Steven Stack, MD
Aug. 10, 2026
1183: Five Years of Public Health: The Stories That Shaped Our Journey
In this episode, we celebrate five years of Public Health Review: Morning Edition and revisit some of the defining moments from the podcast's past years.
Jan. 21, 2026
1055: Healthy Choices, Healthy Places: State Strategies for Population Health
How do states turn public health messaging into real behavior change and how do the places we live shape our health every day? In this episode, Dr. Steven Stack, secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, discusses the 'Our Healthy Kentucky Home' campaign and what it takes to move beyond awareness to action. Dr. Stack, an ASTHO member and former ASTHO president, shares how Kentucky is using simple, achievable goals—eat healthier, move more, and stay socially connected—along with clear calls to action, trusted partners, and data-driven refinements to engage residents and build long-term, sustainable health improvements. Then, Clint Grant, director of healthy community design, chronic disease, and health improvement at ASTHO joins us to explore the growing role of healthy community design in public health. From transportation and road safety to green space and mobility, Grant explains how decisions about streets, sidewalks, and transit are some of the most powerful,…
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Clint Grant, MSPH
Dec. 8, 2025
1038: Kentucky’s Pertussis Surge: Preventable Tragedies and a Path Forward
Kentucky is experiencing its largest spike in whooping cough cases since 2012, an alarming rise that has already claimed the lives of three infants in the past year. In this episode, Dr. Steven Stack, secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, joins us to unpack what’s driving the surge, why waning vaccination rates matter, and how misinformation is complicating public health response efforts.
Guest: Steven Stack, MD
449
Feb. 10, 2025
840: Our Healthy Kentucky Home, Dementia Set To Double
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO immediate past president and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, tells us more about the Our Healthy Kentucky Home initiative; Dr. Josef Coresh, director of the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Josef Coresh MD PhD
403
Nov. 19, 2024
794: Inaugural PHIG Impact Report Features Kentucky Success
Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health and ASTHO’s immediate past president, tells us how his state is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant to improve the state of public health in Kentucky, in the first PHIG Impact Report segment; ASTHO...
Guest: Steven Stack, MD
385
Oct. 23, 2024
776: Stack Reflects on ASTHO Presidency, Improving Recruitment and Retention in Public Health
Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health and current ASTHO President, tells us about ASTHO’s upcoming leadership transition; Madison Novosel, North Dakota’s Lead Program coordinator discusses the program’s new...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Madison Novosel MPH
770
Oct. 1, 2024
761: Public Health Career Pathway, OTC Syphilis Test
Dr. Steven Stack, MD, MBA, Commissioner for Public Health and Chief Medical Officer, Commonwealth of Kentucky, and ASTHO President, discusses a partnership with HBCU Kentucky State University to bolster the public health workforce; Julia Greenspan,...
Guests: Julia Greenspan MPH CHES , Steven Stack, MD
311
July 9, 2024
702: Explore Leadership Opportunities, New STI Prevention Tool
ASTHO President and Kentucky Commissioner for Public Health, Dr. Steven J. Stack, shares how ASTHO's peer networks give agency leaders the opportunity to make connections with colleagues; Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC National Center for HIV,...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Jonathan Mermin MD MPH
226
March 6, 2024
615: Grad Considers DELPH Colleagues Family, New ASTHO CEO is “Nice, Kind, Caring”
Keon Lewis, equity and development coordinator for the Cabarrus Health Alliance, talks about his experience as a recent graduate of ASTHO’s DELPH program; Dr. Joseph Kanter is ASTHO’s new CEO and begins his role in April; Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO...
225
March 5, 2024
614: New ASTHO CEO Announced
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, announces Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO alum, as incoming CEO; Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO’s newly-announced CEO, who joins ASTHO from the Louisiana Department of...
Guests: Joseph Kanter, MD, MPH , Steven Stack, MD
191
Jan. 16, 2024
580: Reflections on Racial Healing, Readiness Website Launches Today
Natasha Harper-Levy, ASTHO director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, reflects on the National Day of Racial Healing’s value and purpose; Margaux Haviland, ASTHO director of Preparedness and Response Coordination, explains what users will see...
175
Dec. 14, 2023
564: Flavored Tobacco Bans and Pricing Strategies, Respiratory Disease Guidance
Dr. Barbara Wallace, director of the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention at the New York State Department of Health, discusses various strategies to curb tobacco use; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, worries that too many sick...
173
Dec. 12, 2023
562: Harm Reduction Gets Legislative Attention, Tainted Applesauce Investigation Expands
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president and commissioner of public health for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, discusses substance misuse and overdose prevention strategies; Dr. Susan Kansagra, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services assistant...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Susan Kansagra, MD, MBA
169
Dec. 6, 2023
558: A Call to Expand Naloxone Availability, Policies to Solve Maternity Care Deserts
ASTHO President and Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack says easier access to naloxone could help prevent many overdose deaths; former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams says naloxone should be as easy to find as AED devices that prevent...
159
Nov. 20, 2023
548: Thankful for Public Health, New Guide to Manage Respiratory Illness
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health; extends his gratitude for Public Health Thank You Day; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, discusses how ASTHO worked on a discussion guide...
144
Oct. 27, 2023
533: ASTHO President Seeks Common Ground, Congress Moving Again
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO’s New President and Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, wants to find common ground to push public health forward in his new role; Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health...
143
Oct. 26, 2023
532: New ASTHO President, Licensing Questions May Promote Stigma
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO’s new President and Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, previews his goals for the upcoming year; Jacqueline Howard, a CNN Health Reporter, reacts to the idea that questions on licensing forms may...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Jacqueline Howard
87
Aug. 7, 2023
476: Urging Calm Over COVID-19 Numbers, Health and Social Systems Alignment
Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, shares the current COVID-19 status and a look ahead into the coming seasons; Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president elect and the Commissioner for Public Health for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, outlines...
Guests: Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH , Steven Stack, MD
34
May 18, 2023
423: Teaching AI Inclusion, Adjusting COVID Stats
Dr. Brian Anderson, Chief Digital Health Physician at the MITRE Corporation, says public health needs to make data and technology more inclusive; online tickets to attend ASTHO’s TechXpo are still available; Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Brian Anderson, MD
1
April 3, 2023
390: Impact of Community on PH, Indigenous Data Justice
Dr. Steven J. Stack, Commissioner for Public Health with the Kentucky Department for Public Health, kicks off our coverage of National Public Health Week with a focus on how the idea of community impacts public health; Abigail Echo-Hawk, Director of...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Abigail Echo-Hawk, MA
179
Nov. 2, 2022
296: Data Model for Violence Prevention
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO President-Elect and Kentucky Public Health Commissioner, discusses Kentucky’s new online system to report foodborne illnesses; Ankur Jain, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Public Health Data Modernization and Informatics, examines a...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Ankur Jain
152
Sept. 23, 2022
269: Urging COVID-19 Booster Uptake
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO President-Elect, discusses the new COVID-19 booster designed to protect against the latest variants; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President, explains the need to bring health care and public health closer together in an ASTHO blog...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Carolyn Wester MD MPH
149
Sept. 20, 2022
266: ASTHO’s New President-Elect
Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, and new ASTHO President-Elect, discusses the role and the pandemic’s impact on public health; Chris Taylor, ASTHO’s Director of Infectious Disease Outbreak Response and...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Chris Taylor
92
June 30, 2022
210: Responses to Gun Violence
Lindsey Myers, ASTHO’s Vice President for Social and Behavioral Health, discusses a new blog article she authored with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia about men and gun violence; Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for...
60
May 13, 2022
178: Data Obstacles and Opportunities
Dr. David Rhew, Microsoft’s Global Chief Medical Officer, says there is technology available to help public health agencies standardize and modernize data; Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, notes the challenge is not with technology; Janet Hamilton, Executive...
86
Dec. 16, 2021
86: Power Outage Preparedness
Eric Cote, an expert in emergency power preparedness, tells us why it’s important to know who relies on electricity for their medical devices when power is lost in a community; Stephen Heck, an ASTHO Disability and Preparedness Specialist working in...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Eric Cote
74
Nov. 30, 2021
74: The White House Celebrates Public Health
Several ASTHO members attend a White House event in appreciation of public health workers across the states and territories. ASTHO President Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO President-Elect Dr. Anne Zink, California’s Dr. Tomas Aragon, and Dr. LaQuandra...
71
Nov. 19, 2021
71: Title X Grants Explained
Clare Coleman, President and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, explains how to apply for a new round of Title X grants now available from HHS; Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public...
68
Nov. 16, 2021
68: Leading with Gratitude
Mylynn Tufte, North Dakota’s former state health official, explains the power of gratitude in advance of her Insight and Inspiration talk on Thursday, Nov. 18; Rhea Farberman, Director of Strategic Communications and Policy Research at the Trust for...