Why Should I Trust You?

With the new federal nutrition guidelines out — and the old food pyramid effectively turned on its head — we dig into what this moment is really about. Where do MAHA and traditional nutrition experts actually agree on the new recommendations, and where do they sharply diverge? How has industry influenced past guidelines, and is it exerting a similar influence on the new ones? How should we understand the bold messaging about ending the “war” on protein and “healthy” saturated fats? And despite the heated rhetoric, is there real common ground here that could help rebuild trust?
We’re joined by nutrition experts with a wide range of perspectives — plus a dose of MAHA — to unpack what these guidelines really mean for both our health and our confidence in the institutions behind them.
Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off)

Guests:
DeeDee Tobias, a nutrition and obesity epidemiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. 
Kevin C. Klatt is a phD and a registered dietitian. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Ty Beal, is a nutrition scientist at GAIN–the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition–and host of The Ty Beal Show. Dr. Beal was a scientific review author for the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, part of the advisory team under the Trump administration
Elizabeth Frost, a grassroots organizer, she leads MAHA Ohio, worked for the Kennedy campaign,  co-founder of a political consulting company called Independent Force

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Today, we’re joined by sociologist Vivek Chibber, the provocative scholar and social critic who has a pointed critique of the modern day Left. The host of the Confronting Capitalism podcast joins us and argues that their management of institutions—including academia, media, the Democratic Party, and even public health—is completely out of touch with the lives and struggles of working and middle-class Americans. We discuss how this disconnect is fueling the widespread distrust of experts and institutions today, as well as Chibber's critique of the MAHA movement and its alliance with MAGA. 
We also speak with public health professor and emergency physician Craig Spencer to explore how these critiques play out in the health space —on public health, cuts to scientific research, and the shrinking safety nets under the Trump administration. Finally, we discuss what, if anything, can be done to rebuild trust within communities that feel left behind, keying off of polling showing dramatic bipartisan support of the idea that good healthcare is a human right.

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

Guests;
Vivek Chibber,  sociology professor at NYU who studies capitalism, class, and social theory. He is a contributor to Jacobin magazine and editor of Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy. Currently co-host of podcast Confronting Capitalism.
Dr. Craig Spencer, associate professor at Brown University School of Public Health, an ER doctor, has also worked for Doctors without Borders

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We delve into the CDC’s move to recommend fewer vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule, one of the most significant steps taken by the Kennedy administration so far. The change is sparking strong reactions across the spectrum, and we aim to understand why it’s happening, what evidence is being used to justify it, and what the potential consequences could be for children, parents, and public trust.
The administration says it looked to models abroad, particularly Denmark, where fewer vaccines are recommended. So we invited two Danish physicians who know their country’s vaccine policy and practice, along with a friend of the show, Dr. Michael Mina.
We ask: Is Denmark — a far smaller country with universal health care — really a good model for U.S. vaccine policy? Was this change grounded in gold-standard science? Or, as mainstream public health warns, does it increase risk for American children, even though all vaccines remain available and covered? And what, if anything, can the U.S. learn from countries that recommend fewer vaccines?

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

Guests:
Dr. Eskild Petersen, an infectious disease specialist who worked 14 years at the Statens Serum Institut moving back into clinical ID in 2003. Since 2024 adjunct professor at PandimiX Center, Roskilde University, Denmark. Leading author of "Infectious Diseases, A Geographical Guide (Rutledge 2024) and editor in chief of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Lone Graff Stensballe, a consultant pediatrician and expert in pediatric infectious diseases, with over 20 years of clinical experience at the pediatric department of Denmark’s National University Hospital. She is Professor of Pediatric Vaccinology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Copenhagen. Since 2018, she has served as Chair of the Research Ethics Committees in Denmark. 
Dr. Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and immunologist and physician. Over the course of his career, he’s been an associate professor at Harvard Medical School as well as the TH Chan School of Public Health. In the height of the pandemic, he led America’s Test to Treat program, which connected home testing to treatment options. He’s been a scientific advisor for health start-ups and has served on high-profile boards. 

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Welcome to Season 2! 

As the new year gets underway, we’re looking inside America’s exam rooms. We’ve brought together a group of traditional, allopathic doctors across multiple specialties and a group of MAHA supporters. With breaking news about changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and the dietary guidelines, this felt like the right moment to convene an honest conversation between physicians and patients about how the relationship is working.
Trust in doctors remains high—but it’s drifting downward. And we know from countless conversations that a negative experience with a doctor—over a diagnosis, treatment plan, or vaccine recommendation—can fuel mistrust in the entire medical system. Why do some patients leave these interactions feeling dismissed, and where do they turn next? What is it actually like to be a doctor in America right now? What financial pressures and systemic constraints are they operating within? How do they view their time with patients? And finally, how might this week’s changes reshape trust, care, and those exam-room conversations?

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

Guests:
Nancy Fuller, MAHA supporter, former Kennedy campaign volunteer, from Ohio
Dr. Craig Spencer, ER physician Providence, RI; professor at Brown University School of Public Health
Len Arcuri, MAHA supporter, host of podcast Autism Parenting Secrets 
Dr. Keisha Callins, OB/GYN Jeffersonville, GA; professor at Mercer University School of Medicine
Daniel DeLuca, MAHA supporter, bar and restaurant owner, political consultant
Dr. Jamie Loehr, family doctor from Ithaca, NY. Former ACIP member
Dr. Ross England, infectious disease pediatrician, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
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**This will be our last episode in 2025! We will be back in early January 2026! Have a happy holiday season and a huge thank you for listening!!**

Are our schools making our kids sick? Not because of moldy buildings or bad cafeteria food, but because of what the modern school day has become.
From increased screens in the class and shrinking free time to teachers and administrators forced to focus more and more time on prep for standardized testing, schools today would be nearly unrecognizable to many parents. So, too, are the soaring rates of ADHD, anxiety, and depression among children.
In this episode, we’re joined by New York Times reporter Jia Lynn Yang to discuss her provocative piece, “America’s Children Are Unwell. Are Schools Part of the Problem?” We examine what impact a school day increasingly organized around screens, metrics, and test prep is having on children’s mental health and even childhood itself. At a moment when a great deal of attention is focused on how social media and phones are impacting teen mental health, Yang argues it’s time to scrutinize the place where kids spend most of their week: school.
Could this be a rare area where MAHA and public health actually agree?
Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guest:
Jia Lynn Yang, Senior Ideas Writer, The New York Times, author of the recent article, "America's Children Are Unwell. Are Schools Part of the Problem?"
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/magazine/youth-mental-health-crisis-schools.html
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