Chasing Life

Record-breaking temperatures resulting from climate change are occurring more often, lasting longer, and are more intense than ever before. This is a problem that affects us all, putting our lives at risk. On today’s episode, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Dr. June Spector from the University of Washington about how we can take better care of our health during extreme heat. And we’ll also learn why some city neighborhoods are hotter than others. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grief is something we all experience at different stages of life, even more so during this pandemic. But what happens when you must mourn the loss of your own child? CNN journalists Andrew Kaczynski and René Marsh received terrible diagnoses within months of each other: their infant children had brain tumors. Yet in the midst of great tragedy, they found strength in chasing a cure for others. So in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares the great strides being made in the fight against pediatric cancer through the passionate commitment of parents, doctors and healthcare advocates. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chasing Life returns on September 7, but until then, here's an episode of Hidden Brain. Having a sense of purpose can be a buffer against the challenges we all face at various stages of life. Purpose can also boost our health and longevity. Cornell University psychologist Anthony Burrow explains why purpose isn't something to be found — it's something we can develop from within. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While season 2 of Chasing Life is in production, here's an episode of NPR's Life Kit you'll love. Burnout is common across the globe, and the pandemic has only exacerbated it. In this episode, experts unpack the signs of burnout and how you can gain more control over your work and your life. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the past year and a half, the pandemic has kept many older adults apart from their loved ones. But now that people are getting vaccinated, many older Americans are finally reuniting with their friends and family. On today’s episode, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives CNN's Don Lemon advice about reuniting with his risk-averse mother now that they’re both vaccinated, Dr. Preeti Malani explains how to best support the older adults in our lives through the pandemic and beyond, and gerontologist Karl Pillemer talks about the ways older adults can teach the rest of us about living through difficult times. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be one of the few Games ever to take place during a global pandemic. That means zero fans in the host city, no family or friends allowed and a ban on cheering. What effect will all of this have on the athletes? CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to two-time Olympic rower Gevvie Stone about this week’s competition and her difficult decision to postpone medical residency an extra year to train. Dr. Gupta also hears from an athlete whose Olympic dreams were crushed by a positive Covid-19 test. And sports psychologists Catherine Sabiston and Kanyali Ilako reflect on how the lack of fans and added Covid stresses could impact athletes’ performances. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been a challenging time to start a family: some had to halt fertility treatments during lockdown, while others re-evaluated whether to have children at all. For today’s episode, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta hands things over to CNN reporter Chloe Melas to talk about the journey of having kids, as well as her own personal story with infertility. Melas speaks with fertility expert Dr. Tia Jackson-Bey about barriers that low-income, minority and LGBTQ patients face when accessing fertility treatments. And demographer Philip Cohen talks about the pandemic’s impact on birth rates. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scientifically speaking, what is the purpose of laughter? Why is it so important for our brains and well-being? And how might it help us get back to “normal” as we emerge from the pandemic? CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Emmy- and Grammy-nominated comedian Tig Notaro about telling cancer jokes after her 2012 breast cancer diagnosis and why she actually laughed a lot during quarantine. We also hear from humor expert and psychologist Janet Gibson, as well as medical clown "Chester Drawers" played by Leo Desilets. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all know sleep is vital, so why do many of us still find it so difficult to prioritize? CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with sleep scientist Rebecca Robbins about why we sleep in the first place and how to ensure we get a good night’s rest. And neurologist Ying-Hui Fu explores the latest research surrounding sleep, including what regulates the amount of sleep we actually need and what role genetics might play. We also meet Cliff Luther, a man who only needs about four hours of sleep a night yet wakes just as well rested as the rest of us. What’s his secret? To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remote work, school closures, and no playdates: there’s no question the pandemic upended family life in ways that were simply unimaginable before. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Amanda Zelechoski, a clinical psychologist and a mom of three, about the pandemic’s effect on families’ mental health and children’s development. Anthropologist Robin Nelson explains how the pandemic has isolated many parents and the importance of communities coming together to care for our kids. And parents and children open up about their greatest challenges and what they are looking forward to most as we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid restrictions are lifting but it’s still unclear what's entirely safe: Should we eat inside a restaurant? Go on that international vacation? Or attend an indoor wedding? CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at risk tolerance and how we can better assess what risks we are and aren’t willing to take. Psychologist Maria Konnikova shares what she’s learned about calculated risk from studying (and playing!) professional poker. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heart disease remains the most common cause of death in the United States, and yet it is largely preventable. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares his own family history of heart disease and talks with cardiologist Dr. Clyde Yancy about what we can do to keep our hearts healthy, even if our genes make us more disposed to heart issues. And cardiologist Dr. Haider Warraich tells the story of one woman who fought against gender bias to change the way the medical community treats heart attacks. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How should we think about our bodies after this stressful past year? CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the power of exercise and the importance of cultivating respect and appreciation for our bodies. Tony Horton, trainer and creator of P90X, shares his tips for setting a realistic workout routine that you can stick with, and weight stigma expert Joy Cox discusses how we can treat our bodies with compassion. And CNN Senior Writer Lisa Respers France shares her own personal story of holistic weight loss and wellbeing during the pandemic. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you know that friendship can actually help your brain, heart and immune system? Now that more and more Americans are getting vaccinated, people are eager to reunite with friends they might not have seen in a while. Dr. Sanjay Gupta met up with his friend, Michelle Pfeiffer (yes, that Michelle Pfeiffer). And friendship experts Marisa Franco and Rebecca Adams explain how the pandemic has made us reevaluate our relationships. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can all this change we’ve experienced actually be good for the brain? Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores how neuroscience can help us prepare for the “new normal.” He also invites us into his home for a candid conversation with wife Rebecca about adjusting to their new way of life. And psychologists Lisa Damour and Adam Grant offer their tips for managing our emotions and work-life balance coming out of the pandemic. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the first time in more than a year, many of us are imagining the next chapter of our lives. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on a mission to help us approach our new normal mindfully as we balance self-care and productivity. We'll talk to doctors and researchers about the surprising science behind how we can thrive. It’s time to chase life again. New episodes starting May 11th. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast was born out of a deep need to more fully understand what was happening to our lives, in our country and around the world, during a time of great uncertainty and instability. But now it feels like we, in the United States, may finally be turning a corner. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta says goodbye to the podcast he’s hosted for 14 months and almost 300 episodes, and introduces us to a new series for the next chapter in this pandemic. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When we look back on this pandemic, who and what will we remember? Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is at the top of that list for many. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Dr. Fauci about the past year-plus of non-stop press conferences and media appearances, and about what comes next. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 outbreaks have ripped through America’s correctional facilities, but access to the vaccines inside prisons and jails still varies state by state. On today’s episode, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Dr. Zachary Rosner about current vaccination efforts in New York City’s correctional system and why it’s so important to get this high-risk population vaccinated. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India is fighting a devastating second wave of Covid-19 that has ravaged communities and hospitals across the country. In today’s episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains what went wrong and why it matters to everyone worldwide. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pandemics and apocalyptic diseases have long fascinated both writers and readers, but will we want to read about living through Covid-19? CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta hears from writers and industry experts about the past and future of pandemics in fiction. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Filmmaker Tyler Perry is receiving an honorary Academy Award this weekend, so for today’s podcast, we revisit a conversation between CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Perry about the quarantine bubble he set up at his studio in Atlanta last summer. They talk about how Perry built his bubble and successfully restarted production without any positive Covid-19 cases on set, and what the experience was like on the inside. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shifts in our behavior during the pandemic have impacted the planet, but will these changes last? On this Earth Day, CNN climate reporter Drew Kann talks with Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Georgia Tech, about the connection between Covid-19 and climate change, and how we can keep up our green habits even after the pandemic is over. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Immunologist Akiko Iwasaki has gained a huge online following during the pandemic for tweeting out explainers of the latest Covid-19 research, as well as calling out sexism in science. CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with Professor Iwasaki about treating Covid long-haulers and what we can do to help women and minorities succeed after an incredibly difficult year. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the end of 2020, the vaccine rollout was chaotic: appointments were hard to schedule, vaccine supplies were tight, and the U.S. had administered fewer than 3 million doses over several weeks. But today, things have dramatically improved. CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Claire Hannan, Executive Director of the Association of Immunization Managers, about how the U.S. turned its vaccine rollout around. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are still several countries that have no access to Covid-19 vaccines. CNN reporter Melissa Mahtani shares her opinion about global inequities in vaccine distribution, and how they have impacted her family and her own feelings about getting the vaccine. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How worried should we be about these new virus variants? CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains how variants arise, why they’re a threat, and which ones are most common in the U.S. right now. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 is wreaking havoc in Brazil right now, with a record number of daily deaths in recent weeks. CNN International Correspondent Matt Rivers provides an inside look at what went wrong in Brazil and how the country’s crisis is a warning for the rest of the world. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta walks through what we currently know about the CDC and FDA's decision to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine, what this means for people who recently received a J&J shot, and why he isn’t panicking. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vaccine passports might help people feel safe returning to normal and may allow the economy to recover faster, but between freedom and privacy concerns, some experts aren’t in favor. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the latest on keeping track of who’s been immunized. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than a century ago, the people of San Francisco’s Chinatown came together in the face of racism and built their own hospital. Now, Covid-19 has brought the community together again. In today’s episode, CNN’s Harmeet Kaur tells us the origins of Chinese Hospital and how its legacy carries on today. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While three Covid-19 vaccines are now available for adults in the U.S., none have been approved yet for kids under 16. CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with pediatrician and former acting director of the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser, about what this means for parents and their kids. Where do Covid-19 trials in children stand? What role do children play in herd immunity? And when will your child be able to get a vaccine? To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring is here again, and you might be hearing the birds busting out their pipes. In this episode, scientists Elizabeth Derryberry and Jennifer Phillips take us on a listening tour to San Francisco to find out why some birds changed their tune during the pandemic. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden recently announced that all American adults will be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine by April 19, but expanding eligibility does not necessarily guarantee access. How do we provide vaccines to people who can’t make it to a doctor’s office, pharmacy or state-run vaccine site? CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the mobile vaccine sites being set up by Sean Penn’s non-profit, CORE. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As medical professionals search for new treatments to help Covid-19 patients, some researchers are taking a second look at drugs that have already been approved by the FDA. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Dr. David Fajgenbaum about repurposing old drugs to treat similar symptoms caused by the novel coronavirus. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just over 100 years ago, the U.S. was in a similar position as it is today. As more schools across the country reopen, we're revisiting CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta's conversation with Dr. Howard Markel about what we can learn from when schools opened during the influenza pandemic of 1918. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rapid development and rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines has been called a moonshot – an amazing scientific discovery that will change the course of history. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins President of Pfizer Global Supply, Mike Dermott, for an exclusive look inside the company’s vaccine manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where millions of doses are being produced every week. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Baseball's Opening Day is finally here, and Major League Baseball has stepped up to the plate with new safety precautions for the pandemic. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to sports medicine researcher Daniel Eichner about the MLB's new testing regimen and how America’s favorite pastime is also helping keep the country safe from some dangerous coronavirus variants. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Passover upon us, Easter this weekend and Ramadan not far after that, we decided to revisit a story about faith. CNN Senior Writer Thomas Lake spoke with a pastor in small-town South Carolina about ministering to his flock during the pandemic and honoring those who’ve died from Covid-19 — even as he tries to avoid becoming one of them. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration, opens up to CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta about some of the challenges the CDC faced over this past year. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Deborah Birx’s tenure as the Trump White House’s Coronavirus Response Coordinator was contentious, with accusations of mismanagement. Now, Dr. Birx tells her side of the story. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Dr. Birx for a behind-the-scenes look into what went wrong in the administration’s response and how that can inform our public health strategy going forward. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Suppressing the spread of Covid-19 in the United States is going to require vaccinating 70-85% of the population. But what happens if not enough Americans voluntarily get the vaccine? CNN’s Chief Medial Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Emily Largent, a lawyer and assistant professor of medical ethics, about a controversial proposal that’s been floated: mandating the vaccines. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As more and more Americans get their COVID-19 vaccinations, some people are making travel plans, and airports are seeing bigger crowds. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta speaks with CNN’s Pete Muntean about the latest guidance on travel restrictions and how to vacation safely. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re not eligible for the vaccine yet, should you still try to get the shot early anyway? CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta speaks with Arthur Caplan, Director of Bioethics at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, about when line jumping is defensible and other ethical decisions around vaccine distribution in the U.S. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As wealthier nations have bought up most of the world’s supply of vaccines, many lower and middle-income countries have been left behind. Today, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, Director of the Duke University Global Health Innovation Center, about the challenges of getting the vaccine to everyone around the world. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How important is airflow to preventing the spread of Covid-19? As schools and other public buildings begin to reopen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta revisits a conversation with Joseph Allen, Director of the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, about the science behind airborne transmission. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s tons of evidence that loneliness can have negative impacts on our mental and even physical health. But when it comes to interventions that reduce loneliness, there is far less research. Today on the podcast, we check out what one neighborhood in Brooklyn is doing to bring people safely together during the pandemic, and we check in with an expert on loneliness, Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad, about new promising research that demonstrates the power of performing small acts of kindness. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many states are making people with a certain Body Mass Index eligible for vaccines. But because weight carries such a stigma, showing up to an appointment may not be as easy as it sounds. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta hears from a coworker about her personal experience getting vaccinated, and navigating the complex relationship between weight and health. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For those struggling with an opioid addiction, COVID-19 has created a perfect storm of stress and isolation. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the medical director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. They discuss the pandemic’s effect on the opioid crisis in the U.S. and the efforts underway to end the decades-long epidemic. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last December, the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine became the first covid-19 vaccine to be authorized for use in the world following large-scale clinical trials. Today, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta sits down with Dr. Ugur Sahin and Dr. Ozlem Tureci, the husband-and-wife scientists who designed the vaccine. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices