Snapshot · Empire: World History
BetterHelp's 2026 State of Stigma report found that 74% of Americans believe society still discourages people from asking for help, used in the sponsor read.
Where this was said
At 1:23 · chapter starts 0:00
The episode opens with back-to-back sponsor reads. William Dalrymple champions the London Review of Books as 'the most wonderful journal in the country,' inviting listeners to try three months free at lrb.me/trial. A pre-recorded segment follows for BetterHelp, citing the platform's own 2026 State of Stigma report finding that 74% of Americans feel society discourages asking for help. Medical advertisements for Tremfya follow. Finally, Attio — billed as an AI CRM — is presented with an Empire-themed pitch about managing information across growing organisations, with a free trial available at attio.com/empire.
Mental health challenges are nearly universal — BetterHelp's own research found the majority of Americans experiencing symptoms right now.
When applying for Medicaid to cover nursing home costs, there is a 5-year look-back period that can disqualify applicants who gave away or spent down assets.
A broken pipe filled the Bad Friends studio with what the hosts identified as hydrogen sulfide — microscopic fecal aeroparticles — that the crew denied smelling.
Fei-Fei Li's father's liver surgery performed by a da Vinci robot resulted in 10 times less blood loss than a typical open liver surgery, thanks to laparoscopic precision.
Approximately 115 million adults in the US currently have prediabetes, most of whom are unaware, according to the Lingo sponsor segment.
Drug overdose deaths in the US fell from 110,000 to 80,000 in 2024, and then to roughly 70,000 — the largest single-year drop the CDC has ever recorded.
Men's overdose death rate fell 27% in a single year, outpacing the 23% drop for women.
The steepest decline in overdose deaths was among 15–24-year-olds, whose rate fell 37%.
Fei-Fei Li observed that on a given hospital shift, nurses walk miles just to fetch medicine and supplies, illustrating a clear use case for assistive robotics in healthcare.
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