New Books in Sociology Daniel Skinner et al., "The City and the Hospital: The Paradox of Medically Overserved Communities" (U Chicago Press, 2023)
Dec 4, 2025
Jonathan Winn, a sociologist and co-author of 'The City and the Hospital', dives into the paradox of hospitals in communities with poor health outcomes. He shares insights from over two hundred interviews across multiple cities, exploring how collective memory and urban culture shape community trust in medical institutions. Winn critiques the definitions of community used by hospitals, emphasizes the barriers preventing access, and advocates for better community engagement in medical education. His discussion reveals the complex dynamics between urban institutions and the neighborhoods they serve.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
The Medically Overserved Paradox
- Hospitals often sit amid neighborhoods with some of the worst health outcomes despite being 'places of healing'.
- The book studies this paradox through three city case studies and 200+ interviews.
Project Born In Cafes And Bands
- Jonathan Winn recounts that the project began as friends brainstorming in cafes and playing music together after graduate school.
- Their collaboration grew organically from complementary interests, not from a predefined puzzle.
Why Place Still Matters
- A place-based approach reveals how culture, history, and local interactions shape hospital-community relations.
- Jonathan Winn argues cities produce distinctive social dynamics that affect health and institutional ties.
