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GUEST: Larry Adelman, Series Creator and Executive Producer of Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making us Sick?

Earlier this week, a new government report revealed a growing gap in life expectancy in the U.S. between wealthy and impoverished classes. Researchers found that life expectancy overall has increased, but affluent sectors of society have made greater gains causing an increase in disparities between the rich and the poor. Paralleling the income stratification taking place over the last two decades, health statistics show larger gaps in infant mortality rates as well as deaths from heart disease and cancer. The report’s researchers offered no concrete answers as to why the inequalities continue to widen but suggested that personal lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking play a significant role. Meanwhile, a new seven-part investigative documentary on health in the US, goes beyond the government report by examining the contributions of social conditions to the gap. “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” which premieres soon on PBS, highlights vocation, chronic stress, race, and unequal access to resources, as principal factors in why the rich are in better health than the poor.

For more information, and to watch video clips of the documentary, visit www.unnaturalcauses.org.

Check www.pbs.org/unnaturalcauses/local_listings.htm for local listings to find out how you can watch the documentary.