New Mexico recently became the first state in the nation to offer free access to childcare for all, regardless of income, saving the average family $12,000 per year. Jake speaks with James Jimenez, Executive Director of New Mexico Voices for Children Action Fund, to discover how this breakthrough was achieved.

Dr. Craig Spencer recently authored a piece in The Atlantic in which he contends that the field of public health must swallow its pride and admit where the insurgent MAHA movement is right. Jake and Dr. Spencer discuss the critique he lays out in his writing, as well as the backlash Dr. Spencer received after the article was published.

North Carolina's Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP) is a Medicaid program that addresses healthy food, housing, interpersonal violence, and transportation. By keeping people healthy in their communities, the program has yielded savings of $164 per participant per month. The program is paused due to a budget impasse, but is poised to return. Jake explores HOP with Dr. Betsey Tilson, who served as State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services when HOP was rolled out, and is currently the Executive Director of Nurture NC, where she’s working to improve maternal health.

The rise in overdoses, crime and homelessness is posing a political challenge to continued movement away from the war on drugs and toward a public health approach. Jake speaks with Kassandra Frederique and Terrance Carroll about both the politics and the reality of what's happening on the ground on this issue. Kassandra leads the Drug Policy Alliance, a national nonprofit that works to end the war on drugs. Terrance is the former Speaker of the House in Colorado, and a current police officer.

This week: We learn that there’s an exercise Jake can’t do, find out why a gym company has a government affairs director, and learn about “unholy alliances” of less-than-savory businesses and government health agencies. We’re joined by Russ Greene, who heads up government relations for CrossFit, which now has more than 15,000 affiliate gyms around the country and we find out what it means to be a fitness company with its own political ideology. Disclosure: Jake <3s CrossFit.

Every 10 years, based on the data provided by the U.S. Census, states redraw the country's congressional and state legislative districts. It’s an intense and often contentious political process that shapes representation for the decade to follow. The rules about how redistricting works, specifically about whether districts can be drawn to expressly favor one party over another, are being considered right now by the U.S. Supreme Court. The outcome of that case could have profound impact upon the health of our democracy. We talk it over with Michael Li, Senior Counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law. He is a leading national expert in the redistricting process and, as you might guess, has lots of thoughts on the topic.

Another dispatch from SXSW and a big, important conversation this week. We’re talking maternal health care and the worsening dangers of childbirth in the U.S. We’re also talking abortion and comprehensive sex education as part of the spectrum of reproductive health care and why so many American women deliver their babies via c-section. Paid family leave makes an appearance too. Join us as we sit down with three passionate experts and advocates on International Women’s Day, who were in Austin to present a session called Hysteria No More: Data, Doctors, and Women’s Health: Dr. Chitra Akileswaran, Co-Founder of Cleo and lecturer at Harvard Medical School Dr. Rashmi Kudesia, reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at CCRM Fertility Houston Dr. Pooja Mehta, Director of Maternal and Women's Health Policy at the LSU Center Consortium for Health Transformation

In the wake of violence, some survivors appear unharmed but actually experience very real mental health injuries. Manya Chylinski, a survivor of 2013 Boston Marathon bombing who now speaks about mental trauma and resiliency & Amanda Samman, CEO of the Better Lab and trauma surgeon at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, join us on the podcast this week. We talk with Manya about her personal journey after the marathon and to Amanda about how her experience has informed how she has engaged on this issue.