22 MAR 2023 · Working from home has its perks: Better coffee, easy commute, no fluorescent lighting. But, as any home office worker can tell you, there are also downsides: No more office social hours, no more ergonomic chairs, and no more quiet train rides to catch up on your podcasts. In this episode of the Better Off podcast, we’ll ask: Is working from home good or bad for our health?  Guestshttps://shine.sph.harvard.edu/people/eileen-mcneely/, Founder and Executive Director of https://shine.sph.harvard.edu/, the Health & Sustainability Initiative at the https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/. - Read a study by Eileen McNeely and SHINE researchers, exploring https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/594. - Read an article by Eileen McNeely discussing https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/business-a-platform-humans-flourishing-now-what-do-we-do https://directory.hsc.wvu.edu/Profile/75869, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at West Virginia University - Read a study by Bethany Barone Gibbs and other researchers who explored https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32947805/ CreditsHost/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Pamela Reynoso, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker

1 FEB 2023 · As COVID-19 swept through American prisons and jails in 2020, wardens scrambled to keep prisoners and corrections officers from getting sick. One strategy was to increase solitary confinement. Health experts warn that solitary confinement increases the risk of mental illness and suicide, but the practice continues. Today, about 2 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. In this episode of the Better Off podcast, we'll ask: Is it possible to build a corrections system that accounts for their health and safety? Guests:https://fxb.harvard.edu/leadership-faculty-staff-fellows/jasmine-graves-mph/, Ph.D. student, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/phdphs/ program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Healthhttps://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/51770, Assistant Professor in the https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/epidemiology/, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthCredits:Host/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Pamela Reynoso, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker

4 JAN 2023 · It’s estimated that half a million Americans are experiencing homelessness. Even a brief period of housing insecurity can make existing health issues worse, and bring up new physical and mental traumas. Doctors and nurses who help patients navigate these issues have a prescription: More housing, and more services. Is it possible to end chronic homelessness, even as eviction moratoriums end and rents increase? And is a housing-first model the best way to achieve that goal?Guests:https://www.homelesshouston.org/about-us, Vice President of Program Operations at Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris CountyKimberley Richardson, therapisthttps://fxb.harvard.edu/leadership-faculty-staff-fellows/margaret-sullivan/, family nurse practitioner, Boston Health Care for the Homeless and instructor and human rights fellow, FXB Center, Harvard UniversityCredits:Host/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Pamela Reynoso, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker

30 NOV 2022 · What does a plate of healthy food look like? Everyone has an opinion – from doctors to dieticians to wellness experts. But advice on what to eat often ignores a big factor in how and why we make meals: Culture. Americans who trace their heritage back to Latin America or Africa often get messages that discourage them from seeing their home foods as healthy. In this episode, we’ll ask: Are we better off when diet and nutrition advice is informed by culture?Guests:https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/profile/josiemer-mattei/, Donald and Sue Pritzker Associate Professor of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Healthhttps://yourlatinanutritionist.com/, registered dietician, Your Latina NutritionistCredits:Host/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker

16 NOV 2022 · Guests:  https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/profile/shruthi-mahalingaiah/, assistant professor of environmental reproductive and women's health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Healthhttps://www.hsph.harvard.edu/profile/tamarra-james-todd/, Mark and Catherine Winkler associate professor of environmental reproductive epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthVisit our website to learn more about our guests, and to find a full transcript.Credits:Host/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker

2 NOV 2022 · 40 million American homes cook their meals with natural gas. But most people don’t think of the little blue flame on their gas range as the end of a very long natural gas pipeline. New research shows that gas stoves pollute our indoor air, but Americans have yet to embrace alternatives, like induction stoves. In this episode, Better Off asks: When it comes to our health, are we better off giving up on natural gas?Guests:  https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/about/staff/drew/, senior scientist, PSE Healthy Energyhttps://rmi.org/people/brady-seals/, manager, Carbon-free Buildings Program, RMIhttps://www.youtube.com/c/ChefJonKung, chefVisit our website to learn more about our guests, and to find a full transcript.Credits:Host/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O'ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker

19 OCT 2022 · What makes a healthy home? In 2022, that question feels more important than ever. What are the right foods to eat? The least-toxic shampoos and sunscreens? The best way to prevent loneliness while working from home? On Season 2 of the Better Off podcast, we’ll look at the research behind some of those big questions. We’ll also ask what happens to our health when “home” is a tent encampment, or a 6x9 solitary jail cell.Through six new episodes, host Anna Fisher-Pinkert will talk to leading public health experts about the questions she’s had on her mind as a health communicator, a mom, and a person with more than a little skepticism about the things our culture tells us are “healthy.”Better Off: Home starts November 2. Subscribe to get episodes as soon as they drop. Visit http://hsph.me/better-off to learn more about this season.

12 APR 2022 · This episode was first released in December, 2020.Until the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us didn't think about indoor air very much, if at all. But healthy buildings expert Joseph Allen has been studying indoor air for years. He says that since we spend 90% of lives inside, we need to do more to make our offices, homes, and schools places where we can breathe easy.Guest: Joseph Allen, Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthFor a full transcript of this episode, visit our website. Subscribe to get new episodes of Better Off in your podcast feed every other Wednesday.Has your office, school, or apartment building made changes since the pandemic? How have those changes affected your health? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter and Instagram.Read more about Joseph Allen’s research along with all the latest news from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at http://hsph.harvard.edu/news.To read reports from Joseph Allen and his colleagues, visit http://forhealth.org.Music in this episode:Ketsa – SabreBlue Dot Sessions – MilkwoodBlue Dot Sessions – CalissonKetsa – Onwards Upwards

26 AUG 2021 · Eating disorders affect a population the size of the state of Texas, cost the economy tens of billions of dollars, and kill 10,000 Americans per year. If eating disorders are so common, expensive, and deadly, why don't we talk about them more? Bryn Austin, director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), says we need to start by getting rid of our "sticky" stereotypes about who is affected by eating disorders.Guest: S. Bryn Austin, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard Chan School, a faculty member at Boston Children's Hospital, and director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED).

2 AUG 2021 · During the earliest days of the pandemic, younger people were told to protect the older adults in their lives from COVID-19 by isolating at home. Concerns about the virus and pandemic restrictions have taken a toll on everyone's mental well-being. But it turns out that when it comes to mental health, older adults might actually be faring better than their children and grandchildren. On this episode of Better Off, aging and mental health expert Oliva Okereke explains why.Guest: Olivia Okereke, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/profile/olivia-ifeoma-okereke/, director of geriatric psychiatry in the department of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.For a full transcript of this episode, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/multimedia-article/better-off-okereke/. Subscribe to get new episodes of Better Off in your podcast feed every other Wednesday.Read more about Mary Bassett's work, as well as the latest news from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/.Music in this episode:Ketsa – SabreBlue Dot Sessions – Willow BelleBlue Dot Sessions – Selena LeicaBlue Dot Sessions – Trenton ChannelKetsa – Onwards Upwards