How Realistic is Super Aging? Research-Based Answers (Encore)

There’s a lot of attention right now around “super agers.” Yet the facts are that current life expectancy at birth is 74.8 years for males and for females it’s 80.2 years in the U.S.

Does it catch your eye when you hear about predictions we’ll be able to live to 100 and beyond?

Some researchers are throwing cold water on those notions. 

“We’ll be lucky if 5% of the age cohort makes it to 100,” says S. Jay Olshansky, Ph.D., Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago. He and his colleagues made headlines when they presented data that humans are approaching a biologically-based limit to life. 

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter ask Olshansky about the implications of this research — for each of us personally and for policymakers — after decades of hearing predictions that life expectancy would continue to go up. Olshanky explains why we should celebrate longer life that has resulted from healthier diets and medical advances but now focus on improving quality of life in later years.

Unlocking Long COVID Mysteries: Dementia-Like Symptoms & Pre-Existing Conditions

Millions are still living with the effects of Long COVID and new research shows that for older adults, the consequences may be profound and lasting.

In part one of a special two-part series on “Conversations on Health Care,” Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a neurologist and leading Long COVID researcher at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, shares groundbreaking findings from his global study of over 3,500 patients. His work reveals a troubling connection: many Long COVID patients over 60 show cognitive decline that mirrors early signs of dementia.

“The parts of the brain that are affected by COVID overlap significantly with those that are affected early in the course of Alzheimer’s….the changes overlap, but they are not identical.”

His team is now studying brain imaging and biomarkers to understand the link between COVID-related cognitive decline and traditional neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. de Erausquin also explains how persistent loss of smell — a hallmark COVID symptom — may be the strongest predictor of ongoing cognitive issues, and how genetic sequencing is helping uncover inherited risk.

He highlights a dual reality: while many Long COVID patients show biological changes, others had prior diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or chronic fatigue — a nuance often missing from public conversations.

Click to hear the full conversation with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

“Originally aired on May 15, 2025”

Youth Mental Health Crisis: Can a New Corps Create a Solution?

It’s a troubling situation: Nearly one in three high school students report persistent feelings of hopelessness. 

At the same time, many communities have a lack of mental health professionals to counsel and help young people.

Leaders from philanthropy, public health, and private sectors think they have a path to a solution: Youth Mental Health Corps. 

This program, which launched a year ago, places young adults as mental health navigators in schools and community organizations. These navigators provide peer-to-peer support, connect young people and families to resources, and serve as trusted guides who understand firsthand the challenges faced by today’s youth.

Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter, hosts of “Conversations on Healthcare,” bring their extensive experience to the conversation. They speak to Corps funders Marie Groark, the managing director of the Schultz Family Foundation, and Alise Marshall, the senior global lead for public affairs at Pinterest.

Groark shares early findings from the Youth Mental Health Corps. “What they found is that when you have a Youth Mental Health Corps member in your school, especially, you see improved attendance, fewer behavioral incidents, and increased student awareness of mental health and help-seeking behavior.”

Focusing on prevention and early intervention, Marshall highlights the power of peer connection. “It is difficult for young people to trust educators and parents when navigating adolescence. Having someone very recently been there, who has navigated the same issues, can make a very big difference.”

400 Million+ People Globally With Long COVID: A Top Researcher Seeks Solutions

Description: Dr. Igor Koralnik, the co-director of Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive COVID-19 Center, is one of the world’s leading Long COVID researchers. For instance, he’s been involved in a first-of its-kind study that’s giving experts an idea of how Long COVID affects the body by looking through the eyes.

Patients at his center receive coordinated care across 14 different specialties to address the many ways Long COVID affects the body.

In the second part of our two-part series on Long COVID, Dr. Koralnik explains how patients who have experienced more episodes of COVID are at a higher risk of developing Long COVID.

Dr. Koralnik tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that his work includes investigating potential causes such as viral persistence, autoimmune responses, and microvascular changes. His clinic also supports patients through regular virtual support groups that provide education and emotional care.

Dr. Leana Wen Grades RFK Jr. on Health Care: What Does She Say?

Dr. Leana Wen, a health news commentator for The Washington Post and CNN, is known for trying to have an open view toward untraditional opinions. For instance, she tells “Conversations on Health Care” that the new National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration directors are both “qualified individuals who have credentials from major medical institutions, who have worked in those fields.”

She says her hope is that “behind the scenes they will act as tempering force… against the worse excesses around …Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and vaccine policy.”

But she also tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that “Of course, this is an extremely worrisome time… many of the changes we’re seeing are even more extreme than may have been anticipated.”

In addition, Dr. Wen urges nuance in evaluating public health claims. “It’s important for us to evaluate each of these claims separately… and not have a knee-jerk reaction to everything [Kennedy] says.”

This episode dives into the politics of vaccines, the measles outbreak, food additives, artificial intelligence in medicine, and the evolving role of trust in public health.

Breaking News: House Budget Hawks Victorious Over Medicaid Defenders

Very early this morning the U.S. House passed a bill that would result in more than 7 million people losing Medicaid coverage if it became law; that estimate is from the Congressional Budget Office.

As the bill was coming together, the chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News shared her analysis. Julie Rovner highlighted that to get a bill across the finish line was going to require overcoming the skepticism of some politicians. “There’s a growing group of Republicans who are unhappy with how many reductions there are to the Medicaid program… including people who voted for the Republican [Party] and President Trump,” she said.

Rovner also reviewed the Trump administration’s efforts to ignore congressional appropriations and other laws. “As I say, this administration… is not following the law” and Rovner explained how that threatens the country’s public health.

From the future of Medicaid and food assistance to questions about accountability and health infrastructure, this conversation offers crucial insights into the latest health policy flashpoints with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Unlocking Long COVID Mysteries: Dementia-Like Symptoms & Pre-Existing Conditions

Millions are still living with the effects of Long COVID and new research shows that for older adults, the consequences may be profound and lasting.

In part one of a special two-part series on “Conversations on Health Care,” Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a neurologist and leading Long COVID researcher at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, shares groundbreaking findings from his global study of over 3,500 patients. His work reveals a troubling connection: many Long COVID patients over 60 show cognitive decline that mirrors early signs of dementia.

“The parts of the brain that are affected by COVID overlap significantly with those that are affected early in the course of Alzheimer’s….the changes overlap, but they are not identical.”

His team is now studying brain imaging and biomarkers to understand the link between COVID-related cognitive decline and traditional neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. de Erausquin also explains how persistent loss of smell — a hallmark COVID symptom — may be the strongest predictor of ongoing cognitive issues, and how genetic sequencing is helping uncover inherited risk.

He highlights a dual reality: while many Long COVID patients show biological changes, others had prior diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or chronic fatigue — a nuance often missing from public conversations.

Click to hear the full conversation with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Menacing Melanoma: Marc Hulbert, PhD on How You Can Fight Back

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and melanoma is its deadliest form. Cases have tripled in the past 30 years, particularly among younger people — even as rates for other common cancers have gone down.

Healthcare Disability Advocate, Fueled by Personal Experience: Megan Morris

Breaking News: Food Dye Ban: Support But More Needed, Says Dr. Marion Nestle

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the U.S. will phase out the remaining eight artificial food dyes from America’s food supply within two years. This is a move that leading nutritionist and author Marion Nestle, Ph.D., has long advocated for.

“Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter spoke to her before today’s news conference. She says, “I’m all for getting bad chemicals out of the food supply, or questionable chemicals…but I don’t think that goes nearly far enough. If he’s going to be serious about making America healthy again from a food standpoint, he’s going to have to do something about changing the food system to one that focuses on public health rather than corporate health. And he’s going to have to do something about the food industry’s inappropriate marketing, especially to children.”

Click now to view the entire interview, including Dr. Nestle’s reactions to the food industry’s pushback to her concerns.  

“ChatGPT, MD”: Author Says AI-Empowered Patients, Doctors Take Control

The U.S. healthcare system could save up to 500,000 lives and $1.5 trillion a year by embracing the right technology, says Dr. Robert Pearl, a Stanford University professor and a noted healthcare influencer.

Pearl, who co-authored his new book “ChatGPT, MD” with the help of generative AI, says the tech’s strength lies in its access to the entirety of medical knowledge. “We shouldn't think of [generative AI] as just another AI tool. This is as … different from what's come before as the iPhone was from the telephone that was in most people's kitchens attached to the wall.”

For clinicians and patients alike, that access can be transformative. Parents might use it to uncover what’s wrong with their child when traditional medicine is still searching for answers. A doctor might identify rare diagnoses in minutes, work that would have taken days in a library.

Hospitals already collect massive data — about a terabyte per facility annually — but 97% of it is never reviewed, Pearl says. The key is narrowing it to specific diseases or trends.

Pearl tells “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that Gen AI will gain widespread medical acceptance when studies compare outcomes with and without the technology

“We're going to find that the technology is 10% better than the average clinician … or the average nurse in a chronic disease management program…or, for that matter, potentially even the average physician doing inpatient care when there are five or six different doctors taking care of the same patient and they're not effectively communicating.”

Click now to hear his take on the technology’s other benefits.

Mystery No More: Howard Hughes’ Legacy Advances Science

Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes founded his eponymous Medical Institute over 70 years ago devoted to “unlocking the fundamentals of biology and building an open, inclusive future for science.”

Some say Howard Hughes Medical Institute is bringing its founder’s vision into the future with its one-of-a-kind Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. On this 281-acre parcel of land, integrated teams of lab scientists and tool-builders pursue a small number of scientific questions with potential for transformative impact. To drive science forward, they share their methods, results, and tools with the scientific community.

'If Ryan Reynolds doesn’t get you to do it…’: Colorectal Cancer Alliance CEO talks screening

Roughly 85% of respondents to a survey cited by Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, say they would rather do their taxes than get a colonoscopy.

“We need to do a better job of talking to the public about the barriers,” Sapienza tells "Conversations on Health Care" hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Sapienza, whose mother died of the disease at age 58, says people may be less than excited to do the preparation, or colon cleanout, necessary for a screening. Or that they don’t want the hassle of taking time off from work. But he emphasized that 45 is the recommended age that people begin getting regular screenings for polyps that, at some point, could develop into cancer.

“45 is the new 50," says Sapienza, whose alliance was instrumental in lowering the recommended screening age and, in 2022, recruited actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to have their colon screenings filmed.

Food is Medicine: How Young Changemakers are Transforming Healthcare

Hon. Mary Bono, Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse

Mary Bono has left the halls of Congress, but she’s still winning with her efforts to stop the misuse of both prescription and illegal drugs. Bono, co-founder and chair of Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse, wants to see a focus on solutions from lawmakers. With a greater presence of fentanyl in the drug supply, “everything [has] changed because there’s no longer time for experimentation,” Bono says. “‘One pill can kill’ is a [Drug Enforcement Administration] slogan, and it’s true.”

Michael J. Fox’s Foundation Makes Parkinson’s Breakthrough

Emmy award-winning actor Michael J. Fox shocked the world when he announced over 25 years ago that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Since then, he’s devoted his talents to eliminating Parkinson’s in our lifetime.

Researchers with The Michael J. Fox Foundation now have impressive progress to report. They’ve developed a biomarker test to measure the protein alpha synuclein that’s helping to diagnose Parkinson’s with more than 90% accuracy, even proving effective at identifying people who may later develop the disease.

“I think this is going to be a game changer for clinical trials and for patient care in the future,” says Samantha Hutten, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and vice president of translational research at the foundation. “But right now it is really a research tool that can be used to inform research and also how we design clinical trials.”

A positive test, for example, may not be able to tell patients which type of alpha synuclein disease they have, whether it’s Parkinson’s, Lewy body dementia or multiple systems atrophy.

“I think there’s huge excitement around it, particularly about the impact on clinical trials,” says Rebecca Miller, Ph.D., an associate professor at Yale University’s School of Medicine who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013 at age 38. “We’re all looking for a drug that will really be disease-modifying.”

Hutten tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that the biomarker test is an “all-comers” study, meaning patients can participate if they’ve been diagnosed or have family with Parkinson’s, or have risk factors like loss of sense of smell or REM sleep behavior disorder.

The test comes at a crucial time: the global rate of Parkinson’s has doubled since Fox first revealed his condition.

Colorectal Cancer Rising for Millennials & Gen Z: How to Reverse the Trend

About 1 in 5 colorectal patients are now under the age of 55, and colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under age 50 and the second for women under 50.

During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we present this encore presentation of our interview with Dr. Alan Venook. Dr. Venook is with the University of California-San Francisco and is one of the nation’s leading colorectal cancer researchers. He explained to “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter what it will take to reverse the rise in cases among young people.

Dr. Venook also talked about his research that found there’s no correlation in colorectal cancer patient survival or the risk of recurrent cancer over time with less radiation—a finding that goes against conventional wisdom.

Originally broadcast February 15 2024.

Alzheimer’s Researchers Under Fire: Acclaimed Journalist Explains Why

How reliable is the current research into the cause of Alzheimer’s disease? Award-winning author Charles Piller’s new book is “Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's”; it’s raising important questions about certain images that may have been manipulated to bolster the amyloid hypothesis as the cause of Alzheimer’s.

Piller tells “Conversations on Health Care” that “what you have are a multitude of images — not just in Alzheimer’s disease but in many other areas — that have slipped through, that have not been well-examined, and that are, in fact, falsified, or appear to be falsified,” adding that closer scrutiny of images could spur scientists “to re-examine whether the experiments themselves are worth publishing.”

Piller couches this by noting that misconduct occurs in “a small percentage” of research and “does not represent the vast bulk” of work in the field. But a greater emphasis on checks and balances is needed, he says.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also ask Piller to respond to criticism of his reporting as well as explain other potential sources of hope in the research field. For instance, clinical trials may reveal, as early as next year, the possible impact of GLP-1 inhibitors — medications developed for obesity and diabetes — on Alzheimer’s. Another theory examines the effect of latent viruses, such as herpes, on the brain.

Former Republican HHS Secretary Offers Bipartisan Wisdom

Dr. Louis Sullivan walked the halls of Congress and testified before committees when he was secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That experience, working in a bipartisan fashion in the President George H.W. Bush administration, is valuable now.

During Black History Month, we revisit our interview with Dr. Sullivan for lessons about leadership and the challenges that still exist in our healthcare system.

Dr. Sullivan advocates for more Blacks to train to become doctors and explains the challenges that remain for them joining the profession. Listen in as hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter ask him to share his insights.

Originally broadcast January, 2023.

Egg Prices Up: Hear From Experts About Why

$4.95 — that’s the record high price of a dozen of Grade A eggs in U.S. cities. Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, says expect them to go even higher.

That’s because H5N1, a form of bird flu, has affected more than 156 million commercial, backyard and wild birds in the United States in the last three years.

Osterholm, with nearly 50 years of experience investigating infectious disease outbreaks, emphasizes the urgent need for improved pandemic preparedness. “It’s not a question of if, but when the next major outbreak will happen. Whether it’s a more contagious strain of COVID-19, the bird flu or a completely new virus, we need systems in place now to protect public health and save lives.”

He joins Apoorva Mandavilli, the science and global health reporter with The New York Times, to explore the critical lessons learned from COVID-19 and what must be done to prepare for future public health threats. “Bird flu may seem like a distant problem, but the global nature of infectious diseases means we’re all connected,” Mandavilli says. She also notes that public trust plays a crucial role in mitigating future pandemics. “Without transparency and clear communication, public health measures are far less effective.”

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also ask them how public health agencies must adapt, improve transparency and build global cooperation to combat future outbreaks.