The Highwire

A controversial provision—Section 453—was quietly stripped from a federal appropriations bill after it would have granted pesticide manufacturers sweeping legal immunity by blocking updates to warning labels, even as new safety risks emerged. Inserted with little public scrutiny, the language would have shielded chemical companies from liability while leaving consumers and farmworkers uninformed about evolving dangers. Jefferey breaks down who stood to benefit from Section 453, how it was slipped into the bill, and how sustained public pressure ultimately forced lawmakers to remove it.

In another huge move to make America healthy again, HHS and USDA updated dietary guidelines that mark a major shift in federal nutrition policy, as the new “upside-down” food pyramid moves away from decades of low-fat and processed-food recommendations. Hear what the new guidance emphasizes, including whole foods, adequate protein, and reduced added sugars, and discuss how the changes could impact school lunches, federal nutrition programs, and long-term public health.

A historic shift is underway. Del opens with CDC’s unprecedented move to slash the routine childhood vaccine schedule nearly in half, aligning the U.S. with the Denmark model. What prompted this change and what does it mean for families nationwide?

Then, Jefferey Jaxen reports on HHS flipping the food pyramid, signaling a monumental reset in nutrition policy. He also investigates the escalating glyphosate battle, as liability protections for pesticide companies collapse in Congress—while the Supreme Court and the Trump administration loom large.

Finally, Del sits down with Sayer Ji to examine the unraveling narrative around censorship and free speech, and exposes one of the chief architects of COVID-era information control.

Guest: Sayer Ji

Today’s HighWire pulls no punches. Del breaks down HHS’s decision to withdraw funding from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the media reaction to RFK Jr.’s bold move. Jefferey Jaxen reports on the quiet return of flu lockdowns overseas—and the next pandemic narrative already taking shape. Then, Jefferey examines what’s truly at stake as the AI race threatens to replace human labor at scale. Finally, epidemiologist Nick Hulscher, MPH, joins Del in-studio to reveal new findings from a reanalysis of the Henry Ford “vaxxed vs. unvaxxed” data—results that could redefine modern public health.

Guests: Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Airdate: December 18, 2025

Ryland and Mollie Engelhart sit down with Del to share the hard lessons learned as their celebrated plant-based restaurant empire ran headlong into the realities of today’s food system. From Café Gratitude’s rise to their unexpected shift into regenerative farming, they reveal how bureaucracy, restrictive policies, and cultural pressures forced them to rethink what sustainability truly means. Their journey exposes the real challenges small farmers face—and why soil health and community resilience matter far more than marketing claims.

Jefferey Jaxen reports on a seismic shift in public health as ACIP leaders finally confront the long-ignored question of cumulative vaccine risk. With ACIP Vice Chair Dr. Robert Malone calling out the “elephant in the room” and President Trump signaling major changes to the childhood schedule, a rare moment of accountability and transparency in vaccine policy is unfolding.

A major shift in federal policy is emerging as HHS moves to strengthen parental rights, religious exemptions, and informed consent in children’s medical decisions. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Office of Civil Rights is investigating reports of a child with a religious exemption being vaccinated without parental consent. At the same time, several states are pushing bills that would allow minors to be vaccinated without their parents’ knowledge, highlighting a broader medical-system struggle—from childhood shots to psychiatric drugs for veterans—over consent, transparency, and personal autonomy.

ICAN lead counsel Aaron Siri, esq., breaks down ACIP’s historic decision to end the recommendation of universal Hepatitis B vaccination at birth for babies of healthy, Hep-B–negative mothers—moving it to age 2 months and “shared decision making.” He details major gaps in the safety data, evidence of harm buried in our federal injury programs, and an ethical crisis in the U.S. of pressuring parents to vaccinate their children under threat of CPS. Siri also contrasts U.S. policy with nations like mandate-free Denmark, which recommends far fewer vaccines while enjoying better health outcomes.

Day one of this week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting revealed a stunning shift in the hepatitis B debate. For the first time, panel experts openly acknowledged they do not have the data to justify giving every newborn a hepatitis B shot on their first day of life. Hear how this new advisory group challenged inflated risk assumptions, admitted the evidence for newborn safety is surprisingly weak, and questioned why infants are expected to bear the burden for failures in adult screening and prevention. This pivotal exchange is reshaping the national conversation around vaccine policy—and the science that must support it.

Carrie Bigford of Texans for Vaccine Choice unpacks how to talk about medical freedom without blowing up relationships. Drawing on her mental-health background, Carrie walks through her “prepare, connect, inform, allow” framework and explains why tone, body language, and genuine curiosity matter more than “perfect facts” when you’re trying to change hearts and minds. Get a HighWire exclusive promo code to join the online course on effective outreach for these important tools to make a difference.