Our Malady by Timothy Snyder Summary
Overview of Our Malady
In "Our Malady," historian Timothy Snyder transforms his near-death experience into a powerful manifesto connecting healthcare, freedom, and democracy. Ezra Klein calls it essential reading during COVID-19, as Snyder daringly compares America's profit-driven healthcare system to historical atrocities. What price do we pay for medicine as business?
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Key takeaways
A Personal Nightmare Reveals America's Systemic Failure
When Timothy Snyder found himself fighting for his life in the emergency room with an abscess in his liver and infection flooding his bloodstream, he used the word "malaise" to describe his condition. Little did he know how prophetic that word choice would be. His harrowing journey through five hospitals over three months exposed the profound dysfunction of American healthcare-a system prioritizing profit over patient care at every turn. Despite having excellent insurance, connections at Yale, and the educational capital to advocate for himself, Snyder nearly died from medical neglect. Doctors had noted but neglected a liver lesion during his appendectomy, discharging him with insufficient antibiotics. In New Haven, he remained in sepsis for eight hours before receiving antibiotics-far beyond Britain's NHS recommendation of treatment within one hour. Only after nine more hours did someone finally discover the neglected liver abscess had grown to the size of a baseball. This personal ordeal exposed a stark reality: American healthcare fails at every stage of life. Maternal care is grossly inadequate, with Black women dying in childbirth at rates three to four times higher than white women. Americans die younger than people in twenty-three European countries, with the gap between U.S. life expectancy and comparable countries growing from one year in 1980 to four years by 2020. This disparity represents millions of lives cut unnecessarily short by a system that puts profits before people.
Health as Freedom: The Historical Connection
Children: The Measure of Our Healthcare Values
Truth as the Foundation of Public Health
The Corporatization of Medicine
The Path Forward: Between Solitude and Solidarity
Healing Our Collective Malady
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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