One of the remarkable things about the pandemic was how it gave us a chance to re-consider just about everything. Suddenly health wasn’t something we were expected to address as individuals, in consult with credentialed doctors. Health was something we had to do as a society. Our office spaces were a health issue. Stopping evictions was a health issue. Delivering financial relief was a health issue. Setting up mutual aid networks was a health issue. As a lot of us started trying to learn more ab
out everything from the mechanics of the human immune system to the statistical tools of epidemiology, we were also learning a lot about how the pre-existing conditions in our society were creating highly unequal death tolls in a crisis. Our next two guests spent some of that time and space writing a sweeping reflection on the way health breaks down — and how it might work better.
- Rupa Marya, professor of medicine at UCSF, and co-founder of the Do No Harm Coalition;
- Raj Patel, research professor of public affairs, and professor of nutrition at the University of Texas at Austin
They’ve co-authored the new book Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice