WEEKEND READER: Remembering A Good Doctor’s Quest For “Pragmatic Solidarity”

News of Russia invading Ukraine flooded our feeds late last week and left little room to focus on much else. And while it’s difficult to remember everything that preceded the Eastern European crisis unfolding before us, there were indeed other topics of conversation last week, including another noteworthy piece of news that traveled around the world: Monday’s passing of global health legend Dr. Paul Farmer. As we highlight below in this edition of Weekend Reader, back in 2000, The New Yorker published Tracy Kidder’s story about Farmer’s groundbreaking work  treating AIDS and tuberculosis, among other symptoms of poverty. As Kidder noted in his now-iconic piece and follow-up book, Farmer set an example for medical practitioners everywhere by approaching his practice with deep humility, equity, and in his own words, “pragmatic solidarity.”

Read all about it in this week’s Weekend Reader, exclusively for paying subscribers.

Also In Today’s Weekend Reader:

• A handy explainer on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Millions are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage this year.
• A QAnon con has upended the lives of real children.