Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, one of the world’s leading experts on infectious disease threats and pandemic preparedness, joins The Future of Medicine for a wide-ranging conversation about COVID-19, vaccines, airborne transmission, public trust, and what the world must do before the next pandemic arrives.

Osterholm is director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and has spent nearly five decades investigating outbreaks and advising public officials. In this episode, he reflects on the experiences that first inspired him to become a “medical detective,” including an unusual outbreak linked to thyroid tissue entering the food supply through hamburger meat.

The conversation then turns to COVID-19 and the lessons that remain unresolved. Osterholm explains why he believes the United States needs an independent, nonpartisan review of its pandemic response—one focused on identifying what worked, what failed, and how changing evidence shaped decisions about schools, hospitals, masking, and public gatherings.

“The pandemic clock is ticking,” Osterholm says. “We just don’t know what time it is.”

He also discusses why public health guidance must be able to evolve. As Osterholm puts it, “Science is not truth. Science is the pursuit of truth.” New variants, new evidence, and changing risks do not necessarily mean earlier recommendations were made in bad faith; they reflect the reality of responding to a rapidly developing threat.

Watch the full conversation to learn what COVID-19 revealed about the strengths and weaknesses of modern public health—and how science, vaccines, and more honest communication could help the world respond differently next time.

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Dr. Michelle Mello, professor of law and health policy at Stanford University, joins The Future of Medicine for a conversation about one of the most frustrating and consequential parts of American healthcare: prior authorization. For many patients and clinicians, prior authorization is the process behind the letter saying an insurance company will not cover a medication, procedure, or service unless additional criteria are met. As Dr. Mello explains, this system is already difficult, time-consuming, and often painful for patients and care teams. Now, artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape how these decisions are made.

In this episode, Dr. Mello and host Dr. Euan Ashley discuss how insurers and healthcare systems are using AI in prior authorization, billing, appeals, and utilization management. AI may be able to speed up routine approvals and reduce administrative burden, but it also raises serious questions about transparency, bias, accountability, and whether patients are being protected from wrongful denials.

The conversation explores what Dr. Mello describes as an “arms race” of AI systems, with insurers using technology to evaluate requests and health systems using their own tools to identify denials most likely to be overturned and draft stronger appeal letters. She also explains why appeals matter: a large share of insurance denials can be reversed, but many health systems do not have enough staff to appeal every case.

Together, Dr. Mello and Dr. Ashley consider what responsible AI governance should look like in healthcare, why simply banning AI may not solve the underlying problems, and how AI could be used in ways that support patients, clinicians, and fairer decision-making. They also discuss the need for greater transparency from insurers, the role of private governance, and why academic medical centers have a responsibility to help shape the safe and ethical use of these tools.

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Call to action: If you enjoy The Future of Medicine, subscribe for more conversations with leading scientists shaping the next era of healthcare. Please rate and review the podcast to help others discover these important discussions. Share with friends and colleagues who are curious about how science becomes medicine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the nation’s most influential public health leaders, joins Stanford Department of Medicine’s The Future of Medicine for a conversation with Dr. Euan Ashley about science, service, public trust, and the future of public health.

In this episode, Dr. Fauci reflects on his early career as a physician-scientist, the first years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the creation of PEPFAR, the scientific foundation behind COVID-19 vaccines, and the challenge of communicating evidence in an era of misinformation.

Together, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Ashley discuss what it means to lead with integrity when the stakes are high, and why long-term investment in science remains essential for pandemic preparedness and medical progress.

Thank you for listening!

Call to action: If you enjoy The Future of Medicine, subscribe for more conversations with leading scientists shaping the next era of healthcare. Please rate and review the podcast to help others discover these important discussions. Share with friends and colleagues who are curious about how science becomes medicine.