The Wooden Teeth Show

Jake speaks with investigative journalist Susan Greene of Colorado News Collaborative, who recently published a piece that reports on troubling financial arrangements, lax oversight and systemic failures that leave Coloradans without needed mental health care. The piece is the first in an ongoing series of reports, called "On Edge," that examines the state's mental health system

Jake speaks with journalist and bestselling author David Sirota about his new podcast, "Meltdown," available on Audible. The eight-part series identifies the anemic political response to the Great Recession as a primary driver of troubling political trends we're experiencing today, including the rise of white nationalism and the assault on democracy. They also discuss "Don't Look Up," a new movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Sirota helped create the story for the film, which originated as a political (and comedic) allegory for our response to climate change.

Jake speaks with Brian Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, who has produced a new book, "Public Health Under Siege: Improving Policy in Turbulent Times." They discuss the state of the public health workforce, readiness for future pandemic response, and the prospects for public health political advocacy. Find out more about the book here: https://debeaumont.org/books/public-health-under-siege/

In search of fresh ideas to improve public policy for the sake of public health and equity, Jake asks four colleagues to come on the pod and pitch a policy idea that has caught their attention. They cover territory ranging from what we put in our bodies, to where we live, to how we get money.

Jake speaks with Lishaun Francis of Children Now. They discuss the nature of the crisis of suicide, anxiety, depression and substance use facing kids today, and what we can do about it on a policy level as we exit the pandemic. Children Now is an organization that advances public policy to support the physical and mental health of kids, especially children of color.

While COVID-19 vaccine distribution has been ahead of schedule in its early phases, polling shows that convincing those who remain unvaccinated will be difficult. Jake speaks with Dr. Jennifer Reich about how we address vaccine hesitancy to reach herd immunity on COVID-19. Dr. Reich is the author of Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines, and a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado.

Jake speaks with Sabrina Pacha of Healthy Air and Water Colorado, where they discuss the health effects of using gas in homes and how the gas industry is pushing back against converting homes to electric, including by using Instagram influencers. Then Jake speaks with Vijay Limaye, an epidemiologist with NRDC, about how we quantify and communicate the health impact of climate change and what we can do to turn the tide.

Native American communities are being devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the toll isn’t just on health, but also on culture, as language, customs and oral history is perishing along with Native elders. Jake speaks with New York Times journalist Jack Healy about his reporting on this impact and what Natives are doing to counteract it.

Jake speaks with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed about how Abdul's public health training informs his political instincts, the status of the public health workforce, and his insights on why President Trump won in 2016, but lost in 2020. They also dabble in actors with Egyptian roots, Ann Arbor deli talk, and a little sports. Abdul is a CNN political contributor, podcaster, and author. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department and also ran for Governor of Michigan.

Jake speaks with Dan Gibbs, who is a wildland firefighter and Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Dan was deployed this year to fight what were the largest forest fires in the state's history, which was part of a swell of fires this year out West that consumed an area larger than the state of Maryland. Dan offers both a ground-level and a policy perspective on how to fight wildfires, sets the record straight on Trump's "forest raking," and takes a position on whether wildland firefighters should have their own calendar.