Health is Real
A fun and friendly public health podcast! We discuss real health topics with experts from around central Ohio!
Episodes
41 episodes
Getting Real About Recovery
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...
Statehouse Check Up
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...
Public Health at the Movies! "Waiting..."
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 S...
Ohio Partners for Cancer Control
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 ...
The Future of Public Health (Part 2!)
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 h...
The Future of Public Health
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. An...
Prevention and Wellness + Healthy Food Access
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 Mar...
Touching Grass, One Park at a Time
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 d...
Let's Have a CHAT
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 l...
Franklin County Year in Review
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 ...
Holiday O Rama 2025
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....
Take a Look, It's in a Book
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...
Health on the Move
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...
Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?
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 devi...
One of the Crew
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...
Be Prepared (for everything!)
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...
Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival
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....
Active Living + Old Wives' Tales
We’re all about active living! Our own Natalie Martin stops by to chat about being an Active Living Coordinator, what all is involved in public health education, and some of the projects she’s most proud of. And we can’t talk about active livin...
Carry Naloxone!
It’s so important to be educated about the disease of addiction. Today we’re joined by Victoria Shields, our Naloxone Education & Distribution Coordinator, to chat about Naloxone, some misconceptions about addiction, and how the landscape a...
The Rivals Come to Town
We Ohioans love our sports, and there’s a big in-state rivalry in soccer between Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati! Today we welcome Health Commissioners from Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Grant Mussman and Greg Kesterman, to chat about the fri...
The Franklin County Crisis Care Center
Our guests today are Jonathan Thomas from ADAMH and Beth Plummer from Recovery Innovations, who discuss the new Franklin County Crisis Care Center! What is it? Who’s it for? And how is it different from going to a hospital? We also chat about h...
Community Health Workers: Not All Heroes Wear Capes
CHW Day is June 6th! Today we chat with our expert, Devon Abdon, about his journey to public health. He discusses what a Community Health Worker does and how he remains optimistic in the face of challenges. And because CHWs are modern day super...
Keeping Your Water Clean + Ideas for Festival Season!
Water quality affects everyone! Expert Alyssa Suto is here to talk about what she does for the residents of Franklin County, and also discusses the difference between filtered water, tap water, and bottled water. Also, let's get ready for festi...
The Asian Festival
The Asian Festival is coming up! Today’s guest is Dr. Greg Lam from Ohio Health, the Ohio Asian American Health Coalition & the Asian Festival Corporation. We talk about all the upcoming events celebrating AAPI Heritage Month including drag...
Maternal Health + Best Restaurant Slogans
Have you heard about Beautiful Beginnings? It’s a home visiting program for new families offering safe sleep education, postpartum care, and more. Today we’re joined by public health nurse supervisor Breana Francis to learn more and chat about ...