Over the past few weeks I’ve been re-reading some of my own work and reflecting on a theme threading between three pieces: the energy balance conundrum. The first of the three pieces is Stanley Ulijaszek and my review of obesity policy in the UK. We reviewed obesity policies themselves, as well as the cultural contexts…
I stumbled across Kevin Hazzard’s book “American Sirens” after listening to the 99% Invisible podcast episode on the Freedom House Ambulance Service. It was an excellent stumble. Can you even imagine a time before ambulances, CPR, emergency medicine? When the assumption about emergencies was that patients had to be moved as fast as possible to…
As I develop a new body of work around chronic inflammation, I’ve been going back to a lot of the basics, including to the history of homeostasis. As a result, I’m currently reading the biographies and key works of Walter Cannon, Claude Bernard, and their families. There are surprisingly many books on the list. Cannon…
I love reading two books at once, and bringing them into conversation with each other. I don’t always choose pairings deliberately; with this pairing it was simply because they arrived at the same time. Together, they made for a powerful read about women and health. “The Doctors Blackwell: How two pioneering sisters brought medicine to…