Latest Episodes
Now for the work
November 10, 2020
- 33:12
Abdul reflects on the outcome of the election in the context of the COVID19 pandemic. Then he interviews Kaiser Health News Journalists...
#46, insha’Allah
November 3, 2020
- 53:35
Abdul talks about voting as a public health intervention. Then he interviews Rep. Rashida Tlaib about the consequences of this election...
The pandemic vote
October 27, 2020
- 27:24
Abdul talks about how America’s precarious healthcare system isn’t ready for this next COVID-19 surge. Then he interviews Ben Wikler,...
About The Show
The coronavirus is now a global pandemic. How did we get here? What went wrong? What do we do about it now? In season 2, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and former city health commissioner, will keep you updated on what you need to know about COVID-19, what led us to this crisis in the first place, and what policies can lead us out. New episodes of America Dissected: Coronavirus every Tuesday & Friday.
More Episodes
Now for the work
November 10, 2020
- 33:12
Abdul reflects on the outcome of the election in the context of the COVID19 pandemic. Then he interviews Kaiser Health News Journalists...
#46, insha’Allah
November 3, 2020
- 53:35
Abdul talks about voting as a public health intervention. Then he interviews Rep. Rashida Tlaib about the consequences of this election...
The pandemic vote
October 27, 2020
- 27:24
Abdul talks about how America’s precarious healthcare system isn’t ready for this next COVID-19 surge. Then he interviews Ben Wikler,...
Organizing against pandemic fatigue
October 20, 2020
- 37:09
Abdul talks about the COVID19 surge we’re facing right now. Then he interviews Shaniqua McClendon, Crooked Media’s Political Director,...
The Stakes in November
October 13, 2020
- 28:19
Abdul reflects on the absurdly high stakes of November’s election for the future of COVID19. Then he interviews Andrew Joseph, a...
Science always wins with Bill Nye (the Science Guy!)
October 6, 2020
- 37:51
Abdul reflects on Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis and its implications for the fight against the pandemic. Then he interviews Bill Nye...
Hungry in a Pandemic
September 29, 2020
- 29:57
Abdul reflects on how policy making has to center the people we’re trying to support, and how sometimes it doesn’t. He also talks to...
200,000 and counting
September 22, 2020
- 31:24
Abdul reflects on the grim milestone of 200,000 deaths to COVID19. He talks to Carmen Rojas, President & CEO of the Margarite Casey...
The Sound of COVID-19
September 15, 2020
- 51:52
Abdul reflects on the way that COVID-19 has changed so much of the fabric of our lives, especially our relationship with music. He talks...
If we had a competent administration
September 8, 2020
- 33:43
Abdul reflects on the way that the Trump administration has simply ceded public health to politics. He then interviews Dr. Howard Koh, a...
We’re number 31!
September 1, 2020
- 45:36
Abdul speaks with an American who just moved to New Zealand about the different approaches to COVID19 in both countries, and then...
Going home to school?
August 25, 2020
- 37:54
Abdul considers the risks of going “back” to in-person learning at schools and colleges and interviews President M. Roy Wilson, of Wayne...
Epidemiology is hard to do
August 18, 2020
- 39:03
Abdul talks about the challenges of doing science in real time during a pandemic and interviews Prof. Kerry Keyes, an epidemiology...
A shot in the arm?
August 11, 2020
- 49:18
Abdul walks through the state of a COVID-19 vaccine and speaks with pro-vaccine activist Ethan Lindenberger about how online...
Environmental Justice & COVID19
August 4, 2020
- 27:54
Abdul talks about how COVID19 interacts with the environment and discusses Environmental Justice with Catherine Flowers, a leading...
The COVID Crystal Ball
July 28, 2020
- 30:34
Abdul discusses the critical need for legislation to support a country reeling from COVID19 and sits down with Prof. Michael Osterholm,...
Playing through a pandemic
July 21, 2020
- 26:17
Abdul talks about the interplay between coronavirus and our culture and then talks to Michael Baumann, staff writer at The Ringer, about...
Dr. Fauci
July 14, 2020
- 28:03
Abdul reflects on the challenge of public messaging in a pandemic and then talks to Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s COVID-communicator-in-chief.
Coronavirus Containment Corps
July 7, 2020
- 25:57
Abdul reflects on how COVID19 is challenging us to meet our ideals as Americans. Then he chats with Congressman Andy Levin about his...
WHO’s pandemic is it, anyway?
June 30, 2020
- 27:35
Abdul discusses the surging cases of COVID19 in several states and nationwide, as well as the startling increase in transmission...
The Virus in the Coronavirus
June 23, 2020
- 26:22
Abdul discusses the odd biology of viruses. He catches up with virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen about the biology of the coronavirus, and...
The Covid Recession
June 16, 2020
- 28:15
Abdul discusses the economic consequences of COVID. He catches up with Dr. Tara Sinclair, a macroeconomist, about the future ahead of us.
Protesting in a pandemic.
June 9, 2020
- 29:18
Abdul discusses the public health consequences of the #GeorgeFloyd protests. We speak with Cary Junior II, an audio producer at the...
Going Viral in a Pandemic
June 2, 2020
- 29:09
Abdul discusses the lynching of George Floyd in the context of COVID19 and reflects on the way that social media has changed our...
The meaning of 100,000
May 29, 2020
- 36:03
Abdul reflects on what it means that 100,000 Americans have now died of COVID19. He interviews Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Reverend Jill...
Is It Safe To Come Out?
May 26, 2020
- 33:09
Abdul breaks down the dangers of opening up too early for public health--and the economy. He talks to Commissioner Rita Nieves of the...
COVID in Indian Country
May 22, 2020
- 34:58
Abdul talks to Navajo National Council Delegate Carl Slater about why Navajo Nation faces one of the worst COVID19 outbreaks in America....
Ebola should have prepared us
May 19, 2020
- 33:26
Abdul breaks down the similarities--and differences--between COVID19 and Ebola. He interviews Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency doctor in...
COVID and the classroom
May 15, 2020
- 25:28
Abdul talks to a third-grader, who's currently attending school remotely, about what it’s like to do home school during the pandemic....
COVID without papers
May 12, 2020
- 31:46
Abdul dissects how politics is a part of public health—and how our federal political leadership has gotten in the way of every step of...
COVID without Borders
May 8, 2020
- 33:19
Abdul dissects how COVID19 is forcing us to deal with how interconnected our world is, whether we like it or not. Then he speaks with...
Don’t declare victory just yet
May 5, 2020
- 31:36
Abdul looks at why stay home orders still matter. He'll talk with Dr. Jason Bae, who spent 10 days in the Queens at the peak of COVID19,...
Andrew Yang and the COVID Basic Income
May 1, 2020
- 34:51
Listeners share what they’re doing with their $1200 checks and then Abdul dissects how a check can be a powerful anti-COVID19 public...
Homelessness, Incarceration, and COVID19
April 28, 2020
- 32:46
Abdul looks at recent studies on people infected with coronavirus, and then talks about people who are among those most at risk for the...
Medicare-for-COVID with Senator Bernie Sanders
April 24, 2020
- 31:41
Abdul talks with Senator Bernie Sanders about Congress’s most recent COVID19 relief package and how the country might have responded if...
Viruses don’t discriminate ... people do.
April 21, 2020
- 29:07
Recently the CDC released a study that revealed that while African Americans make up only 13% of the population of the United States,...
Testing 1, 2, 3! Why we STILL need testing
April 17, 2020
- 27:36
Abdul dissects the scenarios we have for getting out of social distancing and why we still need COVID19 testing. Later he interviews Dr....
COVID and Big Pharma
April 14, 2020
- 28:19
The drug hydroxycholoroquine has been all over the news because President Trump and other claim, without scientific evidence, that its a...
Going the Distance: COVID-19 and Mental Health
April 10, 2020
- 28:14
Abdul dissects the unequal burden of COVID-19 by race, chats with Dr. Sarah Jukaku, a psychiatrist, who also happens to be his wife,...
The economy after COVID-19
April 7, 2020
- 26:21
Abdul talks to a local bookstore owner about going online after COVID and dissects how this will influence the economy. And Prof. Tara...
Open for Business: Toilet Paper and Disaster Capitalism
April 3, 2020
- 23:47
Abdul dissects how hospitals are struggling under the surge of COVID patients, while writer Naomi Klein joins us to talk about the...
Emergency Room: A dispatch from the Front Lines
March 31, 2020
- 25:02
As doctors, nurses, and hospital staff do battle on the front lines, how is the growing pandemic affecting these people and how are they...
Life Support: Congress and COVID (with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal)
March 27, 2020
- 24:29
This week the Senate passed a historic, $2 trillion stimulus bill aimed at easing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The...
The Tweetment: Why Science Matters Now
March 24, 2020
- 25:55
Host Abdul El-Sayed dissects the claim of a possible cure for COVID-19, and then we talk to Dr. Alison Galvani, an epidemiologist and...
Plandemic: How the World is Treating Coronavirus
March 20, 2020
- 26:36
Abdul dissects the news of a vaccine, the concept of “flattening the curve,” and the notion of herd immunity. Ben Rhodes, former Deputy...
A Public/Private Health Emergency
March 17, 2020
- 29:56
Abdul dissects President Trump’s State of Emergency Declaration and the true number of cases in America. And we explore how the American...
It's a Pandemic, Now What?
March 13, 2020
- 11:46
The Coronavirus is now a global pandemic. How did we get here? What went wrong? What do we do about it now? Twice a week, Dr. Abdul...
Healthcare Dissected pt 2: Medicare-for-who?
November 18, 2019
- 28:50
Do you ever go to a bakery and become utterly paralyzed by all the possibilities in the display case? A chocolate chip muffin sounds...
Healthcare Dissected pt 1: "Nobody Knew Healthcare Could Be So Complicated"
November 18, 2019
- 28:15
Throughout this series, we’ve considered how the straining relationship between science and government has led to a variety of public...
Cradle And All
November 11, 2019
- 23:43
Today, many of us can take it for granted that our grandparents will live through our childhood— and that our children might get to meet...
Unleaded
November 4, 2019
- 34:37
The Flint Water Crisis dominated national headlines when it emerged in 2016—focusing national attention on the hazards of lead...
All the Lonely People, Where Do They All Belong?
October 28, 2019
- 28:46
We all spend time, money, and energy to "take care of ourselves." We exercise, eat right, and meditate. But what if we can't actually do...
A Tale of Two Crises: Opiates vs. Crack
October 21, 2019
- 25:05
The Opioid Crisis has wreaked havoc across America, taking lives and devastating families, neighborhoods, and communities. But this...
Superbugging Out
October 14, 2019
- 29:18
Winter means snow, cuddly rom-coms...and brutal head colds. Nothing a little Z-Pak won’t fix...WRONG. That’s exactly what the superbugs...
Pharmageddon
October 7, 2019
- 29:00
American scientists are on the leading edge of drug research and development—often funded by taxpayer dollars. So why are we overpaying...
The Anti-anti-vax-vaccine
September 30, 2019
- 34:40
We almost eradicated measles in the U.S., but anti-vaxxers had to go and ruin it for everyone. WTF? Dr. Abdul El-Sayed walks us through...
Quack To The Future
September 30, 2019
- 30:19
Traditional science-based medicine has some gaps—but what happens when grifters and scammers take advantage? Dr. Abdul El-Sayed leads us...
America Dissected with Abdul El-Sayed (coming September 30th)
September 20, 2019
- 02:15
From celebrities who hate vaccines to politicians who hate Obamacare - the mistrust, fake news, sensationalism, and social media...