck (wt)
How does employment policy and job insecurity affect our health? Residents of western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and an uptick in heart disease and diabetes when the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a Swedish company, where shutdowns, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign events, for some even an opportunity. Why the difference?
Specks on a Map (wt)
Patterns of uneven development mark the Pacific islands and diabetes, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, even tuberculosis, are taking a growing toll on our Pacific Islander populations. Many end up in Honolulu--with too few facilities, doctors, or beds--and no money. How much longer can our health system take the strain? Isn’t it time to intervene “upstream”?