Prognosis: Losing it
275 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★ - 372 ratingsFor much of human history, we’ve turned to diets to lose weight and improve our health. But it’s mostly been in vain. No matter how much the number on the scale drops begins to go down, chances are that the weight will come back. That’s just what the science says. But when it comes to weight, the facts just don’t seem to matter. Losing It, a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis, looks at how we got weight loss so wrong — and whether there’s a better way forward.
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Episodes
The Latin American Country That's Beating Covid
July 20, 2020 20:25 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBThe small South American nation of Uruguay is best known for its grass-fed beef and Atlantic beaches. But the country of 3.5 million people has another distinction: It seems to have dodged the worst of the Covid-19 outbreak despite being nestled between hotspot countries. The country has seen just 1,000 or so cases since the pandemic began, and only 33 deaths. Ken Parks reports the reasons may have as much to do with its policies from years past, as its present day virus response. See omnys...
The First Vaccine May Not Be the Best
July 17, 2020 19:29 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBAn experimental Covid vaccine from Australia joined almost two dozen candidates in clinical trials this week. Development-wise, it’s months behind some of the frontrunners. Jason Gale explains that speed isn’t everything when it comes to fighting the pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Introducing: Blood River, A New Podcast From Bloomberg
July 16, 2020 21:00 - 3 minutes - 3.49 MBThe killers of Berta Caceres had every reason to believe they’d get away with murder. More than 100 other environmental activists in Honduras had been killed in the previous five years, yet almost no one had been punished for the crimes. Bloomberg’s Blood River follows a four-year quest to find her killers – a twisting trail that leads into the country’s circles of power. Blood River premieres on July 27. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Story Behind the Six Foot Rule
July 15, 2020 21:44 - 13 minutes - 12 MBWhile wearing a mask, or refusing to wear one, has become politicized, there’s one Covid safety measure we seem to be comparatively united about: Everyone knows they should stand six feet away from other people in public. But where did this guidance come from? Kristen V. Brown reports that one simple number is already changing our behavior, and will soon change the places where we live, work and play. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New Ways to Catch the Virus
July 13, 2020 21:21 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBWe’re learning more about how the virus that causes Covid-19 is spread from person to person. For the most part, it happens when we’re in close contact with an infected person, who emits tiny liquid particles by coughing, sneezing, speaking or singing. You get sick by inhaling the droplets, or having them travel into your ears or nose. But researchers are looking at another way it may be transmitted. Jason Gale reports that virus-laden aerosols, floating in gas clouds, might be capable of in...
Excruciating Choices For Schools
July 10, 2020 20:26 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBWith the start of school fast approaching, institutions from elementary schools to colleges are rushing to reinvent themselves for the coronavirus era. Some are shifting to a mix of in-person and virtual classes. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pushing schools to reopen completely, regardless of safety. Emma Court reports that as schools become the latest political touchpoint in the Covid crisis, there are far more questions than answers about how to keep classrooms safe. See omnystu...
Virus Treatment Is Changing
July 08, 2020 20:13 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBIn the almost 200 days since coronavirus cases were first reported in central China, health workers and researchers have raced to learn more about the brand new pathogen. As many as 1,000 Covid-19-related research papers are being released daily. Jason Gale reports that the research, and the experience of front-line health care workers, is informing better ways to diagnose, prevent and treat the disease. That’s helping to save lives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Unemployed, Uninsured and Falling Through the Cracks
July 06, 2020 20:12 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBAs a second Coronavirus wave threatens America, a wave of job losses since the disease first hit has left millions without health insurance. Reade Pickert explains that in other developed economies, the newly unemployed could rely on systems of universal health care. In America, they’ve had to navigate a bewildering menu of options to figure out if they have access to a patched-together safety net. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Divided America Feeds the Crisis
July 03, 2020 16:00 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBThe U.S. is home to the highest number of Covid-19 cases—2.6 million and counting—and the most deaths. The reasons for that are at least, in part, very American ones: Politicized science, a fragmented media landscape, and inequality. Executive Editor Brian Bremner reflects on how decades of political division have made the country a coronavirus superpower in the worst way--an outcome that was entirely avoidable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Deaths Seem to Drop as Cases Rise
July 01, 2020 20:04 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBCoronavirus continues its terrifying rampage of large swaths of the country. But the Trump administration has made a point of mentioning that even while cases are rising, deaths are declining. That disconnect is, he says, proof the Covid-19 pandemic is under control. But the mismatch could be an anomaly caused by quirks in how deaths data is collected and reported. It's not necessarily a sign the coronavirus is becoming less lethal or easier to treat. Robert Langreth and Emma Court report th...
Learning to Love Big Pharma
June 29, 2020 21:26 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBGilead Sciences announced today that it will charge the U.S. government and other developed countries $390 per vial for its coronavirus-fighting drug remdesivir. That begins to answer a big question as drug companies race to find treatments and develop vaccines for the virus: How much will it cost us? But Riley Griffin and Emma Court report that the Pharmaceutical industry is hoping Covid-19 will give it a chance to rebrand; and get the focus off drug prices. See omnystudio.com/listener for...
Keeping Elderly Patients Safe
June 26, 2020 20:21 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBAround the world, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have been a hotbed for Covid-19 outbreaks. Because older people are particularly vulnerable, the facilities have had some of the deadliest outcomes during the pandemic. But some nursing homes have done much better than others at containing the virus. Angelica LaVito reports on a Seattle-area assisted living company that learned the lessons of the pandemic early, and has managed to keep outbreaks from raging out of control. See o...
What Happened in Houston
June 25, 2020 21:33 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBIn Houston, Texas, new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging. Some experts expect the virus outbreak to swamp the city’s medical infrastructure by July 4th. Emma Court and Joe Carroll report that if cases keep rising at their current pace in Harris County, which includes Houston, they will triple or quadruple by mid-July. The city’s hospital system may not be able to manage the crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
These Gadgets Know You're Sick Before You Do
June 24, 2020 20:34 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBThe NBA is giving players the option to wear a device that tracks their health data when basketball games begin this July. The device - called an Oura Ring - can measure things like the body’s temperature and heart rate. The hope is that it could provide the league with early warning signs that someone may have contracted an illness like COVID-19. Bloomberg reporter Kristen V. Brown reports that the move is part of a larger conversation about whether or not wearable technology like a Fitbit ...
The Next Two Years of the Virus
June 23, 2020 21:03 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBMore than six months into a shape-shifting pandemic that’s killed more than 454,000 people worldwide, it’s clear we are losing the battle against the outbreak. Most experts believe an effective vaccine won’t be ready until well into 2021. So how do we adjust our thinking from beating the virus, to coexisting with it? Michelle Fay Cortez discusses the next phase of the virus, and what public health professionals say we have to do to survive it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...
History's Lessons for Our Post-Virus Future
June 22, 2020 20:55 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBAs soon as the Coronavirus became a pandemic, people began making parallels to the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, and reaching even further back to the black death of the middle ages. It makes sense--past pandemics may be our only reference point for whole populations being stricken with illness. But they can also tell us a lot about how economies recover after outbreaks. From the Odd Lots podcast, Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal talk to Jamie Catherwood, an expert in finance history, about ...
How to Spot a Fake Mask
June 19, 2020 20:20 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBIf there’s one simple technology that has come to the forefront during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s the face mask. Special masks called respirators are designed to prevent doctors and nurses from catching the virus when they treat infected people. But not all respirators do what they’re labelled to. Fakes and shoddy products abound. And you can’t always tell how many particles a mask can filter just by looking at it. Naomi Kresge reported on how you catch a fake mask – and the lengths one ...
The New Superbug Threat
June 18, 2020 20:19 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBLong before the Covid pandemic, another global health disaster was brewing, threatening to kill millions of people annually. Superbugs – germs even our most potent antibiotics can’t defeat – pose a massive challenge to human health and wellbeing. The coronavirus, of course, isn’t stopped by antibiotics, which target bacteria. Even so, antibiotics have been used liberally for Covid-19 patients. Jason Gale reports that could worsen the superbug crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Should You Take an Antibody Test?
June 17, 2020 20:38 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBIt’s now relatively easy to get tested to see if you carry the antibodies for Covid-19. Urgent Care centers and many doctor’s offices are offering the tests widely. But the science is still out on whether or not people who have had Covid-19 become immune to it. Not to mention the possibility that the test you take may not be accurate. Reporter Kristen V. Brown tries to answer the question: is it worth taking the test at all? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Virus Explodes in Latin America
June 16, 2020 20:02 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBAs the pandemic spreads around the world, new hotspots are emerging. Coronavirus is spiking in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere, and health experts have called Latin America the new epicenter of the pandemic. But the impact has been uneven. Some countries have successfully slowed the rate of new infections; others see that rate continuing to climb. Jason Gale spoke with the World Health Organization’s top official for the Americas to find out what makes some populations especially vulnerab...
Welcome to the Second Wave
June 15, 2020 21:13 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBCovid-19 is on the rise around the country. Texas and Florida, two of the most populous U.S. states, reported record numbers of new infections on Sunday. The recent surge in those states and others has led public-health officials to worry that reopening the economy has come at too grave a cost. What's clear is that between reopening policies, weariness with staying home, and large protests around the country, Americans are moving around and interacting more than they have in months. Emma Cou...
The Effect of Quarantine on Kids
June 12, 2020 21:11 - 10 minutes - 9.43 MBWhen the country went into lockdown this spring, it forced kids to adapt to a new life at home. The adjustment for them--and their parents -- has been huge. Experts still aren’t sure what will happen in the upcoming school year, meaning kids could be living in quarantine for much longer. Kristen V. Brown reports on what we how children are coping with the virus so far. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The New Threat to Mexico's Failing Hospitals
June 11, 2020 21:09 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBThe coronavirus is hitting Latin America in ways unseen in the developed world. In Mexico, Covid-19 is savaging a health care system that was already inadequate. Doctors and nurses in Mexico say they lack masks and gloves. Hospitals are at 80% capacity in Mexico City. More than 20,000 health care workers have caught the virus. Nacha Cattan reports on what happens when a crisis hits a system that was unprepared, and underfunded, in the best of times. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...
Understanding Silent Spreaders
June 10, 2020 20:54 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBA top World Health Organization official sparked a controversy earlier this week when she said cases of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 spreading the virus are "very rare.” She later clarified her remarks. That provided a moment to explore the debate over so-called silent spreaders -- people who don't get sick after they're infected with the virus -- and their role in its transmission. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why COVID-19 Lingers
June 09, 2020 20:41 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBNever in the modern scientific era have so many people been infected with the same virus in such a short period of time. For many survivors of coronavirus, symptoms hang on for weeks or even months. Bloomberg senior editor Jason Gale reports on efforts for finding ways to prevent such cases of post-Covid-19 illness in the future. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Truth About Hydroxychloroquine
June 08, 2020 21:38 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBThe controversial drug is back in the news. In the early days of the pandemic, President Trump and some doctors touted it as an effective treatment. But studies soon discredited the treatment. Now, in an unexpected twist, some research papers dismissing the drug have also been thrown in doubt. So how useful is Hydroxychloroquine and how reliable are the reviews we rely on to assess a drug's safety? Laura Carlson speaks to Bloomberg reporters Michelle Cortez and Robert Langreth for answers. ...
Madrid's Bittersweet Spring
June 05, 2020 21:22 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBMadrid was one of Europe’s hardest hit cities by the coronavirus, but now it's coming back to life. We explore how the reopening is going as Bloomberg reporter Jeannette Neumann talks to owners of some of the hundreds of bars, restaurants, and hotels that dot the city. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Will Protests Spread The Virus?
June 04, 2020 20:28 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBSocial distancing has been the guiding principle in how to open up the U.S. amid the pandemic. But no one could have foreseen the densely-packed protests after George Floyd’s death in police custody. Could the protests now set off a new wave of infections? Bloomberg’s Michelle Cortez spoke to scientists about that possibility. What they have to say is not reassuring. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Will Anyone Be Able to Afford Covid Drugs?
June 03, 2020 21:20 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBSenate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley insists that the long-delayed drug-price bill he is co-sponsoring will get a vote this year. Grassley worries that if the bill doesn't pass, drugmakers will charge whatever they want for Covid-19 related drugs. But drug lobbyists are counting on the coronavirus making drug pricing reform obsolete. Emma Court and Riley Griffin spoke to Senator Grassley about the bill. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why New York Got Hit So Hard
June 02, 2020 20:27 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBAt least 21,000 New Yorkers are dead from Covid-19, with a few dozen added to the city’s count every day. The city’s deaths are 10 times those of Los Angeles County’s. They’ve surpassed the 16,000 lives lost in Italy’s hard-hit Lombardy region. Drew Armstrong reviewed the statements of experts, officials, and politicians to better understand the root causes of New York City’s devastating outbreak. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Canine Virus Detection System
June 01, 2020 21:24 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBDogs have long had a positive link with human health. Science has shown that the benefits of dog ownership extend from reducing the risk of schizophrenia to improving cardiovascular health. But Jason Gale reports they may have other, untapped powers to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Plus: How coronavirus created the conditions for the recent nationwide protests. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Heat Really Does to the Virus
May 29, 2020 20:49 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MBScientists and politicians have wondered for months whether the coronavirus would diminish, if not disappear entirely, over the summer. As the weather heats up in the Northern Hemisphere, and cools down in the Southern part of the world Jason Gale talked to one of America’s most respected public health experts to understand the facts about the virus in warm weather. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A New Vaccine Frontrunner
May 28, 2020 21:23 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBAs competitors publicly entered the race to produce a vaccine, drug giant Merck stayed quiet about its development plans. Now, the company has revealed it’s working on two vaccines and a treatment pill -- emerging as a frontrunner in the development contest. Although the company has refused to give firm timelines for its research, it has pledged to make its vaccines and pill available globally, if they're successful. Riley Griffin talked with Merck Chief Executive Kenneth C. Frazier about th...
How Many People Have Really Died?
May 27, 2020 20:33 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBSo far, more than 300,000 people globally are known to have died because of the coronavirus. The U.S. is fast approaching the grim milestone of 100,000 fatalities. And as shocking as those numbers are, experts believe there are actually many more deaths we’re not counting. We need to understand how fast, and in what groups, mortality is rising, in order to fine-tune the policies that govern our response to the virus. Jason Gale reports that experts are looking past the official count to find...
Virus Hunting With the 'Pirate CDC'
May 26, 2020 21:10 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MBKnowing how many people are being tested for coronavirus is essential for getting an accurate picture of the spread of the virus. But the government hasn’t readily provided this data. Instead, experts, media outlets and even the Trump administration have turned to a surprising source for these numbers: A volunteer effort by a team of journalists, called the Covid Tracking Project. Emma Court reports on what we're learning from the project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Home Run Approach
May 25, 2020 08:00 - 9 minutes - 9.02 MBThere's an innovative, but risky way we could speed up development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Some scientists argue we should intentionally infect volunteers with the coronavirus to get a vaccine sooner. How would it work? Today's special episode is a collaboration with Tradeoffs, a podcast about our costly, complicated and counter-intuitive health care system. Tradeoffs' Dan Gorenstein explores how scientists could ethically and safely infect people to speed up the fight against COVID-19. Subs...
The Home Run Approach
May 25, 2020 08:00 - 12 minutesThere's an innovative, but risky way we could speed up development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Some scientists argue we should intentionally infect volunteers with the coronavirus to get a vaccine sooner. How would it work? Today's special episode is a collaboration with Tradeoffs, a podcast about our costly, complicated and counter-intuitive health care system. Tradeoffs' Dan Gorenstein explores how scientists could ethically and safely infect people to speed up the fight against COVID-19. Subscr...
Curing Social Distance Fatigue
May 22, 2020 20:56 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBThere’s a growing public health argument about how people should calculate risk when it comes to social distancing. Many states are now lifting stay-at-home restrictions, summer is around the corner, and people in the third month of what many hoped would be a weeks-long disruption are desperate to visit friends and get outside. That means we will be socializing a lot more--in many cases, without clear guidelines as to what’s really risky. Kristen V. Brown reports that as we learn more about ...
The Dire Situation at U.S. Prisons
May 21, 2020 20:22 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBCalls continue to mount for the release of inmates at risk of COVID-19 infection as cases rise at correctional facilities across the country. So far, 70 percent of inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex, a low-security prison about 200 miles west of New Orleans, is one of the federal prisons hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Jordan Gass-Poore’ reports on what is being done to combat the spread of the d...
The Rise of Vaccine Nationalism
May 20, 2020 20:43 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBCovid-19 has sparked an unprecedented mobilization of researchers looking to create a drug that can stem the spread of the virus. Globally, drug developers are working on as many as 100 experimental vaccines. But as nations rush to ease lockdowns and restart economies, some countries seem to want to secure early supplies of a vaccine for themselves. James Paton reported on efforts to democratize international access to vaccines, and the dangers of creating immunization gaps. See omnystudio....
The True Origins of the Virus
May 19, 2020 20:17 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBThe Internet has been teeming with theories about the origin of the coronavirus. Scientists have been saying for more than three months that it most likely originated in a species of bat found in the south of China, and then managed to somehow jump into people. But alternative explanations have been floated. United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly blamed China, and specifically a laboratory in Wuhan that was researching dangerous viruses. Jason Gale talked to a World Heal...
The Virus Trackers
May 18, 2020 20:58 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBThe tedious and time-consuming practice of contact tracing is seen as an essential ingredient for suppressing the coronavirus around the world; but not every country has invested in it. The World Health Organization has praised Germany for its contact tracing practices. The country has about a quarter the deaths of neighboring France, despite a more flexible lockdown. Last weekend it continued its cautious move toward pandemic normalcy by letting restaurants re-open. Naomi Kresge reports on ...
Can The Aviation Industry Afford To Keep You Safe?
May 15, 2020 21:03 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBThe aviation industry is wrestling with ways to control the coronavirus and get people back to flying. Airports have seen a 90 percent drop in passengers since mid-March. But as states ease lockdown restrictions, more people are expected to fly. Airports today are starting to make changes in the hopes that passengers will be safer as they fly. Justin Bachman reports on what it looks like to fly during a pandemic, and how air travel may change going forward. See omnystudio.com/listener for p...
This Drug Maker Saw the Pandemic Coming
May 14, 2020 20:49 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBWhen Covid-19 hit, Gilead Sciences Inc. had enough of its experimental drug remdesivir ready to test and start manufacturing it at a larger scale. That's because it had started stockpiling not just the drug, but its ingredients, at the first hint there may be a new coronavirus. Robert Langreth reports on why the company was able to act early to prepare for a pandemic when so many businesses and institutions did not. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Scary Implications of 'Covid Toe'
May 13, 2020 20:31 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBAs Covid-19 infects more and more people, doctors around are learning that the coronavirus doesn’t just attack the lungs. The virus can cause kidney failure; send the body’s immune system into high gear; and lead to a range of clotting-related disorders. Jason Gale reports on how much more we have yet to learn about what the virus does to the body. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Your Quarantine Questions, Answered
May 12, 2020 20:28 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MBAfter months of sheltering in place, some people have begun looking for ways to get around some of the more onerous social distancing guidelines. That’s especially true as the weather warms up in the U.S. Bloomberg reporter Kristen V. Brown collected listener questions around social distancing etiquette, and brought them to an expert to clear up the confusion. If you have any more quarantine questions, give us a call at 646 324 3490. We may even play your voicemail on a future show. See omn...
New Fears About Kids Getting Sick
May 11, 2020 21:09 - 14 minutes - 13 MBLast week, a five-year-old boy in New York died from Covid-19-related complications. Dozens of other children are becoming sick with a similar cluster of symptoms that mirror a rare condition called Kawasaki disease. The accepted wisdom had been that children could transmit the virus, but not get sick from it. The new illness is throwing that assumption into question. Jason Gale talked to the world’s leading expert on Kawasaki disease to help unpack what is going on. See omnystudio.com/list...
Is the Virus Getting Worse?
May 08, 2020 21:00 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBLast week, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory released alarming news: At least one variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 had significantly mutated to become more contagious. If true, this would have major implications. A new variant could, for example, hamper efforts to develop a vaccine or mean that people who’ve already had Covid-19 might face a greater risk of getting it again. But critics said the data didn’t support such a big claim. Kristen V. Brown discusses what it...
The Problem With Antibody Tests
May 07, 2020 20:43 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBAntibody tests are suddenly everywhere. These tests are designed to determine whether someone contracted the virus in the past. They help policy makers understand how the virus spreads, and whether measures to contain the virus are working. Federal regulators relaxed guidelines to make it easier for companies to produce the tests, but this has allowed for a flood of unreliable--and sometimes fraudulent--tests to be offered to consumers. Now, Kristen V. Brown reports, the government is tryin...
Inside a Vaccine Clinical Trial
May 06, 2020 20:15 - 13 minutes - 12 MBDozens of research teams across the world are racing to deliver a vaccine for the coronavirus. Developing, testing and bringing a vaccine to market is a process that usually takes years, even decades. But that process is being ramped up to warp speed as the virus ravages the globe. A small group of volunteers is already receiving an experimental vaccine. Jason Gale spoke to one of them, and gives us a peek inside the fast-moving world of coronavirus vaccine development. See omnystudio.com/l...