We are joined by Zen Honeycutt, the founder of Moms Across America and a leading voice in the MAHA movement. She’s an outspoken force of nature on a range of issues that she sees as negatively impacting the health of children.  

There are many directions our conversation could take (and many things to debate), but we focused on a question we hear frequently from our listeners: How is MAHA responding to all the recent developments at the Environmental Protection Agency and the efforts to roll back regulations? Does she see these changes as undermining MAHA’s mission to curb toxic exposure and improve Americans' health?

Along the way, we also ask her how she is processing the massive cuts to scientific research, and finally, what her message is to the MAHA community at this pivotal moment (Hint: Her eyes are squarely on the Midterms).

Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off today)

Guest:
Zen Honeycutt, Founder & Executive Director, Moms Across America; an influential leader within Make America Healthy Again movement

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With the Jeffrey Epstein saga dominating the conversation for weeks now, it feels like we’re roasting in a summer of conspiracy theories.

And given how conspiracy and cover-up play a recurring role in the story we’re exploring about the breakdown of trust in public health and medicine, this week felt as good as any to take on the topic.

So, what’s fueling today’s conspiracy theories? And -- hold that thought -- do we as a society even LIKE the phrase conspiracy theory any more? Where’s the line between healthy skepticism and something more destructive? And couldn’t we come up with a better term for the beliefs of people who say they feel dismissed by an establishment that labels their good-faith suspicions as conspiratorial?

To help us unpack all this, we’re joined by two Wall Street Journal reporters, Aruna Viswanatha and Joel Schectman. Back in June, they published a major investigative piece that dove into the godfather of all conspiracy theories: the claim that the U.S. military has been secretly studying alien spacecraft for decades.

What these reporters uncovered wasn’t what anyone expected and is our jumping-off point for a conversation about conspiracy theories, legitimate suspicion, and how investigative journalism might hold a key to not only getting at the truth, but also rebuilding trust.

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:

Joel Schectman, Wall Street Journal Reporter
Aruna Viswanatha, Wall Street Journal Reporter

Authors, The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America's UFO Mythology

 https://tinyurl.com/mrxsxxrp

Resources:

Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misguided/202506/why-people-believe-conspiracy-theories

I Was Just About To When My Grant Was Cut
https://substack.com/home/post/p-169548794

MAHA Supporters Weigh in on Kevin Hall Episode

https://whyshoulditrustyou.substack.com/p/maha-supporters-weigh-in-on-kevin

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Kevin Hall is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of food on our health. A former NIH scientist, he led some of the most eye-opening studies on the connections between ultra-processed foods and overeating, obesity, and chronic disease (Spoiler alert: It's not pretty.). So when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement took the reins at HHS, with gobs of energy and focus on tackling food, you’d think this would be Kevin Hall’s moment. 

Instead, in a stunning move, Hall walked away. He says that his earliest interactions with the new team left him feeling censored and worried that he'd no longer be able to conduct unbiased science.  

So, what made one of America’s leading nutrition scientists see red flags as the MAHA-backed team got to work on the very issue that he's laser-focused on? 

And now, with a little time and distance, what does he think MAHA is getting right, getting wrong, and what its followers should be demanding from their leaders to truly make America eat healthier?

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guest:

Kevin Hall, nutrition and metabolism scientist, formerly NIH; co-author Food Intelligence, coming out Sept 23, 2025. Available to pre-order here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671334/food-intelligence-by-julia-belluz-and-kevin-hall-phd/

Let's keep the conversation going! Join us on Substack:

https://whyshoulditrustyou.substack.com/

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What happens when you bring a group of MAHA advocates together with journalists and public health communicators and ask: When it comes to the media, who do you trust for your information and why? What about doctors? What about Sec. Kennedy? This week, we found out.

The result is an intense, surprising, sometimes funny, often confounding conversation about trust, Big Pharma, censorship, facts, “misinformation” (one voice says, stop using that word, another asks, well, then what do we call it?), bias, doctors, plumbers, and what truth even means anymore.

In this special episode, we dig into how we might be able to rebuild trust when so many of us only listen to our own carefully curated echo chamber.

Joining us was a group of MAHA supporters: Elizabeth Frost (MAHA Ohio) Mark Harris (MAHA Ohio), Nancy Fuller (MAHA Ohio), Jacqueline Capriotti (Health Revolution USA, director of outreach during Kennedy campaign), and Aaron Everitt (Besides the Revolution Substack, contributor to House InHabit).  

From the science communication side: Jessica Grose (opinion writer, New York Times), Kristen Panthagani (You Can Know Things), Dr. Mati Davis (former health director, St Louis), Dr. Craig Spencer (Brown Univ, Doctors without Borders, columnist), Chelsea Cipriano (former deputy PIO for Dept of Health in NYC)

We launched a substack!! Want more reflections from the WSITY team on our conversations with public health and MAHA? Guest essays from diverse perspectives? Videos where we discuss what we thought after a particular podcast episode? Sign up for free or premium paid content now!
https://substack.com/@whyshoulditrustyou

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On today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Francis Collins, the former head of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Collins has spent his career pushing the frontiers of science — from discovering genes linked to deadly diseases to leading the historic Human Genome Project. And during COVID, he helped steer the government’s public health response, including the rapid development of the COVID vaccine — work that still puts him in the hot seat with communities who feel science betrayed their trust.

Now, as the Trump administration and the Make America Healthy Again movement tackle America’s chronic health crisis with a radically different approach, what does he make of what he’s seeing, from the sweeping shift in priorities to widespread cuts in research funding? Does he see common ground with the MAHA movement’s goals? And, after a lifetime devoted to advancing science and health, what does he believe is the best way to rebuild trust and make America healthier?

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Dr. Maggie Bartlett

Dr.Mark Abdelmalek

Guest:

Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health, author The Road to Wisdom

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When COVID hit, public health leaders often said, “There was no playbook.” But was that really true?

Decades earlier, during the AIDS crisis, America’s public health system went through a trial by fire—learning hard lessons about how to communicate amid uncertainty, adapt to evolving science, and work with communities instead of against them.

Flash forward to COVID, and many Americans say they lost trust after experiencing what they saw as a top-down, dismissive approach from public health leaders. They say their questions and concerns about mitigation efforts and science were often met with rigid messaging, outright dismissal, and even censorship.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Dr. Reed Tuckson, a public health leader and former Commissioner of Public Health for Washington, D.C., during the height of the AIDS epidemic. He reflects on what that era taught him—and what it might still teach us about rebuilding trust today.

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off this week)

Guest:

Dr. Reed Tuckson, former Commissioner of Public Health in Washington DC; founder, Coalition for Trust in Health and Science

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Why is a little-known CDC advisory committee meeting today making big headlines?

Because Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just fired every single member—replacing them with his own hand-picked team.

The committee in question is ACIP, a group of independent experts that guides how vaccines are used by hundreds of millions of Americans. Kennedy called the shake-up a “clean sweep,” claiming the previous committee's work was just a rubber stamp for Big Pharma and couldn’t be trusted.

Many in the medical and scientific community warn that this move could dismantle the nation’s vaccine system, erode public trust, and drive up costs.

What should we trust? And can we trust that the health of Americans is not getting caught in the crossfire? 

Today, we speak with two of the fired ACIP members to hear their direct response to the accusations. Then, Dr. Michael Mina—physician, scientist, and critic of the firings—joins us to unpack the broader context of these sweeping changes to America’s vaccine policy, what concerns are real, and what might be overblown.

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:

Charlotte Moser, ex-ACIP, co-director, Vaccine Education Center

Dr Jamie Loehr, ex-ACIP, family physician

Dr Michael Mina; physician, immunologist; epidemiologist

Sources:
Michael Mina:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/opinion/rfk-vaccine-policy-changes.html

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In today’s episode, what do a group of MAHA, MAGA, and independent moms and dads of children with disabilities think about the changes Republicans in Congress are hashing out right now for Medicaid, as they push to pass President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill”?

If a healthier America is your top priority, this is a red-alert moment. 

A nonpartisan Congressional estimate finds that the House-passed Medicaid changes would lead to millions of Americans losing health insurance. And just this week, the Republican-controlled Senate released its own draft, proposing even bigger changes that would result in deeper cuts.

With 71 million enrollees, Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, a vital lifeline for both Red and Blue America. 

So what do these parents — who either depend on Medicaid now or expect to in the future — want Republican lawmakers and MAHA leaders to know about the realities of their daily lives? Is this what they voted for? And if not, what will they do about it?

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett (off this week)

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:

Jacqueline Capriotti, health coalition leader, substack author Health Revolution USA, mother of two kids with CF, MAHA advocate

James Cummings, digital engagement strategist, father to children with rare diseases

Sue Teitelbaum, mother of daughter with special needs

Nancy Fuller, MAHA Ohio grassroots, mother to son living with autism

Elizabeth Frost, MAHA grassroots leader Ohio

Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of Yale School of Public Health; ER physician

Dr. Craig Spencer, associate professor Brown University, ER physician, Doctors Without Borders

Dr. Reed Tuckson, founder of Coalition to Build Trust in Health and Science, physician. 

Resources:

https://5calls.org/

https://clairesplacefoundation.org/

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/saw-rtw/retain/phase-one

From Jacqueline Capriotti:

https://healthrevolutionusa.substack.com/p/when-trust-the-science-isnt-enough?r=5aqw38&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

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It’s the four letters that changed our lives: M-R-N-A.
Hailed as a modern medical miracle that delivered the life-saving COVID vaccine in record time, mRNA now fuels one of the most polarizing debates in public health. Critics see it as a dangerous experiment that has turned deadly, a symbol of Big Pharma overreach, and a culture of corporate capture within our regulatory agencies that places profits over health and safety. Supporters call it our best hope against new viruses and possibly for the deadliest diseases we face—from cancer to diabetes, even Alzheimer’s.

Today, we unpack a growing backlash that is driving down childhood vaccination rates, leading to cuts in mRNA research, and prompting different states to pass laws restricting its use. The mistrust was on display this week as RFK Jr. fired a key committee of experts that evaluates vaccines.

Our guest today is Dr. Drew Weissman, who, along with Dr Katalin Kariko, won the Nobel Prize for revolutionizing mRNA technology. We’ll dive into why their breakthrough has become a lightning rod—and whether the controversy could derail our best shot at curing tomorrow’s worst diseases.

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On today's special episode, a raw and unflinching conversation between MAHA advocates from Georgia and a group of veterans from public health. 

The discussion dives straight into one of the biggest drivers of mistrust in public health today: the COVID vaccine. Is it a life-saving marvel of modern science or a dangerous technology imposed on the public with little regard for liberty and safety? 

The groups share profound concerns about where we’ve been and where we’re headed when it comes to Americans' trust in public health, medicine, and science. Many of them differ fundamentally on the promise of the vaccine versus what it delivered, on how the healthcare system delivered and failed at the same time, and on how that trust lost can be earned back.

Yet the discussion is grounded in respect, empathy, and a shared goal of healthier communities, which might just be the key to pulling us out of our spiral of mistrust. 

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Guests:

Joining the discussion from MAHA Georgia are Joey Fargar, Aaron Rossi, Christy Kennedy, Melinda Hicks, and from Ohio, Elizabeth Frost.

From public health, Paul Offit, Reed Tuckson, Anne Zink, and Ashwin Vasan. 

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