Dr. Basit Chaudry, Lead Research Clinician for Watson, IBM

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Basit Chaudry, Lead Research Clinician for Watson, IBM’s natural language computing system made famous by victories on the quiz show Jeopardy! Dr. Chaudry is a national leader in the effort to modernize health care through information technology and talks about IBM’s program to adapt Watson’s super-computing capabilities and language recognition programming to facilitate diagnostics and treatment decisions in health care.

White House Vaccinations Chief Dr. Bechara Choucair on the Road to Vaccinating America

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Bechara Choucair, White House Vaccinations Coordinator. Dr. Choucair discusses the remarkable pace of vaccine distribution in recent weeks, and the Biden Administration’s plans to deliver 200 million vaccines in 100 days. He addresses the challenges at vaccine production facilities, the impact of the American Rescue Plan on efforts to scale up vaccine production and delivery, as well as the important role played by community health centers to address the health needs the most vulnerable populations impacted by the pandemic.

Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with former Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, now Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Senator Nelson discusses the challenges being experienced by the nation's Insurance Commissioners, who are adapting their state programs to incorporate measures in the Affordable Care Act such as the insurance exchanges and the expansion of Medicaid.

Sierra Club Executive Director Sees New Energy for Climate Change Fight

Ben Jealous, the former NAACP president, is taking charge as the new executive director of the Sierra Club. It’s America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization with nearly 4 million members and supporters.

With a strategy focused on equity and activism, Jealous and the Sierra Club are committed to retiring coal plants, preventing new fossil fuel plants from being built, and working to stop the expansion of fracked gas.

Jealous joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to talk about his vision and discuss his new book, “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing.”

Dr. Benjamin Sommers, Harvard School of Public Health

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Benjamin Sommers, Professor of Health Policy and Economics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Sommers is an expert on the impact of universal health coverage and Medicaid expansion as well as their impact on improved outcomes, reduced mortality and public health.

Dr. Benjamin Sommers, Harvard School of Public Health

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Benjamin Sommers, health economist, physician and professor at the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Sommers discusses his ongoing research on the impact of increased health coverage under the Affordable Care Act which has fostered improved access to care for 20 million newly insured Americans, as well as the need for modifications to the ACA to expand that access and improve efforts to contain costs of care.

From ACA Repeal Attempts to Natural Disasters and Health Tech Breakthroughs, a Look Back at 2017

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter look back on a tumultuous year in health policy, natural disasters, and disruptive breakthroughs with technology in health care. They revisit conversations with some memorable guests including GOP strategists Lanhee Chen and Michael Leavitt on the Trump Administration's approach to health reform, American Telemedicine Association President Peter Yellowlees, and American Well co-founders Roy and Ido Shoenberg, who have partnered with Apple and Stanford Medicine in the groundbreaking Apple Heart Study.

Best of 2018: AI, CRISPR, Telemedicine, and Emerging Health Care Trends

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter look back at some of the most memorable guests from 2018, which included thought leaders in areas such as CRISPR gene editing technology, Artificial Intelligence and Voice in health care, the rise of innovative care delivery models as well as the transformation in health profession training. They also welcomed award-winning investigative journalists who exposed the dark side of the health industry in which corporations profited from defrauding the public and putting patients' lives at risk, from the Theranos scandal to the industry-driven opioid crisis.

Vaping Crisis, Public Health Heroes and Open Notes: A Look Back at the Best of 2019

This week, Mark and Margaret take a look at some of the highlights from the shows of 2019, the year we celebrated ten years on the air. They revisit their conversations with Flint Michigan pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha on the water crisis, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids CEO Matthew Myers on the vaping crisis, and health care innovators like Dr.Tom Delbanco of Open Notes and primary care transformer Dr. Bodenheimer, and the show's 500th guest, House Majority Whip James Clyburn.

'Dopesick' Author on Opioid Treatment Innovations

The data show that 80,816 people died in the U.S. from overdose deaths involving opioids in 2021 - a tremendous loss. But what hope can medical experts, policymakers and law enforcement officers take to stem the trend?

Award-winning author Beth Macy, who wrote the acclaimed book 'Dopesick' about the origins of the opioid crisis, now has a book exploring innovative thinking and breakthrough approaches.

She joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to discuss "Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis."

Dr. Beverly Malone, CEO of the National League for Nursing

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Beverly Malone, Chief Executive Officer of the National League for Nursing which is dedicated to the improvement of nursing education. Dr. Malone is also on the Advisory Committee at the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services and talks about the need for improved access to better nurse training to meet the growing health industry demands, especially in underserved communities.

Dr. Beverly Malone, CEO of the National League for Nursing

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Beverly Malone, Chief Executive Officer of the National League for Nursing which is dedicated to the improvement of nursing education. Dr. Malone is also on the Advisory Committee at the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services and talks about the need for improved access to better nurse training to meet the growing health industry demands, especially in underserved communities.

Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado on leading health-care reform at the state level.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on states that can serve as models for health-care reform implementation. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Gov. Bill Ritter about his state’s efforts over the past four years to extend coverage and contain cost—and how federal health reform aligns with these efforts.

Dr. Bill Crounse, Sr. Director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft

On this week’s Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Bill Crounse, Sr. Director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft. Dr. Crounse is an expert on the intersection of health and information technology. He discusses ways new technological developments are helping to revolutionize the delivery of health care, both here at home and globally.

Bill Hoagland, Sr. VP of the Bipartisan Policy Center

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Bill Hoagland, Senior Vice President of the Bipartisan Policy Center where he manages health policy initiatives. Mr. Hoagland, a long time Budget and Appropriations Director in the US Senate, analyzes the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and what it means for health reform moving forward.

Protecting Your Personal Health Data: US Senator Bill Cassidy on Bipartisan Smartwatch Data Act

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with US Senator Bill Cassidy (R) LA, on the bipartisan bill he co-sponsored aimed at protecting personal health information from industry profiteering. He discusses the “Smartwatch Data Act” which seeks to protect data generated on smart watches, personal electronic devices and genomics testing, to give patients more control over how their data is used for commercial gain.

"We Won't Get Another Chance" Climate Activist Bill McKibben on Urgency of Climate Action in Biden Administration's Reconciliation Bill

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with renowned writer, environmentalist and climate activist Bill McKibben, whose seminal 1989 book “The End of Nature” was among the first to warn of the coming climate crisis. McKibben points to the dangerous rise in the earth’s temperature spawning droughts, destructive storms and other environmental catastrophes spurred by fossil fuel burning and deforestation. He says if we don't pass President Biden’s reconciliation bill, which has the most sweeping climate change legislation ever proposed in the US, "we won't get another chance". The legislation is a powerful step forward in incentivizing a US shift to renewable energy, which he says must be accomplished before the upcoming climate summit in Glasgow, the most important global climate gathering since the Paris Accords.

Dr. BJ Fogg, Director of the Persuasive Technology Lab, Stanford University

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. BJ Fogg, Director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University, and author of Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do. Dr. Fogg discusses how computers can change and motivate people and the potential for mobile health technologies to greatly impact health outcomes.

Innovation in the Health Startup World: Venrock Partner Dr. Bob Kocher on New Ventures Driving Health Transformation

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Bob Kocher, a partner at Venrock, a venture capital entity investing in health IT and health services startups. He also advised the Obama Administration on health policy economics. He talks about emerging trends and new alliances that are driving rapid innovation in health care, aimed at facilitating better primary care and behavioral health access, and facilitating home care.

Bradley Merrill Thompson, mHealth Regualtory Coalition

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Bradley Merrill Thompson, FDA law expert and General Counsel of the mHealth Regulatory Coalition, the voice of mobile health technology stakeholders in Washington. He addresses recent regulations passed by the Food and Drug Administration that govern the use and development of medical mobile apps aimed at health care consumers as well as the medical profession.