PopTalks with Dr. Thoại Ngô

On the newest episode of PopTalks, Dr. Thoại Ngô sits down with Dr. Michelle Morse, who recently transitioned out of her role as New York City's acting health commissioner, for a conversation on the state of American public health. They trace the current measles resurgence back to declining trust in science and government, and connect it to deeper structural threats: federal workforce cuts at the CDC, FDA, and HHS; the loss of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants and its effect on the U.S. caregiving workforce; and the contradictions inside the "Make America Healthy Again" movement. Dr. Morse draws on her years with Partners in Health in Haiti and Rwanda to argue for rebuilding public health from the ground up — through community health workers, local and state collaboratives, and renewed ties to global institutions like the WHO. She also reflects on her work dismantling racism embedded in clinical algorithms, what she tells the next generation of public health students, and what, after leading one of the country’s largest and most complex health departments, she is still betting on public health—and the people who choose to do this work. 

A quick content note: We recorded this in early September. Since then, additional measles-related deaths have been reported in Pennsylvania. On a national level, the United States has recorded more than 4,000 cases this year.

Topics:

• Why this is a “reckoning moment” for American public health — and the choices Americans now face about what they expect their federal government to do 
• The measles resurgence, declining trust in the CDC and vaccines, and what it reveals about U.S. public health infrastructure
• Lessons carried from Partners in Health's work in Haiti and Rwanda — bringing care to where people are, not the other way around
• The end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants and its ripple effects on the U.S. caregiving workforce
• The contradictions inside the "Make America Healthy Again" movement — SNAP and Medicaid cuts alongside nutrition rhetoric, and inconsistent follow-through on tobacco and vaping policy
• Dismantling racism embedded in clinical algorithms, including the race-based eGFR kidney function test
• Rebuilding public health trust through community health workers, local and state collaboratives, and global partnerships — plus her advice for the next generation of public health leaders and what gives her hope
• The power of public health — and why its success in taking on powerful corporate interests, from tobacco and beyond, may be precisely why the field is under attack today. 

Episode Resources:

• EqualHealth (co-founded by Dr. Morse)
• Coalition to End Racism in Clinical Algorithms
• WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Connect with Dr. Michelle Morse

• Connect with Dr. Michelle Morse on LinkedIn

Connect with PopTalks

• Connect with Dr. Thoại Ngô on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Learn more about PopTalks at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
• To keep up with big ideas and fresh thinking in global health, subscribe to our newsletter 

PopTalks is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

Today, most people encounter breaking news not through a newspaper or broadcast, but through a TikTok video, an Instagram reel, or an AI chatbot. In this episode of PopTalks, Dr. Thoại Ngô sits down with Jason Lemon, Deputy News Director at Newsweek, to unpack what happens to truth and trust when anyone can publish and algorithms decide what we see. Drawing on recent survey data showing record-low trust in news worldwide, the two explore how journalism is adapting to an audience that increasingly gets its information from creators, social platforms, and AI tools — and what that shift means for public health communication, media literacy, and democratic life more broadly. Lemon shares candid reflections from his own path into journalism, the pressures newsrooms face to stay both accessible and accurate, and a personal story of the moment his own reporting changed the course of a real-world case.

Topics:

• Why trust in traditional news institutions is at a record low worldwide, and what that means for public health messaging
• How younger generations are getting news from creators, social platforms, and AI chatbots rather than legacy outlets
• Whether Gen Z is better informed, differently informed, or simply informed through different channels
• The challenge of communicating complex science and health information to audiences reading below a sixth-grade level
• AI chatbots as a news source: the promise of faster access to information versus the risk of convincing falsehoods
• Practical media literacy advice for navigating an information landscape shaped by creators, algorithms, biased news sources, and AI

Episode Resources:

• Reuters Institute 2026 Digital News Report 

Connect with Jason:

• LinkedIn 
• Instagram 
• X 
• Website 

Connect with PopTalks

• Connect with Dr. Thoại Ngô on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Learn more about PopTalks at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
• To keep up with big ideas and fresh thinking in global health, subscribe to our newsletter 

PopTalks is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

Immigration enforcement in the United States has entered uncharted territory. In this episode, Dr. Thoại Ngô is joined by Lee Gelernt, Senior Attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, to examine what's changed — and why it matters far beyond the immigrant communities most directly affected.

Gelernt discusses the unprecedented scale of immigration enforcement since January 2025, the invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against an alleged Venezuelan gang, and the reshaping of immigration courts under executive authority. He also reflects on  the evidentiary role public health research has played in his most consequential cases, including the family separation litigation from Trump's first term. The conversation moves from legal mechanics into deeply personal territory as Gelernt recounts reuniting a mother and child after months of separation — a powerful scene captured in the documentary The Fight. The episode closes on Gelernt's case for why public pushback and civic action, not just litigation, is what ultimately shifts policy.

Topics

• The scale of ICE enforcement since January 2025 — and how the public can take action
• The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and its use against an alleged Venezuelan gang
• The transformation of immigration courts under executive control
• The Secure American Act and its nearly $70 billion enforcement investment
• Public health's evidentiary role in family separation and asylum litigation
• Barriers families face in locating loved ones in immigration custody
• Public pushback, shifting polls, and where Gelernt sees reason for hope

Connect with Lee

• Lee and his work at the ACLU

Connect with PopTalks

• Connect with Dr. Thoại Ngô on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Learn more about PopTalks at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
• To keep up with big ideas and fresh thinking in global health, subscribe to our newsletter 

PopTalks is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

In the inaugural episode of PopTalks, Dr. Thoại Ngô sits down with Brigitte Amiri, Lead Attorney and Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, for a conversation about the state of reproductive rights in America four years after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Drawing on more than two decades of litigation experience, Brigitte helps listeners understand  the legal landscape that has emerged since 2022 — from the patchwork of state abortion bans to the the growing importance of state constitutional protections. Together, Brigitte and Dr. Ngô examine the ongoing legal battles over medication abortion, telemedicine, shield laws, the human cost of restricted access, and what it will take to build durable protections for the future. The episode closes with Brigitte reflecting on the cases that have shaped her career, her vision for the next generation advocates, and why — despite the setbacks — she remains hopeful.

Topics:

• The Dobbs decision, four years later: How the legal landscape has changed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
• State constitutional amendments: How litigators are using state constitutions to protect abortion access.
• Medication abortion under attack: The legal battles over mifepristone, telehealth, and shield laws.
• The human cost of abortion bans: Cross-state travel, financial hardship, and the patients who cannot make the journey.
• Public opinion vs. politics: Why abortion ballot measures have consistently outperformed political narratives.
• Reproductive rights and economic justice: Why abortion access is also an economic issue.
• Building lasting protections: What a federal constitutional amendment might require—and why it will take all of us.

Resources Mentioned:

• ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project 
• Ibis Reproductive Health
• National Network of Abortion Funds

Connect with Brigitte:

• LinkedIn

Connect with PopTalks

• Connect with Dr. Thoại Ngô on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Learn more about PopTalks at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
• To keep up with big ideas and fresh thinking in global health, subscribe to our newsletter 

PopTalks is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

The forces shaping human health don't respect borders, budgets, or political cycles. Understanding them requires going deeper than the headlines — and further than any single discipline. PopTalks is a global health podcast hosted by Dr. Thoại Ngô, Chair of the Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Each episode, Dr. Ngô sits down with leading scientists, policymakers, innovators, and community leaders  to examine the forces transforming population health and human well-being — from climate change and AI to demographic shifts, gender equity, global conflict, and more. These conversations are shaping our world, and now you're in the room. New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Connect with PopTalks

• Connect with Dr. Thoại Ngô on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Learn more about PopTalks at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
• To keep up with big ideas and fresh thinking in global health, subscribe to our newsletter 

PopTalks is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.