Multimorbidity, or the co-occurrence of two or more long-term health conditions in one person, is seen as one of the greatest challenges to contemporary healthcare services. As the WHO explains: “the ageing population, less healthy lifestyles and an increasing incidence of chronic conditions mean that multimorbidity is on the rise. This trend is a major health care challenge facing all …
Category Archives: Lectures
Writing Life No. 20: An Interview with Emma Kowal


One evening in December 2021, in a small South African coastal town where my best friend’s bustling wedding preparations were underway, I got goosebumps. I turned off the music, looked up from my reading, and said “please listen to this”. Then I …
Making embryos lively: The politics of embryo personhood when fertilization happens under a microscope
On May 25, 2022, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed into law the strictest ban on abortion to date, a policy that prohibits the termination of any pregnancy “from the moment of fertilization.” This law endows an embryo, no matter the stage—long before it has discernible heartbeat—with the same legal status as an unborn child. Almost exactly one month later, on …
On the Power and Nourishment of Multidisciplinary Inquiry: Remembering Adele H. Hite
We were saddened to hear of the passing of our dear colleague Adele H. Hite in April 2022. Adele was a co-founding member of the Nutrire CoLab and we deeply appreciated her contributions to our thinking and most of all, her wickedly smart, generous and witty spirit.
Nutrire CoLab is comprised of a group of women scholars who identify as …
Writing Life No. 19: An Interview with Jason Pine

Radical Harm Reduction and the Responsibility of a World
Addiction is exceedingly moralized. Perhaps no other concept associated with the experience of addiction reveals this more than that of responsibility. Too often, addiction is understood in terms of a lack or failure of personal responsibility; rehabilitation is understood in terms of instilling a sense of such responsibility; and, as this collection of essays attests, public health programs aimed at drug use …