The Healthy Project Podcast

What happens when the agency responsible for protecting public health relies on safety information from the companies it's supposed to regulate?

In this episode of The Healthy Project Podcast, host Corey Dion Lewis sits down with award-winning investigative journalist Carey Gillam, editor-in-chief of The New Lede, to examine the relationship between pesticide regulation, corporate accountability, and public health.

Drawing on her investigation co-published with The Guardian, Gillam discusses internal Syngenta documents on paraquat, a widely used herbicide linked in scientific research to Parkinson's disease. The documents raise questions about what the company knew, what information was shared with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and whether farmers and agricultural workers received adequate warnings about potential health risks.

The conversation goes beyond one chemical or one company. Corey and Carey explore how pesticide safety decisions are made, how corporate research influences regulatory oversight, and why environmental health concerns affect communities far beyond agricultural fields.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What internal Syngenta documents reveal about the company's knowledge of paraquat and potential neurological risks.
• What researchers have found about the relationship between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease, and why the findings remain contested.
• How the EPA evaluates pesticide safety and why its reliance on industry-provided research raises concerns.
• How corporate influence can affect independent scientific research, public information, and regulatory decisions.
• Why pesticide exposure, agricultural runoff, and water quality matter for communities, including those in Iowa.
• How environmental health risks intersect with health equity, prevention, and corporate accountability.
• Why Carey continues investigating these issues despite facing professional intimidation and personal challenges.

Carey also shares the human stories behind her reporting, including families affected by serious illnesses and the financial and emotional consequences they have experienced.

This conversation raises a larger public health question: Are our regulatory systems doing enough to prevent harm before people become sick?

Whether you work in healthcare, public health, agriculture, environmental advocacy, or simply want to better understand the systems protecting your health, this episode offers a closer look at the science, policy, and people behind pesticide regulation.

About the Guest

Carey Gillam is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, and editor-in-chief of The New Lede. Her reporting focuses on environmental health, pesticide safety, corporate accountability, and the intersection of science and public policy.

Explore Carey's reporting at The New Lede: https://www.thenewlede.org/

Listen to more conversations about health, healthcare systems, and public policy on The Healthy Project Podcast.

You know Ty Pennington for transforming homes. In this conversation, he shares what it feels like to face a problem he cannot simply fix: his mom’s chronic lung condition.

Ty joins Corey Dion Lewis to talk about his mom’s experience with bronchiectasis, or BE, the years of respiratory symptoms before her diagnosis, and how the condition has affected their family. He opens up about caregiver guilt, why laughter can become difficult, and what he wishes he had understood sooner.

We also discuss the questions families can ask when symptoms keep coming back and why listening closely to a loved one matters.

Ty Pennington is a paid spokesperson for Insmed. He joins the episode as part of the Suspect BE awareness initiative.

Learn more about the campaign: https://www.suspectbronchiectasis.com/

Follow The Healthy Project Podcast for more conversations about health and the people living through it.

Why do some people delay or decline vaccines even when the science seems clear?

Dr. Mike Myers joins The Healthy Project Podcast to discuss what happens between medical evidence and the people asked to trust it.

Corey and Dr. Myers discuss the return of measles, vaccine misinformation, the role of healthcare providers in earning trust, and why distrust within Black and brown communities cannot simply be dismissed as “hesitancy.”

They also explore how social media has changed who people consider credible, why the COVID-19 vaccines were developed faster than many people expected, and what Dr. Myers learned while writing The Vaccine Bible.

Dr. Michael T. Myers Jr. is a Harvard and Johns Hopkins-trained physician with more than 35 years of experience in primary care, pediatrics, healthcare leadership, and public health.

Learn more about Dr. Myers and The Vaccine Bible at DrMikeMyers.com.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or EDS, is a genetic connective tissue disorder that can affect nearly every system in the body. Yet many people spend years living with unexplained pain, frequent injuries, gastrointestinal concerns, cardiovascular symptoms, and other challenges before receiving a diagnosis.

In this episode, Corey speaks with physical therapist Dr. Emma McCauley about the difference between hypermobility and EDS, why diagnosis can take more than a decade, and how racial disparities can make that journey even longer for people of color.

Dr. McCauley also explains how physical therapy can help people improve joint stability, body awareness, movement, and quality of life. The conversation highlights the importance of listening to patients, building diverse healthcare professions, and helping people find ways to live full lives while managing chronic conditions.

Show Notes

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is often associated with flexibility, but the condition can affect far more than a person’s joints.

Dr. Emma McCauley joins The Healthy Project Podcast to explain how EDS affects connective tissue throughout the body and why symptoms can look different from one person to another.

Corey and Dr. McCauley discuss the long road many patients face before receiving a diagnosis. They also explore why pain reported by Black patients and other patients of color may be dismissed, contributing to even longer delays in receiving answers and care.

Dr. McCauley explains the role physical therapists can play in recognizing patterns, helping patients understand their bodies, and connecting them with other healthcare professionals.

In This Episode

• What Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is
• The difference between EDS and general hypermobility
• Why an EDS diagnosis can take 10 to 12 years or longer
• How racial bias and pain dismissal affect diagnosis
• Why EDS is not only a white person’s condition
• How EDS can affect the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nervous, and musculoskeletal systems
• The connection between hypermobility and neurodivergence
• How physical therapy improves proprioception, stability, and body awareness
• Why movement may feel awkward when patients learn new patterns
• How physical therapists help patients make long-term lifestyle changes
• Why representation matters within the physical therapy profession
• How Iowa’s direct-access laws may allow patients to see a physical therapist without a referral

Episode Timestamps

00:48 – Dr. Emma McCauley’s path to physical therapy
02:22 – How she began working with patients with EDS
03:53 – Understanding EDS and hypermobility
04:58 – The long road to receiving a diagnosis
06:43 – Why EDS is not a white person’s disease
08:06 – Racial disparities in pain treatment and diagnosis
09:13 – Diversity and representation in physical therapy
11:52 – Why physical therapists may have more time to listen
13:18 – Proprioception, joint stability, and body awareness
16:55 – EDS and the aging process
17:13 – Comorbidities, mental health, and neurodivergence
19:28 – Helping patients experience more of life
21:02 – Physical therapy as long-term lifestyle management
22:20 – How to begin seeking physical therapy services
24:10 – How to connect with Dr. Emma McCauley

About Dr. Emma McCauley

Dr. Emma McCauley is a physical therapist at Kinetic Edge Physical Therapy in the Des Moines area. Her work includes helping people with hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome better understand their bodies, build stability, manage pain, and improve their quality of life.

Connect with Dr. Emma McCauley

Kinetic Edge Physical Therapy
6000 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa

Email: [email protected]

Every clinician knows food shapes health. The evidence has been there for decades. So why does nearly every food as medicine program in America still run on grant money with an expiration date? Dr. Yousuf Ahmad has spent 30 years inside the system, running hospitals, leading a health plan, building health tech, and he watched nutrition sit on the sidelines of care the entire time. Now, as President and CEO of AssureCare, he's behind NutraVance, a platform built to move nutrition out of the pilot graveyard and into real clinical workflows: screening, EHR integration, culturally personalized meal plans, outcome tracking, and the piece nobody wants to talk about, reimbursement.

Corey and Yousuf get into the five things that were missing all along, how AI personalizes nutrition without leaving under-resourced communities behind, what this looks like inside an FQHC, why every hospital needs a chief affordability officer, and what has to change so a heart failure patient never again leaves a hospital without a nutrition plan.

If you've ever watched a program your patients loved disappear when the funding ran out, this conversation is for you.

☕ Tell us what you thought of this episode and get a Healthy Project coffee mug: https://forms.gle/W6fqYUcJPsuHYjad8

What we cover:

The moment Yousuf realized nutrition was never part of central caregiving across hospitals, health plans, and physician practices (00:59)

Why a sick-care system that reimburses treatment can't see the value of prevention (04:01)

The proof of value problem: the 3-to-1 ROI argument Yousuf makes to health plan CEOs (06:22)

The five missing pieces that killed every food as medicine program: screening, workflow integration, personalization, measurement, and reimbursement (09:07)

How AI personalizes nutrition to culture, budget, and multiple chronic conditions without deepening bias against already disadvantaged communities (12:32)

What NutraVance looks like inside an FQHC, where 32 million Americans get their care (16:45)

Why every hospital and health plan needs a chief affordability officer (18:13)

Who pays for food as medicine today, and who should: Medicare, Medicaid, and the payers writing the checks (19:32)

The 10-year vision: a healthcare system that asks for your nutrition plan the way it asks for your insurance card (22:12)

Yousuf's leadership advice: the difference between motion and progress (34:11)

About the guest:

Dr. Yousuf J. Ahmad, DrPH, is President and CEO of AssureCare, a Cincinnati-based population health technology company. He previously served as President and CEO of Mercy Health in Cincinnati, leading a $3 billion integrated health system. AssureCare's newly launched NutraVance platform brings nutrition assessment, care planning, personalized meal planning, patient engagement, and reimbursement workflows into a single system embedded in clinical care.

Links:

Learn more about NutraVance and AssureCare: assurecare.com

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There's a federal law that's supposed to protect you from toxic chemicals in your baby bottles, your carpet, your drinking water, and your kid's toys. Most people have never heard of it — and right now, some lawmakers are trying to quietly weaken it. In this episode, Corey sits down with Sarah Vogel, Senior Vice President for Healthy Communities at the Environmental Defense Fund, to break down the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): how it went from a "dog that never barked" to a bipartisan reform ten years ago, why Black and brown communities carry the heaviest burden of chemical exposure, and what's actually at stake if these protections get rolled back. Sarah also shares real, practical steps you can take at home — no chemistry degree required.

This episode is brought to you by Goodfeed. 

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In this episode:

• What TSCA is, why it was passed in 1976, and why it barely worked for 40 years
• The 2016 bipartisan reform that finally gave the EPA real authority to review chemicals
• Why cost can't be part of the "is this safe" conversation — but can factor into "how do we manage the risk"
• Why Black and brown communities are disproportionately exposed to industrial pollution and toxic waste, and how redlining is directly tied to that
• What's being proposed right now that could quietly gut these protections again
• Why "regulation kills innovation" doesn't hold up — and what strong rules actually do for public health and industry
• Simple, low-cost things you can do today: testing for lead, skipping fragranced products, avoiding plastic in the microwave, washing your hands after cleaning

Resources mentioned:

• Learn more about TSCA: edf.org/tsca
• Check your exposure risk by zip code: chemicalactionmap.edf.org

Connect with Sarah Vogel and the Environmental Defense Fund at edf.org.

This episode is brought to you by Goodfeed — goodfeed.co.

We've been told that if we just show people the data on racial health disparities, change will follow. It hasn't. In this episode, Corey sits down with Dr. Sarah Gollust (University of Minnesota) and Dr. Neil Lewis Jr. (Cornell University), researchers with the Collaborative on Media and Messaging for Health and Social Policy (CommHSP), to unpack why the numbers alone never move people — and what does. They dig into the fear of "backlash," why context changes everything, and the surprising finding that the communities most affected by inequity are often the most ready to act, yet are routinely left out of the research about them.

Show Notes

Why does telling people the facts about health disparities so often fail to create change? Dr. Sarah Gollust and Dr. Neil Lewis Jr. have spent two decades studying exactly that question — how media and messaging shape what the public believes about health, race, and who deserves care. In this conversation, they make the case that data without context can backfire, while stories grounded in lived experience can mobilize people across racial and political lines.

In this episode:

• Why "just show them the data" is an incomplete strategy — and what people actually need to understand the why behind health outcomes
• The moment a governor called COVID "the great equalizer," and why it crystallized the urgency of getting health communication right
• The study that found 94% of racial-equity messaging research relied on majority-white or all-white samples — and what that bias erased
• "Beyond fear of backlash": why explaining the causes of disparities removes defensiveness instead of triggering it
• How America's individualistic culture pushes people toward blaming individuals ("just eat healthier," "just exercise") instead of seeing systems
• Why people of color, often excluded from the research, turn out to be the most willing to mobilize for change
• The power of narrative transportation — and why Neil opens academic papers with a quote from Dr. King's The Other America
• How the collapse of local health journalism makes community-grounded stories harder to tell, and why independent platforms matter more than ever

Key takeaway: Don't go quiet because the conversation is hard. You're likely in the majority — and the right words, with real context, can bring people in rather than push them away.

Connect with our guests:

• CommHSP: https://commhsp.org/
• Follow the collaborative on LinkedIn for new research and accessible summaries

Connect with The Healthy Project:

• Subscribe to the Live, Work, Play, Pray Substack for more on population health, advocacy, and community wellness

This episode touches on heavy topics, including structural racism and health inequity. Take care of yourself as you listen.

A Word From Our Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Goodfeed.

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What’s the difference between digital literacy and AI literacy—and why does it matter for the future of work?

In this episode, Corey sits down with Nancy Mwirotsi, founder of Pi515, to break down how technology is shaping economic mobility for youth. They explore why basic digital skills are still missing, how AI tools are changing critical thinking, and what it takes to prepare the next generation for real opportunities.

Nancy shares her journey building Pi515 to support underserved and refugee youth through tech education. She also explains how exposure, mentorship, and hands-on learning can change a child’s trajectory.

If you care about education, workforce development, or closing opportunity gaps, this conversation will challenge how you think about tech and youth development.

Show Notes

What you’ll learn:

•  The difference between digital literacy and AI literacy 
•  Why many students still lack basic tech skills 
•  How AI tools can weaken or strengthen critical thinking 
•  The role of mentorship in shaping career paths 
•  How tech access impacts economic mobility 
•  Why youth need exposure to real-world opportunities 
•  The risks of over-relying on AI tools 
•  How to prepare kids for the future of work 

Key Moments:

•  00:00 – Introduction to Nancy and Pi515 
•  03:00 – How Pi515 started and supporting refugee youth 
•  05:30 – Why exposure shapes career possibilities 
•  09:00 – Digital literacy vs AI literacy explained 
•  13:00 – The danger of overusing AI tools 
•  17:00 – Skills youth need for future jobs 
•  20:00 – AI risks: misinformation and deepfakes 
•  22:30 – How parents and educators can guide kids 
•  27:00 – Best AI tools and how to use them wisely 
•  32:00 – Youth, entrepreneurship, and making money with AI 
•  34:00 – Why talent leaves cities like Des Moines 
•  40:00 – Building innovation ecosystems for the future 

Notable Quotes:

•  “Kids cannot be what they don’t see.” 
•  “Digital literacy is basic skills. AI literacy is understanding the tool, the ethics, and the impact.” 
•  “You can’t let the tool do the thinking for you.” 
•  “We need to empower young people as leaders, not just learners.” 

Resources & Links:

•  Pi515: https://pi515.org

Call to Action:

•  Subscribe for more conversations on health, community, and opportunity 
•  Share this episode with educators, parents, and leaders 
•  Leave a review to help more people find the show

Music by Tunetank from Pixabay

SPONSORED BY GOODFEED IMPACT AUDIO NETWORK
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EPISODE DESCRIPTION:

What does it actually mean to advocate for your community — and where do you even begin? In this episode, host Corey Dion Lewis sits down with Morgan Newman, Grassroots Manager for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and a two-time cervical cancer survivor, for a deeply honest conversation about the art and science of advocacy.

Morgan shares how her own health journey became the foundation for her advocacy career, why trust-building is the most underrated skill in public health, and how coalition work can amplify impact without duplicating effort. Whether you're a seasoned organizer or someone who's never attended a community meeting, this episode will meet you where you are.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How a personal cancer journey became the spark for a career in advocacy
• The three levels of advocacy — personal, community, and systems change
• Why building trust is the first step before you say a single word to a community
• How to enter communities you don't live in and still earn credibility
• The power of coalition building — and how to avoid the silo trap
• Why storytelling moves people faster than data ever will
• Preventing burnout and compassion fatigue in advocacy work
• How to stay educated and connected in a rapidly changing landscape
• Why advocating for yourself is the most foundational act of all

ABOUT MORGAN NEWMAN:

Morgan Newman, MSW, is a licensed social worker, cancer policy advocate, and board member of the Iowa Cancer Consortium. She brings a trauma-informed lens to community health work and is passionate about empowering others to tell their stories and make lasting systems change. Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Iowa Cancer Consortium: iacancer.org
• Iowa Cancer Plan — available through the Iowa Cancer Consortium
• Live, Work, Play, Pray Newsletter — Subscribe on Substack

SPONSORED BY GOODFEED IMPACT AUDIO NETWORK
A network built for podcasts, making a difference. Join the waitlist: https://goodfeed.co/

ABOUT THE SHOW:
The Healthy Project Podcast explores the social drivers of health — where we live, work, play, and pray — through honest conversations with advocates, practitioners, and community leaders—hosted by Corey Dion Lewis.

Some things are true whether we talk about them or not. Iowa has one of the highest cancer rates in the country. The people most affected by it are often the last ones to hear about it. And the systems that were supposed to catch it early — the clinics, the screenings, the outreach programs — are losing funding right now, quietly, in ways most people won't notice until it's too late. This episode is about all of that. But more than anything, it's about people.

About This Conversation

Corey sits down with Jason Semprini — a public health economist, a lifelong Iowan, and somebody who has spent his career translating complex data into something that can actually change how communities live. What started as a conversation about economics turned into one of the most honest, grounded discussions about health, place, and power that The Healthy Project Podcast has ever had.

This one isn't for researchers. It's for anyone who has ever wondered why their community looks the way it does — and whether anybody in power is paying attention.

What We Get Into

The cancer rate nobody's talking about: Iowa ranks among the highest states in the nation for cancer. It's not a fluke. It's not a bad data year. It's consistent, it's climbing, and it's being driven by a specific set of cancers shaped by where people live and what surrounds them. Jason breaks down what the numbers are actually showing — and why the story is more complicated than any headline has captured.

Agriculture, jobs, and the health trade-off nobody wants to say out loud. Iowa's ag economy is the backbone of this state. It provides livelihoods, identity, and community for generations of Iowa families. It is also, according to clear and compelling research, contributing to adverse health outcomes, including cancer. Jason doesn't flinch from that tension. Neither does Corey. Because pretending it doesn't exist isn't protecting anybody.

What happens when the money disappears? Pop-up mammography clinics. Free screenings. Community health workers are going door to door. These programs exist because some people don't have a regular doctor — and for them, a pop-up clinic isn't a backup plan, it's the only plan. When federal funding gets cut, these are the first programs that feel it. Jason shares what colleagues on the ground are experiencing right now. It's not abstract. It's hitting real people in real communities today.

Prostate cancer, Black men, and what the system keeps missing. This part of the conversation hits close to home for Corey — founder of Save the Homies, a prostate cancer awareness initiative through My City My Health. It's not always that Black men in Iowa are getting prostate cancer at higher rates. It's that they're getting diagnosed later. The navigation to quality care is broken. The trust isn't there. The access isn't there. Jason connects this to a framework about biology and health systems colliding — and why fixing it requires more than a screening event.

The real cost of data we're not using. One of the most practical takeaways in the whole conversation: collecting health data you're not acting on isn't neutral. It costs money, it burdens patients, and it pulls resources away from interventions that would actually move the needle. If your organization is drowning in surveys nobody reads, this part is for you.

What a job well done actually looks like. For Jason, success isn't a published paper. It's a policy change. An updated screening guideline. An insurance expansion that took twenty years to become the Affordable Care Act. The work is long. The patience required is real. But the outcomes are lives — and that's the only metric that matters.

About Jason Semprini

Jason Semprini is a public health economist and researcher whose work focuses on cancer, health policy, and the systems shaping health outcomes across Iowa. A lifelong Iowan, Jason's path to this work ran through AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, and the University of Chicago — where he developed the research and economic skills he now applies to the most pressing health challenges facing this state. His work sits at the intersection of data, policy, and real community impact.

Find Jason on LinkedIn
explore his research.

If This Episode Hit For You — Here's What To Do Next

Share it. Send this episode to somebody in your life who needs to hear it. A friend, a coworker, someone at your church, your health department, or your organization. The more people who hear this conversation, the more it can do.

Subscribe to the Live. Work. Play. Pray. Newsletter This is where Corey goes deeper every week — health equity, the social determinants shaping our communities, and the stories that don't always make the headlines but absolutely should. Written for real people, not just professionals. Free to subscribe. 👉 https://substack.com/@coreydionlewis

Work With Healthy Project Media. If you're a health organization, nonprofit, community health center, foundation, or health plan doing work that deserves a bigger audience, Corey wants to talk. Healthy Project Media partners with organizations across the population health ecosystem to tell stories that actually reach the communities they're trying to serve. Schedule a free 30-minute conversation to explore what that looks like. 👉 https://koalendar.com/e/meet-with-corey-lewis?month=2026-03&duration=30&date=2026-03-23

About The Healthy Project Podcast

Hosted by Corey Dion Lewis — public health storyteller, founder of My City My Health INC, and integrated health consultant at the Iowa Primary Care Association — The Healthy Project Podcast exists to make public health accessible, honest, and real for the people it's supposed to serve. Every episode bridges the gap between what the data shows and what communities actually feel.

New episodes drop weekly. 📲 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 📬 Subscribe to the newsletter: https://substack.com/@coreydionlewis

The Healthy Project Podcast is produced by Healthy Project Media | Des Moines, Iowa