Episode 1
What’s public health? Watch to find out! The four of us start by introducing ourselves, then we talk about why we pursued a Master in Public Health, and dive into the three MAJOR milestones of Public Health filled with a LOT of random sidebars.
Episode 2 | Part 1
What’s in your water? In this episode of The Public Health Rookies Podcast, we dive into the hidden world of water quality and why it matters for public health.
Episode 2 | Part 2
In Part 2 of Episode 2 of the What’s in your water episode, Michael and Faris put different types of water to the test. From tap to bottled to filtered, they walk through what they’re testing, what the results show, and what those findings actually mean for everyday people.
Episode 3
What are social determinants of health? In this episode, we break down Social Determinants of Health—the non-medical factors that play a huge role in shaping health outcomes. We talk about housing, education, and neighborhood safety.
Episode 4
What is mental health? We break down mental health beyond individual experiences and explore how stigma, access to care, social environments, and policy shape mental well-being. From community-level impacts to real-world examples, this episode highlights why mental health is a critical public health issue.
Public health affects everyone, whether we recognize it or not. By sharing our learning journey, we hope to spark curiosity, build understanding, and empower listeners to think differently about the systems, environments, and decisions that shape health.
About The Public Health Rookies Podcast
The Public Health Rookies Podcast was established in 2023 by a group of Master of Public Health (MPH) students at The Dartmouth Institute (TDI) for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in New Hampshire, USA. United by a shared passion for public health while navigating an MPH program, we realized that much of what we were learning—about health, equity, policy, and prevention—often stays within classrooms and academic journals.
This podcast is our way of changing that!
Through honest conversations, real-world examples, and a “rookie” perspective, we share what we’re learning in real time and why it matters beyond the classroom. From water quality and social determinants of health to health communication and community well-being, we aim to break down complex public health concepts into discussions that are engaging, understandable, and relevant to everyday life.
Cast:
Akhila Kondaka
Dedicated to intertwining clinical medicine with health equity and population-based interventions. (Follow Instagram: @akondaka)
Joseph Nano
Passionate about reducing healthcare disparities and advancing quality of healthcare (Follow Instagram: @thenanopost)
Rachel Cunningham
Dedicated to advancing health equity through research and innovative approaches to public health practice (@rachel_rose_c)
Faris Aziz
Passionate about reducing health disparities and advancing quality of healthcare (Follow Instagram: @faris_wheeler)
Michael Chang
Passionate about reducing healthcare disparities and advancing quality of healthcare (Follow Instagram: @mchang.88)
William Catterall
Aspiring family physician & public health practitioner dedicated to advancing health equity (Follow Instagram: @willcatt05)
