health
Hosted by Population Health Exchange · health · EN-US
Free Associations is about using a critical eye when reading journal articles or news coverage about research breakthroughs. With a sense of humor and a healthy dose of skepticism Boston University School of Public Health faculty Matt Fox, Jessica Leibler, and guests talk us through popular health studies and hyperbolic news headlines while teaching us how to ask the right questions. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .
Required Pod Score for this podcast. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.
Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
33%
Guest openness
Selective
Sign up to generate a grounded pitch for Free Associations.
Signup to Generate a PitchFree Associations is about using a critical eye when reading journal articles or news coverage about research breakthroughs.
Free Associations is hosted by Population Health Exchange. The show has published 154 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Episode 157: Hippocampal Encoding of Memories in Human Infants" (30 October 2025, 28 minutes), "Episode 156: Analgesic Effects of Non-surgical Treatments for Back Pain" (30 October 2025, 31 minutes), and "Episode 155: Probiotics and AI Chatbots" (28 April 2025, 26 minutes).
Free Associations publishes roughly monthly, with episodes averaging 45 minutes across 154 episodes.
Booking probability for Free Associations is 33%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Free Associations requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Free Associations's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Free Associations are Universities & Colleges. Free Associations has a health audience.
Population Health Exchange hosts Free Associations, a health podcast with 154 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Free Associations
Jess, Matt, and guest host Marcia discuss a study that sheds light on how babies may form and retain memories. Study link: Hippocampal encoding of memories in human infants
Jess, Matt, and guest Marcia discuss the efficacy of various methods of treating low back pain. Study link: Analgesic effects of non-surgical and non-interventional treatments for low back pain: a systematic review and...
Episode #155
<p >Matt and Jess discuss the ethics of probiotics for children and we discuss whether AI chatbots can help reduce misinformation.</p> <p >Study link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03971-5</p>
Episode #154
<p >Matt, Jess and guest host Jon discuss a study of the effect of experiencing gun violence and maternal morbidity.</p> <p >Study link: <b>Fatal Police Violence and Maternal Morbidity Study</b></p>
Episode #153
<p >Matt and Jess and guest host Harold discuss the ways that we experience time (with a slight diversion into our dental traumas) and Matt explains why we can’t have nice things.</p> <p>Study link: Memorability...
Episode #152
<p >Matt and Jess and guest host Harold discuss whether dark chocolate is really good for preventing type II diabetes, or if the research isn’t there yet, and we discuss the challenges of turning research into practice...
<p>In an expansive, thought-provoking discussion ahead of the pivotal changes in Washington, DC, Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss the role of advocacy and activism in public health and the changing views...
<p >Matt, Jess and guest host Michael Stein discuss a paper that reviews the results of a series of trials that were highly influential in a move away from use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy, but newer...
Episode #149
<p>In a new format for the “Free Associations” podcast, we split our usual podcast into two bite-sized morsels. In the first segment, Jess, Matt and guest host Salma discuss an article that examines the effect of...
Episode #146
<p>Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla discuss a study of early discontinuation of oxytocin during delivery, they try to predict the future of journals alongside a mass editorial board resignation, and Matt and...
Episode #145
<p>Matt, Jess, and guest host Allegra Gordon discuss a study using tweets to see if there have been changes in racial sentiment over time, they debate whether in-person or remote work is better for paradigm shifts, and...
Episode #144
<p>Matt, Jess, and guest host Jonathan Jay discuss a study using cell phone data to see if living in cities gives us better economic integration, they explore whether AI will be developing our hypotheses in the future...
Matt, Jess, and guest host Amruta Nori-Sarma examine a study testing the effect of a workplace intervention for cardiometabolic health, they discuss mental health as a human right, and Amruta tells us about the power of...
Episode #142
Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla discuss a study testing the efficacy of a blood-based cancer screening tool, they debate the role of the workplace in mental health, and Salma sees if she can pronounce the word...
Matt, Jess, and first-time guest host Allegra Gordon discuss a study of the effect of taxes and warning labels on purchases of red meat, they lament the impact of disinformation campaigns, and Matt tells us how AI is...
Matt, Jess, and guest host Jonathan Jay discuss a study on child opportunity in the built environment and physical fitness, they debate whether to get rid of discussion sections, and Jon invites us to consider the...
Episode #139
Matt, Jess, and guest host Amruta Nori-Sarma examine a study of the effect of proximity to wildfires on medical visits, they discuss housing as harm reduction, and Matt goes to Olive Garden. Journal club article...
Episode #138
Matt, Jess, and guest host Salma Abdalla examine a study on the use of hearing aids to prevent dementia, they discuss whether loneliness is a public health problem (and, as usual, descend into talking about COVID), and...
Episode #137
Matt and Jess go solo and Jess hosts for the first time! They discuss a study of the effectiveness of a new meningitis vaccine, whether active shooter drills do anything more than scare kids, and debate the best movie...
We are taking a one-month break this summer. Please enjoy this "best of" episode celebrating Chris' contributions to the podcast.
Recent guests on Free Associations. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
author of A Living: Working-Class Americans Talk to Their Doctor, Boston University School of Public Health
Entrepreneur and Author, Boston University School of Public Health
assistant professor of Environmental Health and Population Sciences at the Harvard T.H.. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
PitchCentric classifies Free Associations under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
Is this podcast yours and you'd like to remove or correct details? Request removal or email privacy@pitchcentric.com.
Questions about the free trial? See the pricing FAQ
