Writing Public Health for the Public: Stories That Change Minds

About this episode

William Lopez and Paul Fleming discuss the importance of communicating public health effectively in today's climate of mistrust and misinformation.

University of Michigan School of Public Health faculty William Lopez and Paul Fleming have a candid conversation about their recently published books and what it means to communicate public health in an era of mistrust and misinformation. They explore how books can be a powerful way to share public health ideas beyond academia, offering space for storytelling, context, and connection. They also discuss the challenges of writing for public audiences, including ethical storytelling and translating evidence into clear language. Their conversation highlights lessons for students and practitioners, and why public health communication matters now more than ever. Links to the work discussed in this episode: Imagine Doing Better: Why Policies Backfire and How Prevention Thinking Can Change Everything by Paul Fleming Raiding the Heartland: An American Story of Deportation and Resistance by William Lopez Separated: Family and Community in the Aftermath of an Immigration Raid by William Lopez Meet the Speakers: William Lopez Paul Fleming ----- Learn more about the University of Michigan School of Public Health: publichealth.umich.edu Follow us on social media: Facebook |…

People in this episode

Guests: William Lopez, Paul Fleming

Topics covered

• public health communication
• storytelling
• mistrust
• misinformation
• ethical storytelling
• evidence translation

Keywords

• public health
• communication
• storytelling
• mistrust
• misinformation
• ethical storytelling
• evidence
• books

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Michigan School of Public Health

Books & works: Imagine Doing Better: Why Policies Backfire and How Prevention Thinking Can Change Everything, Raiding the Heartland: An American Story of Deportation and Resistance, Separated: Family and Community in the Aftermath of an Immigration Raid

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