Whistleblower papers from inside cigarette giant Philip Morris International reveal the true intentions and strategies behind the company's IQOS non-combustible nicotine product. The papers show that Philip Morris secretly funded research on ha

Lead Poisoning: The Urgent Need for Global Action

Feb 9th, 2024 29m 48s

We’ve known about the health harms of lead exposure for more than 1,000 years. But many people, including children, are still exposed to lead through various sources including paint, water and soil. In this episode, Dan Kass, Senior Vice Presid

Our Right to Healthy Food

Oct 27th, 2023 43m 5s

Improving diets by creating and maintaining healthier food systems and environments is paramount to addressing the $2 trillion global obesity epidemic. It’s a task that seems almost impossible under the deluge of ultra-processed products that m

Bonus

Bonus Episode: Crisis to Empowerment - Opioid Settlement Funds

Jul 11th, 2023 17m 45s

The U.S. drug overdose crisis has created new urgency to shift from punitive measures to a public health perspective, focused on harm reduction. Opioid settlements, agreements between governments and pharmaceutical entities, offer an opportunit

Bonus

Bonus Episode: Can Data End Gender-Based Violence?

Jul 5th, 2023 15m 27s

This episode features highlights from our VitalTalks Live event, held in New York. One in three women worldwide have been subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes—an alarming statistic that only scratches the surface of this

Power and Health Inequities

Jun 27th, 2023 53m 48s

Our first interview on this episode is with Lili Farhang, co-director of Human Impact Partners (HIP), a national public health nonprofit. Lili discusses HIP's mission to leverage public health for policy and systems change by addressing power i

Bonus

Bonus Episode: Toward a World Where Everyone Counts

May 26th, 2023 29m 47s

Lack of investment in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics has been called one of the most important shortfalls in global development over the last 30 years, and the results are devastating. Tens of millions without identity and rights. Gov

Upending the Donor Dynamic

May 19th, 2023 56m 22s

In this episode, we discuss funding trends in global public health and the potential that new or different financing models have to catalyze impact. The episode features Ash Rogers, Co-CEO, Lwala Community Alliance; Julius Mbeya, Co-CEO, Lwala

New Models for Collaboration

Mar 13th, 2023 40m 3s

In this episode we meet with experts who are advancing new models of collaboration that put countries in the global south at the forefront. We're joined by Dr. Mamka Anyona to discuss the Health4Life Fund, a U.N. led global financing partnershi

Perspectives on Health Equity: Part 2

Jan 31st, 2023 33m 11s

In part two of our series on health equity, we asked four more guests for their perspectives on health equity and what it means to them. This episode features: - Linda Villarosa, Author and contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine - L

Perspectives on Health Equity: Part 1

Jan 24th, 2023 37m 43s

What does health equity mean to you and how can it help advance public health? As we launch our revamped VitalTalks podcast, we asked public health experts and those deeply engaged in equity work to join us to share their perspective in this sp

Unsavory Alliances: Big Tobacco's Covert Network of Influencers

Dec 8th, 2022 41m 1s

The tobacco industry relies on a complex web of allies to promote its business interests and advance its agenda—helping perpetuate the global tobacco epidemic. These allies usually appear independent from the industry, but often have opaque fin

Untangling Alcohol: Making Sense of a Leading Global Killer

Dec 1st, 2022 36m 19s

Alcohol consumption causes millions of deaths through health harms and negative social and economic effects. There is an underlying connection between alcohol consumption and these deaths—from liver disease, heart disease, cancer, violence, veh

Harm Reduction and the Overdose Crisis in Puerto Rico

Nov 3rd, 2022 28m 49s

After attending the National Harm Reduction Conference in San Puerto Rico, Gloria Malone of the Overdose Prevention Program chats with two Puerto Rican harm reduction advocates. Tanagra and Carla share their insights on what Harm Reduction in P

What If Childhood Lead Poisoning was a Global Priority?

Oct 26th, 2022 42m 30s

Globally, one in three children –up to 800 million–have blood lead levels that are higher than deemed safe by the World Health Organization. Despite clear evidence of harm, many countries do not have sufficient capacity to monitor or regulate l

Food for Thought—What We Don't Know About the Food We Eat

Oct 12th, 2022 39m 39s

It’s not news that what we eat has a huge impact on our overall health. What’s not commonly known is that 8 million deaths are associated with poor diet –accounting for 19% of non-communicable disease deaths. Increasingly, ultra-processed foods

Does UNGA Matter?

Sep 22nd, 2022 37m 40s

UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly, sets policy for the United Nations. As we face generational challenges—rebuilding public health post-COVID, climate change, political instability—the successes and challenges of this global coordinatin

Best of the Public Health Power Hour

Aug 15th, 2022 28m 11s

Over the past year, the Public Health Power Hour podcast has featured leading voices in the public health space. In this special episode, Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, and Steve Hamill, Vice President of our Policy Advocacy and Communic

Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Health

Jul 19th, 2022 58m 49s

In her new book, Under the Skin:The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation, award-winning writer Linda Villarosa argues that any effort to close the gap in health outcomes must also address the structural racism

What if...Tobacco Control Centered Equity?

May 26th, 2022 1h

According to The Tobacco Atlas, smoking prevalence is falling globally for the first time, but countries and people marginalized by the vestiges of colonialism, by racism, bias and other social determinants are due to suffer the greatest harm.

What if...Women Led Global Health?

Apr 7th, 2022 57m 14s

In this episode of the Public Health Power Hour, we discussed the impact women have when they have equal power, how COVID-19 has changed the landscape, systems and policies that can accelerate gender equity in global health leadership, and what

What if...Women's Health in Africa Centered Gender Equity?

Mar 3rd, 2022 1h

Women’s health means ensuring that women have access to healthy environments and quality health care throughout their lives, including care for important issues during their reproductive years such as safe motherhood and access to modern contra

What If… Public Health Fueled Social Reform Movements?

Feb 24th, 2022 1h

This discussion focused on the past and future of public health and social reform movements, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting from a historical perspective of public health’s history of activism in social movements, and considering t

#CountingEveryone for a Healthier World

Nov 18th, 2021 56m 29s

This Public Health Power Hour focusses on the importance of civil registration and vital statistics in ensuring people have access to the basic rights and protections afforded by a legal identity. The discussion highlights the #CountingEveryone

Vaccine Equity and Lessons of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Nov 11th, 2021 1h

This Public Health Power Hour examines activism in public health, looking at decades of HIV/AIDS activism in particular and discussing how it may apply to today’s challenges, especially confronting COVID-19 vaccine inequity. HIV/AIDS activism s