December 25, 2024 — In so much of the news and public life today, humility seems to be in short supply. Hubris and cruelty are not. “It’s remarkable how often ambition becomes cruelty. In our self-delusion, we persuade ourselves that we’re not just right but that we’re so clearly right that opposition has to be rooted in arrogance and […]
December 4, 2022 — We have been living in an age of outrage for a while now. Blame it on politicians, social media, cancel culture, or whatever you like. But that impulse to assign the blame for it might be an indicator that we are suffering from a deficit of forgiveness. Writing in the New York Times, Timothy Keller […]
November 27, 2022 — A new systematic review prompts us to wonder once again, what is the point of public health interventions targeting obesity? Is it to nudge people toward desired behavior or is it health improvement? Sandrine Lioret and colleagues recently published a systematic review of efforts to improve behaviors or prevent obesity in children during their first […]
July 4, 2022 — We like to think of America as a place of mercy and grace. In America the Beautiful, Katharine Lee Bates calls on God to shed his grace on this country that celebrates its birth today. But reflecting on these words and current expressions of public values about health and wellbeing, we have to wonder. How […]
January 30, 2022 — You may have noticed. Evidence of skepticism, disagreement, and polarization is all around us. These phenomena are notably – sometimes disturbingly – present in dialogue about public health. We suppose that a pandemic puts stresses on people that explain some of this behavior. Healthy skepticism indeed is a good thing. Its roots lie in objectivity […]
April 1, 2021 — Let’s face it. We’ve had a year of suffering fools. So we’re taking a stand to favor the return of April Fools’ Day from its cancellation in pandemic times. If we can’t laugh at absurdity, or find a way to smile despite angst and suffering, then the future is bleak. Last year, April Fools’ pranks […]
