Public Health Insight

Welcome to the Public Health Insight Podcast, where we go beyond the headlines to explore the ideas, challenges, and people shaping health in communities around the world.

Every Tuesday, host Gordon Thane brings you conversations with researchers, practitioners, and changemakers tackling the most urgent questions in public health.

From the former CEO of Gavi to the attorney who exposed DuPont's forever chemic...

Find out why brilliant candidates still miss out on job opportunities and why Gordon thinks we’re in the midst of a job interview crisis, where candidates often show up underprepared. 

Host & Producer

◼️Gordon Thane, BMSc, MPH, PMP®

Production Notes

◼️ Music from Johnny Harris x Tom Fox: The Music Room

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Collective action is the engine of public health transformation. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Vinu Ilakkuvan shares the tactics that turn community frustration into real-world victories, like Pittsburgh’s fight for public water. The conversation also explores how building coalitions, fostering local connections, and embracing joy can challenge entrenched power and spark lasting change. 

Referen...

What if the real force shaping our health isn’t our doctor, our diet, or even our zip code - but the invisible hand of corporate power?

In this eye-opening episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, we go beyond the usual talk of social determinants to expose the deeper, upstream forces that shape our health: the commercial and political power wielded by corporations. Tune in as we sit down with public health disruptor Vinu Ilakk...

What drives someone to leave a traditional career path and take on the hidden forces shaping our health? In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Vinu Ilakkuvan traces her journey from an early interest in journalism to biomedical engineering and economics, and ultimately to public health. She reflects on the pivotal moments, values, and experiences that inspired her to found Pop Health and Gaslit, and explains why...

What does it take to get vaccines to everyone who needs them? 

In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Seth Berkley, former CEO of Gavi, joins us to break down the global fight for vaccine access, from the spread of misinformation to the race against new pandemics. We explore why vaccine equity matters, what’s at stake when funding and trust falter, and the lessons we need to learn to protect everyone, everywhere, ...

A billion children. Millions of lives saved. And you’ve probably never heard the full story—until now.

In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, host Gordon sits down with Dr. Seth Berkley, the mastermind behind Gavi and author of "Fair Doses," to pull back the curtain on the alliance that quietly changed global health forever. From high-stakes decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic to the relentless pursuit of...

When the world was in a health crisis, Dr. Seth Berkley didn’t just watch—he was at the centre of the storm. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, we rewind to his early days and trace his path through global health’s toughest challenges.

References for Our Discussion

◼️Fair Doses: An Insider's Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity

◼️How children will be impacted by U.S. cuts to g...

How do we move from talking about health equity to making it a reality in public health practice? In this episode, we dive into the findings of the report ‘From Words to Action: Equipping the Public Health Workforce to Advance Health Equity.’

In this episode of Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Jamila Porter and Kay Schaffer share their insight on what it really takes to embed equity into the daily work of public health profes...

There’s a lot that we can learn from a nationally representative sample of public health workers from local and state health departments. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, we dive into the nation’s largest public health workforce survey, the PH WINS, to uncover what’s really happening on the frontlines. Guests, Kay Schaffer and Jamila Porter, from the De Beaumont Foundation as they break down the data, reveal su...

What does it take to turn health equity from a talking point into real, lasting change? In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Jamila Porter and Kay Schaffer of the de Beaumont Foundation—two leaders whose personal journeys and professional missions collide at the intersection of justice, data, and community. The central question of this series explores the hard questions about whether public health is truly equi...

In the chaos of a global pandemic, clarity and trust became as vital as any vaccine. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Tista Ghosh reveals the untold stories behind rural and urban divides, the confusion of shifting public health guidance, and the fragile foundation of trust that shapes our collective response. This conversation cuts through the noise to spotlight the real challenges and urgent lessons that ...

We treated the world as if everyone was living the same pandemic. But what if that was our biggest mistake? Dr. Tista Ghosh takes us inside her new book, Before The Next Crisis, sharing untold stories from the frontlines—stories that challenge what we thought we knew about COVID-19. This episode dives deep into the chaos, confusion, and courage that defined the crisis, and asks: how do we rebuild trust in science, and what should w...

From family stories of freedom fighters to the chaos of COVID-19, Dr. Tista Ghosh’s journey is anything but ordinary. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, she opens up about growing up between cultures, navigating political minefields as Colorado’s Chief Medical Officer, and what she learned listening to frontline workers, which she captures in her new book, Before The Next Crisis.

References for Our Discu...

Child trafficking isn’t just a distant headline—it’s a reality in many communities. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, we break down misconceptions, highlight the importance of prevention education, and discuss the policy changes making a difference. Erin Williamson shares hard-won lessons from the field and paints a hopeful vision for the future.

Trigger Warning: 

This episode includes discussion of child tra...

What if we did a rethink of child trafficking—beyond criminology—and started seeing it as a public health issue, shaped by poverty, trauma, and the systems around us? 

In this episode, we’re joined by Erin Williamson, Chief Programs and Strategy Officer at Love146, who brings two decades of experience working to keep kids safe from exploitation, as we dig into the real reasons kids become vulnerable and why true prevention means mor...

How do you help vulnerable kids not just survive, but thrive? Erin Williamson’s journey in social work and anti-trafficking reveals what it takes to build programs that truly change lives. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Erin shares the pivotal moments, tough decisions, and practical strategies that she’s used in her career to leave a lasting impact.

References for Our Discussion

◼️Love146 - Ending Chi...

Vaccines have saved millions of lives, but questions and doubts persist. We dig into the roots of vaccine hesitancy, the history of immunization, and the challenges of making informed choices in a world full of information (and misinformation). In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, we talk with Dr. Christopher Stobart about why vaccine skepticism isn’t new, how risk and trust shape our decisions, and what it really ...

What’s lurking inside in the environment, inside of us, and what’s waiting to emerge? Virologist Dr. Christopher Stobart joins the Public Health Insight Podcast to explore the vast universe of viruses—how they infect, adapt, and sometimes leap from animals to humans. We break down the science behind how they spread, the resurgence of diseases like measles, and what could be the next big threat.

References for Our Discussio...