⚕️The Hearts We Didn't Know We Were Breaking: What We're Learning About COVID's Long Shadow on Our Children

Send us Fan MailSee our episode substack with haiku, details and comicWe told ourselves a story about children and COVID-19. It was a comforting story.Like most comforting stories we tell ourselves during crises, this one was both partially true and dangerously incomplete.A massive new study from the RECOVER Consortium has just shattered our comfortable narrative. The kind of study that's too big to dismiss, too methodical to wave away, too urgent to ignore.Lu Li et al, Kidney Function Following COVID-19 in Children and Adolescents, JAMA Network Open (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.4129Dazheng Zhang et al, Pediatric Gastrointestinal Tract Outcomes During the Postacute Phase of COVID-19, JAMA Network Open (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.58366Bingyu Zhang et al, Cardiovascular post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents: cohort study using electronic health records, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56284-0 #kidshealth https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-multiple-children-elevated-health-covid.htmlThis is Heliox: Where Evidence Meets EmpathyIndependent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter.  Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas. Support the showDisclosure: This podcast uses AI-generated synthetic voices for a material portion of the audio content, in line with Apple Podcasts guidelines. We make rigorous science accessible, accurate, and unforgettable.Produced by Michelle Bruecker and Scott Bleackley, it features reviews of emerging research and ideas from leading thinkers, curated under our creative direction with AI assistance for voice, imagery, and composition. Systemic voices and illustrative images of people are representative tools, not depictions of specific individuals.We dive deep into peer-reviewed research, pre-prints, and major scientific works—then bring them to life through the stories of the researchers themselves. Complex ideas become clear. Obscure discoveries become conversation starters. And you walk away understanding not just what scientists discovered, but why it matters and how they got there.Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter.  Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.Spoken word, short and sweet, with rhythm and a catchy beat.http://tinyurl.com/stonefolksongs