How the body works, how it fails, and what the evidence says about keeping it working: the cell and the genome, metabolism and the gut, the heart, the brain, hormones, the immune system, aging, the causes of death, and the systems that pay for care, with every lifestyle claim graded settled, probable, contested, or marketing. Mental health and cancer each get a module of their own. Where the evidence is disputed, from the Alzheimer's antibodies to the childhood vaccine schedule, each side's case comes before the course's reading. Three worked examples, from a day's energy budget to the arithmetic of a positive test. Education, not medical advice, and it says so.
Collection 9 — Health & Medicine
The body, and the science and systems of keeping it working.
How to train for the most health exercise can give, with the evidence graded settled, probable, contested, or marketing. It covers what training buys and how much is enough, aerobic fitness and the argument over Zone 2, strength and the dose that builds muscle, a routine that keeps pushing and pulling in balance, power, balance, and mobility, recovery and the recovery industry, fuel and supplements, what exercise treats and how well, the dose from childhood to old age, what can go wrong from injuries to testosterone and peptides, and what to measure. Where the evidence is disputed, from cold plunges to graded exercise for chronic fatigue, each side's case comes before the course's reading. Opens with the prescription on one page and the ratios a routine should keep, and closes with complete routines to follow. Education, not medical advice, and it says so.
How a drug is discovered, tested, approved, made, priced, and copied, with the odds and costs at each phase; the companies, the middlemen, and the patent cliff behind the deal wave; the obesity drugs and Lilly's lead; cancer, immunology, and genetic medicine from Casgevy to editing inside the body; vaccines and the US policy upheaval; China's licensing boom and AI's honest scorecard; the FDA's turmoil; and the pricing war, from negotiation to most-favored-nation deals. Worked examples follow the money in a branded drug listed at $1,000 a month and a licensing deal from both sides. Opens with a dated table of the state of the art and a Who's Who.
How health care is paid for, delivered, and rationed, in the United States and around the world: what every health system does and the four ways countries build one; where America's $5.3 trillion goes and why it pays the most; primary care, hospitals and emergency rooms, mental health and addiction, and long-term care; the doctors, nurses, and aides; insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and the marketplaces; how providers are paid; prices, bills, and market power; how every system rations care; quality, safety, and who goes without; the systems of England, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Japan, and of China, India, and the poorer world; and the choices for reform. Brought to October: the 2025 budget law's Medicaid cuts and work requirements, the marketplaces after their extra subsidies expired, England's waiting lists and the abolition of NHS England, Germany's savings law, the return of measles, and the polls before the November 3 midterms. One patient's heart attack runs through the course, from the ambulance to the last bill and into four other countries and India. Where the field argues, from Medicare Advantage to single payer, each side makes its case before the evidence. Opens with Key Numbers, a Who's Who, and a list of terms. Education, not medical, legal, or financial advice, and it says so.** **