An examination of medical ethics and the practitioners who define them. Sign up to receive the Second Opinion topics in newsletter form at kcrw.com/newsletters .
Every medical injection you've ever received was safety-tested using the blue blood of a 450-million-year-old creature — and we're finally questioning whether that's worth their survival.
My patient Paul has been trying to stop his antidepressants for months, and what's keeping him trapped reveals a truth the medical community has been slow to acknowledge.
The flu is surging, vaccine recommendations just got gutted, and somehow we're being told to trust butter over science—here's why you should be worried.
When two of my patients faced serious health crises, their unexpected response taught me something profound about the science and practice of gratitude—lessons worth carrying into the new year.
What one culture calls mental illness, others call a divine gift.
The President's 'routine' MRI that cost $3,000 and no doctor recommends is a perfect example of how too much healthcare can be just as harmful as too little.
When veterinarians vaccinating goats in India discovered women were dying in childbirth along migration routes, the solution came from recognizing that herders already knew how to save lives—just not their own.
You're in the exam room. The person in the white coat says they're a doctor. But what kind of doctor? A federal court just decided that training matters more than free speech.
The pap smear has saved countless lives, but it's also dreaded by millions of women. Now there's an alternative that's easier, more private, and just as accurate.
What happens when the world's richest country tells its most vulnerable newcomers they're on their own for food?
Medicare Advantage covers more than half of seniors, but is it costing taxpayers billions and offering little advantage?
How did a pain pill that is only moderately effective and has murky side effects become America's 5th most prescribed drug?
A shortsighted H-1B fee increase will eliminate the international doctors millions of underserved Americans depend on, deepening healthcare inequality.
When his daughter wanted a tattoo, this dad conducted a 3,000-person study instead—here's what they found.
Tuberculosis kills more people worldwide than AIDS or malaria, even though we've had a cure for 50 years. One doctor learned from village healers in Uganda that you can't cure TB unless you first understand poverty.
The dramatic rise in autism diagnoses over the past 25 years is primarily a result of changes in the definition of the condition and increased screening, rather than the causes claimed by politicians like Trump and RFK Jr.
As healthcare prioritizes profits over people, doctors are organizing to reclaim their profession and protect patients
Afghan medical refugees watch helplessly as their earthquake-devastated homeland suffers without adequate healthcare, while America wastes their desperately needed expertise due to credential barriers during our own provider shortage.
Publishers profit billions by charging scientists to publish publicly-funded research that volunteers review for free.
Too many medical treatment choices overwhelm both patients and doctors, leading to worse decisions and greater dissatisfaction.
Despite COVID-19 mRNA vaccines being a Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough that saved millions of lives, political interference by RFK Jr. is now undermining this medical achievement just as COVID cases are rising again.
Medical professionals have a unique responsibility to prevent nuclear war, the ultimate public health catastrophe.
Young people globally are having fewer babies and creating aging populations, while surprising shifts in gender preferences are beginning to favor daughters over sons.
Testosterone treatment, sought after as a “foundation of youth,” has become a lucrative industry, fueled by extensive marketing with limited medical evidence.
Nearly 700 years ago the plague wiped out half of Europe. The genetic impacts are still present today.
What the White House failed to tell us
We expect that FDA-approved drugs have been shown to be safe and effective. But, that isn’t always the case.
Should a state have the authority to override a woman’s wishes regarding her body—not for her benefit, but for someone else’s?
It’s often hard to let go of traditions, but it's time to rethink the role of anatomy dissections.
Unhoused people lack safe bathroom access—an issue of public health, safety, and basic dignity we can no longer ignore.
