Winter Hiatus Episodes
December 2021 - January 2022
The Tradeoffs team is taking a few weeks off from producing new episodes. We’ll miss you, but we’re excited to have time to work on some exciting stories to share with you in 2022.
In the coming weeks, we’ll share a few of our favorite stories from 2021 and a few episodes from other podcasts we think you’ll like. You can stream those episodes and learn more about them below.
We’ll still be producing our weekly newsletter (except for on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31), so subscribe now to get our unique blend of health policy news, pop culture picks and recipe recommendations.
December 2: Playbook Deep Dive
POLITICO’s Playbook Deep Dive takes listeners behind the scenes of the policies and policymakers shaping decisions coming out of Washington D.C.
In this episode, POLITICO Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with senior staff writer Ruby Cramer about her reporting on how President Joe Biden’s Catholic faith has influenced his views on abortion.
Listen to the episode below, and you can learn more in Ruby Cramer’s story for POLITICO Magazine.
December 9: Best Health Care Podcasts of 2021
In our second annual “Best Of” episode, we talk with other health care podcast hosts to share a few of the top health care podcast stories of the year.
This year, we talked with Bapu Jena, MD, PhD, of Freakonomics, MD; Kimberly Seals Allers of Birthright; Maiken Scott of The Pulse and Celine Gounder, MD, of American Diagnosis and Epidemic.
Listen to the episode below, and visit the episode page for more recommendations from our guests, the Tradeoffs team, and a full transcript.
December 16: An Arm and a Leg
Like Tradeoffs, An Arm and a Leg tells stories about our complicated health care system.
In this episode, host Dan Weissmann tells the story of an engineer who worked for Boeing for more than 30 years. When he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, he needed surgery, but his insurance denied the claim. That’s when his wife called Laurie Todd, the Insurance Warrior.
Listen to the episode below, and you can learn more and read a full transcript on An Arm and a Leg‘s website.
December 23: Health Care's Ransomware Wake-Up Call
Ransomware attacks against health care organizations have been on the rise throughout the pandemic, and hospitals especially are increasingly worried these attacks could harm patients. This fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on a lawsuit that could prove to be the first case of a ransomware attack leading to a patient’s death.
This week, we’re revisiting our July episode “Health Care’s Ransomware Wake-Up Call,” which digs into why health care has been behind the cybersecurity curve, how the industry is trying to close the gap, and we get keyboard-side seats to a ransomware negotiation.
Listen to the episode below, read a full transcript or learn more, including what it’s like to be a ransomware negotiator.
December 30: A New Era of Gun Violence Research
In 2020, U.S. cities saw the largest ever one-year spike in homicides, and Americans bought more guns than ever before. Though some cities saw those trends slow in 2021, others saw them worsen. In total, more than 40,000 Americans died from gun violence and suicide this year.
This week, we’re revisiting our April episode “A New Era of Gun Violence Research” profiling some of the researchers using the first new congressional funding for gun violence studies in more than 20 years to study solutions to this public health crisis.
Listen to the episode below, read a full transcript or learn more.
January 6: One Woman’s Year Surviving the Pandemic with a Disability
As the Omicron variant surges, stretching hospital capacity and infecting health care workers, people with disabilities are once again vulnerable. Studies from earlier in the pandemic found that some people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the U.S. were up to eight times more likely to die of COVID-19.
This week, we’re revisiting our 2021 episode “One Woman’s Year Surviving the Pandemic with a Disability” profiling the struggles, fears and silver linings experienced by a 31-year-old living with cerebral palsy during this public health crisis.
Listen to the episode below or read the transcript.