Alex Brummer— Here is something you are unlikely to have read about in the pandemic year. Of all the countries in the world fighting Covid-19, Britain, in spite of its chaotic response to the pandemic and high death count, has done more than most countries on earth to meet the challenge
William C. Summers— Historical discourse on the development of non-Western countries is overwhelmingly framed in terms of colonialism and its aftermath. This is especially true in the case of medicine and public health. The role and conception of health and sickness have been invoked as central to both modernization and
Frank M. Snowden— Health care is key in the forthcoming US election, with polls indicating that the American people regard the issue—in tandem with the economy—as their top priority. Voters are seriously anxious about current provisions of care and worried about possible further efforts to undermine Obama’s Affordable Care Act. In
Kevin Siena— Every year my undergraduates are surprised to learn that 50-100 million people died a century ago during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918–20. We can probably thank the stunning success of twentieth-century biomedicine for this particular episode of historical amnesia. Generations of North Americans raised in relative security
Noelle Gallagher— By the word Nose, throughout all this long chapter of noses, and in every other part of my work, where the word Nose occurs, I declare, by that word I mean a Nose, and nothing more, or less. So claims the eccentric hero of Laurence Sterne’s wildly popular
Big ticket items like kidneys, livers, and hearts aren’t the only things that can be extracted from you after death. A look inside the cadaver trade and its shadowy history.
Naomi Pfeffer— The existence of for-profit cadaver purveyors is no secret. Yet, it remains a largely invisible issue. Naomi Pfeffer’s thought-provoking work documents the history, politics, and ethics of the cadaver part trade in the United States and Britain as well as the incredible profits made from unpaid—and often unwitting—sources.
Rachael Coakley— Jessica started her freshman year of high school in great spirts. Then, in early October, she began to get daily headaches after school. Her headaches typically began around 4 PM and persisted through the evening making it difficult for her to complete homework. When Jessica couldn’t finish assignments
Abraham Nussbaum, author of The Finest Traditions of My Calling, discusses why the medical field could be a little more personal and shares stories from his own experiences as a physician.
Abraham Nussbaum— Physicians are used to asking questions—Where does it hurt? How long has it been bothering you? Did you mean to stick that up there?—but when a patient is seeking a new physician, she needs to ask her own questions. The healthcare industry encourages patients to ask questions—Where did