What We're Reading

Every day, we share what we're reading, listening to, and watching in the world of global health — from well-reported news articles and in-depth studies to timely podcast episodes and features

Latest

New York Times

“Chinese Peptides” Are the Latest Biohacking Trend in the Tech World

by Jasmine Sun

The gray-market drugs flooding Silicon Valley reveal a community that believes it can move faster than the FDA

New York Times

Kennedy Flips Food Pyramid to Emphasize Red Meat and Whole Milk

by Alice Callahan and Dani Blum

The Trump administration released new dietary guidelines on Wednesday, pushing Americans to prioritize protein and cut back on added sugars

NBC News

CDC Overhauls Childhood Vaccine Schedule to Resemble Denmark in Unprecedented Move

by Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Erika Edwards, and Mustafa Fattah

The new U.S. guidelines recommend all children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 previously on the schedule

Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy

HHS Recommends Home HPV Testing For Women For the First Time

by Liz Szabo

The new guidelines are geared toward women at average risk of cervical cancer, which was diagnosed in more than 13,000 U.S. women last year

New York Times

RFK Jr. Likely to Swap U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule for Denmark’s

by Apoorva Mandavilli

A Danish health official found the idea baffling, saying the United States was getting “crazier and crazier in public health”

Devex

State Department Scrambles to Rebuild Foreign Aid Workforce

by Elissa Miolene

“What we’re seeing anecdotally is a recreation of the things that we just tore down,” says Rohit Nepal, the Department of State vice president

Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy

CDC Awards $1.6 Million for Hepatitis B Vaccine Study by Controversial Danish Researchers

by Liz Szabo

The CDC is paying the University of Southern Denmark to conduct a single-blind clinical trial of the hepatitis B vaccine in newborns in Guinea-Bissau

Washington Post

American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr.

by Lena H. Sun and Paige Winfield Cunningham

HHS cuts key AAP grants, citing concerns about “identity-based language” and insufficient focus on agency priorities

ProPublica

Inside the Trump Administration’s Man-Made Hunger Crisis

by Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester

Trump officials were warned repeatedly that cutting off food aid to refugees in Kenya would lead to violence and death. They did so anyway.

USA Today

Trump Moves to Dismantle Major U.S. Climate Research Center in Colorado

by Joey Garrison

The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official

STAT

Why Comparing the U.S. Vaccine Schedule to European Countries’ Is a Red Herring

by Richard Hughes IV

Bringing the U.S. into "alignment" with other countries is part of a calculated attempt to upend childhood vaccination

Cornell Chronicle

Congestion Pricing Improved Air Quality in New York City and Suburbs

by David Nutt

Since New York City introduced congestion pricing in January 2025, the state has heralded significant reductions in traffic and rush hour delays