NBN Book of the Day Stephen Bezruchka, "Born Sick in the USA: Improving the Health of a Nation" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Jan 29, 2026
Stephen Bezruchka, an epidemiologist studying how social forces shape population health, lays out how politics, inequality, and early-life stress drive poor U.S. health. He compares U.S. rankings to other nations. He examines historical roots, racial and regional gaps, cultural supports, and postwar policy lessons. He ends with policy ideas to reset national health goals.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Health Is Political, Not Just Medical
- Stephen Bezruchka shifted from math to medicine to public health after seeing population health differences.
- He concluded political and social factors matter far more than medical care for national health.
Nepal Experience Sparked Questions
- Bezruchka spent about 11 years working in Nepal, including remote community health projects.
- A Nepali colleague once asked why men in Bangladesh live longer than men in Harlem, which puzzled him and spurred study.
The U.S. Loses the Health Olympics
- Bezruchka uses a 'health Olympics' framing to show the U.S. ranks poorly in life expectancy.
- Using UN data he reports the U.S. ranked 44th in life expectancy, tied with Cuba.
