Whose knowledge is represented in our health research, policies, and practice? Who is heard, listened to and believed in our health system, and why? There are differences in not only whose perspectives are represented in society, but also what knowledge is valuable. On this episode of the Race & Health Podcast, we explore the concept of epistemic injustice: the idea that knowledge and systems of knowledge production favour the perspectives of those at the top of the social hierarchy. We...

In this episode, we shed light on how the social construction of race and its operators take a physiological toll of chronic exposure to racism. We'll discuss maternal and child health, the concept of race and biology, and how constant microaggressions, systemic inequalities, and overt discrimination can lead to a sustained state of stress that goes far beyond mere emotional distress. We will also explore recommendations for our listeners about where our efforts to apply anti-racism in our...

Populism has a big role in our health, informing and structuring policies that sharpen health inequities along racial and ethnic lines. This episode discusses how structural racism interacts with populist ideology and politics to create health inequities. How does historically divisive discourse and the political systems and institutions that grow from them reinforce inequities? Learn more about these issues with our guests Gustavo Andrey de Almeida Lopes Fernandes, Professor of Public Policy...

In this first episode of Series 3, we return to the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on minoritised communities, and across the global South. Ayoade Alakija, Chair of the African Vaccine Delivery Alliance, Kevin Fenton, Public Health Director for London, UK, and Kumanan Rasanathan, Executive Director at the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research will explore this issue by unpacking key themes of power and influence. Drawing from their experiences in public health...

Welcome back to the Race & Health Podcast. We're thrilled to kick off Series 3, where we continue our mission to explore the racism's impact on health. This Series, we're teaming up with The Lancet Voice to take closer look at themes from our work on the ⁠Lancet Series⁠ on racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and health. We will host a diverse array of experts, activists, and storytellers. We will take a deep dive into issues ranging from COVID-19, to history, to populism. Whether you're...

In this Series 2 finale, Envisioning Environmental Equity, we revisit interviews conducted at COP27. Part 2 of our COP27 Reflections is both a look back into the conference, and a review of the recent Bonn Climate Conference, and a look forward to COP28. Delan is joined by Sonora English, a Research Assistant at UCL and together, they process the perspectives of people from around the world as they hare their perspectives on the profound impact of climate change on public health and justice....

Last November, members of Race & Health attended COP27 to discuss the intersection between racism, colonialism, climate change, and health. In this special two-part episode, we discuss our reflections on this experience. In Part 1, speakers from our previous episode on young climate activists rejoin us for our milestone event to discuss their perspectives on COPs.  Jon Bonifacio is an activist, musician, National Coordinator at Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment, and former...

What is racism? How does it work and what impact does it have on our health?  On this special episode of the Race & Health Podcast, jointly hosted by The Lancet Voice, Delan joins co-Founder Sujitha Selvarajah, former UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Tendayi Achiume, and physician and medical anthropologist Gideon Lasco discuss their work on the Lancet Series on racism, xenophobia, discrimination and health. This Series draws connections between power, politics, colonialism, and our...

Trauma, grief, and mental health: climate change is disrupting our relationship with the environment as we know it, causing a sense of loss, sudden detachment, and depression - a set of experiences some refer to as solastalgia. In this episode of Race & Health, we discuss mental health and solastalgia with Land Body Ecologies (LBE), a research group that explores this concept with the Ogiek (Kenya), tribal communities in the buffer zone around the Bannerghatta National Park (India),...

Colonialism persists in many ways, including how waste is managed. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between waste colonialism, the climate crisis, and how these processes produce negative health outcomes for vulnerable communities predominantly in the global South. Join Alice Mah from the University of Warwick, Angelo Luow from Greenpeace, and Sonora English from Race & Health as they discuss how waste colonialism increases the production of plastic, the role of corporate...

The relationship between climate change and migration is complex. In this episode of the R&H Podcast, we discuss these complexities from an anti-discrimination perspective. How does racism, xenophobia, and discrimination define health inequalities in migrant communities, when does migrant status matter, and what can the health community do about this? Explore these questions with our guests, Báltica Cabieses, Maya Goodfellow, and R&H rep, Rita Issa, who brings expertise about migrant...

This episode explores how unequal health outcomes for minoritised communities are influenced by air pollution.Touching on causes and sources of air pollution, city design, measurement and research, Dr Anne Dorotheé Slovic from the University of São Paulo, Ms Lilian Latinwo-Olajide from Impact on Urban Health, and Dr Chetna Sharma from Race & Health discuss how structural racism is a driving force behind these unequal outcomes, and what climate justice means for our climate action in this...

In this first episode of the Envisioning Environmental Equity series, our host Delan Devakumar is joined by Race & Health representative Abi Deivanayagam, and external guests Mulindwa Moses, co-founder of CYE Believe, and Norly Mercado, Asia Regional Director at 350.org to discuss the meaning of “environmental justice”. Join us as we discuss the role of colonialism in shaping the unequal health impacts of the climate crisis, the value of MAPA-centred solutions, and the importance of...

Introducing Series 2 of the Race & Health Podcast. This year, we'll be focusing on the importance of anti-racist, decolonial perspectives in the climate justice movement. The climate crisis does not impact us equally, nor do we benefit from climate action equally. To explore how racism shapes these inequities, this upcoming series will help name racism in climate health inequities. This focus reflects a broader organisational emphasis on climate justice for the next year, so please stay...

In this episode, we unpack why kidney disease is found at higher rates in Black communities in the US and UK, with a special emphasis on the practice of race correction in renal medicine. R&H representative Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan engages Dr Nwamaka Eneanya and Dr Viyaasan Mahlingasivam to discuss how baseline indicators that define renal health differ based on the patients’ race, and how these differences evolve into health disparities. Dr Nwamaka Eneanya is a nephrologist and assistant...

In this episode, we explore how casteism works as an underlying system of power, and its impact on environmental justice and health in India. Contextualised by sanitation work and environmental health, this episode details how casteism shapes disproportionate health outcomes experienced by Dalit communities, and the political nature around sanitation work. Join Delan as he and R&H representative Mita Huq engage these topics with  Dr Malini Ranganathan, an Associate Professor at American...

Funding plays a central role in determining how and what health outcomes are addressed in public health, health research, and development. Where the money goes and how funding applications are processed remain disparate between end users. Join Delan Devakumar in exploring the structural causes that underlie funding disparities and inequities as he and R&H representative, Joohee Uhm, discuss the funding world with Ms Lauren Pires who has extensive experience with grant work at the...

On this episode of the Race & Health Podcast we discuss the definitions and impact of structural racism with Dr Michelle Morse, Dr Rochelle Burgess, and Dr Kavian Kulasabanathan. Using the release of the Sewell Report, we explore how a structural perspective shapes policies, experiences, and disparities across public health outcomes. 

In this episode of the R&H Podcast, our featured R&H representative, Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan and invited guest, Ms Bakita Kasadha, walks us through racism’s effect on treating and understanding HIV in the United Kingdom. Bakita draws from her experiences working with the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, WHO’s Global Validation Advisory Committee, and her writings for NAM aidsmap. Together, we explore how racism suppresses the very process of health research and...

Join host Dr Delan Devakumar and Race & Health collective member Dr Abi Deivanayagam in conversation with environmental justice advocate and Executive Director at Amazon Watch, Leila Salazar-Lopez, and Dr Sandra de Souza Hacon from the National School of Public Health at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation as we begin to understand the complex relationship between indigenous health in the Amazon, and the intertwined systems of meat, gold, racism, and deforestation. In this episode, indigenous...

About R&H: Our goal is to reduce the adverse effects of discrimination that lead to poor health. Race & Health is a collective of academics, artists,  activists, policy makers, grassroots organisations and individuals. We are a catalyst striving to achieve equitable health for all by investigating the impact of racism and discrimination on health and interventions that improve equitable wellbeing. Join us. Want to know more about our collective? Visit www.raceandhealth.org for more...