A Mysterious Health Wave Is Breaking Out Across the U.S.

Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Ringer

News Commentary, News

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 27 December 2024

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why do Americans die younger than citizens of other rich countries? The most important reason is that life in America is inexcusably dangerous. The U.S. has more fatalities from gun violence, drug overdoses, and auto accidents than just about any other similarly rich nation, and its obesity rate is about 50 percent higher than the European average. Put this all together, and the U.S. is rightly considered a “rich death trap” for its young and middle-aged citizens. That’s the bad news. Now here’s the good news. In the past 12 months, quietly and without much media fanfare, the government reported that drug deaths declined, murders declined, traffic fatalities declined, and the standard measure of obesity declined. This inside straight of good news has never happened before in the 21st century—and perhaps decades before that. Today’s guest is Charles Fain Lehman. He’s a fellow at the Manhattan Institute whose expertise is unpacking complex trends in the most gruesome areas, like drugs, murder, and death, in America. Today, he explains why the U.S. seems to be experiencing a sort of mysterious health wave and whether we should expect it to last. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Charles Fain Lehman Producer: Devon Baroldi Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/violence-obesity-overdoses-health-covid/681079/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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1:15.5	Today, why are Americans so unhealthy?
1:21.2	It's a question lurking behind news headlines everywhere you look these days.
1:25.3	There's RFK Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement,
1:29.3	which has focused a lot of attention on the unhealthiness of American lifestyles and food systems.
1:35.3	And then there's the young man who killed the CEO of United Healthcare,
1:38.3	whose manifesto called out, among other things,
	...

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