Season 2 is coming!

April 17, 2019

This is our latest newsletter.
You can sign up to get these every couple of weeks.

YEP!  That’s right: Season 2 starts in June!  Whitney, Daisy and I agreed on the dates just last Friday. I am having a great time working on this batch of stories-in-progress.

And it’s going a LOT more smoothly than last season, thanks in part to a group of librarians, archivists, and other beautiful nerds who helped me last summer and fall.

They’ve got a project called Preserve This Podcast, which starts with an unnerving (to me) premise: Stuff online does not stick around forever. Not all by itself.

They’re teaching podcasters like me how to archive our own stuff, and they’re doing itvia a podcast.

In the latest episode, Getting Organized, you can hear host Molly Schwartz teaching me how to keep my digital files orderly.

It’s pretty funny. As Molly says , and my mom can confirm ,  I am “not the most organized person.”

BUT I LEARNED. Just in time, because this season’s first story involved an EPIC interview. I’m going to show you the folder structure I created for all the audio, because I’m so darn proud. And because I am a nerd.

Meanwhile, listen to the episode. Hearing me bumble my way through this , it’s hilarious.

Meanwhile, in the news…  maybe a little less funny… 


Paying an arm and a leg to lose a foot , and re-learn a big lesson: Picking insurance is awful.

Actually, it’s worse than we knew...

A big theme in Season 2 is the incredible amount of adulting , vigilance, persistence, organization , that this system requires of us.

If you ever feel like that’s too much ,

… well, here’s an example of how you’re not alone:

A professor in Philadelphia found out she needed her foot amputated to stop an infection from spreading. But, she thought, at least she had insurance.

Except, it turned out her insurance was junk , a short-term plan with a ton of exclusions ,and it wasn’t going to cover the operation. Or anything related to her problem.

Sarah Gantz reported the story for the Philadelphia Inquirer (which has such a strong paywall you may not be able to read anything. With apologies to the Inquirerhere’s a summary published elsewhere.)

Gantz found herself having to defend her source. And she followed up with a new story.

Remember our episode on why most of us will choose the wrong health plan?

Turns out, most of us are even worse at it than we thought. Sarah cites a study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners:

The crazy part to me: These folks in the study spent an hour with the pamphlet. They did the reading. And still.

These were short-term plans , like the one the professor in Philadelphia had , which don’t comply with Affordable Care Act requirements to, you know, cover essential services.

People skipped it.

OK!

Instead of ending on that note, I’ll just report how pleased I am to see that somebody else’s household is just excited for Avengers Endgame as ours:

Back in a couple weeks. Till then, take care of yourself.

Looking for an answer?

For topic-specific deep dives and recommended reading, start here or use the search bar below to explore our site.

Follow the Podcast

More News



Logo for Arm & A Leg

First Aid Kit

A show about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can (maybe) do about it.
May 21, 2026

New episode: The Chatbot Will See You Now (from Organized Money)

Hey there — We have a new episode up this morning, this time from our friends at the podcast Organized Money, a show about corporate consolidation and monopolies. This episode is all about the business of therapy: from the obstacles preventing therapists from taking your insurance, to the way tech companies could be sharing data from your online therapy sessions with social media
May 14, 2026

Who’s suing patients over medical debt? It’s not just hospitals anymore

Hey there — This week we’re highlighting a trio of stories that shed new light on issues An Arm and a Leg has been tracking closely: A sharp investigation from our partners KFF Health News on who’s actually filing medical debt lawsuits. How one state is cracking down on aggressive medical credit card marketing. Some new, encouraging data suggesting more seniors can afford their
May 7, 2026

What to do — and expect — if there’s a mistake on your credit report

Last year, we reported on the Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, the federal watchdog that among other things protects Americans from unfair or predatory medical debt collection and credit reporting practices. Since then, we’ve been watching the fallout. The CliffsNotes: The Trump administration scrapped a Biden-era CFPB rule that would have removed medical debts from credit reports nationwide.
April 28, 2026

New episode: The Supreme Court case that could slow generic drugs

Hey there — Something big is happening in the world of drug prices tomorrow… and we have a new episode out now covering everything you need to know about it. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a case you may never have heard of — but one that could have a big impact on how long it takes for expensive
April 23, 2026

Chatbots haven’t totally nailed fighting medical bills

Not every news story pitching some “game-changing” or “dystopian” AI tech is worth your time. But this week, a couple stories stuck out to us about navigating somewhat more mundane uses of AI in health care, and we wanted to share our takeaways. First: what you should know about those AI scribes in the exam room. And then, a new

See the Episode Archive

One of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing parts of American life made entertaining, empowering, and useful.
Explore All