Public Health On Call

On December 3, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative held its annual summit. This year, the theme really marked the moment: Advancing Public Health in Uncertain Political Times. In today’s episode, you’ll hear three conversations from the Summit about how public health can provide a roadmap for making needed progress. First: how public health data and evidence provide context for judicial decisions. Then, how a public health lens is helping to address the issue of gun violence. And finally, how to find common ground on mental health and addiction.

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• 2024 Bloomberg American Health Summit—YouTube
• Public Health At Work in Uncertain Times: A Recap of the 2024 Bloomberg American Health Summit
• Hopkins Judicial Health Notes
• What The White House Office of Gun Violence Has Accomplished In Its First Year—Everytown For Gun Safety
• Bipartisan Mental Health In Schools Excellence Act

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Mass shootings are very rare, but they receive a lot of media attention and have enormous social costs. Guest host Dr. Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy, talks with Dr. Jillian Peterson from Hamline University and Dr. James Densley from Metropolitan State University about The Violence Project, research that collects data about the life history of mass shooters and their psychological profiles. They discuss what they’ve learned, how this research can inform interventions, and why evidence suggests that many of the ways we’re currently trying to prevent violence are all wrong.

New CDC data shows that during the pandemic, gun-related homicides and suicides surged to record highs. Ari Davis, a researcher at the John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the spikes, some possible contributing factors, and effective public health solutions.

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As advocates from around the world gather at the International Conference on Family Planning in Thailand this week, what’s the state of global reproductive rights? Megan Christofield, a project director and advisor at JHPIEGO, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the accessibility and prevalence of contraceptive use worldwide, where gains have been made and where things have been stagnant or even backslid in the last decade, and some game-changing new contraception options that could help avert many more millions of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths.

Dr. Cass Crifasi, director of research and policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the deadly misperception that there’s nothing to be done about gun violence. They discuss what could have prevented this senseless tragedy—and what must be done to prevent further loss of life.