704: Blitzed! The Medical, Societal, and Economic Consequences of Football

704: Blitzed! The Medical, Societal, and Economic Consequences of Football

America loves it. But does it love America back? Courtney and Annalisa (Cornell ‘29) discuss the ramifications of a society that glorifies football and minimizes its detrimental effects. Produced and Edited by Courtney Cole and Annalisa Raji Special thanks to the Investigative Biology Lab @ Cornell University for our recording equipment  Music from Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio Sources: What is CTE? Understanding chronic traumatic encephalopathy – Harvard Health [https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-is-cte-understanding-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy] Chronic traumatic encephalopathy – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370921?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=f359f31bc43111f0836804950a82b832&cm_mmc=CJ-_-100357191-_-5250933-_-Evergreen+Link+for+Mayo+Clinic+Diet&utm_source=cj&utm_content=100357191&utm_capaign=3-months] The Neuropathology of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy – PMC [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4526170/] Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in young athletes | National Institutes of Health (NIH) [https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-young-athletes] Franchise Value of National Football League Teams in 2025 – Statista [https://www.statista.com/statistics/193534/franchise-value-of-national-football-league-teams-in-2010/?srsltid=AfmBOooFdx-lKn7r56xY_ISbwOKs1v4pFjTgoKPrq9VDAZXSMXKJl4YB] American Football – Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/sports/American-football] NFL Dominates American Entertainment – Forbes [https://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2014/02/04/nfl-dominates-american-entertainment/] Injury Data Since 2015 – NFL [https://www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/health-and-wellness/injury-data/injury-data] Nine Decades After NFL Banned Black Players, Super Bowl LVII Is The First To Feature Two Black Starting Quarterbacks – National Urban League [https://nul.org/news/nine-decades-after-nfl-banned-black-players-super-bowl-lvii-first-feature-two-black-starting] Discrimination in a Rank Order Contest. Evidence from the NFL Draft – IZA Institute of Labor Economics [https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/15473/discrimination-in-a-rank-order-contest-evidence-from-the-nfl-draft] The story behind the sports betting boom – NPR [https://www.npr.org/2023/04/06/1168349259/the-story-behind-the-sports-betting-boom] Football players and image rights — are clubs and brands profiting unfairly? – Brabners [https://www.brabners.com/insights/sport/football-players-and-image-rights-are-clubs-and-brands-profiting-unfairly] 2022 NFL Personal Conduct Policy – NFL [https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/Departments/Salary-Cap-Agent-Admin/2022-NFL-Personal-Conduct-Policy.pdf] The NFL’s ‘take a knee’ movement and its impact on workplace protest – CU Boulder Today [https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/09/14/nfls-take-knee-movement-and-its-impact-workplace-protest] How NFL Uniforms Have Changed Over the Years – Men’s Health [https://www.menshealth.com/style/g23301501/nfl-uniforms-history/] Uniform Inspections – NFL Football Operations [https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/pre-game/uniform-inspections/] NFL to allow Guardian Caps on helmets during regular season – ESPN [https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40031598/nfl-allow-guardian-caps-helmets-regular-season] How The NFL Is Advancing Player Health And Safety – NFL [https://nflps.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NFL-Fact-Sheet-Health-and-Safety-9.2018-1.pdf] The post 704: Blitzed! The Medical, Societal, and Economic Consequences of Football [https://stateofthepod.com/2025/12/10/704-blitzed-the-medical-societal-and-economic-consequences-of-football/] first appeared on State of the Pod [https://stateofthepod.com].

703: The $10 Billion Question: How OBBBA Is Reshaping Healthcare

$10 billion is cut from Medicaid each year, leaving around 10 million people uninsured. These outcomes correlate with the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA. What are the policy changes enacted by OBBBA, and how are these policy changes affecting millions of people insured on the publicly-funded Medicaid? What will happen if the reforms are put into practice too late? This episode will dive into the details of these policy changes, emphasizing potential pros and cons of OBBBA on the U.S. healthcare system – as well as how they affect both Medicaid beneficiaries and private insurees alike. Listeners will walk away with a newfound understanding of the interconnectedness of the U.S. healthcare system – how even the smallest policy alterations can have a widespread, indirect impact on everyone.  Written by Shane Douglas, Rma Polce, Ayrina Lopez & Skye Romo. Produced and Edited by Ayrina Lopez, Shane Douglas & Rma Polce.  Special thanks to the Investigative Biology Lab @ Cornell University for our recording equipment  Music from Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio  References: Baldwin CPAs. “Understanding the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on healthcare taxation and business planning,” Baldwin CPAs, September 9, 2025, https://www.baldwincpas.com/insights/how-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-impacts-healthcare-taxes [https://www.baldwincpas.com/insights/how-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-impacts-healthcare-taxes]. CDC. “Preventing chronic diseases and promoting health in rural communities,” Centers for Disease Control, December 19, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/health-equity-chronic-disease/health-equity-rural-communities/index.html [https://www.cdc.gov/health-equity-chronic-disease/health-equity-rural-communities/index.html] FOX 5 Washington DC. “How does the Big Beautiful Bill affect Medicare,” FOX 5 Washington DC, July 6, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vtk7G5Ov0g [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vtk7G5Ov0g]. Gorman L. “Variations in public and private insurers’ hospital reimbursements,” National Bureau of Economic Research, September 1, 2025, https://www.nber.org/digest/sep20/variation-public-and-private-insurers-hospital-reimbursements?page=1&perPage=50 [https://www.nber.org/digest/sep20/variation-public-and-private-insurers-hospital-reimbursements?page=1&perPage=50]. Haley MJ, et al. “Medicaid work requirements could threaten parents’ and children’s coverage and well-being,” Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, May 19, 2025, https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/05/19/medicaid-work-requirements-could-threaten-parents-and-childrens-coverage-and-well-being/ [https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/05/19/medicaid-work-requirements-could-threaten-parents-and-childrens-coverage-and-well-being/]. Morrisey AM. Health Insurance, Second Edition. Health Administration Press; 2013. https://account.ache.org/iweb/upload/Morrisey2253_Chapter_1-3b5f4e08.pdf [https://account.ache.org/iweb/upload/Morrisey2253_Chapter_1-3b5f4e08.pdf]. NAMD Staff. “OBBBA Medicaid Policy Timeline,” National Association of Medicaid Directors, August 12, 2025, https://medicaiddirectors.org/resource/obbba-medicaid-policy-timeline/ [https://medicaiddirectors.org/resource/obbba-medicaid-policy-timeline/]. Pillai D, et al. “1.4 million lawfully present immigrants are expected to lose health expected to lose health coverage due to the 2025 tax and budget law,” KFF, September 25, 2025, https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/1-4-million-lawfully-present-immigrants-are-expected-to-lose-health-coverage-due-to-the-2025-tax-and-budget-law/ [https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/1-4-million-lawfully-present-immigrants-are-expected-to-lose-health-coverage-due-to-the-2025-tax-and-budget-law/]. The Board of Trustees, Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds. “2025 Medicare Trustees Report,” 2025 Medicare Trustees Report, June 18, 2025, https://www.cms.gov/oact/tr/2025 [https://www.cms.gov/oact/tr/2025]. The Committee for Responsible Federal Budget. “OBBBA would accelerate social security & Medicare insolvency,” The Committee for Responsible Federal Budget, June 27, 2025, https://www.crfb.org/blogs/obbba-would-accelerate-social-security-medicare-insolvency#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Social%20Security%20and%20Medicare,benefits%20by%20roughly%20$30%20billion%20per%20year [https://www.crfb.org/blogs/obbba-would-accelerate-social-security-medicare-insolvency#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Social%20Security%20and%20Medicare,benefits%20by%20roughly%20$30%20billion%20per%20year]. Tolbert J & Chidambaram P. “Cost sharing requirements could have implications for Medicaid expansion enrollees with higher health care needs,” KFF, June 27, 2025, https://www.kff.org/medicaid/cost-sharing-requirements-could-have-implications-for-medicaid-expansion-enrollees-with-higher-health-care-needs/#:~:text=The%20bill%20would%2C%20for%20the,enrollee%20is%20unable%20to%20pay [https://www.kff.org/medicaid/cost-sharing-requirements-could-have-implications-for-medicaid-expansion-enrollees-with-higher-health-care-needs/#:~:text=The%20bill%20would%2C%20for%20the,enrollee%20is%20unable%20to%20pay]. McGough, M., Wager , E., Winger, A., Panchal, N., & Cotter, L. (2024, December 20). How has U.S. spending on healthcare changed over time? Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-spending-healthcare-changed-time/ [https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-spending-healthcare-changed-time/] Brook, R. H., Keeler, E. B., Lohr, K. N., Newhouse, J. P., Ware, J. E., Rogers, W. H., Davies, A. R., Sherbourne, C. D., Goldberg, G. A., Camp, P., Kamberg, C., Leibowitz, A., Keesey, J., & Reboussin, D. (2006). The health insurance experiment: A classic rand study speaks to the current health care reform debate. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9174.html Fact sheet: Hospital mergers and acquisitions can expand and preserve access to care | aha. (2025, October 21). https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2023-03-16-fact-sheet-hospital-mergers-and-acquisitions-can-expand-and-preserve-access-care Nocera, S., & Zweifel, P. (1998). The demand for health: An empirical test of the grossman model using panel data. In P. Zweifel (Ed.), Health, the Medical Profession, and Regulation (pp. 35–49). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5681-7_2 Goodman-Bacon, Andrew. 2021. “The Long-Run Effects of Childhood Insurance Coverage: Medicaid Implementation, Adult Health, and Labor Market Outcomes.” American Economic Review 111 (8): 2550–93. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20171671 Sommers, Benjamin D., et al. “Medicaid Work Requirements In Arkansas: Two-Year Impacts On Coverage, Employment, And Affordability Of Care.” Health Affairs, vol. 39, no. 9, Sep. 2020, pp. 1522–30, https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00538 [https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00538]. “How Medicaid Built Community Health Centers And Health Centers Returned The Favor”, Health Affairs Forefront, July 31, 2025 . DOI: 10.1377/forefront.20250729.523547 The post 703: The $10 Billion Question: How OBBBA Is Reshaping Healthcare  [https://stateofthepod.com/2025/12/10/703-the-10-billion-question-how-obbba-is-reshaping-healthcare/] first appeared on State of the Pod [https://stateofthepod.com].

702: Bridging Cultures: The Art of Medicine

We live in a world with a myriad of cultures, which are integral to shaping our perspectives. From two books published at different times to differing reactions to healthcare across ethnic groups, we explore how our diverse cultures shape our viewpoints in fields like medicine. We also uncover the therapeutic aspects of art and how it can help us understand each other by celebrating our uniqueness and highlighting the universal human experience. This episode features a collaboration with Jonathan and Jeffery, our friends from the HeARTbeat at Cornell.  Produced by:  Rma Polce, Jeffery Ho, Jonathan Jiang Edited by:  Rma Polce  Special thanks to the Investigative Biology Lab @ Cornell University for our recording equipment  Intro and Outro Music from Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio  Calming music excerpt – Music track: Awake by Pufino, Source: https://freetouse.com/music/ Sources:  Art therapy as an adjuvant treatment for depression in elderly women: a randomized controlled trial. Ciasca EC, Ferreira RC, Santana CL, Forlenza OV, Dos Santos GD, Brum PS, Nunes PV. Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40:256–263. doi: 10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2250. Dimitroff, L. J., Sliwoski, L., O’Brien, S., & Nichols, L. W. (2016). Change your life through journaling—The benefits of journaling for registered nurses. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 7(2), p90. https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v7n2p90 Mcmath, A. (2023, April 19). The compelling impact of art therapy: 6 eye-opening statistics. Black Alphabet. https://www.blackalphabet.org/post/the-compelling-impact-of-art-therapy-6-eye-opening-statistics [https://www.blackalphabet.org/post/the-compelling-impact-of-art-therapy-6-eye-opening-statistics] Pham CT, McPhee SJ. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of breast and cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese women. J Cancer Educ. 1992 Winter;7(4):305-10.  PubMed PMID: 1305417. Visual Arts Education improves self-esteem for persons with dementia and reduces caregiver burden: a randomized controlled trial. Richards AG, Tietyen AC, Jicha GA, et al. Dementia (London) 2019;18:3130–3142. doi: 10.1177/1471301218769071. Schriever SH. Comparison of beliefs and practices of ethnic Viet and Lao Hmong concerning illness, healing, death and mourning: implications for hospice care with refugees in Canada. J Palliat Care. 1990 Spring;6(1):42-9. PubMed PMID: 2332823. Shukla A, Choudhari SG, Gaidhane AM, Quazi Syed Z. Role of Art Therapy in the Promotion of Mental Health: A Critical Review. Cureus. 2022 Aug 15;14(8):e28026. doi: 10.7759/cureus.28026. PMID: 36134083; PMCID: PMC9472646. Author special: A q&a with brené brown. (2025). https://blog.booksamillion.com/posts/author-special-a-q-a-with-brene-brown [https://blog.booksamillion.com/posts/author-special-a-q-a-with-brene-brown] https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/QuantitativeReport_MentalHealthWell-BeingSurvey_Fall2020.pdf https://ethnomed.org/resource/breast-cancer-in-asian-women/# The post 702: Bridging Cultures: The Art of Medicine [https://stateofthepod.com/2025/12/08/702-bridging-cultures-the-art-of-medicine/] first appeared on State of the Pod [https://stateofthepod.com].

701: Tracked, Flagged, Filtered: How AI Decides What You See (and What You Don’t)

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool; it’s an observer. In this episode, we uncover how AI-driven surveillance and content moderation shape public life across governments, campuses, and the platforms we use every day. From China’s massive “A.I.+ Action Plan” to U.S. immigration tools like Mobile Fortify and Palantir’s ImmigrationOS, we explore how algorithms track behavior, flag speech, and generate decisions with real human consequences. But AI’s reach doesn’t stop at borders. It’s built through global supply chains, deployed on college campuses, and embedded in social media moderation systems that determine what we see, and what gets quietly removed. As these technologies become the invisible infrastructure of daily life, the boundary between “safety” and “censorship” grows increasingly blurred. Join us as we ask the big questions: Who gets protected, who gets silenced, and who gets to define what counts as “harmful,” “suspicious,” or “un-American”? And what kind of digital future do we want to build? Produced by: Hope Cross-Jaya and Skye Romo Edited by: Hope Cross-Jaya  Special thanks to the Investigative Biology Lab @ Cornell University for our recording equipment  Intro and Outro Music from Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio Sources: [1] The New York Times. “China – Surveillance State or Way of the Future?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSU_Xes3GQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSU_Xes3GQ] [2] The New York Times. “How China’s Surveillance Is Growing More Invasive | Visual Investigations.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_FM3mjBCY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_FM3mjBCY] [3] Vice News. “Should Americans Worry About Mass Surveillance in the U.S.?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4WikiabOXg [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4WikiabOXg] [4] The New York Times. “China’s Security State Sells an A.I. Dream.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/world/asia/china-police-ai-surveillance.html [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/world/asia/china-police-ai-surveillance.html] [5] PBS / Frontline. “Life Inside China’s Total Surveillance State.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ5LnY21Hgc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ5LnY21Hgc] [6] Associated Press. “How U.S. Tech Enabled China’s Surveillance State.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvKp0VsvuNA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvKp0VsvuNA] [7] Vice News. “Exposing the NSA’s Mass Surveillance of Americans.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYVm62oEyWA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYVm62oEyWA] [8] DW News. “AI Supremacy: The Artificial Intelligence Battle Between China, USA, and Europe.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le122vas9aM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le122vas9aM] [9] Associated Press. “U.S. Tech Helped Build China’s Surveillance State Despite Warnings.” https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-trump-administration-congress-21c5f961b1fd22f9a9e563ebe64e5582 [https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-trump-administration-congress-21c5f961b1fd22f9a9e563ebe64e5582] [10] Reuters. “Labor Unions Sue U.S. Over Monitoring Social Media of Visa Holders.” https://www.reuters.com/world/us/labor-unions-sue-us-over-monitoring-social-media-visa-holders-2025-10-16/ [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/labor-unions-sue-us-over-monitoring-social-media-visa-holders-2025-10-16/] [11] American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “Face Recognition and the ‘Trump Terror’: A Marriage Made in Hell.” https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/ice-face-recognition [https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/ice-face-recognition] [12] American Immigration Council. “ICE to Use ImmigrationOS by Palantir, a New AI System, to Track Immigrants’ Movements.” https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrationos-palantir-ai-track-immigrants/ [https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrationos-palantir-ai-track-immigrants/] [13] U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement – AI Use Cases.” https://www.dhs.gov/ai/use-case-inventory/ice [https://www.dhs.gov/ai/use-case-inventory/ice] [14] Brookings Institution. “How Tech Powers Immigration Enforcement.” https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-tech-powers-immigration-enforcement/ [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-tech-powers-immigration-enforcement/] [15] Brookings Institution. “How AI Can Enable Public Surveillance.” https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-ai-can-enable-public-surveillance/ [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-ai-can-enable-public-surveillance/] [16] Brookings Institution. “Creating Equitable Standards for Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology.” https://www.brookings.edu/articles/creating-equitable-standards-for-federal-use-of-facial-recognition-technology/ [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/creating-equitable-standards-for-federal-use-of-facial-recognition-technology/] [17] Brookings Institution. “How Technology Is Altering Citizen Protests.” https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-technology-is-altering-citizen-protests/ [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-technology-is-altering-citizen-protests/] Interview taken from: Vice News. “Should Americans Worry About Mass Surveillance in the U.S.?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4WikiabOXg [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4WikiabOXg] The post 701: Tracked, Flagged, Filtered: How AI Decides What You See (and What You Don’t) [https://stateofthepod.com/2025/12/08/701-tracked-flagged-filtered-how-ai-decides-what-you-see-and-what-you-dont/] first appeared on State of the Pod [https://stateofthepod.com].

609: Who Wants to Live Forever?: What it Means to Age in the 21st Century

Is the fountain of youth finally in our grasp? From fictitious movies to ancient mythologies, the desire for immortality has permeated almost every facet of human society. Today, an increasingly powerful anti-aging industry has instilled the idea that growing old is undesirable. But does living longer really mean living better? Join us as we dive into the sociological and ethical implications of treating aging as a disease to be cured. Produced: Emily Hart, Sayuri Pfeiffer, Julian Park, Gargi Rao The post 609: Who Wants to Live Forever?: What it Means to Age in the 21st Century [https://stateofthepod.com/2024/05/04/609-who-wants-to-live-forever-what-it-means-to-age-in-the-21st-century/] first appeared on State of the Pod [https://stateofthepod.com].