In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha explains the significance behind the largest U.S. measles outbreak in 25 years, with 1,288 confirmed cases as of last week. He then highlights a major new study tracking two decades of U.S. childhood health trends and rising deaths due to firearms, substance use and suicide. Senior Adviser to the Pandemic Center and former South African Member of Parliament Wilmot James joins to share his perspective on America’s retreat from global health leadership, the erosion of soft power and the risks of being seen as an unreliable partner.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Measles: restoring confidence in vaccine information — BMJ
• Trends in US Children’s Mortality, Chronic Conditions, Obesity, Functional Status, and Symptoms — JAMA

Dr. Wilmot James, an internationally recognized thought leader in biosecurity, global health, and pandemic preparedness, is a Senior Advisor to the Pandemic Center and a Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy and Practice. Dr. James has served as Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister of Health in South Africa, and most recently held positions at Columbia University as Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and as Chair of the Center for Pandemic Research.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Music by Katherine Beggs, additional music by Lulu West and Maya Polsky

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha highlights the steep administrative costs of Medicaid work requirements and breaks down a new study estimating that U.S. foreign aid programs via USAID have saved 90 million lives in the past two decades, with an additional 14 million lives at stake by 2030 if funding cuts persist.

Professor of the Practice Stefanie Friedhoff joins to answer a timely question: How did we arrive at this moment of rampant public health misinformation? She explains how trust, online relationships, and unmet informational needs shape what people believe—and why traditional fact-based communication can fall short.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Recent Experience Shows National Medicaid Work Requirements Would Create Enormous Administrative Inefficiencies — Health Affairs
• Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis — The Lancet

Stefanie Friedhoff is co-founder of the Information Futures Lab (IFL) and Professor of the Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. She is a leading media, communications and global health strategist, and an expert at knowledge translation, information creation, and verification. From July 2022 to May 2023, Friedhoff served as a senior policy advisor on the White House Covid-19 Response Team, focusing on population information needs, health equity, community engagement, and medical countermeasure uptake. At Brown, Friedhoff studies information ecosystems and the relationships between information needs, information inequities, and health outcomes.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Music by Katherine Beggs, additional music by Lulu West and Maya Polsky

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha illustrates the economic benefits of health insurance coverage and a new study linking adjuvanted vaccines for shingles and RSV to a lower risk of dementia. Senior Adviser to the Pandemic Center and former Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley joins to discuss the consequences of the recent U.S. withdrawal of funding for Gavi, noting the cost-effectiveness of vaccines and the loss of vaccinations for 75 million children.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Health insurance as a productive factor — Labour Economics
• Lower risk of dementia with AS01-adjuvanted vaccination against shingles and respiratory syncytial virus infections — npj Vaccines

Dr. Seth Berkley is a Senior Advisor to the Brown University Pandemic Center and a serial entrepreneur and pioneer in global public health for more than 35 years. From 2011 to 2023, he served as CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. During his tenure at Gavi, Berkley led a team that worked toward broadening global immunization access, resulting in more than half of the world’s children being vaccinated annually.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Music by Katherine Beggs, additional music by Lulu West and Maya Polsky

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha discusses the effects of potential new rural hospital closures and a new study on an oral weight loss drug in patents with diabetes. Director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute Michael Cannon joins to examine whether expanding Medicaid actually improves health outcomes in the population — and why he believes the evidence is more uncertain than many might assume.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closing — Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform
• Orforglipron, an Oral Small-Molecule GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, in Early Type 2 Diabetes — New England Journal of Medicine

Michael F. Cannon is the director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC. His scholarship spans areas including public health, health insurance, international health systems, administrative law and political philosophy. Cannon was previously a domestic policy analyst for the US Senate Republican Policy Committee.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha analyzes new data on measles vaccination rates in U.S. counties and a new study evaluating the impact of air pollution on fetal brain development. Professor of the Practice and former Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees joins to discuss the role states should play in ensuring access to vaccines, noting the erosion of public trust in vaccination and warning against the politicization of public health measures.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Trends in County-Level MMR Vaccination Coverage in Children in the United States — JAMA
• Air pollution and fetal brain morphological development: a prospective cohort study — The Lancet Planetary Health

Dr. Scott Rivkees is a Professor of Practice, Acting Associate Dean of Education, and Vice Chair of Health Service, Policy, and Practice in the School of Public Health. Dr. Rivkees is a pediatric endocrinologist and physician-scientist who served as Florida’s State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health from June 2019 to September 2021. As State Surgeon General, Dr. Rivkees also served as State Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha breaks down new data showing how many Miami-Dade County residents get their health insurance through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act and what proposed federal cuts could mean for them. He also discusses a new study on claim denials from Medicare Advantage patients. Behavioral scientist Dr. Sweta Chakraborty joins to explore how we can better communicate risk in public health—from pandemics to raw milk—and why who delivers a message can be just as important as the message itself.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Medicare Advantage Denies 17 Percent Of Initial Claims; Most Denials Are Reversed, But Provider Payouts Dip 7 Percent — Health Affairs

Dr. Sweta Chakraborty is a behavioral scientist and expert on global risks ranging from climate change to COVID-19. She is a trusted authority on proactive preparedness to mitigate against the impacts of climate change and an advocate for clear, credible, evidence-based communication. She is also the CEO of We Don’t Have Time US and host of the Scientista podcast, which showcases the women and allies driving change across business, politics, and culture.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha explores the global reach and safety of COVID-19 vaccines and reviews a new study on the consequences of removing fluoride from U.S. public water systems. He then answers a pressing question on why the U.S. should continue developing an mRNA bird flu vaccine, warning that abandoning such efforts may leave us dangerously unprepared for a future pandemic.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Projected Outcomes of Removing Fluoride From US Public Water Systems — JAMA Health Forum

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

In this episode of A Moment in Health, Dr. Ashish Jha discusses the rapid growth of private equity ownership in U.S. hospitals and highlights a study on the promise of gene editing to treat a rare genetic disease. 2025 School of Public Health Commencement speaker and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation Piyush Tewari joins to underscore the need for multi-stakeholder coalitions, data-driven solutions and community engagement to reduce road fatalities.

Dr. Jha discusses:

• Patient-Specific In Vivo Gene Editing to Treat a Rare Genetic Disease — New England Journal of Medicine

Piyush Tewari is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF), a nonprofit organization committed to saving lives on roads in India and beyond. SLF is best known for getting India a Good Samaritan Law and for developing an award-winning model for reducing fatalities on Indian highways.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.