In the newest season of the Population Healthy podcast—Race, Equity, and Closing the Health Gap—we speak with researchers from around the University of Michigan School of Public Health and beyond to examine health inequities through the lens of race in America.

We begin our journey with an episode called Race and Health Equity in America, where we ask how we know these disparities exist, where researchers get data to examine race and ethnicity inequities, and why it is so important to understand and reduce health inequities.

As our experts say, to study the population’s health, we have to study those who experience the greatest burdens from disease—from their health care and disease management to employment, housing, education access, natural environments and other factors that affect their health. To treat disease and, better yet, to prevent it, we must understand that having great health care and even providing “access” to health care does not guarantee population health. Everyone in the population must know about their health care options, know how to use it, and have transportation, paid time off, and childcare so they can use their health care.