FDA Approves Pill Designed To Work Faster For Postpartum Depression
Federal health officials have approved the first pill specifically intended to treat severe depression after childbirth, a condition that affects thousands of new mothers in the U.S. each year. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted approval of the drug, Zurzuvae, for adults experiencing severe depression related to childbirth or pregnancy. The pill is taken once a day for 14 days. “Having access to an oral medication will be a beneficial option for many of these women coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings,” said Dr. Tiffany Farchione, FDA’s director of psychiatric drugs, in a statement. Postpartum depression affects an estimated 400,000 people a year, and while it often ends on its own within a couple weeks, it can continue for months or even years. Standard treatment includes counseling or antidepressants, which can take weeks to work and don’t help everyone.
Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss how the new post-partum pill works and its significance is Eynav Accortt, clinical psychologist and director of the reproductive psychology program at Cedars-Sinai and Sinmi Bamgbose, reproductive psychiatrist in private practice and assistant professor of psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai.
With files from the Associated Press
The Travel Bug Is Biting – Just Make Sure You Have Your Passport
A recent piece by Leslie Josephs for CNBC breaks down the numbers on this summer’s travel trends. The winners are international destinations, as American travelers spurn domestic travel in favor of going abroad. This means a price jump for international airfare and hotels, while here in the states, airlines with mostly domestic routes have seen a dip in revenue. What’s causing this shift? And how is the travel industry responding? Joining us to discuss is Leslie Josephs, airline reporter for CNBC.
The Kids Aren’t Alright: The Pandemic’s Lasting Toll On Learning And Mental Health
For a whole generation of kids, the pandemic interrupted everything – classroom learning, graduations, proms, and countless other adolescent milestones. As another in-person school year starts, families and educators are working to untangle academic, mental, and social-emotional challenges brought on by three years of on-and-off quarantine. But parents might not even know just how behind their kids are; report cards don’t always paint the full picture. Today on the program, we’re joined by Mariana Dale, senior K-12 education reporter for LAist, Morgan Polikoff, associate professor at the USC Rossier School of Education, and Jessica Borelli, professor of psychological science at UC Irvine and clinical director of Compass Therapy.
In A Post-Affirmative World, How Are So Cal Private Schools Handling Legacy Admissions?
Scrutiny of college admission secured through the privilege of money, family ties, and fraud hit a fever pitch after the 2019 Varsity Blues Scandal. But after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action policies nationwide in June, supporters of affirmative action once again question why colleges and universities continue to use family and donor ties in admissions. Institutions both public and private are getting rid of legacy admissions. Colorado banned the practice for its public colleges in 2021. In Southern California, even as many private colleges still consider legacy status, they say the practice doesn’t give relevant applicants a major advantage. Joining us today is Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist higher education correspondent.
With files from LAist
LA County Public Defender Talks Case Loads For Defense Attorneys, Mental Health Unit
The role public defenders play is a necessary one, having to manage cases for folks who have nowhere else to turn in many situations. Reporting by the Los Angeles Times has found that those in Los Angeles County’s Public Defender's Office, specifically its mental health unit, can get case loads of up to 500 defendants. This follows ongoing concerns the LA County Public Defender’s Union made last year in a letter to their office, asking for the defender’s office to become unavailable in hopes of managing workloads and improving their quality of service.
Following up on a conversation we had last week– having heard from the public defenders union and a former defense attorney– we now talk to Ricardo D. García, public defender for Los Angeles County.
Listen back to our previous conversation here.
Hello, Cruel Summer: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Lands In Los Angeles
If you felt the ground rumble the past few nights, the explanation might be coming from a quaint little venue down in Inglewood. SoFi Stadium (heard of it?) is hosting Taylor Swift’s Eras tour for six sold-out concerts. Over three hours, Swift sings 44 songs–yes, 44–culled from her 10 studio albums, sending fans into a frenzy. Such a frenzy, in fact, that during the Seattle stop of the tour, Swifties caused seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake. And it’s not just seismic impact, the tour is proving to be a significant economic boon to the cities it touches down on. What is the economic butterfly effect from these concerts? And what does it take logistically to make a show this big happen? Joining us to talk Taylor is Mikael Wood, pop music critic for the LA Times and Shaun Hoffman, tour manager for acts like Bruno Mars.
