Thomas Pynchon wrote in Gravity’s Rainbow, “If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about answers.” What are the questions we should be asking? Why do we die younger than people in all the other rich nations? Why do we house a quarter of the world’s prisoners? What do we gain from having increasing numbers of homeless people, including children? What should the purpose of Government be in our society? These are just a few of the questions about social justice that can lead to uncomfortable but essential discussions.

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About Dr. Stephen Bezruchka: Stephen Bezruchka is Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he received the 2002 Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2008 Faculty Community Service Award for his work in population health. He has degrees from Harvard, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins Universities. He worked clinically as a doctor for 35 years, including three decades as an emergency physician. He spent over 11 years in Nepal, writing the first trekking guide to that country (8th edition appeared in 2011), running a community health project a week’s walk from the road, training Nepali doctors in a remote district hospital, and advancing concepts of population health. His focus is on creating greater public understanding of the determinants of health through teaching, talking and writing at various levels.