Chronicles

Join us for another episode of Chronicles! We're back together for a conversation on advice, empathy, and connection. In this episode, we share personal stories about the best advice we've ever received, as well as the times where what we or others offered felt like it missed the mark. We touch on when concern feels more like unhealthy comparisons or gossip, and the awkwardness of wellness tips or medical advice at the wrong time. We also talk about the times when there's nothing to say and the most helpful thing anyone can do is to listen. We conclude with the idea of connection over advice, sharing some of our most meaningful moments where support and empathy was offered at just the right time.

Join us for this episode of Chronicles, where we share our thoughts on one of the most pressing global health issues -- COVID-19 vaccine efforts. We discuss the situation that each of our countries are facing, the responsibilities of wealthy governments, and other inequities we're worried about. We also talk about our own personal experiences, including what it's like to live with medical conditions that leave us less protected by the vaccine than others will be, as well as difficult conversations we're having with our friends, family, and communities about vaccine hesitancy. Please note that we recorded this episode before Pres. Biden and the U.S. government announced support for the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines earlier this month. That announcement shows exciting progress, but the global fight for vaccine equity is just beginning. So much more is urgently needed.

For the first episode of Season 2 of Chronicles, we're tackling how we and our colleagues advocate -- and the balance between words and action. Listen in to hear us break down the terms around advocacy that we find impactful… and especially the ones that make us uncomfortable. We also discuss where we think that words are only words and the need to see and be part of more genuine efforts to address inequitable power dynamics and rebalance who has a voice in decision-making. Hope you join us, we're excited to be back! Much more to come in Season 2. See below for links to content we mention throughout the episode!

We're still here! And we're back. Looking forward to a new year and new season of Chronicles, where we are continuing to come together to share real stories and have real conversations on health. Lots in store for 2021, hope you join us! Please also feel free to reach out to us on twitter @Chroniclepodcst or email at chronicleshealthpodcast@gmail.com! We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode of Chronicles, we discuss maintaining connectivity and connections through COVID-19. With all five of us on the podcast for the first time in a while, we share both the personal challenges of navigating how our communities have changed and the strategies we've used to maintain sanity and relationships with our friends and loved ones during the pandemic. Through our personal experiences, we grow the conversation to explore the social and political impacts in our countries and around the world, discussing gaps in policy and inequities in who has access to digital platforms at a time when being connected is as important as ever.

During this episode of Chronicles, Joab, Chantelle and Micaela discuss this week’s Global Week of Action on NCDs, and the role of individual, public and corporate accountability. How does systemic change happen? What is the role of education, advocacy and awareness? What is your commitment to the Global Week of Action? Tune in to this month’s episode for some Chronicles insight on these subjects.

We're back! It's been a tough few months as COVID-19 has disrupted everything we expected 2020 to be. But we've continued to stay in close touch through a challenging spring and have come back together this summer to start sharing our conversations again through Chronicles, a podcast about real people with real stories having real conversations on health. In this episode, Grace, Joab, and Micaela discuss how COVID has impacted them and their communities in Rwanda, Kenya, and Switzerland and reflect on how to continue to move forward as mental health and NCD advocates during a turbulent time.

Listen in to episode 4 of Chronicles, a podcast about real people with real stories having real conversations on health. Recorded in mid-January, the crew comes back together to share their reflections from the holiday season and think through our aspirations for 2020. We explore the topic of wellness in the workplace and discuss how to balance busy, professional lives while living with illness. With just the female hosts on this month, we also have some real talk about good, bad, and funny moments we have encountered as outspoken women who constantly find ourselves asking when to speak up and when to let it go.

Join us for episode 3 of Chronicles! In this deep dive about stigma, we first explore external stigma – insensitive comments or frustrating situations we’ve dealt with as others have responded to our or our family’s experiences. We also reflect on internalized stigma – how we’ve let other’s perceptions of our limitations impact us in the decisions we make or how we push ourselves to “fit in”. Throughout the conversation we share advice we have for each other, medical professionals, and the wider community on how to address stigma and create safe spaces for people living with chronic illness.

Join us for episode 2 where we return to the podcast to share our personal experiences - and experiences of family members close to us - of encountering severe, chronic illness while young. We discuss having to grow up fast and quickly adjust to a new "normal" at the moment of diagnosis, navigating stigma and misunderstandings about mental health and chronic illness, and how to approach global youth advocacy in a meaningful way.

This is Chronicles, a podcast about real people with real stories, having real conversations on health. This pilot episode introduces its hosts and embraces an open, inclusive dialogue about what it is to be affected daily by chronic conditions, all over the world. Chronicles is our joint commitment to one another and to a future where these conversations are more common catalysts for change. We are not podcasters normally, but we are advocates, and, during this Global Week of Action on NCDs, we are excited about this new platform for global exchange.