We usually stick to the healthcare news here, but this time, we’re covering a story happening right in our own backyard that could have huge public health consequences. Corpus Christi, Texas is about to be the first American city to run out of water, which threatens the health and wellbeing of the entire city, and especially the folks who are already in precarious health situations. Today we’re talking to local activist Isabel Araiza about what’s happening in Corpus, why we let big businesses put a price tag on our public goods, and why this isn’t just a Texas problem. PLUS, the latest healthcare news!

Isabel Araiza was born and raised in Corpus Christi. She earned her PhD in Sociology from Boston College and returned to Corpus to teach. She’s currently an Associate Professor of Social Sciences at Del Mar Community College.

For the Greater Good Coastal Bend, the grassroots group Isabel co-founded has been advocating for quality of life issues in the Coastal Bend since 2016. You can find out more about their work here.

For a Perfect Union has produced an excellent video about the Corpus Christi water crisis featuring Isabel and other local activists. Please watch and share to help spread the word!

Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform!

This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!

Content Warning: This episode is somehow even swearier than usual.

War is hell. Mostly because it kills people indiscriminately and disrupts the lives of huge groups of people, but also because it costs so much money that could be spent on saving lives. Now, after a year of hearing that our country is so hard up for money that we need to make massive cuts to Medicaid and other public health programs, we’re at war in the middle east AGAIN, racking up unnecessary deaths and a massive tab. Linda Bilmes at the Kennedy School said that the cost of the war would definitely reach a trillion dollars, even if it ended tomorrow – and she said that a couple weeks ago. In this episode, we’ve got Alex Lawson and Eagan Kemp here to talk about why the US is spending money on missiles but can’t afford Medicare for All.

PLUS, here at the pod, we’re trying out a new format to be able to bring you more up-to-date updates about what’s happening in healthcare politics in this country and the movement to change healthcare politics in this country for good! There’s so much going on right now in America’s war on our health, and between the insurance companies and congress and the MAHA crowd, it’s so hard to keep up. We, as always, want to help out with the unpleasant work of sorting through the noise and amplifying the really important stuff, so from now on, we’ll be starting out each episode with a healthcare news roundup of some of the top stories you need to know. Of course, accurate but irreverent commentary and analysis will be provided!

Let us know what you think!

Alex Lawson is the Executive Director of Social Security Works, the convening member of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition— a coalition made up of over 340 national and state organizations representing over 50 million Americans.

Eagan Kemp is an expert in health care policy, including single-payer systems, private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Veterans Health Administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, social determinants of health, mental health and drug shortages. He has served as senior policy analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (Does that still exist?), but right now he’s the Health Policy Advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division.

Thanks to political science professor Dr. Misty Parker for joining us for the news!

Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund!

This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!

It’s primary season, y’all! Today I’m joined by Abdul El Sayed — doctor, public health expert, and candidate for the Democratic party nomination in Michigan to talk about healthcare in this election and on the campaign trail!

To read more about Abdul and the race for US Senate in Michigan, you can check out his campaign page. You can find more information about his book, Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide here on Goodreads!

Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund!

This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!