Regulation is key to keeping our air clean, which in turn keeps us healthy. But the Trump Administration has been cutting funding and attempting to slash important clean air rules that jeopardize the planet and our health. What do these policy changes mean, and how can organizations help fight back? Part of the answer is going to federal courts. Nicholas Nassikas, MD, Harvard Medical School, and Andrew Mergen, Harvard Law School, discuss the legal actions the ATS has taken to oppose rollbacks of essential Clean Air Act rules with host Gary Ewart, MHS, chief of advocacy and government relations for the American Thoracic Society.

 The "One Big Beautiful Bill" passed as HR1 is projected to dramatically cut Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Host and Air Health Our Health podcast creator Erika Moseson, MD, MA, speaks with Texas-based pediatric pulmonologist Shade Afolabi, MD, about how these potential cuts could lead to devastating consequences, including children being unable to access medical care, soaring medical debt for families, worsened health outcomes for adults and children, instability in the healthcare workforce and more. 

As 2025 comes to a close, the ATS Breathe Easy podcast is highlighting one of our most important episodes of the year on the importance of environmental justice, both for the quality of our air and for the quality of life of future generations. 

Erika Moseson, MD, of the Air Health Our Heath podcast hosts this week's episode with guest Daniel Croft, MD, MPH, ATSF. Dr. Croft is associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. On this episode we share insights from the Climate Change and Respiratory Health: Opportunities to Contribute to Environmental Justice: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40311081/ 

For additional discussion on environmental health, please also view our recent Breathe Easy episode “EPA Rollbacks Spell Grave Impacts on Public Health” for an up-to-date discussion of current national changes related to health care, environmental health and environmental justice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51ZzGPj8UF4 

For more on what you can do in your community, listen to the Air Health Our Health episode "Bypass Toxic Politics" with Dr Anthony Gerber of the American Thoracic Society Environmental Health Policy Committee: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/airhealthourhealth/episodes/Bypass-Toxic-Politics--Dr-Gerber-on-Local-and-State-Action-for-Healthy-Air-and-Communities-e2tug4n/a-abobsm0 

 Endotrachael intubation is a highly important critical care procedure, and as such, clinicians are working to improve the procedure to ensure the best patient outcomes. As Stephanie DeMasi, MD, MS, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, goes through the detailed review she wrote, along with her colleagues, on different evidence-based decisions clinicians face when intubating a patient, with host Eddie Qian, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Read Dr. DeMasi's paper, "Evidence-based Emergency Tracheal Intubation": https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202411-2165CI 

 Lung cancer is commonly associated with smoking. However, among people diagnosed with lung cancer, the proportion who have never smoked has been increasing, and there are many reasons why a person who has never smoked may develop this disease. Lori Sakoda, PhD, MPH, ATSF, a research scientist and epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, explains what factors may come into play, what the ongoing research shows, and what knowledge gaps exist on this topic. Patti Tripathi hosts. 

The lung Composite Allocation Score (CAS) was implemented in 2023, and has shown to increase lung transplant rates and lower waitlist mortality. Host Alice Gallo de Moraes, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, interviews experts Mary Raddawi, MD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Amy Skiba, of the Lung Transplant Foundation, on the importance of CAS and how it has changed outcomes for lung transplant patients. 

 This Giving Tuesday, we have a special episode of the ATS Breathe Easy podcast. Wildfires are a destructive phenomenon that decimates communities, infrastructure, and wildlife. But wildfires and wildfire smoke are also severely damaging to human health, especially for those who have lung disease. Stacie Reveles, of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Institute, talks about her struggles living in wildfire country with a child who has cystic fibrosis. She discusses everything from dealing with medications and evacuations, the mental toll, and the importance of continued research into these illnesses. Air Health Our Health podcast creator Erika Moseson, MD, MA, of Legacy Health in Oregon hosts.

Donate to the ATS Research Program today to help families like Stacie's: https://aeugmntn.donorsupport.co/page/Stacie

The ATS Wildfire Disaster Guidance sheet: https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/wildfires.pdf

 Listen to the Our Health in Wildfire Season episode of Air Health Our Health for how to prepare your home and community: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/airhealthourhealth/episodes/Our-Health-in-Wildfire-Season-e162en9/a-a2ata11 

 Smoking is the main risk factor for COPD in the United States and many other countries. However, it is important to recall that there are other causes of COPD, from birth experiences to environmental exposures. COPD expert Meilan K. Han MD, MS, University of Michigan Health, discusses non-smoking causes of COPD, what patients can do to manage their symptoms, and how clinicians and communities can help. Air Health Our Health podcast creator Erika Moseson, MD, MA, of Legacy Health in Oregon hosts.

Patient resources:
- ATS COPD resources: https://site.thoracic.org/patient-resources/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd
- GOLD COPD resources: https://goldcopd.org/patients-advocacy-groups/
- American Lung Association COPD resources: https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/resource-library 
- UpToDate COPD resources: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/stable-copd-overview-of-management 

Exercise is key for managing symptoms for COPD patients. On World COPD Day, host Amy Attaway, MD, Cleveland Clinic, talks to Rachel Evans, MD, University of Leicester, and Russell Winwood, a patient advocate known as the "COPD Athlete", about how exercise can improve patient outcomes. They also discuss the annual Big Baton Pass, an international COPD awareness event, the importance for pulmonary rehabilitation, and the community built around COPD advocacy and support for patients. Learn more about the COPD Baton Pass: https://copdbatonpass.org/ 

As new studies uncover better treatments and practices, it is important to develop new clinical practice guidelines to ensure patients receive the best care. Julio A. Ramirez, MD, Norton Healthcare and University of Louisville, and co-lead of the guideline panel, dives into the process of creating an update clinical practice guideline for community-acquired pneumonia with host Eddie Qian, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as well as the importance to the medical community and patients when making key care decisions.

Check out the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Clinical Practice Guideline: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202507-1692ST