Social Media Episodes

ASTHO's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Susan Kansagra, joins us for a candid conversation about the state of public health today. She reflects on her unexpected path into the field, the urgent need to rebuild public trust, and why communicating the everyday value of public health is more critical than ever. Dr. Kansagra also explores how social media, new messengers, and emerging tools like AI can help reshape engagement, boost impact, and energize a workforce facing growing pressure. A motivating reminder that public health is a marathon, not a sprint, and that meaningful progress takes time, partnership, and persistence.

Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health and an ASTHO member, explains how his state is taking action for youth behavioral health; Aurora GrantWingate, member and partner engagement manager at the National Association of...

Adrienne Ammerman, founder and CEO of Arclet, explains how her platform will help health communicators; Amelia Poulin, ASTHO assistant director of emerging infectious disease, breaks down a blog article on what states are doing to combat syphilis and...

Dr. Jane Harness, clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychiatry, discusses the surgeon general’s recent call for warning labels on social media; Bryan Jimenez, program supervisor for communicable disease...

Dr. Deborah Stone, lead behavioral scientist for Suicide Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains the strategies that make up a new national strategy to prevent suicide;  Nikki Meline, Social Marketing and Public Health...

Dr. Tara Kirk Sell, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, offers straightforward...

Chris Teale, a journalist with Route Fifty, discusses a federal rule that requires websites to adopt standards outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act; Courtney Youngbar, ASTHO director of Environmental Health, tells us about the concern over...

John Bowman, executive vice president for U.S. Tobacco Programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, sounds the alarm about the tobacco industry’s relentless drive to encourage young people to use their products; Kayley Humm, ASTHO senior analyst...

Dr. Jessica Schleider, associate professor of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University, says social media platforms are one of the best ways to reach kids in crisis; Josh Hodges, chief customer officer at the National Council on Aging,...

Dr. Matthew Biel, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center, worries about the impact of social media on young people; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO senior vice president for Government Affairs and Public Relations, says...

Dr. Matthew Biel, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center, tells us social media is not necessarily a good part of childhood; Lexa Giragosian, ASTHO senior analyst for Maternal and Infant Health, says...

Gaafar Uherbelau, Minister of Health for the Palau Ministry of Health and Human Services, tells us his priorities in Washington D.C. for ASTHO’s Spring Meeting; this week, the third cohort of public health professionals in the Diverse Executives...

Dr. Ashwin Vasan, New York City health commissioner, discusses New York City’s decision to declare social media a public health hazard; Anya Nystrom, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment director of Culture, Strategy, Equity, and...

Larry Michael, State Environmental Health Director at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, tells us about the many public health careers available to people interested in science and public service; Marissa Vigar, Health...