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The Checkup: A Chicago Health Podcast

The Checkup: A Chicago Health Podcast

By: Chicago Health Magazine
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About this listen

Go in-depth with Chicago-area medical pros and community leaders you can trust.

Hear directly from the doctors, researchers, and healthcare workers that make Chicago a medical leader, in conversation with Chicago Health’s editorial team. You’ll hear from cardiologists on longevity, researchers on news overload, and our own editors and journalists on why we cover the stories we do. All to give you the context, so you can sort through the noise and make more informed decisions that impact your health and keep you ahead as an industry leader.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • Nutrition and the Body
    Jan 26 2026

    The foods we eat have a significant impact on how we live — from heart disease and cancer to brain and hormonal health. And our audience loves to learn about these connections. In this episode, we go behind the scenes with a look at how we decided on and developed our fall/winter 2025/2026 issue theme: nutrition and the body. During an uncertain time in our society, when much feels out of our control, we use this issue to focus on the choices we can control: the foods we eat. Yet, there are also choices our broader food systems make for us, often contributing to health issues. Hear how we used this issue to examine all aspects of health, through a food lens.

    Guest:

    Katie Scarlett Brandt, editor-in-chief of Chicago Health and Caregiving magazines

    Related reading:

    Fall/Winter 2025/2026 issue: Nutrition and the Body

    Individual stories:

    • Nourishing the Mind, Body, and Beyond
    • Nutrition at a Glance
    • Hormones in Menopause
    • Menopause Meal Plan
    • What's in a Diet?
    • Healing Foods
    • Supplements, Superfoods, and Snake Oil
    • Food Insecurity in Chicago
    • Weight Loss Drug Revolution
    Show More Show Less
    7 mins
  • Extending the Human Lifespan
    Dec 15 2025

    The longest living human ever recorded made it to 122 years old. Is that age a fantasy for most, or an increasingly realistic possibility? In this episode, we explore the ethics of aging, impacts on aging, and what the future may hold — from research on biological vs. chronological age, to risk factors in our control.

    Guest:

    Douglas Vaughn, MD, cardiologist and director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute at Northwestern Medicine

    Related reading:

    Background story: Live Long and Prosper

    Past coverage:

    • The Face of 100
    • Life in a Blue Zone
    • A Centenarian's Sentiments
    • Searching for Longevity?

    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
  • Coping with News Overwhelm
    Nov 17 2025

    What makes people vulnerable to news overwhelm? How can we stay grounded amidst the media chaos — and avoid polarization? Chicago Health contributor Dan Dean talks with media researchers about medical misinformation and disinformation, and how to protect your mental health during a stressful news cycle.

    Guests:

    • Stephanie Lynn Edgerly, PhD, Professor, Associate Dean of Research, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University
    • David N. Rapp, PhD, Walter Dill Scott Professor, School of Education and Social Policy & Department of Psychology, Northwestern University

    Related reading:

    • Background story: How to Stay Calm in a Stressful News Cycle
    • Past coverage: Health Disinformation Abounds Online
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
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