Football is here – and so is a new study on CTE

2026-08-31 · 15 min · episode 1543 · 15 entities

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Football is here – and so is a new study on CTE
discusses News concept

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Feed category: News
discusses Science concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Science
discusses Life Sciences concept

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Feed category: Life Sciences
discusses Daily News concept

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evidence rules-v5
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discusses Nature concept

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evidence rules-v5
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discusses Astronomy concept

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Episode description as stored

The NFL season begins this week, but America’s favorite sport has been on our minds for other reasons recently. New research released in the journal BMJ reveals that 1 in 4 former NFL players in this sample had CTE, a neurodegenerative brain disease caused by repetitive head injuries. Past studies already showed that football players are at high risk for CTE, but this study – which assessed ex-NFL players who died from 2016 to 2021 – revealed that at least a quarter of those former players died with CTE, and the study’s lead author says the actual numbers are likely higher. What does that mean for players (and fans) of American football? Short Wave host Nate Rott and NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan find out. If you liked this episode, check out our episode on the brain injuries caused by operating blast weapons . Interested in more sports science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org . Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy