Dr. Nicholas Christakis, researcher and Harvard professor of medical sociology.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on the social factors that affect health. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Harvard professor Dr. Nicholas Christakis about his research on social connections and social determinants of health that impact our personal, community, and public health.

Lies and Misinformation Led to Hundreds of Thousands of US Deaths: Yale’s Dr. Nicholas Christakis on Enduring Impact of COVID-19

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Nicholas Christakis, Director of Yale’s Human Nature Lab and expert on the influence of social networks on health and behavior. In his recent book, Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live, he examines the patterns of pandemics throughout human history and says the "appalling” US response, driven by denial from the White House and amplified by misinformation on social media channels, led to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. He predicts the pandemic will wind down in 2022, and that a period of innovation and improvements to health care delivery will follow, fueled by lessons learned from this crisis.

NYT’s Nicholas Kristof: Smarter Way to Reduce Gun Deaths

We’ve had 82 mass shootings in our country so far this year and the number keeps growing; we’ve never had so many occur in such a short time frame.

Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for young children and teenagers in the United States.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof shares with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter smarter ways to reduce gun deaths as advocates look for answers to this public safety and health crisis.

The Free Clinic Movement

Conversations on Health Care® focuses today on the resurgence of free health-care clinics around the country. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter will speak with Nicole D. Lamoureux, Executive Director of the National Association of Free Clinics, based in Alexandria, VA. Lamoureux has been at the forefront of the free clinic movement.

COVID-19 Vaccines: When Will They Be Ready? Will They Work? Listen to Leading Expert Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev, Deputy Director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He examines the scientific guidelines governing COVID-19 vaccine phase 3 clinical trials, including a broad demographic representation to ensure vaccine safety across multiple populations, and the need to address vaccine hesitancy as well as the global supply chain needed to distribute billions of doses.

Microsoft's Voice and AI Evangelist Noelle LaCharite Talks About Transforming Healthcare With Applied AI Coding

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Noelle LaCharite Principal Program Manager for Applied AI and Cognitive Services at Microsoft, and one of the original voice 'skills' developers for Amazon's Alexa. She talks about the promise of applied AI, machine learning and voice technology systems which enable coders, developers or anyone to create their own applications and voice skills to enhance and advance the health care experience.

Microsoft's Voice and AI Evangelist Noelle LaCharite Talks About Transforming Healthcare With Applied AI Coding

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Noelle LaCharite Principal Program Manager for Applied AI and Cognitive Services at Microsoft, and one of the original voice 'skills' developers for Amazon's Alexa. She talks about the promise of applied AI, machine learning and voice technology systems which enable coders, developers or anyone to create their own applications and voice skills to enhance and advance the health care experience.

The Opioid Crisis Hasn’t Gone Away: NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow on Addiction Epidemic Amid COVID-19

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Volkow discusses her pioneering work in brain imaging which has given us a window into how addiction works in the brain. She discusses her recent report on susceptibility to COVID-19 for those with Substance Use Disorder, her concerns about increase in overdoses during the pandemic, and the need to curtail the vaping industry which is leading to a dangerous spike in nicotine addiction among young adults.

NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow: Curing Addiction a Real Possibility

“I would have never, ever in my whole life have said, ‘we’re going to cure addiction.’ I think we now have knowledge and tools that could potentially, definitely lead us to a cure for addiction.”

—  Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Dr. Volkow shared her attention-getting belief with “Conversations on Health” at Aspen Ideas: Health. Healthcare providers and society at large have spent decades dealing with substance use disorders and the loss of life has been staggering. Dr. Volkow leads NIDA, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research on addiction, and she explains why she’s so confident with her assessment:

The wider availability of naloxone and knowledge about how to quickly use it when needed;

Neuroplasticity as a pathway to recovery; and

Perhaps surprisingly, smartphones and video games are so distracting to some young people that they no longer need to seek other forms of escape.

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as Dr. Volkow also explains the challenges and opportunities for NIDA within the National Institutes of Health. 

National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Norman Sharpless on the Future of Genomics, Prevention, and Personalized Oncology

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Norman Sharpless, Director of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. They discuss the accelerated pace of discovery in cancer research driven by genomics, big data analytics and personalized oncology. He also stresses the need to address fragmented pockets of research for more rapid deployment of treatment breakthroughs.

“Safety Comes First”: FDA Vaccine Advisory Panel’s Dr. Ofer Levy on Rigorous Process Around Vaccine Approval For Kids

This week we speak with Dr. Ofer Levy, Director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and member of the FDA COVID Vaccine Advisory Panel. He talks about the recent decision to reject boosters for all recipients 16 and older, saying they didn’t have enough data for younger populations to make that recommendation. He says the review process for emergency authorization for young children aged 5-to-11 will be thorough, rigorous and transparent to the public. His team is also currently working on developing a COVID vaccine, as well as other vaccines that could be deployed for cancer and even opioid use disorder and fentanyl overdose.

The Limits of Aging & Implications

The 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.

Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Brawley speaks about his new book, “How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks and Talks About Being Sick in America”. Dr Brawley explores racial and ethnic disparities in cancer survival and looks at the costs incurred from overuse of certain cancer screenings that are not leading to better health outcomes.

AMA's First African American Female President, Dr. Patrice Harris on Quest for Health Equity

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Patrice Harris, the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman to hold the post. She talks about the AMA's efforts to innovate for the evolving health care of the 21st century, with a focus on tackling the opioid crisis, addressing racial disparities in the medical profession, and advancing health coverage, equity and behavioral health parity for all Americans.

Patricia Mechael, Executive Director of the mHealth Alliance

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Patricia Mechael, Executive Director of the mHealth Alliance. Hosted by the United Nations Foundation, the mHealth Alliance champions the use of mobile technologies to improve health around the world. Dr. Mechael discusses recent mHealth Summit 2012, and the myriad global health initiatives benefitting from the proliferation of mobile phones throughout the developing world.

Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Co-Founder of One Mind for Research

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Co-Founder of One Mind for Research. The Congressman discusses One Mind’s goal to cure all diseases of the brain within 10 years by creating a broad-based, global coalition of partners engaged in research, funding and advocacy.

Patrick Miller, Founder of the APCD Council

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Patrick Miller, MPH, founder of the All Payer Claims Database Council at the University of New Hampshire's Institute for Health Policy and Practice. Mr. Miller discusses the APCD Council's focus on improving the development and deployment of state-run claims databases which provide health information that can be used improve access to quality healthcare while reducing the costs.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's CEO Council

This week Mark and Margaret speak with surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong who is Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's new CEO Council on Health and Innovation. Dr. Soon-Shiong discusses the Council's efforts to construct an information superhighway for healthcare that is poised to revolutionize care delivery, payment models, evidence-based treatments and outcomes in health care.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's CEO Council

This week Mark and Margaret speak with surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong who is Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's new CEO Council on Health and Innovation. Dr. Soon-Shiong discusses the Council's efforts to construct an information superhighway for healthcare that is poised to revolutionize care delivery, payment models, evidence-based treatments and outcomes in health care.

Dr. Patrick Conway, Deputy Administrator for Innovation & Quality and Chief Medical Officer at CMS

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Patrick Conway, Deputy Administrator and Chief Medical Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Conway is spearheading the agency's efforts to transform American health care from fee-for-service to value based care, and discusses the alternative care delivery and payment models aimed at achieving that goal.