
‘The Retrievals' Season 2 Is Out Now
Hi, I'm the host of 'The Retrievals.' Season 2 launches today! It's about C-sections. We begin at a Chicago hospital where staff members decide to take action after one of their nurses undergoes an excruciating C-section.
If you heard Season 1, you'll know that it identified a problem: Women's pain is often ignored. The second season asks: What are the solutions?
Season 2 grows directly out of listener responses to Season 1, so today I want to tell you about those responses and how they shaped my reporting.
Two years ago, after the first season of 'The Retrievals,' I received hundreds of messages from listeners. They wrote about many varieties of pain. Many varieties of not being listened to. Many varieties of birth trauma. They wrote about experiences that had happened one year ago, or nearly 50.
I wanted to keep track of these stories. So I started a spreadsheet, with names and dates and subjects. Maybe there would be a pattern that emerged. An observation that would lead to more reporting. Or maybe the spreadsheet wouldn't lead to an output or to an outcome. Maybe it was just a private way of honoring the respondents.
When you read just a handful of the cells together, they have a distilled emotional power. Here's a sample, all from a single week in August 2023:
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3 High-Yield Healthcare Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in August
Key Points Merck is an industry giant that has proved time and again it can innovate for the future. Ventas has positioned itself to grow its business and its dividend. Omega Healthcare Investors has survived the storm, and now it is ready to ride the wave. 10 stocks we like better than Merck › If you are looking at healthcare stocks for dividend ideas in August, don't get too caught up on the sector's low 1.8% dividend yield. You can do much better than that without having to take on huge risks. Three solid options that you might want to buy hand over fist right now are Merck (NYSE: MRK), Ventas (NYSE: VTR), and Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI). Here's a primer on each one. 1. Merck is a high-yield survivor Merck's dividend yield is a pleasing 4.1% or so, more than twice the healthcare sector's average. The company has increased its payout annually for 15 consecutive years. From this standpoint, it is an attractive dividend stock, but what about the business? 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That strong showing isn't quite as big an opportunity on the dividend front here, however, because its payout remained high throughout the pandemic period. But it is a sign that Omega's payout is likely sustainable as it gets back on the growth track, including buying new properties. Ventas' exposure to senior housing and the graying of the country are growth engines. Omega's exposure to this same thing is a recovery engine. If you need income today, buying into its turnaround story will probably be more attractive to you than buying Ventas. Three solid dividend choices in the healthcare sector Even when the average healthcare stock has a miserly 1.8% yield, you can still find very attractive income options. Merck is a tried-and-true dividend payer with a well-run business and attractive yield. Ventas, which also has an attractive yield, repositioned itself for growth during the pandemic, and that is now starting to shine through on the dividend side of things. And Omega muddled through the pandemic without a dividend cut, leaving it with a high yield today and a strengthening business. August could be a great time to buy one or more of these healthcare dividend stocks. Should you buy stock in Merck right now? Before you buy stock in Merck, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Merck wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Merck. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 High-Yield Healthcare Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in August was originally published by The Motley Fool