About Communications Breakdown: What Works (and Doesn't) in Health and Science Communication
Communications Breakdown is a new podcast that breaks down what works (and doesn't) in health and science communication. Hosted by Tracy Mehan and Katrina Boylan, this podcast brings you into their world of research translation, health promotion, public health communications strategy, website and social media management, graphic design, and much more.
What Happens When Public Health Gets a Microphone: An Interview with Everything is Public Health's co-hosts MJ Wu and Cass Crifasi
Send us Fan Mail Everything is getting compressed into clips and hot takes, but public health doesn’t fit into five seconds. We wanted to talk about what long-form audio makes possible when the goal is clarity, trust, and real understanding not just getting a quote that survives the edit. Tracy sits down with MJ Wu and Cass Crifasi, the hosts of Everything Is Public Health, for a crossover conversation about podcasting as a tool for public health communication and science communication. We di...
5 Oct 2026
Good Communication Must Survive Contact with Real Life
Send us Fan Mail A doctor hands you a post-it note with a disease name, tells you not to Google it, and sends you home. That moment is where a lot of health communication quietly fails, because the next steps happen without the clinician, the communicator, or the system in the room. In this episode we pick up part two of our conversation with our colleage Laura Dattner to ask a blunt question: what happens when we don’t address what people actually want to know? We break down how trust, emot...
22 May 2026
"You Cannot Use These Graphics:" A Story About Audience Expertise
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’re sharing a recording of a conference talk where Tracy tells the story behind a firearm safer storage campaign. Her message: subject matter expertise is not the same as audience expertise, and effective health messaging needs both. You’ll hear how bringing in a reviewer who understood the audience context changed the campaign materials, strengthened trust, and helped the message reach people who might otherwise tune out. Tracy also digs into the com...
22 May 2026
All Great Presentations Start With This
Send us Fan Mail Anyone working in health and science communication faces a familiar challenge: how to deliver presentations that actually land. Whether you are giving a webinar, a conference talk, or a TED-style lightning talk, strong presentation skills start long before you open PowerPoint. Tracy walks through a TED-style lightning talk built around a failure story and a counterintuitive choice: no slides at all. Katrina shares a moment from a recorded webinar where a story about lan...
6 Apr 2026
Messaging, Media, and Motherhood: An Interview with Laura Dattner
Send us Fan Mail Katrina talks with research writer Laura Dattner about how a health communication career grows from press releases into national injury prevention campaigns and hands-on training for future pediatricians. They break down how to tailor the same research for parents, clinicians, policymakers, and industry while staying clear, useful, and evidence-based. • Her path into health communication through public health campaigns and mentorship • What it’s like being the de...
27 Feb 2026
Framing, Trust, and Empathy: An Interview with Brian Southwell, PhD
Send a text We sit down with health communication researcher and podcaster Brian Southwell to explore why misinformation spreads, what trust really means, how to talk about uncertainty, and where AI helps without replacing humans. We share concrete steps to bridge research and practice and lessons from podcasting that make messages feel human and useful. Dr. Brian Southwell is Distinguished Fellow at RTI International where he oversees research on mental models of scientific concepts and publ...
27 Jan 2026
The Calendar That Prevents Chaos: Taming the Social Media Beast
Send us a text We break down how we plan six months of social content while staying nimble for real‑time events, and we debate a counterintuitive framing tactic that might raise engagement but risks exclusion in public health. We close with a nod to Miss Frizzle and Bill Nye as models for authentic, audience‑first science communication. • how a two‑level calendar keeps us on track • tailoring topics to local audience cues • reading the room and crisis pause protocols • the “not for you” fram...
29 Dec 2025
From Reflection To Resolve: Ringing In 2026
Send us a text Some years ask for grit; this one demanded it. We’re closing out the year with a quick conversation about what felt heavy, what still matters, and how we plan to communicate with more heart and clarity in 2026. Our strategy: find the helpers, connect intentionally, and elevate the people doing work we admire. In this episode: • Reflections on burnout, fear, and uncertainty • Authenticity as a strategy in an AI and misinformation era • Courage to take risks and speak clearly abo...
1 Dec 2025
Storytelling: Turning Data into Decisions
Send us a text We hit our 10th episode by tackling two big tensions in health communication: AI’s fingerprints on our writing and images, and the real work of turning data into stories that lead to decisions. We end with a thoughtful look at trauma‑informed storytelling and a few fun extras for our listeners. • em dashes and other AI tells • what storytelling means beyond personal anecdotes • how to turn data into decisions with “so what” • a lightning talk example that finds the real messag...
13 Nov 2025
Building Smarter Public Health Campaigns
Send us a text Building a public health campaign shouldn’t start with what we want to say—it should start with who needs to hear it and what decisions they’re making in the moment. In this episode, we break down some of the things we think about when we create or participate in national campaigns, from pinning down primary and secondary audiences to finding the messengers they trust. We also get into why you shouldn't just use the photos you find on Google, and we close with a tip on designin...
23 Oct 2025
Attention First, Understanding Next: Overcoming the Illusion of Communication
Send us a text "The great enemy of communication...is the illusion of it." In this episode, we pull apart why your message might not be landing with your intended audience—or reaching them at all. From System 1 vs System 2 to creative risk, trade‑offs, and trusted messengers, we cover: • getting your audience's attention in a crowded media climate • from the Health Podcast Summit: three reasons messages fail • health literacy beyond reading level: access, design, incl...
29 Sept 2025
Soft Skills, Real Impact: Practical Wins for Health Comm
Send us a text In this episode, we highlight practical communication strategies that professionals can apply right away to extend their reach and impact. We start with insights from our CIRTC YouTube channel, where viewer trends reveal which skills are in highest demand. From there, we discuss why virtual conferences offer unique advantages that often go overlooked. We also spotlight compelling examples of health communication in action, from an Instagram post that makes you stop and think to...
8 Sept 2025
Finding Your Voice: Navigating Social Media, Creative Choices, and Using AI to Create Music
Send us a text Tracy and Katrina reflect on the podcast launch and explore the rapidly evolving social media landscape for scientists and researchers, plus share insights from experimenting with AI-generated music. Chapters: Podcast Launch ReflectionsSocial Media Evolution Post-TwitterPlatform Selection StrategyMusic Selection with AI ToolsHuman Creativity vs AI GenerationClosing Thoughts and EncouragementResource from this podcast: Prompts and Keywords for AI Music Generation Article referen...
25 Aug 2025
Lessons from the Next Generation Part 3: Creativity and Dissemination Planning
Send us a text What happens when classroom theory meets real-world health communication? Our three-part series concludes with a deep dive into the perspectives of emerging professionals as they navigate the transition from academic training to practical application in health communication. We explore how creativity, feedback, and real-world practice shape the future of health communication. From graphic design and Canva challenges to the value of iterative feedback, we hear from the next gen...
25 Aug 2025
Lessons from the Next Generation Part 1: The Missing Pieces in Health Comm Education
Send us a text What do emerging professionals in health communication wish they'd learned in school? In a long, revealing conversation, we dive into candid interviews with three recent interns who came to us from diverse educational backgrounds. Our discussion centers on a critical reality: students pursuing careers in public health communication receive minimal hands-on experience during their formal education. While they may learn theoretical frameworks and analyze existing campaigns, it’s ...
25 Aug 2025
Lessons from the Next Generation Part 2: Language, Storytelling, and Design Skills that Matter
Send us a text What happens when academic language meets real-world health communication needs? In this episode—the second in a three-part series—we continue to explore some of the gaps between academic training and practical application in health communication. At the end of Part 1, our conversation turned toward accessibility, and Part 2 picks up there, expanding into language and word choice and how to translate data into compelling stories that resonate with audiences. We close this sessi...
25 Aug 2025
When Public Health Meets the Instagram Era
Send us a text Remember when social media was just typing out a quick message and hitting “post”? Those days are long gone, replaced by the constant pressure to create eye-catching visuals that also have impact. This isn't just about aesthetics—it's about whether important health messages are being seen at all in today's crowded digital landscape. In this candid conversation, we pull back the curtain on a struggle facing countless health communicators: the growing demands of visual comm...
25 Aug 2025
Welcome to Communications Breakdown!
Send us a text Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of public health messaging? How scientific research moves from dense academic journals to information that actually changes lives? Communications Breakdown is a new podcast that invites you into the world of strategic communication planning, message crafting, and research translation. We're your hosts, Tracy Mehan and Katrina Boylan, and in this first episode, we'll talk you through: why we started Communications Break...
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