The Wooden Teeth Show

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 inquiry and open debate.

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 examining the political moment in which the field of public health finds itself after the pandemic

Jake speaks with Danny Weiss, Chief Advocacy Officer at Common Sense Media. They cover how social media is impacting young people, how public policy can mitigate this impact, and how Common Sense Media is helping to educate kids and parents about how to safely navigate online platforms.

Excessive alcohol consumption and related deaths are on the rise. Why is this happening and what can we do about it? Jake speaks with Dr. Bill Burman about the latest data and possible policy solutions to address this public health challenge.

This episode's truth: polling impacts our democracy and democracy, of course, impacts our health. Jake speaks with pollster Chris Keating of Keating Research about the state of public opinion polling, what happened in this year's election and what to look out for in the next one.

The rise in overdoses, crime and homelessness is posing a political challenge to continued movement away from the war on drugs and toward a public health approach. Jake speaks with Kassandra Frederique and Terrance Carroll about both the politics and the reality of what's happening on the ground on this issue. Kassandra leads the Drug Policy Alliance, a national nonprofit that works to end the war on drugs. Terrance is the former Speaker of the House in Colorado, and a current police officer.

Jake speaks with investigative journalist Susan Greene of Colorado News Collaborative, who recently published a piece that reports on troubling financial arrangements, lax oversight and systemic failures that leave Coloradans without needed mental health care. The piece is the first in an ongoing series of reports, called "On Edge," that examines the state's mental health system

Jake speaks with journalist and bestselling author David Sirota about his new podcast, "Meltdown," available on Audible. The eight-part series identifies the anemic political response to the Great Recession as a primary driver of troubling political trends we're experiencing today, including the rise of white nationalism and the assault on democracy. They also discuss "Don't Look Up," a new movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Sirota helped create the story for the film, which originated as a political (and comedic) allegory for our response to climate change.

Jake speaks with Brian Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, who has produced a new book, "Public Health Under Siege: Improving Policy in Turbulent Times." They discuss the state of the public health workforce, readiness for future pandemic response, and the prospects for public health political advocacy. Find out more about the book here: https://debeaumont.org/books/public-health-under-siege/

In search of fresh ideas to improve public policy for the sake of public health and equity, Jake asks four colleagues to come on the pod and pitch a policy idea that has caught their attention. They cover territory ranging from what we put in our bodies, to where we live, to how we get money.

Jake speaks with Lishaun Francis of Children Now. They discuss the nature of the crisis of suicide, anxiety, depression and substance use facing kids today, and what we can do about it on a policy level as we exit the pandemic. Children Now is an organization that advances public policy to support the physical and mental health of kids, especially children of color.

While COVID-19 vaccine distribution has been ahead of schedule in its early phases, polling shows that convincing those who remain unvaccinated will be difficult. Jake speaks with Dr. Jennifer Reich about how we address vaccine hesitancy to reach herd immunity on COVID-19. Dr. Reich is the author of Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines, and a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado.

Jake speaks with Sabrina Pacha of Healthy Air and Water Colorado, where they discuss the health effects of using gas in homes and how the gas industry is pushing back against converting homes to electric, including by using Instagram influencers. Then Jake speaks with Vijay Limaye, an epidemiologist with NRDC, about how we quantify and communicate the health impact of climate change and what we can do to turn the tide.

Native American communities are being devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the toll isn’t just on health, but also on culture, as language, customs and oral history is perishing along with Native elders. Jake speaks with New York Times journalist Jack Healy about his reporting on this impact and what Natives are doing to counteract it.

Jake speaks with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed about how Abdul's public health training informs his political instincts, the status of the public health workforce, and his insights on why President Trump won in 2016, but lost in 2020. They also dabble in actors with Egyptian roots, Ann Arbor deli talk, and a little sports. Abdul is a CNN political contributor, podcaster, and author. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department and also ran for Governor of Michigan.

Jake speaks with Dan Gibbs, who is a wildland firefighter and Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Dan was deployed this year to fight what were the largest forest fires in the state's history, which was part of a swell of fires this year out West that consumed an area larger than the state of Maryland. Dan offers both a ground-level and a policy perspective on how to fight wildfires, sets the record straight on Trump's "forest raking," and takes a position on whether wildland firefighters should have their own calendar.

Jake speaks with Dr. Ashwin Vasan, a physician and epidemiologist who is also the President & CEO of Fountain House, an organization with international reach that supports people with mental illness. In the conversation, Jake mines Dr. Vasan’s public health expertise in exploring our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including what steps Vice President Joe Biden should take to advance public health should he become President, and how we should communicate about and build confidence in the adoption of a COVID-19 vaccine.

While our air quality overall has improved in the last 50 years, air pollution today still causes about 100,000 premature deaths annually in America. It costs us all about $886 billion per year. The air emissions from our fossil fuel economy not only accelerates climate change, but also poses a health risk right now in communities across the U.S. as harmful substances, like Benzene, are still emitted.Jake speaks with Chase Woodruff, a journalist who writes for Westword, about his reporting on an oil refinery in Metro Denver that has been cited for over 100 violations since 2018 by state regulators, including spewing an excess amount of hydrogen cyanide in the surrounding community.Jake also speaks with Dr. Cory Carroll, a physician who describes how harmful air emissions and elevated ozone levels affect our health. He also shares some perspective on treating patients in a community that has seen a steep rise in nearby oil and gas extraction.

Altria recently introduced "Heat not burn" tobacco products in Atlanta, their first U.S. test market. This is the latest ploy big tobacco is using to hook people on nicotine. It’s so new it makes vaping seem like a thing of the past. These products come to the U.S. all the way from Japan, where they've become very popular.In this episode, you’ll hear an interview conducted in Tokyo, where Dr. Reiko Saito of Jumonji University talks about the history of tobacco control activism in Japan, new smoking regulations passed in advance of the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, and how these “Heat not Burn” products came to prominence in Japan. PLUS, Don Draper makes a guest appearance!