Code WACK!

Why have two California mayors joined forces to launch Mayors for Medicare for All ? How are American cities " laboratories for democracy ?" How has the COVID-19 pandemic  affected local communities?  Libby Schaaf,   Oakland mayor and the  City Council's  former  senior policy adviser  for Community & Economic Development, and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss how fixing America's broken healthcare sys...

What healthcare policies are necessary to expand access to care to low-income people ? How will these policies benefit every person in our country? What happens to the billions of dollars undocumented workers pay into Medicare and Social Security each year? Angelica Salas , executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss how the pandemic has hi...

What happens when immigrant workers become ill? Hear the story of how Guillermo , an undocumented construction worker in his late fifties, was exposed to coronavirus on the job and lost his life . How does his death impact his family and his community ? Angelica Salas , executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss how access to emergency hea...

Why are immigrant workers more vulnerable than other workers during this pandemic? When they do get sick, what options do immigrants without documentation have when it comes to care? What public health policies are absolutely critical during a pandemic? Angelica Salas , executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss the impact that exclusion f...

What are commonalities in the undocumented experience ? Is denial of access and punishment the chief purpose of U.S. immigration policy? How did California evolve from one of the most anti-immigrant states to be more welcoming and inclusive ? Angelica Salas , executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss the struggles undocumented immigrants...

What's the one common denominator  among women experiencing homelessness? Is homelessness  a moral failing , or a consequence of  complex trauma ? Does  substance abuse cause homelessness, or is it a  coping mechanism ?  Amy Turk , a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women's Center , and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss how when it comes to our health care,  it's always cheaper...

Why is it that 60% of the women living on Skid Row are African-American?   What happens when women become too sick to work and lose their health insurance? What programs promote access to health car e for those experiencing homelessness? Amy Turk , a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women's Center , and host Brenda Gazzar discuss how Medicare for All could help deter homel...

What special challenges do people without permanent housing face with coronavirus? And what programs have served to protect them during the pandemic?   How has the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act impacted healthcare access for women experiencing homelessness ?   Amy Turk , a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women's Center , and host Brenda Gazzar discus...

What are the root causes of homelessness among women? What role does  gender-based   violence play? What policies would reduce the risk of women becoming homeless?  Amy Turk ,   a social worker   and chief executive officer of the  Downtown Women's Center , and host  Brenda Gazzar  discuss the factors that drive women and their children out of their homes and into the streets.  

Did  Gov. Gavin Newsom  change his mind on single payer? Is the Healthy California for All Commission meeting its mandate? Where are the major California healthcare foundations when it comes to reform?   Michael Lighty , founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020 , and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the principal players in California's struggl...

Why won't our legislators take up the political fight against health insurers and pharmaceutical companies? How can we shift the definition of what's politically possible when it comes to our health care? In this third episode in a podcast series with host  Brenda Gazzar , Michael Lighty , founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, discuss...

What's holding the U.S. back from Medicare for All ? (Hint: It's not just Trump.) What about California ? In this second episode in a podcast series with host  Brenda Gazzar , Michael Lighty , founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, discusses the political obstacles to winning single payer and the essential connection to the issue of ra...

Will "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" solve America's healthcare problems? Is COVID-19 a game-changer in the fight for single-payer? In this first episode of a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Michael Lighty , founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, discusses the Medicare-for-All movement and the Democratic Party's...

How are some hospitals conserving personal protective equipment ? (Hint: In ways that would be unthinkable before the pandemic.) And who's ultimately responsible for assuring sufficient PPE supplies?  Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Rose Roach, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association , compare the rules for PPE use before and after COVID-19.  Plus, if PPE is in such short stock, w...

Who and what gets left out when health care is driven by profit? How does " lean model management " affect public health preparedness? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Rose Roach , executive director of  the  Minnesota Nurses Association , compare racial inequities in Minnesota and the rest of the nation. Plus, what's the cost of the perverse incentives implicit in our for-profit healthcare syste...

How are nurses of color impacted by racism, both on the job and in the streets? Could using weapons of war against protesters increase the spread of coronavirus ? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Rose Roach , executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association , discuss the concerns nurses have today, as America struggles against both a pandemic and its racist past .

How do U.S. policies intensify the vulnerability of Black communities, including during pandemics? What caused the historical distrust between the Black community and the American healthcare system? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Janel Bailey , Co-Executive Director of Organizing and Programs at the Los Angeles Black Worker Center , discuss how public policies around eviction, employment and me...

How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting Black workers? What does it mean in light of the inequality the Black community already faces? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Janel Bailey , Co-Executive Director of Organizing and Programs at the Los Angeles Black Workers Center , discuss the racial inequities of "flattening the curve" and explore how shelter-in-place rules are less likely to protect b...

Why are people of color disproportionately affected by chronic illnesses like diabetes and asthma? Is it the individual's fault, or is it their environment? Would better health insurance help? Listen as John Kim , Executive Director of Advancement Project California  and  Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar explore strategies to build trust and save lives. Plus, why universal health insurance is only pa...

What's America's deadliest underlying condition? How have decades of unbridled gentrification, racial and economic segregation and discrimination intersected to keep communities of color in the eye of the pandemic in Los Angeles? John Kim, Executive Director of Advancement Project California , and Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar examine the systemic injustices exacerbated by COVID-19. Plus, why buil...

How does it feel to risk your life just going to work, like during the coronavirus pandemic ? What's the best way to tackle the PPE shortage ? In this final episode in a four-part series, Dr. Philip Verhoef , Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, joins host Brenda Gazzar to discuss these issues, plus how South Korea' s government-run healthcare system bolste...

Why was there such an uneven distribution of testing capacity in the United States and how can we address that problem in the future? How does bureaucracy impact American health care? In this third of a podcast series, Dr. Philip Verhoef , Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, joins host Brenda Gazzar to explore how pooling resources and minimizing bureaucra...

How has our fragmented healthcare system affected our ability to perform basic public health functions? What lessons can we learn from other countries with nationally-centralized electronic health records? With host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Philip Verhoef , Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, takes a closer look at Taiwan's Medicare-for-All system and how it mad...

How can we maximize our ability to confront pandemics like the coronavirus? Which strategies are working for us, and which are failing? With host Brenda Gazzar , Dr. Philip Verhoef , Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, contrasts America's failure to efficiently distribute resources like PPE with the successful adoption of telemedicine - an effort led by Me...

Why does the U.S. lack a universal, Medicare-for-All-type healthcare system like many other developed countries have? What are the consequences? In this fifth and final episode of a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Tony Iton , senior vice president for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment , discusses America's long history of racism and both its impact on healthcare reform an...