Important, Not Important Important, Not Important

Who is still covering Long COVID, and how much is the audience actually growing?
That's today's big question, and my guests are Betsy Ladygetz and Miles Griffis, editors and co-founders of The Sick Times, a journalist-founded website chronicling the Long COVID crisis.
The Sick Times investigates injustices, challenges powerful institutions, wades through the latest research, assesses COVID-19 data, and offers an essential platform for those most affected by the crisis.
Betsy is an independent science, health, and data journalist and writer focused on COVID-19 and the future of public health in general. Prior to The Sick Times, she ran the COVID-19 Data Dispatch. She was recently a journalism fellow at MuckRock, where she contributed to award-winning and impactful COVID-19 investigations, such as the Uncounted Project, investigations into the National Institute of Health's Recover Program, and stories covering public health responses in several states.
Miles is an independent journalist and writer who covers Long COVID, science, and LGBTQ plus issues. He developed Long COVID at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has used his lived experience to report on the disease.
So many people are struggling directly or indirectly with Long COVID.
Sometimes they don't even know themselves, but with journalism just crumbling around us, new publications like The Sick Times operated by people with very particular essential skills and lived experiences can help make sure that these massive all all-encompassing issues of our lifetimes stay in the news, giving everyone else a way to stay in touch, and of course, to act.
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INI Book Club:
The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor by Hamilton NolanLet the Record Show: A Political History of ACT Up New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah SchulmanFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club
Links:
Subscribe and donate to The Sick TimesFind a Mask Bloc near youSupport the COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy ProjectSupport the Patient-Led Research CollaborativeSupport the Long Covid Action ProjectLearn about diseases related to Long Covid and support a href="https://www.meaction.net/"...

This week: Let’s talk about the Information Era.
Here's What You Can Do:Donate (and subscribe!) to the 19th, an independent, non-profit, kick-ass newsroom reporting on gender and politics.Volunteer with Tech Shift to build a fairer, more just technological future.🌏️ Get educated about the powerful institutions using technology to change society through the invaluable reporting by The Markup.Be heard about keeping companies accountable to assessing AI for bias and effectiveness and ask your representatives to support the Algorithmic Accountability Act.Invest in climate tech solutions that will accelerate the transition to a clean economy with a href="https://flight.beehiiv.net/v2/clicks/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5mdWxsY3ljbGUuY29tLz91dG1fc291cmNlPWltcG9ydGFudG5vdGltcG9ydGFudC5jb20mdXRtX21lZGl1bT1yZWZlcnJhbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJvZ3JhbS10aGUtd29ybGQiLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoiYmZmM2RjYjQtZjM0Zi00ZmQwLWFiMzUtMTliZTg4ODIxNmFhIiwicHVibGljYXRpb25faWQiOiJhNzg0Yzc1Zi1mYTg3LTRjZDItODllMS02MTA2NzU2MGIxOWMiLCJ2aXNpdF90b2tlbiI6IjRmNjkwZDZkLTNlNGEtNDE3Ni1hZWFkLWYwNDk5OWM5YTgyMCIsImlhdCI6MTcxMjY5MzE5NCwiaXNzIjoib3JjaGlkIn0.y_bJgxm5JMFaRgv7wVIMA03swM1zgUGf07vDLzB6HsI" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

What have we learned from millennia of water insecurity, of climate changes and disasters, of building along freshwater ways and the ocean, that we can apply today?
That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Amber Wutich.
Dr. Wutich is an ASU President's Professor, Director of the Center for Global Health, and 2023 MacArthur Fellow.
She's an expert on water insecurity, and directs the Global Ethnohydrology Study, a cross cultural study of water knowledge and management in over 20 countries.
Dr. Wutich’s two decades of community based field work explore how people respond individually and collectively to extremely water scarce conditions. She leads the NSF Action for Water Equity, a participatory convergence study that develops collaborative water solutions with water insecure U.S. communities. Her teaching has been recognized with many awards, including the Carnegie Case Arizona Professor of the Year.
As maybe the most important thing that neither you or I can live without, water is both becoming more scarce in Central America, Northern India, Syria and other places, and more prevalent through sea level rise, flooding and storms where we're not ready for it.
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Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com
New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.
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INI Book Club:
Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club
Links:
Connect with Amber on LinkedIn, Twitter, and BlueSkyDonate or volunteer with Water For PeopleDonate to Dig DeepLearn more about Amber's work with NSF-funded Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination NetworkLearn more about the National Science Foundation
Follow us:
Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comSupport our work and become a Member at importantnotimportant.com/upgradeFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportantSubscribe to our a...

This week: Bernie decided March 15th is Long COVID Awareness Day, so I thought it was an appropriate moment to try to pull together the threads of why Long COVID pisses me off so much, examples of other self-defeating issues we never learned from, and a blueprint for how to do better, better.
Here's What You Can Do:🌎️ Donate to Partners in Health to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to quality healthcare.Volunteer for a clinical trial to help us better understand the impacts of COVID and Long COVID.Get educated about how you can start a career in public health.Be heard about early detection in your community and get your local officials to start a wastewater intelligence program with Biobot.🌎️ Invest in a matching fund with a...

You know you're stressed. You know you're anxious. Do you have depression? And do you need to know the latest in the biology of how the brain works and depression works or doesn't work and whether the gut is involved in getting meaningful help?
That's today's big question. I promise it's kind of one question, even if there are a ton of different answers, and they're going to be different for everybody.
This conversation is a follow-up to our last couple of conversations about the brain, the gut, and depression. My returning guest is Srijan Sen.
Srijan is still the Francis and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences at the University of Michigan and the Director of the Francis and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center. 
His leading research focuses on the interactions between genes and the environment and their effect on stress, anxiety, and depression.
Content WarningThis week we're talking about depression, and stress, and anxiety, and mental health, and suicide.This is a very important conversation but if any of this could be triggering to you, please just skip over the next one. Nothing in this conversation, of course, should be taken as medical advice. If a treatment, or some combination of treatments, prescribed or recommended, by your health care provider is working for you, huzzah. That's great. Stay with it. Your personal experience with the treatment is much more relevant than anything in this conversation. If you're using a depression medication or other therapy and not getting relief from your depression symptoms, talk with your health care provider.If you are struggling and feeling distressed, or that you might hurt yourself, text or call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, right now, to get help. And you can even call and press 3 to speak to a counselor with the Trevor Project, who provide wonderful support for LGBTQ+ folks. -----------
Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com
New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.
-----------
INI Book Club:
Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club
Links:
Follow along with the work of The Sen LabFollow Srijan on TwitterSuicide Crisis Lifeline (Call 988)The Trevor Project Hotline for LBGTQ+ youthListen to Srijan's first episode
Follow us:
Subscribe to our newsletter at a href="https://www.importantnotimportant.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

This week: There are few problems so simple that a single donation can fix them.
Usually, to turn a problem into a realistic opportunity takes many donations. Over time, spread over a large number of donors.
But all the work before that is kind of exhausting: you’ve gotta make sure your donation goes to the right place, the right organization, the right people — usually the ones closest to the problem — with the most pragmatic intentions.
Here's What You Can Do:Donate to Give Directly and put cash straight into the pockets of the people who need it the most.Volunteer with Overdose Lifeline to support their harm reduction and awareness efforts.Get educated about starting a resilience hub in your community with resources from the USDN.Be heard about making healthy school meals free for students everywhere.Invest in a sustainable future and find a clean bank to move your money into using a...