Health is Real
A fun and friendly public health podcast! We discuss real health topics with experts from around central Ohio!
Episodes
Class is in session today on Health is Real! Our own public health nurse Amy Crittenden stops by to talk about our back to school clinics and the importance of getting vaccinated. And later, who was your favorite teacher growing up? Since Amy is a former educator, we take a trip down memory lane to chat about some memorable teacher moments from our own lives, featuring answering machines, squirt guns and Dungeons and Dragons!
It's festival season, and we're headed to Westerville! First we attend the Westerville Music and Arts Festival and talk with Stacey Rusterholz from the Chamber of Commerce. Then we check out Fourth Friday and chat with some of the fine folks who help put on that event, including former Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi!
How does FCPH help with overdose prevention? We have two guests on the podcast today to talk about just that: First, Nick Black, an epidemiologist working on a drug sampling project to help find out what’s in the drug supply in Franklin County. And then we chat with Brittany Walling, who connects FCPH to many of our overdose prevention partners and makes sure they have the resources they need to be successful.
Today’s episode is all about real people, real stories, and real recovery! We welcome two great guests: first Dana Brock, he’s an advocate for our Recover for Life campaign and he has a truly amazing story and message of hope. And then we speak with Kirstin Buckner, founder of Uni5d Outcomes, which helps prevent future problems by connecting youth with positive role models and mentors. Two great conversations, you won&r...
We love taking the show on the road, and today we’re coming to you from the Statehouse in downtown Columbus! We're joined by two healthcare professionals who also happen to serve in state government: Representative Anita Somani and Senator Beth Liston! We ask them how they balance their roles and what their health priorities are as legislators. And we also talk about some of our favorite places in Franklin County, including r...
In this fun new series, we look at movies from a public health lens! In this episode we discuss 2005's "Waiting..." and chat about what we like about it and what we can learn from it. Joining us today is James D. Smith, FCPH's Food and School Safety Supervisor. You'll never guess how many health violations he found!
Let's reduce the burden of cancer in Ohio! Christin Brown from the American Oncology Network and our own Layla Abraham are here to discuss a statewide coalition called Ohio Partners for Cancer Control. And later, friend of the pod Mary Nern is back to talk about trending foods for summer, adult rec league soccer, and much more!
We talked with a professor on our last show, now it’s time to meet the students! We have two public health interns here to chat about their experiences working and studying, and what made them discover they wanted to be in the field of public health. We also play a fun Jeopardy game to test our Millennial and Gen-Z knowledge. And later, we welcome quite the "character" to Health is Real: Coach Ron Fast stops by to draw up a p...
Class is now in session! Our guest today is Rob Braun, Professor of Public Health at Otterbein University. He talks about what it’s like teaching the next generation of public health workers and how things have changed in the last few years. And later, which fruits and vegetables are trending right now? We debut our fun new "Learn with Nern" segment featuring healthy food expert Mary Nern.
A double dose of FCPH experts! First, we chat with Alex Jones about her role with infectious disease control and response, and we have some fun coming up with vaccines ideas to prevent some of humanity’s worst flaws! And later we speak with Mary Nern about healthy food access, and we share some healthy food options from every color in the rainbow.
No matter the season, our parks are a great place to improve your health! We love chatting with people who are passionate about what they do, and that’s exactly what we have today: Tim Moloney from Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks! We discuss the incredible health benefits of parks, the current Winter Hikes series and learn some of the best kept parks secrets right here in central Ohio!
The acronym of the day is CHAT! That stands for Community Health Action Teams, and our own Kevida Bowry is here to talk about what they do, the CHAT Summit happening this year, and some projects that you might recognize in your community. And later, we read some public health headlines including news about takeout food, measles in Ohio, and creative ways you can help your brain. We welcome a variety of fun voices to help us make se...
Happy New Year! Health is Real is starting off 2026 by chatting with Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola as well as Ken Wilson, the County Administrator for Franklin County Board of Commissioners. We learn a little about them, find out the biggest moments in Franklin County from the last year and look ahead to what’s happening in 2026.
OUR HOLIDAY SPECIAL! So much festive fun! We chat with our own Kristin Howard about the best and worst holiday music—get ready for some hot takes! Plus so much more: we have trivia, holiday party experts, bros, Bostonians, and plenty of ghosts. We even share an unforgettable Christmas song of our own!
Libraries offer so many public health benefits to our communities! Today we chat with two wonderful guests—Ben Zenitsky from Columbus Metropolitan Library and Katy Hite from the State Library of Ohio—about what’s going on at our local libraries and why literacy is so important. We also answer important questions like: If you had a biography written about you, what would the title be?
We have apps to find food trucks, so why not have an app to find mobile healthcare? Today’s guest Lauren Van Petten from Nationwide Children's Hospital has all the details about the new Mobile Health Locator app, how to access it and where it’s going in the future. And later, spooky season is a great time to talk about our biggest fears and look at some of the most common phobias, such as heights, snakes and...Spider Ma...
When we think of public health, we may not always consider the role that technology plays. Three of our IT experts, Sondra Burns, Nik Shipman, and DeAngela Watson join the podcast today to talk about protecting your digital health, keeping devices safe at home, and how AI factors in to public health. We even get a quick visit from our own unique AI chatbot! Later we discuss grilling, tailgating, and what old technology we still sta...
Today's guest, Josh Poland, is the stadium voice of the Columbus Crew as well as the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer with the city of New Albany! We discuss all the wonderful things happening in New Albany and Josh shares some of his favorite Columbus Crew stories! And later, we take a look back at our school days with talk of cornfields, Caligula, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
September is Emergency Preparedness Month and today we chat with our own expert Julio Reyes Gomez about how you can be prepared and the most important things you’ll need in an emergency. We also discuss what a certain 90s action movie can teach us about all this. And later: When were erasers added to pencils? It’s back to school trivia time so get ready for a pop quiz!
Did you know that Reynoldsburg, Ohio is the birthplace of the commercial tomato? Today we head to the Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival and speak with Mayor Joe Begeny about the big event and the long, proud tradition of throwing tomatoes at others. (That sounds like fun!) And later, what apps do you use the most? We look at the most popular apps in the country and decide that we should focus more on building real life connections. See ...
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