In last week's newsletter, I asked for your help: What did you want to read (or write!) about Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and aging politicians?
The response was fantastic. I received so many thoughtful emails about problems with media coverage, the biology of aging, experts I should reach out to, and more. I cherish the wisdom and curiosity of the First Opinion community.
I'm pleased to say that on Friday, we published an essay that hit many of the themes that readers told me they craved. Lawrence K. Altman, a physician-reporter who has for more than 50 years chronicled the health of U.S. presidents and other political leaders, shares illuminating anecdotes from his many conversations with presidents, candidates, and their physicians. For instance, in 1980, he elicited a startling piece of information from Ronald Reagan: Then 69 and about to become the oldest president in history at that point, Reagan said "his mother had symptoms suggestive of dementia before she died," Altman writes.
Drawing on his extensive body of work, Altman hits points about the unevenness of aging, the difficulty of assessing cognitive health as a non-physician, the need for transparency from politicians, and so much more. This is the article that will help you think through an issue that is sure to grow only more heated as we head into November.
Also in First Opinion this week: Presidents aren't the only public figures navigating the border of necessary transparency and medical privacy. Christina S. Beck writes about King Charles, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and what leaders owe the public (or, in Charles' case, their subjects). Dental care is facing its own staffing crisis, especially when it comes to hygienists and assistants. This piece includes an incredibly alarming detail: "fewer than half of dentists offer their staff health insurance coverage." Daniel E. Troy raises the alarm about a recent court ruling that could hold pharmaceutical companies liable for drugs they don't develop. A year into Humira biosimilars, Juliana M. Reed explains why uptake has been far below what she had hoped for. A polypill to improve cardiac health could be just what the doctor ordered for the U.S. And independent doctors are becoming an endangered species.
Recommendation of the week: The new documentary "They Called Him Mostly Harmless" on Max (RIP, HBO Max) is sprawling, exploring a mysterious death, internet drama between websleuths, genetic genealogy, thru-hiking culture, anonymity, and more. This is the kind of true crime-adjacent content I crave, looking at the big picture rather than exploiting a family's suffering. Watch the trailer.
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