On the Wildfire Frontline with Dan Gibbs
Jake speaks with Dan Gibbs, who is a wildland firefighter and Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Dan was deployed this year to fight what were the largest forest fires in the state's history, which was part of a swell of fires this year out West that consumed an area larger than the state of Maryland. Dan offers both a ground-level and a policy perspective on how to fight wildfires, sets the record straight on Trump's "forest raking," and takes a position on whether wildland firefighters should have their own calendar.
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Rebuilding in the Wake of the Pandemic with Dr. Ashwin Vasan
Jake speaks with Dr. Ashwin Vasan, a physician and epidemiologist who is also the President & CEO of Fountain House, an organization with international reach that supports people with mental illness. In the conversation, Jake mines Dr. Vasan’s public health expertise in exploring our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including what steps Vice President Joe Biden should take to advance public health should he become President, and how we should communicate about and build confidence in the adoption of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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A Breath of Fresh Cyanide
While our air quality overall has improved in the last 50 years, air pollution today still causes about 100,000 premature deaths annually in America. It costs us all about $886 billion per year. The air emissions from our fossil fuel economy not only accelerates climate change, but also poses a health risk right now in communities across the U.S. as harmful substances, like Benzene, are still emitted.
Jake speaks with Chase Woodruff, a journalist who writes for Westword, about his reporting on an oil refinery in Metro Denver that has been cited for over 100 violations since 2018 by state regulators, including spewing an excess amount of hydrogen cyanide in the surrounding community.
Jake also speaks with Dr. Cory Carroll, a physician who describes how harmful air emissions and elevated ozone levels affect our health. He also shares some perspective on treating patients in a community that has seen a steep rise in nearby oil and gas extraction.
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The Future of Big Tobacco is ... Japanese?!
Altria recently introduced "Heat not burn" tobacco products in Atlanta, their first U.S. test market. This is the latest ploy big tobacco is using to hook people on nicotine. It’s so new it makes vaping seem like a thing of the past. These products come to the U.S. all the way from Japan, where they've become very popular.
In this episode, you’ll hear an interview conducted in Tokyo, where Dr. Reiko Saito of Jumonji University talks about the history of tobacco control activism in Japan, new smoking regulations passed in advance of the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, and how these “Heat not Burn” products came to prominence in Japan. PLUS, Don Draper makes a guest appearance!
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Coming out, interrupted.
Justin took the stage at a recent rural philanthropy event and, for the first time in his life, publicly shared his story about coming out as a gay man. However, his microphone got cut off.
In this episode, we talk with him about what happened that day, as well as his personal experience with so-called "gay conversion therapy." We also speak about his work at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation where he engages in research to support the health of LGBTQ high school students.
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A conversation with Liz Plank about idealized masculinity
In this episode, Jake speaks with award-winning Vox journalist Liz Plank about her new book, "For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity." We explore the negative health impact of toxic masculinity or, as Liz calls it, "idealized masculinity", and its role in fueling gun violence, domestic abuse, suicide and more. And finally, we discuss societal solutions to address these public health problems, including a more empathetic approach to masculinity, which empowers men to be who they truly want to be.
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What it means to be "healthy": some thoughts from the SXSW Wellness Expo
This week, we’re taking a look back at one of our favorite episodes from the season: our trip to SXSW’s Wellness Expo, where we interviewed visitors and vendors about their thoughts on what it means to be “healthy”. Now, a few months after our initial trip, the Wooden Teeth staff takes time to reflect on the conversations we had at SXSW, and talk about what the different booths at the event have to say about how our culture thinks about health.
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Need some summer reading ideas? We got you covered.
In this episode, we are looking back at some of our favorite interviews from this season about books—books that inspire, that force us to reevaluate our preconceived notions, and that illuminate something within ourselves. We’ll show you some highlights from our conversations with three different authors about their work: Marion Nestle, author of Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat; author of Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar Villanueva; and finally, Leslie Crutchfield, author of How Change Happens: Why Some Social Movements Succeed and Others Don’t. Our Wooden Teeth staff also joins the podcast to give some of their top book recommendations for this summer. If you are looking for something to read for a coming vacation in these warmer weeks, we promise you will leave this episode with a laundry list of books to stack on your nightstand and expand your mind.
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How does economic inequality influence mental health?
In this episode, Jake speaks with Richard Wilkinson, co-author, along with Kate Pickett, of a new book titled "The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity and Improve Everyone's Well-Being". This book examines how economic policy influences a myriad of health issues—such as the fact, for instance, that mental illness is three times as common in the United States as it is Germany. In the conversation, we dive into both the reasons why economic inequality manifests in these negative health outcomes, as well as how policy solutions can fix the problem.
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The re-birth of the public option
A public health insurance failed to make it into the Affordable Care Act, but now states are creating their own version of the public option. Colorado has adopted legislation that initiates the implementation of a public health insurance option for residents, and we get the inside story of the bill and how it passed from Susanna Mizer, Healthier Colorado's Senior Director of Public Affairs. To put this policy development in context, we also present a cheeky 10 minute, 4 act play on the history of the public option in America. Enjoy!
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All About the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary
On today’s episode, we speak with political consultants Jayson Sime and Kate Duch of One Minus Beta about the process and politics of the 2020 process to produce a Democratic nominee for President. How are the rules different this year? How will a large field of candidates change the race? Which lesser-known candidate has a chance to breakthrough? Those are all questions we tackle. We also talk about Jayson's Syme role as a health coach, trainer, and speaker through his project called Right to Shine.
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When we elect women, what happens to our health?
This week, our host Jake Williams chatted with Edwin Ng of the University of Waterloo and Carles Muntaner of the University of Toronto. They examined the effect of female representation in government on population health. Turns out, female representation and feminism generally are good for your health.
And we couldn’t have a podcast about women with only men so two ladies of the Wooden Teeth team joined to give their take on the episode. So join us as we discuss feminism and public health.
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Why are some cities better at keeping people alive?
A low-income resident of New York City or San Jose, CA lives about 5 years longer on average than a low-income resident of Detroit or Indianapolis. The evidence suggests that this is due, at least in part, to the difference in social, economic and public health resources offered to residents via public policy. Today on the podcast we have the president of CityHealth, Shelley Hearne. CityHealth, an initiative of the deBeaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, advances evidence-based public health policy solutions that help people live longer, better lives in cities across America, and then ranks cities on their adoption of these policies with a gold/silver/bronze medal system.
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Why does CrossFit have a political agenda?
This week: We learn that there’s an exercise Jake can’t do, find out why a gym company has a government affairs director, and learn about “unholy alliances” of less-than-savory businesses and government health agencies.
We’re joined by Russ Greene, who heads up government relations for CrossFit, which now has more than 15,000 affiliate gyms around the country and we find out what it means to be a fitness company with its own political ideology.
Disclosure: Jake <3s CrossFit.
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Politicians can choose their own voters. Is that a threat to democracy?
Every 10 years, based on the data provided by the U.S. Census, states redraw the country's congressional and state legislative districts. It’s an intense and often contentious political process that shapes representation for the decade to follow.
The rules about how redistricting works, specifically about whether districts can be drawn to expressly favor one party over another, are being considered right now by the U.S. Supreme Court. The outcome of that case could have profound impact upon the health of our democracy.
We talk it over with Michael Li, Senior Counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law. He is a leading national expert in the redistricting process and, as you might guess, has lots of thoughts on the topic.
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Childbirth and reproductive health in America: Where we are and why we're here
Another dispatch from SXSW and a big, important conversation this week.
We’re talking maternal health care and the worsening dangers of childbirth in the U.S. We’re also talking abortion and comprehensive sex education as part of the spectrum of reproductive health care and why so many American women deliver their babies via c-section. Paid family leave makes an appearance too.
Join us as we sit down with three passionate experts and advocates on International Women’s Day, who were in Austin to present a session called Hysteria No More: Data, Doctors, and Women’s Health:
Dr. Chitra Akileswaran, Co-Founder of Cleo and lecturer at Harvard Medical School
Dr. Rashmi Kudesia, reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at CCRM Fertility Houston
Dr. Pooja Mehta, Director of Maternal and Women's Health Policy at the LSU Center Consortium for Health Transformation
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The physical and mental toll of mass violence
In the wake of violence, some survivors appear unharmed but actually experience very real mental health injuries. Manya Chylinski, a survivor of 2013 Boston Marathon bombing who now speaks about mental trauma and resiliency & Amanda Samman, CEO of the Better Lab and trauma surgeon at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, join us on the podcast this week.
We talk with Manya about her personal journey after the marathon and to Amanda about how her experience has informed how she has engaged on this issue.
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We went to SXSW and heard a lot of things
This week: A little change of pace from the Wooden Teeth crew.
We snagged a booth at the SXSW Wellness Expo and talked to anyone who’d lend an ear about this very show – and we also got their thoughts on tape about the products they were selling and what influences their chance to be healthy.
Listen up for some of the best, most-interesting, and most-head-scratching products and ideas about our health.
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What are the most effective policy proposals to improve health?
President & CEO of Trust for America’s Health, John Auerbach, joins us on the podcast as we discuss effective policy proposals to improve health. We talk about the evolution of public health, the role of Trust for America's Health (TFAH), and we dive deep about specific state-level policy ideas.
TFAH recently examined 1500 policies in an effort to identify the most feasible and effective ones that states can use to improve health and control costs. Their wide-ranging findings include recommendations on income, housing, syringe access, and policy to promote healthy behavior.
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Should people be allowed to inject illegal drugs under supervision?
Lisa Raville, Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Action Center, joins us on the podcast today. At the Harm Reduction Action Center, drug users are provided with clean needles to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, along with other resources to help them stay healthy and avoid overdose, in addition to providing treatment referral.
Last year, Denver approved a measure that would create a pilot site for a "supervised use site," a place where people could legally inject drugs under medical supervision. However, state approval would still be needed, and federal threats by the Trump Administration loom.
Lisa takes us inside the world of applying a harm reduction strategy to address the needs of people who inject drugs.
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