The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show

Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski sits down with OB-GYN and reproductive rights advocate Dr. Kristin Lyerly to talk about the legacy of the Dobbs decision, her Constitutional offices on the “garden level” of the Capitol, and why she’s running for Lieutenant Governor instead of the top seat. From rebuilding hollowed-out state offices to helping Wisconsinites start busin...

Healthcare is the issue voters keep coming back to in this race, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley says it’s “a top issue if not THE top issue” for Wisconsinites. In this conversation, I sit down with Crowley to dig into his healthcare plan, including his “No Wrong Door” approach to mental health and crisis care, his proposal to open up BadgerCare as a true...

Over 275,000 Wisconsinites are on track to lose their health care coverage. Premiums have more than doubled overnight. Hospitals are closing. And it didn’t happen by accident. In this episode, I’m joined by Brad Woodhouse, President of Protect Our Care, and Wisconsin political strategist Joe Zepecki to break down the findings of a devastating new report: Health Care in Crisis: Trump an...

In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, I sit down with Wisconsin State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Fran Hong to dig into the healthcare vision she’s running on — and why it’s unlike anything else in the field. We talk about her path to Medicare for All, her plan to take on hospital pricing and insurance claim denials, what reproductive healthcare access really l...

What does it take to step back from a race — and still win it? Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford did exactly that when Madison voters elected her to the Common Council even after she suspended her campaign. Turns out, the people of Madison had other plans. In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, Dr. Lyerly sits down with the first transgender woman elected to the Madison Common Council — and q...

Did you know that crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics in the United States by a ratio of roughly 3 to 1 — and that most of them are under no obligation to tell you they aren’t licensed medical providers? In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, I sit down with Kate Hoeting, Director of Education & Research at Catholics for Choice, to pull back the curtain on the cr...

Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District is one of the most competitive – and consequential – congressional seats in the country. The DNC already has a favorite. Emily Berge is running anyway. In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, I sit down with Emily Berge, former Eau Claire City Council President and grassroots candidate for Congress in WI-03. We talk about what it tak...

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is running for Wisconsin governor in 2026, and his story is unlike anyone else in the race. He grew up in Milwaukee’s 53206 ZIP code, one of the most impoverished and most incarcerated ZIP codes in the country. Today he oversees a $1.4 billion budget and represents one-sixth of Wisconsin’s population. Now he wants to run the whole state. In this...

Wisconsin governor candidate Missy Hughes reveals her 10-point healthcare plan — and what it means for YOU. BadgerCare expansion, a public option, rural hospital closures, and taking on private equity. This is the full conversation. 00:00 The State of Healthcare in Wisconsin 01:36 Missy Hughes’ 10-Point Healthcare Plan Explained 04:31 Reproductive Rights & Women’s Healthcare in Wis...

For Earth Day, I sat down with Tia Nelson — environmental leader, Wisconsin native, and daughter of Senator Gaylord Nelson, the man who founded Earth Day in 1970. Tia reflects on her father’s extraordinary legacy, from the grassroots movement that sparked the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the creation of the EPA, to the personal experience of growing up alongside one of the most im...

Joel Brennan wants to be Wisconsin’s next governor — but he may be the least familiar name in the race. He was the last Democrat to enter the crowded 2026 primary field and, in a state that has never elected a governor who wasn’t a white man, he’s also the only white man running as a Dem. Whether that’s an asset or a liability in a diverse and competitive primary is one of...

Rachel Maes just won a seat on the Brown County Board of Supervisors in the April 7, 2026 Wisconsin election. She’s a Green Bay city attorney, a community leader, and my friend. She’s also a trans woman who was targeted, outspent, and harassed during her campaign — and won anyway. This is what it looks like when a community chooses its neighbor over the culture war. In this episode, Ra...

Waukesha, Wisconsin has been the heart of a reliably red county for decades. But something is shifting — and Democrat Alicia Halvensleben is running right into the middle of it. As the current Common Council President and 11th District Alder, Halvensleben is taking on one of the most extreme members of the Wisconsin State Assembly in a race that’s technically nonpartisan but anything but. In...

In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, I sit down with SC Senate candidate and pediatrician Dr. Annie Andrews to talk about what’s really at stake in one of 2026’s most interesting Senate races. We cover: Lindsey Graham’s role in the Iran conflict — and how a senator who once stood for something has become unrecognizable The measles outbreak in South Carolina — what it m...

Tennessee is considering legislation that would make abortion punishable by death. This is not hyperbole — it is a proposed law, and it is part of a broader pattern of legislation that has made Tennessee one of the most dangerous states in the country for people who need reproductive healthcare. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nikki Zite, a board-certified OB-GYN and complex family planning s...

Media Literacy, Misinformation, and the Future of News | With Teacher Abraham Lyerly The information crisis is here. CBS censored Colbert. Gen Z gets news from TikTok. Medical disinformation from RFK Jr. spreads faster than CDC facts. This week I sat down with my producer and oldest son, Abraham Lyerly - a public school teacher - for a generational conversation about media literacy, trusted messen...

Judge Chris Taylor on her race for Wisconsin Supreme Court State courts are the last line of defense. And what's happening in Wisconsin is a blueprint for the rest of the country. Between 2023 and 2025, Wisconsin made national headlines twice: first by flipping its Supreme Court to a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years, then by defending that majority against Elon Musk's $22 million sp...

Daily Show Co-Creator on Abortion Rights, ICE Raids, and Why Comedy Is Resistance When they want silence, she brings laughter. This week on The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, I'm joined by Lizz Winstead - comedian, activist, co-creator of The Daily Show, co-founder of Air America Radio, and founder of Abortion Access Front. Lizz has spent decades weaponizing humor against oppression, and in this convers...

The Texas Abortion Ban Nearly Killed Me Amanda Zurawski , reproductive rights advocate and one of Time Magazine’s Women of the Year , joins Dr. Kristin Lyerly to share the devastating reality of pregnancy complications under Texas's abortion ban and how she has used her own life-threatening experience to fight back.  At 18 weeks pregnant with a wanted baby, Amanda’s water broke and she was denied...

My Interview with Wisconsin's Next Governor (Maybe) Mandela Barnes was Wisconsin's first Black Lieutenant Governor. In 2022, he ran a nationally watched Senate race against Ron Johnson and lost by just 27,000 votes. Now he's running for Governor, and Wisconsin voters have questions. In this episode, I sit down with Barnes for a no-BS conversation about what happened in 2022, what he learned from l...

Jess Craven on Making Fear Your Fuel How do you turn political fear into sustained action? Jess Craven has been answering that question for her massive Substack community every weekday since November 2016. In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, Dr. Lyerly welcomes the face of “Chop Wood, Carry Water”, Jess Craven : political activist, content creator, and widely-followed organizer. The da...

What happens when telling patients the truth gets you fired? This week, Dr. Kristin Lyerly sits down with Nikki Sapiro Vinckier , PA-C—an OB/GYN physician assistant who spent over a decade in clinical practice before being pushed out for refusing to stay silent.  Nikki's new book We Deserve More: Why Reproductive Healthcare is Broken—And What You Can Do About It exposes the gap between what clinic...

Hundreds of Wins Against Trump While the Trump-Vance administration has attempted to freeze funding, strip healthcare coverage from millions, and attack reproductive rights, one organization has been fighting back in court - and winning. Democracy Forward didn't wait for Inauguration Day to prepare. Anticipating the threats of Project 2025, they built a strategic network of over 650 diverse partne...

Plus Our Faves From 2025 Last week, everything changed in an instant. A serious car accident turned this doctor into a patient, and the strangers who became heroes - the volunteers and healthcare workers who rushed to help - reminded me exactly why we do this show. Community isn't just a buzzword. It’s how we take care of each other. It's our foundation. It's what builds our democracy. And what a...

Missy Hughes on Building a Main Street Economy Wisconsin's 2026 gubernatorial race is wide open - and the stakes couldn't be higher. With no incumbent for the first time since 2010, a large and diverse field of Democrats are vying for the nomination in what will be one of the most watched races in the country. In this episode, Dr. Kristin Lyerly sits down with Missy Hughes , the former CEO of Wisc...