Why Should I Trust You?

Today, we’re diving into a new Netflix documentary, The Plastic Detox, which follows six couples trying to conceive and what happens when they attempt to reduce plastic exposure in their daily lives.
We’re joined by two of the scientists featured in the film: Dr. Shanna Swan of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a leading researcher on endocrine-disrupting chemicals and reproductive health, and Dr. Jasmine McDonald of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, an epidemiologist who studies how environmental exposures may shape long-term health.
Take a look around your home, and if you’re anything like us, you’ll see plastic everywhere. Food wrappers, toothbrushes, detergents, carpets, it’s woven into nearly every part of daily life.
So what impact is all of this plastic having on us? And more specifically, is it playing a role (and if so, how big a role) in our falling birth rates? Many plastics contain chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. What do we know about how that might be impacting us? And, impacting a couple's ability to have a baby. 

Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett (off)
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off)

Guests:
Dr. Shanna Swan, reproductive health epidemiologist, professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Jasmine McDonald, molecular epidemiologist, professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
Sources:
The Plastic Detox
https://www.netflix.com/title/82074244

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With the midterm elections approaching, health care is emerging as a central issue. So today, we’ve gathered a group of top-notch pollsters to help us understand where Americans’ heads are right now when it comes to health.
Yes, this is about rising health care costs—a visceral concern and a growing factor in the upcoming elections—driven in part by expiring ACA subsidies and potential Medicaid cuts. But it’s also about nutrition, school lunches, ultra-processed foods, and pesticides. This isn’t the old “for or against Obamacare” debate. The lines are shifting, and MAHA sits right in the middle of it all.
As one political analyst put it, “Health care policy is going to be a top issue in all competitive House races this cycle.” So at a time when Americans are deeply concerned about the cost of daily life, where does health care fit in? How do people feel about MAHA’s nutrition agenda, pesticides and pollution, or changes to childhood vaccine guidance?
We’re joined by polling analysts Liz Hamel and Ashley Kirzinger from KFF, and Melissa Toufanian of Navigator Research—along with our friend Aaron Everitt, a MAHA supporter and writer.

Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off)

Guests:
Liz Hamel,  senior vice president and director of public opinion and survey research, KFF
Ashley Kirzinger, director of survey methodology and associate director for public opinion and survey research, KFF
Melissa Toufanian, managing director, Navigator Research
Aaron Everitt, MAHA supporter, writer for Besides the Revolution, Kennedy supporter, writer for House InHabit
Why MAHA Needs Public Health by Aaron Everitt
https://besidestherevolution.substack.com/p/why-maha-needs-public-health

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Today, we explore an unlikely alliance.
The Make America Healthy Again movement is nearly always associated with MAGA and the Republican Party. But on one issue, the political lines are being scrambled. It is Democrats in Congress, and not Republicans, who are standing with the movement in opposing liability protections for pesticide manufacturers.  
At the center of the fight is a controversial provision in the new Farm Bill that critics say would give pesticide manufacturers a legal liability shield.
We’re joined by two key Democrats who fought to stop it—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine and Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts—one of whom called the proposal “an outrage.”
We’ll also hear from influential MAHA environmental advocate Kelly Ryerson.
Are Democrats willing to work with MAHA on some issues? Is MAHA willing to break with Republicans when their goals diverge? And what could this unusual coalition mean for the coming midterm elections and, most importantly, the health of Americans?
Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), is the Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee and also serves on the House Agriculture Committee.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), serves on House AppropriationsCommittee and House Agriculture Committee.
Kelly Ryerson, MAHA activist, Glyphosate Girl, currently advocating to oppose legal protections for pesticide manufacturers. 
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In today’s episode, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, the chair of the influential ACIP, returns to our show. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss his reaction to major news this week: the federal judge issuing a preliminary order pausing his committee’s work, leading to the cancellation of their scheduled meeting.
Since ACIP was expected to take up the issue of vaccine injury, we explore the topic with Dr. Milhoan, alongside Dr. Craig Spencer of Brown University School of Public Health and Dr. Akiko Iwasaki of Yale School of Medicine.
Together, we hear the stories of three remarkable individuals who have experienced serious health setbacks following a COVID vaccine. We ask whether enough is being done to care for Americans like them, what challenges stand in the way of better understanding vaccine-related injuries, and how public health should respond to the very real experiences of those affected.

Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:
Dr. Kirk Milhoan, chairman, ACIP, pediatric cardiologist
John West, federal employee, Covid vaccine injured
Prof. Akiko Iwasaka, immunologist, Yale School of Medicine
Dr. Craig Spencer, ER doctor, public health professor, Brown School of Public Health
Jane Rioseco, consultant working on health and justice issues; Covid vaccine injured
(recorded voice of Daniel King), Covid vaccine injured; served as active duty military. 
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Measles has returned to the United States in a way we haven’t seen in more than a quarter-century. The outbreak in South Carolina follows one in West Texas last year, threatening the measles-free status the U.S. achieved in 2000.
In today’s polarized climate, the virus has become a political flashpoint. Critics say the rise reflects eroding vaccine trust driven by the MAHA movement and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Others argue outbreaks like this occur every year, are usually mild, and are just a part of life. 
So we went straight to the front lines. We speak with doctors in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and a public health leader from West Texas who worked inside the communities most affected.
What are they actually seeing on the ground? How much of this surge is about politics and vaccine mistrust—and how much is rooted in religion, culture, or generations-old skepticism? What is the media getting right about the measles resurgence… and what might we be getting wrong?
As one of the most contagious viruses in the world makes a comeback in America, we ask: what comes next?
Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:
Dr. Robin LaCroix,  a pediatric infectious disease specialist, is the medical director emeritus of Prisma Health Children's Hospital in Greenville, S.C. 
Dr. Stuart Simko, a pediatrician with Prisma Health, practices in Greer, South Carolina, has seen several families with measles cases. 
Dr. Katherine Wells,  is Director of the Lubbock Public Health District, was the lead from Lubbock in responding to the West Texas measles outbreak. 
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