In this episode we talk with Dr. John Balbus, a tireless climate advocate and the inaugural director of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within HHS. In the last year, the climate movement has faced many setbacks requiring more resilience, courage, and joy. In this conversation, we explore how to support this work and these feelings amid uncertainty, while charting through Dr. Balbus' illustrious career. 

Episode Written by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, Produced by Natasha Sood, and Edited by Liana Haigis and Dhivya Arasappan. 

In this episode, we bring you “on the ground” interviews from Medical Students for a Sustainable Future’s 2025 Climate Health Equity Day conference. We spoke with medical students, organizers, and advocates about their experiences at the conference, the urgent need for climate-informed health policy, and how future physicians are mobilizing for planetary health justice.

These conversations capture the energy and vision of the next generation of healthcare leaders working to center equity in climate and health.

Episode written and hosted by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, produced by Natasha Sood, and edited by Liana Haigis.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Alia Badawi, author of a patient case exploring how particulate matter and air pollution exacerbate inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Check out the written case (adaptable for medical school curricula) at Climate Resources for Health Education: https://climatehealthed.org/course/pemphigus-and-atopic-dermatitis-due-to-pm-exposure/ . Rohan Arora, Cameron Nosrat, and Dr. Eva R Parker were also involved in the creation of this case.

Episode written and hosted by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, produced by Natasha Sood, and edited by Liana Haigis

In this episode, we speak to medical students Vennela Avula, Alice Moon, and Ahmed Sayed, co-authors of a case emphasizing the connection between cardiovascular health and climate change with a preventative and primary care lens. Check out their written case (adaptable for medical school curriculum) at Climate Resources for Health Education: https://climatehealthed.org/course/primary-prevention-of-cardiac-disease/. 

Episode written by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, produced by Natasha Sood, and edited by Liana Haigis. 

In this episode, we’re joined by Zach Williams, MPH, and Dr. Gaurab Basu, MD, MPH, to explore the power of education and advocacy in addressing the climate-health nexus.

Dr. Williams, Associate Director of the Environment & Health Program at Physicians for Social Responsibility, brings expertise in youth engagement and public health education. Dr. Basu, Director of Education and Policy at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE, integrates climate justice into medical education and policy advocacy.

Tune in for actionable insights and inspiration to advance climate-health work in your career and community.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Melody Porlier and Dr. Arpana Jain, co-authors of a case exploring the interaction of traumatic injury and rising infectious disease risks. Check out their written case (adaptable for medical school curricula) at Climate Resources for health education: https://climatehealthed.org/course/vibrio-vulnificus-and-necrotizing-fasciitis/.  Dr. Annie Cherner was also involved in the creation of this case. 

Episode written by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, Produced by Natasha Sood, and Edited by Liana Haigis. 

In this episode, we’re going to discuss reconnecting to your climate interests within your career and how to use those passions to advocate within your community. We’ll be talking with Dr. Paul Devine Bottone who is a pediatrician and adolescent health specialist at the CHOP and Penn Student Health. He has a particular interest in the interplays of climate justice and adolescent and young adult health, with focuses on climate anxiety and food sovereignty. Relevant comments and links for episode:

Episode written by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, Produced by Natasha Sood, and Edited by Liana Haigis. 

In this episode we speak to Dr. Carissa Klarich, Dr. Jennifer Robohm, and Dr. Robin Cooper, co-authors of a case emphasizing the connection between climate change, anxiety, and panic disorder. Check out their written case (adaptable for medical school curricula) at Climate Resources for Health Education: https://climatehealthed.org/course/anxiety/. In addition to podcast participants, case development was led by Caellaugh Catley.

Resources mentioned:

Episode written by Phoebe Cunningham and Elizabeth Whidden, Produced by Natasha Sood, and Edited by Liana Haigis. 

Learn about climate change career paths & advocacy efforts within the field of med ed during this conversation with Dr. Farah Hussain, first-ever Director of Planetary Health Curriculum at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Relevant links mentioned in episode:

- IPCC report https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/2:49

- Lancet countdown on climate & health homepage https://www.thelancet.com/countdown-health-climate

- Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's venn diagram on climate action https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/climatevenn

We’re releasing this episode from the archives (recorded in 2021) – an interview between Dr. Lisa Patel and our podcast editor & Brown University student, Liana Haigis.

Dr. Patel is the Executive Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and a Clinical Associate Professor in Pediatrics for Stanford Children's Health. This episode’s conversation covers a lot of ground, including the unique vulnerabilities of pediatric patients to climate change, wildfires & hospital power outages, and community resilience. Dr. Patel discusses key learnings about environmental justice and physician advocacy, her focus areas.

Below are two articles that she highlights in this episode:
- Confronting Carbon Inequality  https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/confronting-carbon-inequality
- Reparations as a Public Health Priority – A Strategy for Ending Black-White Health Disparities  https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2026170