In the final installment of our series from the Children’s Health Defense conference in Austin, we sit down for candid, face-to-face conversations with attendees. They share their life stories, talk about their thoughts on vaccines, on why RFK Jr. resonates with them, and why they came to Austin. We also reflect on our own experience: Why did we go? What did we learn about the MAHA movement and the extent of the mistrust in science and medicine today? And, ultimately, what have we learned abo...
In part two of our three-part series from the Children’s Health Defense conference in Austin, we sit down with one of the most influential figures in the MAHA movement: Del Bigtree. A longtime ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Bigtree is a singular presence—an expert communicator, storyteller, and filmmaker with a reach of tens of millions. To fans and supporters, he’s a charismatic fighter taking on the chronic illness crisis and exposing corruption. His critics say he is a spreader of anti-vac...
We’re on the road this week, coming to you from Austin, Texas, at the Children’s Health Defense 2025 conference. Yes, that Children’s Health Defense: the influential organization founded and once led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the country’s top health official. Critics say CHD is one of the most outspoken anti-vaccine groups in America and a major source of misinformation. Supporters say it is fighting to eliminate toxic exposures and protect kids in an era of rising chronic diseas...
School vaccine requirements have long been the backbone of America’s public health, keeping vaccination rates high for decades. Every state mandates that children be up to date on routine vaccinations to attend public school, and every state allows medical exemptions—most also allow religious or philosophical ones. But just weeks ago, Florida—and now Idaho—said “no more,” insisting parents must have ultimate control over what goes into their child’s body. Are these the first dominoes to fall?...
It’s Election Day in parts of the country, so we thought it was time to talk politics. Dr. Craig Spencer, from Brown University’s School of Public Health, penned a Substack last week that stopped us cold. In it, he makes a bold case that public health needs to get more political—not partisan, but political in the sense of organizing, mobilizing, and demanding what people say they value: cleaner air, safer food, prevention that actually gets funded. It’s a striking call at a moment of profou...
East Palestine, Ohio, became a national symbol of fear and mistrust after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed, resulting in a massive black plume filling the sky. Two years later, how are residents of this small community faring? Is their soil, air, and water truly safe? In this episode, we meet two women who chose collaboration over conflict: Elizabeth Frost of MAHA, Ohio, and Dr. Nicole Deziel of the Yale School of Public Health. The pair met through our podcast and teamed up — Elizab...
They’re the invisible forces steering what we see every day and shaping what we trust. Algorithms, now supercharged by AI, don’t just feed us information. They feed us emotion — suspicion, outrage, validation — and, maybe most dangerously, only the content they think we want to see. Today, we’re talking with an expert about how we got here and where we’re heading. With trust in institutions, public health, and science under constant attack, how much of that is the algorithm’s fault? And how m...
On this special episode—the latest in our series of conversations that bring together people who rarely talk to each other—we hear from different perspectives on autism in a no-holds-barred discussion about this pivotal moment. Joining us are two MAHA moms raising children with autism, Science editor-in-chief Holden Thorp—who was diagnosed with autism as an adult—and Dr. Rachael Bedard, a physician and science communicator. President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made finding...
It’s been just over a year since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stood before a raucous Arizona crowd and asked, “Don’t you want a president who’s going to make America healthy again?”-- and with that, the MAHA era began. Now, for the first time, we have data showing how big this movement really is--and how much of America agrees with it. A brand-new national poll reveals what’s fueling MAHA’s rise: from food and fitness to vaccines, chemicals, and pesticides. How has MAHA reshaped MAGA — and how has M...
Today, we’re exploring the new world of health and science communication now that the old playbook is dead. The days of publishing a study and expecting to reach the public with it through legacy media or pointing people to health institutions and medical associations for guidance are over. Millions no longer trust the science, the guidance, or the messenger. Meanwhile, the Make America Healthy Again movement is finding new ways to communicate and harness the enthusiasm of its followers. So w...
Coleman Hughes is a thinker, writer, podcaster, and author. You may know him from his Conversations with Coleman podcast with The Free Press, from appearances on CNN, Joe Rogan, and The View, or from his recent book, in which he argues that America should strive toward colorblindness, treating people and designing public policy without regard to race. In addition to that, what interests us is that he’s an independent, unorthodox voice—someone who doesn’t follow the political script his critic...
In our latest big conversation bringing together individuals who don’t always see eye to eye, we sit down with Gen Zers who care deeply about the nation’s health. Some are launching careers in public health, others are inspired by the MAHA movement. Together, we talk politics, race, philosophy, and shared values. What do they make of the profound changes reshaping American health today? The group of twenty-somethings explore the rise of individualism in public health, what expertise means and...
On today's episode, a remarkable moment in the Make America Healthy Again era. From the White House, the president urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol, saying it was linked to autism, before launching into a discourse on his personal fears and advice on autism rates, vaccine safety, and when parents should vaccinate their children. For many MAHA supporters, it was cathartic to see a president speak from instinct rather than the strict limits of a body of scientific work they do not trust...
It’s the very first shot a newborn gets—just hours after birth. Today, Secretary Kennedy’s new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Committee is reviewing whether it should remain so. We’re talking about the Hepatitis B “birth dose,” the starting point of America’s childhood vaccine schedule since 1991. But for some parents today, it’s the starting point of their vaccine hesitancy. They ask: “Why give a vaccine against a virus mostly spread through sex or IV drug use to a brand...
On today's episode, we are heading to the farm, which is where one of America's biggest debates is taking place over food, health, and who and what we trust. Modern agriculture feeds the nation and the world, but its tools raise tough questions about long-term impacts on our health, not to mention our land. You'll hear from farmers, journalists and advocates -- some aligned with MAHA and others not -- as we dig into how we grow and harvest our food, the pressures on the population and on the ...
It's been 24 hours since we learned about the shooting and murder of famed conservative activist and leader Charlie Kirk. We wanted to bring together some friends of the show, people we engage with frequently on the pod, to discuss what happened to Charlie, and to get into how we as a society can disagree better, whether getting to yes or even trying to bring ourselves into the same room together these days is worth it. The answer is: yes. We must. Now more than ever. Hosts: Brinda Ad...
**We recorded this episode on Wednesday early morning. ** The big MAHA report is out, a roadmap for how Kennedy and the Trump administration plan to tackle the chronic disease crisis impacting America's children. It’s a bold attempt to turn the federal government toward confronting the dire state of our health. In this episode, we break down what’s in the plan, what’s missing, and how both the MAHA movement and the public health community are responding. Joining us is Dr. Michael Forde, a pu...
Americans today are engaging in a great Rorschach Test over public health–and its results may determine our future. Are radical changes at the CDC and beyond moving us in the right direction for a healthier nation, or dangerously backwards? Are we undoing the very system that has protected us for decades (from infectious disease)? Or upending a system that has made us sicker (chronic disease epidemic)? Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) has succeeded in putting that question front and center. ...
Our guest today, researcher Anna Gilmore, recently went viral with a provocative revelation: just four products cause at least a third of all deaths worldwide. But behind the attention-grabbing headline is her deeper mission--exposing a complex, corporate-driven system that fuels poor diets, worsening health, and our chronic disease crisis. To avoid regulation and keep government subsidies flowing, Anna says industry bankrolls and skews scientific research, while working to convince us that o...
His voice reaches millions of Americans who many in mainstream science and public health just don’t reach these days. He is Dr. Marc Siegel, the senior medical analyst for FOX News who recently argued that President Trump should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for leading Operation Warp Speed – the rapid development of mRNA vaccines that was given to millions during the covid pandemic. The Fox News medical correspondent is outspoken on mRNA technology as the Trump administration cancels promis...
Atefeh Vaezi
Thank you for this episode. It was very intresting. I think there need to explore dimensions of trust. I mean, building trust is not possible over a night, a consistent reliable transparent work is needed. On the other hand, it is fragile, especially in case of public health, and could be destroyed by just one inaccurate statement. Another thing I beleive is communicating risk which scientists ignored. Openning a feild for non experts to raise their voices. Thank you once again and keep posting