NPR's Short Wave podcast: Will artificial intelligence help — or hurt — medicine?

 "A doctor's job is to help patients. With that help, often comes lots and lots of paperwork. That's where some startups are betting artificial intelligence may come in. The hope is that chatbots could generate data like treatment plans that would let doctors spend less time on paperwork and more time with their patients. But some academics warn biases and errors could hurt patients."

What we can learn from a chinchilla named Dumptruck

When I first saw the title of this book, "Laziness does not exist", I thought maybe it had been written by a former NFL player with a go, go, go philosophy. I was pleasantly surprised to learn it isn't a celebration of working/playing until you fall down, but a reframing of the necessity and benefits of not thinking of our lives and the hours in our day in terms of productivity.

Where does Dumptruck the chinchilla come in? The author's pet inspired him. Hear more in the NPR news story embedded below. 

"I think animals help us remember that we shouldn't have to earn our right to exist. We're fine and beautiful and completely lovable when we're just sitting on the couch just breathing. And if we can feel that way about animals that we love and about, you know, relatives that we love, people in our lives who we never judged by their productive capacity, then we can start thinking of ourselves that way, too."

For you MLA members, a Be Well MLA  event next week will be discussing this title (Wednesday, 12/14 at 1 pm CST).  

Why Some Of Us Enjoy The Pain Of Spicy Foods (Short Wave podcast from NPR)

Short Wave, a daily science podcast from NPR, is one of my new favorite things to listen to. 

Check out this recent episode on why some people love spicy foods...even when they cause pain! 

Dr. Jen Gunter on TED Radio Hour: Body Talk

Jen Gunter was the keynote speaker at 2020's Joint Conference of Midwest and Midcontinental's MLA chapters. She recently made an appearance on NPR's TED Radio Hour. 

Jen Gunter: Body Talk

What does it mean to be healthy and to care for our bodies? Physician and writer Jen Gunter empowers us to cut through false medical claims and make informed decisions about our health.