Episodes

Aug. 29, 2022

251: AI Project Tackles Online Misinformation

In a special edition of the newscast, Connie Moon Sehat, a Researcher at Large with Hacks and Hackers, discusses an AI project that will help organizations evaluate and respond to social media misinformation and disinformation. The conversation took...
Aug. 26, 2022

250: ASTHO Seeks More Monkeypox Funding

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Relations, discusses a letter CEO Mike Fraser sent to the White House this week seeking additional funding to respond to the Monkeypox outbreak; Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO...
Aug. 25, 2022

249: New Flu Vaccine Polling

Dr. Gillian SteelFisher, Director of Global Polling for the Harvard Opinion Research Program, reflects on her latest survey gauging public reaction to seasonal flu vaccines; Paula Tran, State Health Officer for the Wisconsin Department of Health...
Aug. 24, 2022

248: New COVID-19 Guidelines

Ian Williams, Incident Manager for the CDC's COVID-19 Response, discusses the latest changes to public pandemic guidance; Lillian Colasurdo, ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Law and Data, reflects on the first-ever convening of those public health...
Aug. 23, 2022

247: CDC Reforms

Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO’s President and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, commends CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky for wanting to improve the CDC’s mission; Rachel Scheckman, an ASTHO Senior Policy Analyst,...
Aug. 22, 2022

246: Back to School Concerns

Dylan George, Director of Operations for the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics with the CDC, discusses trying to evaluate the factors that could drive more COVID-19 infections in the fall as kids return to school; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO...
Aug. 19, 2022

245: The Secrets to Effective Communication

In a special edition of the newscast, Glen Nowak, the former Media Relations Chief for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses a back-to-basics approach to effective public health communication, during an interview at the 2022...
Aug. 18, 2022

244: How the Pandemic Changed PH Comms

In a special edition of the newscast, Dr. Khalilah LeGrand, the Interim Chief of Staff for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, discusses how the pandemic has impacted public health communications while attending the 2022 National...
Aug. 17, 2022

243: Predicting COVID-19 in the Fall

Dylan George, the Director of Operations for the Center for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics with the CDC, discusses what could happen with COVID-19 infection rates in the fall and winter; Maggie Davis, ASTHO’s Director of State Health...
Aug. 16, 2022

242: New Data on Public Health Authority

Maggie Davis, ASTHO’s Director of State Health Policy, discusses a project to survey recent changes in laws governing public health authority; Dr. Harry Chen, the former Commissioner of Health for Vermont, tells us about some of the lessons learned...
Aug. 15, 2022

241: Monkeypox Vaccine Strategy

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses the plan to stretch monkeypox vaccine supplies by giving smaller doses;  Arjun Srinivasan, Associate Director for Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs with the CDC,...
Aug. 12, 2022

240: Monkeypox Funding

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses the challenges posed by the monkeypox outbreak and admits the evolving strategy can be tough to communicate; Devon Page, an ASTHO Government Affairs Analyst, breaks down Congressional...
Aug. 11, 2022

239: Infectious Disease Planning

Winfred Rawls, ASTHO’s Director for Preparedness and Evaluation, explains a project that will lead to the development of a clearinghouse with information to help public health agencies get ready for the next crisis; Andrea Flinchum, State HAI...
Aug. 10, 2022

238: New York Responds to Monkeypox

Dr. James McDonald, Medical Director in the Office of Public Health for the New York State Department of Health, says the monkeypox response in New York follows the data and social determinants; a new ASTHO report about mosquitos highlights the work...
Aug. 9, 2022

237: New School Year, New COVID-19 Strategy

Dr. Manisha Juthani, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses the state’s plan to help schools deal with COVID-19 this fall and how it is different than past years; the CDC has a website for back-to-school public health...
Aug. 8, 2022

236: Optimistic About the PH Workforce

Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO’s Director of Workforce Development, says the PH WINS survey shows many public health workers remain committed to their work despite the way they’ve been treated during the pandemic; Dr. Brian Castrucci, President and CEO of...
Aug. 5, 2022

235: Public Health is Underfunded

Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, discusses the organization’s latest report addressing the impact of chronic underfunding on the nation’s public health system; Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey, and others are...
Aug. 4, 2022

234: PH WINS Survey Released

Dr. Brian Castrucci, de Beaumont Foundation President and CEO, discusses the concerning results of the latest PH Wins Survey of nearly 45,000 public health workers across the nation;  ASTHO is teaming with the Association of Maternal and Child...
Aug. 3, 2022

233: New CDC Workforce Survey

Dr. Laura Parajon, the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Health for the New Mexico Department of Health, discusses a new CDC survey of more than 26,000 people working in public health that says public health workers are suffering; Robert Jennings, Executive...
Aug. 2, 2022

232: North Carolina’s Child Vaccine Strategy

Dr. Elizabeth Tilson, North Carolina’s State Health Director, discusses vaccine uptake among children and why she believes North Carolina has been able to have one of the highest rates in the southeast; Julia Greenspan, ASTHO’s Director of...
Aug. 1, 2022

231: Monkeypox Response

Chris Taylor, Director of Infectious Disease Outbreak Response & Recovery at ASTHO, reflects on the Monkeypox outbreak now in its third month here in the United States; Robert Jennings, Executive Director of the National Public Health Information...
July 29, 2022

230: Filling the Workforce Pipeline

Dr. Laura Parajon, Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Health at the New Mexico Department of Health, discusses a new internship program that helps students understand why they might have an interest in a public health career; Eric Cote, an ASTHO Consultant,...
July 28, 2022

229: Heat Waves Require New Thinking

Dr. Evan Mallen, an ORISE Fellow with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says cities and states need to adapt plans and programs to changes in climate that impact public health; Dr. Joseph Kanter, State Health Officer at the Louisiana...
July 27, 2022

228: Hawaii’s 9-8-8 Experience

Belinda Danielson, Access Supervisor with the State of Hawaii Department of Health, discusses the launch of the new national 9-8-8 hotline for mental health services; Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President for Health Equity and...