In the late 1980s, Eric Muhammad was a teenager growing up in Venice, California and he needed

a job.

I wandered into a barber shop and asked him if I could help him by sweeping hair and he

said sure and I started sweeping hair for him and watching him cut I learned how to cut

hair.

Job kept Eric busy, helped keep him out of trouble and started him on a career path that

he's continued for almost three decades.

I noticed some guys would come and get their hair cut and stay and you'd say to yourself

why is he still here?

Well, there's a vibe here, there's a community here, there's a conversation going on.

This is the community hub.

And that makes barber shops ideal for something else, medical care.

From the Freakonomics Radio Network, welcome to Freakonomics MD.

I'm your host, Bob Ujena.

I'm an economist but I'm also a medical doctor and in each episode I'll dissect a fascinating

question at the sweet spot between health and economics.

Today, can bringing medical care to barber shops, improve the health of black men and

can it help heal the fractured trust between the black community and the medical establishment?

A little later in the show, we'll hear from former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about

the specific issue of vaccine hesitancy.

But first, we're going to dig into an innovative study about black barber shops that illustrates

the kind of thinking we may need to rebuild trust in the medical system.

...