The Wooden Teeth Show

Jake speaks with Dr. Sandro Galea, who proposes how to address, or at least how to think about the American crisis of faith in public health in the wake of the pandemic in his new book, Why Health: What We Need to Think about When We Think about Health . Dr. Galea is the Dean of the Bursky School of Public Health at Washington University.

Dr. Craig Spencer recently authored a piece in The Atlantic in which he contends that the field of public health must swallow its pride and admit where the insurgent MAHA movement is right. Jake and Dr. Spencer discuss the critique he lays out in his writing, as well as the backlash Dr. Spencer received after the article was published.

New Mexico recently became the first state in the nation to offer free access to childcare for all, regardless of income, saving the average family $12,000 per year. Jake speaks with James Jimenez, Executive Director of New Mexico Voices for Children Action Fund, to discover how this breakthrough was achieved.

North Carolina's Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP) is a Medicaid program that addresses healthy food, housing, interpersonal violence, and transportation. By keeping people healthy in their communities, the program has yielded savings of $164 per participant per month. The program is paused due to a budget impasse, but is poised to return. Jake explores HOP with Dr. Betsey Tilson, who served as S...

Can the real world compete with smartphones for our kids' attention? What is the goal and effect of policies that remove these devices from students' hands during the school day? These questions and more are covered in the conversation that Jake has with Casey Mock, Senior Policy Director for The Anxious Generation. 

Political violence is becoming more common, and Americans report personal stress and dissatisfaction with the quality of our political dialogue. Disagree Better is an initiative that helps Americans engage in healthier conflict. Jake speaks with Marianne Viray, Disagree Better's Executive Director, about why they're taking on this challenge, and what they've learned along the way.

As legalized sports gambling has risen online, so has personal debt, bankruptcy, and even domestic violence. At least 8 million Americans now struggle with a gambling addiction. Jake speaks with Jonathan Cohen about policy responses to address this growing public health challenge. Cohen is the Sports Betting Policy Lead for the American Institute for Boys & Men and the author of Losi...

Youth are increasingly interacting with AI chatbots, and the risks to their wellbeing, including self harm, are becoming tragically apparent. Jake speaks with Amina Fazlullah, Head of Tech Policy Advocacy at Common Sense Media, about how we can responsibly regulate these platforms to protect kids.

Jake speaks with Brian Heilman of Movember to discuss the unique challenges of men's health, including the role of masculinity. Movember is a global annual event in November where people grow moustaches to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues. They invest those resources in projects, including the  Real Face of Men's Health Report , which includes both a diagn...

In a suicide-prevention double header, Jake is joined by Nacole Palmer, Executive Director of Maine Gun Safety Coalition, who just led a successful statewide ballot campaign to pass a "red flag" law. Then, Senator Cathy Kipp and Virginia Mack join the pod to discuss new legislation, sometimes called “Donna’s Law”, that passed this year in Colorado, which allows an individual to voluntarily and con...

Across the country, tech companies are successfully suing to block laws aimed at protecting children online. Jake speaks with Holly Grosshans and Ariel Fox Johnson of Common Sense Media about how the industry is using the first amendment and federal law to skirt accountability, and they discuss how the places where the industry has lost in court may point a viable way forward to enforce regulation...

Our mental health is impacted way before middle school. Jake speaks with Dr. Ayelet Talmi about the relevant influences within the first phase of life, how they impact the trajectory of a child's wellbeing, and what we should consequently pursue within public policy to improve outcomes for kids. Dr. Talmi is the Robert J. Harmon Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and a Licensed C...

Creating quality urban greenspaces isn't just a common sense way to adapt to climate change, it produces a range of documented benefits for both physical and mental health. Jake speaks with Katrina Forrest, Executive Director of the CityHealth, about their efforts to get more cities to make this win-win-win public health investment.

When President Trump signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" into law, 2.4 millions became destined to lose their assistance in securing the food they need. Jake speaks with Dayana Leyva of Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger about the impact of this bill on the food security of Americans and what we can do about it.

Jake speaks with Nicole Riehl about the business challenges of childcare and how they impact price and availability for families. Nicole is President & CEO of EPIC, where she works with employers and business executives to advocate for early childhood investments, policies, and workforce solutions.

Dr. Tracey Woodruff chats with Jake about how drinking, eating and even breathing microplastics are impacting reproductive health, increasing cancer risk and more. They also discuss what can be in our personal lives and in public policy to address these impacts. Dr. Woodruff directs the Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment at the University of California San Francisco.

Jake speaks with Susan Lontine about the public health implications of declining immunization rates, as well as new, regressive vaccine policies and what we can do about them. Susan is the Executive Director of Immunize Colorado and a former state legislator.

Jake speaks with Dr. Jessica Knurick about the Make America Healthy Again agenda. They evaluate the existence of scientific evidence that supports the movement's signature initiatives, consider the partisan and other dynamics that shape MAHA's support and opposition, and discuss the rise of Americans consuming wellness information via social media.

Jake speaks with Jordana Ash and Dr. Megan Rogers about new research on suicidality that has implications for how we screen for risk. Drawing from Jordana's tragic family story and Dr. Rogers' research, the trio discuss how we can improve suicide screening and save lives.

Jake speaks with Phyllis Resnick, co-author of a new report on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion in Colorado. They address the effects of the so-called "Medicaid Unwind" and the damage that may be caused in the event of cuts to Medicaid that Congress is currently considering.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The Wooden Teeth Podcast, the show about truth-telling in politics and health, is coming back on Tuesday, February 25th, and every fourth Tuesday of the month after that.

Jake speaks with Chris Keating and Jake Martin of the polling firm Keating Research about how best to consume polling information, and they dive into some interesting recent data. Topics include demographic shifts in the presidential race, the implications of a potential open primary and ranked-choice voting system in CO, and some predictions about how some races will turn out this November.

Jake speaks with Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean of Boston University's School of Public Health. Dr. Galea has authored a new book, "Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time," in which he contends that public health has strayed from its roots within the classical liberal tradition, especially during the pandemic, and should now re-embrace the pursuit of knowledge through reasoned inquir...

We've heard a lot from adult sources on our youth mental health crisis in recent years, but what do young people themselves have to say? Jake speaks with two teen leaders, Lily Poteet and Braeden Turner, about their activism on youth mental health. They have launched a podcast, called "The Prosperity Project," that explores issues including suicide, stress and perfectionism.

Jake speaks with Dr. Keshia Pollack Porter of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and Katrina Forrest, Co-Executive Director of City Health. Porter and Forrest have co-authored Policy Engagement, a book that guides public health practitioners on engaging with policymakers to create a healthier, more equitable world. Their conversation covers the book, along with exami...