This is my voice. It can tell you a lot about me and I'm not changing it for anyone.

In NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, you'll find a collection of NPR episodes centered on the Black experience.

Search NPR Black Truths, wherever you get podcasts. You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hi Short Waivers, Emily Kwang here, back in the host chair.

I've been away for the last few months

developing a new show about Asian American and Pacific Islander history. You

will hear all about it in May, but in the meantime I am so glad to be back with this team, kicking it with Regina Barber,

as we bring you new discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines.

Okay, I am joined today by Chicago-based journalists and

former shortwave intern Indy Kara. Hi Emily. Hi so Indy you are here to talk about

some solutions to an emerging public health crisis in the United States, that being

this big increase we're seeing in syphilis cases among newborns. Tell me about that.

Yeah, so in 2012 there were 335 babies born in the US with syphilis, which is a

sexually transmitted infection that if left untreated can cause serious complications. Babies born with syphilis can develop

brain and nerve problems or even be stillborn in some cases. In 2022, there were almost 4,000 babies born in the US with syphilis.

Okay, that's a huge jump.

Yeah, I know.

And these newborns have something called congenital syphilis.

That's when the infection is transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy.

And the reasons behind the roughly 755% increase in cases over the last 10-ish years are complicated.

Yeah, okay, we want to hear more about this.

How did you first hear about this?

...