Minnesota plays a unique role in the arena of health, with impactful political/cultural moments, and important contributions from institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Hazelden, UCare, among others. Over the decades, MPR News and American RadioWorks have produced a breadth of reports and programming specifically dedicated to the subject of health. This collection includes interviews, debates, speeches, and documentaries that provide greater detail to the many facets of healthcare, from both a local and national perspective.
July 4, 1978 - Bruce Hilton, a Methodist minister, speaking on bioethics at North Dakota State University. Hilton talks about birth, life and death. Topics include moral dilemmas in medical technology growth and genetic engineering.
July 12, 1978 - Dr. Ronald Cranford, of Hennepin County Medical Center; and Mr. John Markert, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, discuss the concept of brain death, and the problems in defining death. Both men have testified before the Minnesota legislature on the brain death issue, and Dr. Cranford was a consultant on the recent Stacey Ellison case in St. Paul in which the child was "brain dead" though still breathing with the help of a respirator. Cranford has been active in work to arrive at a definition of death. John Markert has opposed efforts to allow the use of brain death as a legal definition for determining when life has ended.
July 14, 1978 - Dr. Robert Good, President of Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, talks with MPR medical reporter Rich Dietman about cancer research. Good begins by describing recent advances in the treatment of cancer. He also speaks of antigens, compounds that cause the production of antibody; a substance which the body uses to fight and destroy matter it judges to be foreign and a threat.
July 19, 1978 - Isabel Wolf, nutritionist from University of Minnesota, discusses public attitudes about nutrition with Dan Olson. Wolf also answers listener questions.
July 27, 1978 - Nutritionist Dr. Rudy Ballentine discusses nutrition and its relationship to meditation. Topic includes comparison on west and east approaches. Ballentine also answers listener calls.
August 17, 1978 - MPR’s Rich Dietman interviews Dr. Michael Eisenberg, head of gastro-intestinal surgery at the University of Minnesota hospitals in Minneapolis. Eisenberg discusses definition of ulcers, causes, and their impact on those inflicted by them.
August 21, 1978 - Dr. Virgil Richard Zarling, of St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis, discusses the causes and diagnoses of muscular dystrophy with reporter Dan Olson.
September 11, 1978 - Jobs consultant Tom Jackson discusses his philosophy on finding and valuing one’s job and developing a satisfying professional life.
September 26, 1978 - Dr. Keith Sehnert discusses how to be your own doctor, sometimes. The focus is on patient activation and taking care of oneself. Sehnert also answers listener questions.
October 26, 1978 - Isabel Wolf, University of Minnesota nutrition specialist, discusses what is and isn't good nutrition. Wolf also answers listener questions.