Unnatural Causes

Last spring the Social Work Student Association was able to partner with public health to bring several Unnatural Causes episodes to campus. I watched the series when it originally aired in the spring of 2008. I really enjoyed it and wanted to share it with the community. I saw an ad for the series airing again this October.


From the website:
UNNATURAL CAUSES is the acclaimed documentary series broadcast by PBS and now used by thousands of organizations around the country to tackle the root causes of our alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health.

The four-hour series crisscrosses the nation uncovering startling new findings that suggest there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes. The social circumstances in which we are born, live, and work can actually get under our skin and disrupt our physiology as much as germs and viruses.



There are six episodes:
In Sickness and In Wealth (56 min.) How does the distribution of power, wealth and resources shape opportunities for health?

When the Bough Breaks (29 min.) Can racism become embedded in the body and affect birth outcomes?



Becoming American (29 min.) Latino immigrants arrive healthy, so why don’t they stay that way?

Bad Sugar (29 min.) What are the connections between diabetes, oppression, and empowerment in two Native American communities?



Place Matters (29 min.) Why is your street address such a strong predictor of your health?

Collateral Damage (29 min.) How do Marshall Islanders pay for globalization and U.S. military policy with their health?

Not Just a Paycheck (30 min.) Why do layoffs take such a huge toll in Michigan but cause hardly a ripple in Sweden?

Here are the times for the first two episodes:
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?: In Sickness and in Wealth
Friday, October 9, 10:00pm
How health is linked to one's financial well-being.
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?: In Sickness and in Wealth
Sunday, October 11, 3:00am
How health is linked to one's financial well-being.
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?: In Sickness and in Wealth
Thursday, October 15, 11:30am
How health is linked to one's financial well-being.
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?: When the Bough Breaks; Becoming American
Friday, October 16, 10:00pm
The infant-mortality rates of blacks and whites.
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?: When the Bough Breaks; Becoming American
Sunday, October 18, 3:00am
The infant-mortality rates of blacks and whites.