Public Health On Call

Get the App

Public Health On Call

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

15 minutes 41 seconds

1019 - Medical Aid in Dying
About this episode:
Often referred to as "physician-assisted suicide," medical aid in dying poses complex ethical, medical, and policy questions. In this episode: why some individuals with a terminal illness choose MAiD, the eligibility requirements in U.S. states, and the tension between individual health choices and public policy.
Guests:
Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH, is the Robert Henry Levi and Ryda Hecht Levi Professor of Bioethics and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Anna Mastroianni, JD, MPH, is a research professor in bioethics and law at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:
- Are unmet needs driving requests for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)? A qualitative study of Canadian MAiD providers—Death Studies
- Oregon's Death with Dignity Act—Oregon Health Authority
- In Your State—Death with Dignity
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
5 March 2026, 11:00 am
14 minutes 24 seconds

1018 - Health and Wealth With Baby Bonds
About this episode:
Baby bonds programs, which create state-managed trust funds for low-income children, are associated with positive physical and mental health outcomes for recipients and their families. New research shows that a majority of Americans support these early wealth-building tools. In this episode: Professor Catherine Ettman talks about the growing excitement behind baby bonds and the state models that have already seen success. Note: The CLIMB study mentioned in this episode is supported by the de Beaumont Foundation and the Hopkins Nexus award.
Guest:
Catherine K. Ettman, PhD, is an assistant professor in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studies population mental health and assets.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
- Majority of U.S. Adults Support Wealth-Building Investments for Children from Low-Income Families—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- CT Baby Bonds—CT.gov
- The Great Smoky Mountains Study: developmental epidemiology in the southeastern United States—Social Psychiatry and Psych
- A study in Oklahoma that funded college accounts for newborns is showing promise.—New York Times
- Trump Accounts—TrumpAccounts.gov
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
4 March 2026, 11:00 am
14 minutes 51 seconds

1017 - Getting More Health Out of Health Care—By Paying for It
About this episode:
Private insurers and the government typically reimburse providers based on metrics of appointments and procedures. An innovative approach to health care finance asks doctors and clinicians to measure success differently: by tangible health outcomes. In this episode: Dr. Darshak Sanghavi details the early promise of this approach and how it's empowering communities to focus on better health.
Guests:
Dr. Darshak Sanghavi is Chief Medical Officer at Machinify and a former program manager at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.
Show links and related content:
- Transforming Population Health — ARPA-H's New Program Targeting Broken Incentives—New England Journal of Medicine
- ARPA-H launches program to reduce preventable deaths—ARPA-H
- Estimating Longitudinal Risks and Benefits From Cardiovascular Preventive Therapies Among Medicare Patients: The Million Hearts Longitudinal ASCVD Risk Assessment Tool—Circulation
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
2 March 2026, 11:00 am
24 minutes 25 seconds

1016 - An Unlikely but Promising Collaboration in Ohio
About this episode:
Despite swirling controversy around public health policies, some experts and advocates are finding ways to work together. In this episode: what an unlikely collaboration between a grassroots MAHA organizer and a Yale epidemiologist can teach us about finding common ground for the betterment of people's health.
Guests:
Brinda Adhikari is an award-winning executive producer, showrunner and journalist. She is currently an executive producer and co-host of the podcast, "Why Should I Trust You?".

Tom Johnson is an Emmy award-winning executive producer with experience in documentary series, digital, cable and network news. He is now an executive producer and co-host of the podcast, "Why Should I Trust You?".
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
- A Model For Public Health In the Age of Mistrust—Why Should I Trust You?
- Our podcast 'Why Should I Trust You?' connects MAHA and public health. Here's what we've learned—STAT
- Odd bedfellows: Moving with MAHA from conversation to collaboration—Your Local Epidemiologist
- Unfiltered Conversations to Restore Trust in Public Health—Public Health On Call (August 2025)
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
26 February 2026, 11:00 am
14 minutes 59 seconds

1015 - Unexplained Pauses in CDC Data
About this episode:
The CDC has long collected and publicly reported data on infectious diseases, vaccination rates, overdose deaths, and other health topics. But in 2025, many of these datasets inexplicably went dark. In this episode: the importance of real-time data in implementing public health solutions and the potential consequences of these lapses in reporting.
Guests:
Janet Freilich, JD, is a professor at the Boston University School of Law. She writes and teaches in the areas of patent law, intellectual property, information law, and civil procedure.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:
- Unexplained Pauses in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Surveillance: Erosion of the Public Evidence Base for Health Policy—Annals of Internal Medicine
- Dozens of CDC vaccination databases have been frozen under RFK Jr.—Ars Technica
- The Changing CDC Website—Public Health On Call (February 2025)
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
25 February 2026, 11:00 am
11 minutes 50 seconds

1014 - How the FDA Regulates Mifepristone, "the Abortion Pill"
About this episode:
A recent analysis of FDA documents has found that the agency has historically regulated mifepristone—a medication commonly used to terminate pregnancy—based on available scientific evidence and without ideological bias. In this episode: Caleb Alexander, an author of the study, discusses these findings and their implications for a possible new review of the medication by FDA.
Guests:
Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, MS, is a practicing internist and drug safety expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
- The US Food and Drug Administration's Regulation of Mifepristone—JAMA
- Study: FDA Regulation of Abortion Drug Mifepristone from 2011 to 2023 Shaped by Evidence and Caution—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- F.D.A. Decisions on Abortion Pill Were Based on Science, New Analysis Finds—New York Times
- What Is Mifepristone, aka "The Abortion Pill"?—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- What's at Stake for Access to Medication Abortion and the FDA in the Supreme Court Case FDA v. the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine?—KFF
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
23 February 2026, 11:00 am
16 minutes 8 seconds

1013 - A College Course for Digital Detoxing
About this episode:
A class at Loyola University Maryland has pushed students to think critically about their technology use in an age of constant scrolling. In this episode: class instructor Shreya Hessler and student Emma Hester reflect on the value of getting offline and how to spend less time on our devices.
Guests:
Dr. Shreya Hessler, PsyD, is a psychologist and the director of the MINDset Center.

Emma Hester is a senior studying psychology and speech, language, and hearing sciences at Loyola University Maryland.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:
- Phones ruled their lives. A new college class helped them break free.—Washington Post
- Mental Health in the Scroll Age—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
19 February 2026, 11:00 am
15 minutes 54 seconds

1012 - A "Giant Geyser of Poop" Along the Potomac River
About this episode:
A pipe collapse outside of D.C. has spilled nearly 300 million tons of sewage into the Potomac River. Recent frigid temperatures and long-term infrastructure challenges are making cleanup a formidable job. In this episode: Natalie Exum of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute talks about the spill, its health impacts, and whether it could have been prevented.
Guests:
Natalie Exum, PhD, MS, is an assistant professor of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
- Potomac Interceptor Collapse—DC Water
- UMD team finds E. coli, MRSA in Potomac River after sewage spill—University of Maryland School of Public Health
- Millions of Gallons of Raw Sewage Spill Into the Potomac River—New York Times
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
18 February 2026, 11:00 am
15 minutes 32 seconds

1011 - Policies for Play: School Recess and Public Health
About this episode:
Daily recess has been shown to improve mental health and academic outcomes for children while also providing an opportunity for physical activity and social development. But few states have formal policies that protect dedicated recess time. In this episode: Researchers Rachel Deitch and Erin Hager discuss the public health benefits of recess and their toolkit for advancing state recess laws.
Guests:
Rachel Deitch, MS, is a program officer in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Erin Hager, PhD, is a professor of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she also leads the STRONG Research Program.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:
- Play, Policy, and Potential: A Toolkit to Support Advancing Recess in Schools Through State Laws—Bloomberg American Health Initiative
- How many states require recess in schools?—@bloombergamericanhealth via Instagram
- Accountability and Funding for State-Level School Physical Education and Recess Laws—American Journal of Preventative Medicine
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
16 February 2026, 11:00 am
15 minutes 13 seconds

1010 - Centering Pleasure in Sexual Health
About this episode:
Sexual education often focuses on the potential risks of unplanned pregnancies and STIs. But an approach to sexual health that includes frank discussions of what feels good could yield better health outcomes. In this episode: Sexual health expert Joshua O'Neal talks about the value of starting sexual health conversations with enjoyment and comfort. Note: This episode was produced in collaboration with the National Coalition of STD Directors.
Guests:
Joshua O'Neal, MA, is a sexual health educator and program director at the Southeast HIV/STI Prevention Training Center.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
- Promoting protection and pleasure: amplifying the effectiveness of barriers against sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy—The Lancet
- Pleasure and PrEP: Pleasure-Seeking Plays a Role in Prevention Choices and Could Lead to PrEP Initiation—American Journal of Men's Health
- Pleasure as a measure of agency and empowerment—Medicus Mundi Schweiz
- Pleasure As Tool For STI Prevention: Part 2—NCSD Real Talk
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
12 February 2026, 11:00 am
18 minutes 53 seconds

1009 - What's Happening at SAMHSA?
About this episode:
Last month's abrupt cancellation and reinstatement of $2 billion in grants is just the most recent ordeal in SAMHSA's long year of funding cuts and administrative upheaval. In this episode: Dr. Yngvild Olsen, formerly the director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at SAMHSA, chronicles the challenges facing the agency and their possible implications for efforts to reduce opioid overdose deaths and improve mental health outcomes.
Guests:
Dr. Yngvild Olsen, MPH, is a nationally recognized leader in addiction medicine, public health policy, and clinical care integration. She currently serves as a national advisor with Manatt Health.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
- 24 hours of chaos as mental health grants are slashed then restored—NPR
- SAMHSA Strategic Priorities—SAMHSA
- Progress on overdose deaths could be jeopardized by federal cuts, critics say—Stateline
Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
11 February 2026, 11:00 am
More Episodes? Get the App