WOUB launches new podcast on health and healing

WOUB Public Media has launched a new podcast meant to disrupt the silence that too often surrounds vulnerability. “Defining Moments: Conversations About Health and Healing,” which aired its first episode on May 24, allows narrators and audiences alike to imagine new normals. 

The podcast is hosted and directed by Dr. Lynn Harter, a health communication expert at Ohio University, with the help of OHIO students; and produced by WOUB and the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact. 

“Episodes move between personal stories, research findings, and commentary about broader health concerns and challenges,” Dr. Harter said. “Narratives are powerful rhetorical strategies. Storytelling can function therapeutically for tellers and listeners by allowing participants to make sense of life disruptions. Narratives also can focus health policy discussions and mobilize resources for change.”

“Defining Moments” is also working with the research journal Health Communication, which will make essays from the guests available to the public free-of-charge. 

The podcast showcases stories about living well in the midst of inescapable illness, suffering and hardship. According to WOUB, episodes feature an eclectic group of guests who share moments of uncertainty, innovation and resilience. Dr. Harter draws on 20 years of experience in health contexts to spark conversations that move between personal anecdotes and societal health challenges. 

In its first episode, Dr. Laura Ellingson shares her personal story of cancer survivorship and how it informs her work with the American Cancer Society. During its latest episode on June 3, Dr. Pete Anderson with the Cleveland Clinic Pediatrics Institute and Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University reflects on his use of telemedicine to develop therapeutic alliance with cancer patients and families. 

The podcast is carried on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, NPR Podcast Directories and Google Play. 

Listeners can also access the podcast directly through WOUB’s website, and each new episode will be highlighted here. 

To keep up-to-date on recent episodes, be sure to follow “Defining Moments” on Facebook @dmpodcastwoub, Twitter  @dmpodcastwoub and Instagram @dmpodcastwoub.