What policies actually move American health forward

Are Americans actually becoming less healthy?

That’s an idea that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been repeating for a while now. While there are some nuggets of truth in that – on the whole, American life expectancy has gone up a lot in Kennedy’s lifetime. So why does a backward-looking narrative serve his agenda? And what would actually move the needle forward on improving Americans’ health?

Brittany is joined by NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin to get into the nuances of what “healthy” means.

Want more about modern health? Check out these episodes:
The difference between losing weight & being "healthy"
Exercise is more important than ever
Sex is pleasurable. It should feel safe too.

Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.

Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluse

For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub. 

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy