Explore the Pomegranate Health Podcast library
Browse all episodes below, starting with the most recent releases.
Latest episodes
[Contagious Conversations] Responding to vaccine hesitancy
Contagious Conversations is a new series brought to you by the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases. In this debut episode we hear about declining rates of participation in Australia’s National Immunisation Program and how health professionals can reinspire confidence in vaccines among parents of young children.
Ep146: Dealing with the next pandemic 2- lockdowns and human rights
While Australia’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most effective in the world it caused unintended social harms and lingering resentment in some parts of the community. In the second of two episodes we ask whether there even is a scientific answer to the cost-benefit calculus around lockdowns and school closures.
Ep145: Dealing with the next pandemic 1- border closures and vaccine mandates
Australia’s public health policies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic are estimated to have spared up to 50,000 lives up to December 2022, and vaccines probably saved three times as many again. Over two episodes we examine the efficacy and the social costs of various interventions, starting with border closures and vaccines.
[IMJ On-Air] Is the jury still out on omega-3 supplementation?
For many years now clinical guidelines have explicitly encouraged dietary intake of omega-3s fatty acids for those at high cardiovascular risk. Such recommendations come despite considerable inconsistency in the outcomes from interventions studies over the years.
Ep80: Healthcare in a Volatile Climate
Australia will warm by more than three degrees by the end of the century with a direct impact on heat-related morbidity. It will also experience more frequent natural disasters and the RACP is calling for national coordination to help the health care system adapt.
Ep73: Communicating a Pandemic
There are many layers of public health interventions that can reduce the rate of transmission of the novel coronavirus but you need you need the community on board to make a significant impact. In this podcast we discuss the challenges and strategies around messaging to the community during a time of such high anxiety.
Ep72: Modelling a Pandemic—Congress 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how hard it is to take decisions affecting the lives of millions when there is so little evidence to go on. Models of viral spread and interventions to mitigate these have become everyday discussion points, but few people understand how hard these are to put together.
Ep65: A New Script for Global Public Health
Intellectual property law has influenced pharmaceutical development and marketing for at least 25 years ago. But it’s not clear whether this is actually the best model for stimulating innovation and addressing the most important global health problems. Closer to home, we also discuss a solution to the jurisdictional conflicts in responding to the pandemic.
Ep64: Big Pharma and the People’s Vaccine
The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated a frenzy of vaccine development never seen before, but also examples of hoarding, price hikes and vaccine nationalism. We discuss where the intellectual property rules have come from and where exceptions are sometimes made for public health emergencies.
Ep63: the WHO’s Biggest Test
During the COVID-19 crisis there has been some criticism of the World Health Organisation as to whether it declared a pandemic soon enough or covered up for China’s failings. In this podcast we examine the role and responsibilities it shares with its member states and where the straining points have been.