Check Out 'The Checkup': Our New Health Podcast On Slate

You've read our posts. Now we invite you to listen to our podcast.

Beginning today, we're launching a new podcast called The Checkup, a partnership between WBUR and Slate. (We wanted to call it Goldberg and Zimmerman, but they told us it sounded like an accounting firm.) We're thrilled to announce that for the next six weeks, Slate will be posting it weekly among its extremely popular "Gabfests" and other ear fodder. (To listen to The Checkup now, click on the arrow above; to download and listen later, press Download and to get it through iTunes click here. )

Regular CommonHealth readers will be familiar with our blend of solidly reported, somewhat opinionated health-related news you can use (at least we think you can use it, since we can and have). Each segment will focus on a different topic — from sex problems and students' mental health as they head back to school, to fitness snake oil and vaccine controversies.

Our first episode is "Three Myths of Pregnancy and Childbirth," a subject near to our motherly hearts. It features interesting, relevant new research on bed rest during pregnancy, labor pain and cutting the baby's umbilical cord, including information you may not read much about in the best-selling pregnancy bible "What To Expect When You're Expecting."

So download the podcast, produced by WBUR's wizardly sound engineer George Hicks, give it a listen and let us know what you think.