Public Health On Call

About this episode:
A federal judge has halted changes from the Department of Health and Human Services to the childhood immunization schedule and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice. In this episode: the impact of this decision and what comes next.
Guest:
Sarah Despres, JD, is a lawyer with over 25 years of experience in public health policy and advocacy and is an expert on immunization policy. She served as counselor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2021-2025.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
Judge blocks US government from slimming down vaccine recommendations—Associated Press

Trust in federal government drops when it comes to childhood vaccines, poll suggests—CIDRAP

HHS Changes Its Pediatric Vaccine Recommendations: What's Different, What Remains, and What It Means for American Health—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Changes to the CDC's Vaccine Advisory Committee—Public Health On Call (June 2025)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:
Prediabetes—a diagnosis characterized by elevated blood sugar levels that can progress to Type 2 diabetes—is embroiled in debate about whether the condition is clinically "real," and, if so, what the threshold for diagnosis should be. In this episode: Epidemiologist and diabetes expert Elizabeth Selvin breaks down the controversy surrounding prediabetes and why she thinks the diagnosis offers an opportunity for intervention.
Guest:
Elizabeth Selvin, PhD, MPH, is a professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studies diagnosis and screening for diabetes and prediabetes.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.
Show links and related content:
Prediabetes and What It Means: The Epidemiological Evidence—Annual Review of Public Health

Prediabetes Explained: An Under-the-Radar and Common Condition That Doesn't Have to Lead to a Diabetes Diagnosis—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

In Praise of Prevention—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine

Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)—National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:
Despite sizable decreases in tobacco use in high-income countries, 7 million people around the world die every year from tobacco-related causes. In this episode: an approach that seeks not to manage the $880 billion tobacco industry but to end it.
Guest:
Eline Goethals is a communications specialist and a fellow at the School of Moral Ambition.
Host:
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.
Show links and related content:
Making Tobacco Industry Elimination Inevitable—Action on Smoking and Health

What does a tobacco "endgame" mean?—Truth Initiative

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:
A neurodegenerative disease that can only be diagnosed after death, CTE has made headlines for its prevalence in professional football players. But where does it stand as a public health issue? In this episode: Jesse Mez of the Boston University CTE Center gives an overview of what we know and don't yet know about CTE, as well as tips for parents of children who play contact sports.
Guest:
Jesse Mez, MD, MS, is the co-director of clinical research at the Boston University CTE Center and associate professor of neurology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:
Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football—JAMA

Researchers Are One Step Closer to Diagnosing CTE During Life, Rather Than After Death—The Brink

Brain scans of former NFL players show lasting impact of collision sports—The Hub

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:
As policy has shifted at the federal level, state legislatures are considering a broad range of vaccine-related bills. In this episode: Jennifer Herricks and Northe Saunders of American Families for Vaccines talk about the landscape of vaccine policy, from "medical freedom" bills to those seeking shore up vaccine access.
Guests:
Jennifer Herricks, PhD, is the founder of Louisiana Families for Vaccines and the advocacy director of American Families for Vaccines.
Northe Saunders is a grassroots organizer and the president of American Families for Vaccines.
Host:
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Show links and related content:
Vaccine Policy Atlas—American Families for Vaccines

Assessing the Impact of Changes to Federal Vaccine Recommendations on State Immunization Policies—International Vaccine Access Center

States Weigh Their Options Amid Fed Changes to Vaccine Policy—National Conference of State Legislatures

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.