Hosts Miles Baker and Dr. Rob Davidson look at the midterms from state capitols to the U.S. Senate. We dig into state trifectas and what that could mean for healthcare all over the country. We break down the states where Democrats could win full control, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Arizona, and Nevada. What could that could mean for public options, prescription drug costs, hospital consolidation, and reproductive rights? It’s important to remember that the states are the “laboratories of democracy” for the next push at the federal level.
Next, they turn to the Kansas Senate race, where Sen. Roger Marshall is limping toward Election Day after a rough debate and reporting on his history of suing patients over unpaid bills. They look at a new American Prospect investigation into one of his biggest donors, a private equity investor who buys, strips, and dumps hospitals, and at how this kind of corruption raises costs and shutters community hospitals.
Then, the White House announces a new women’s health task force chaired by RFK Jr. The hosts look at what it does and doesn’t do, given the cuts to existing women’s health programs. They also cover the CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau, which raised serious ethical concerns and was halted this week.
Finally, Rob talks with oncologist Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, who recently wrote a Washington Post op-ed about Pope Leo’s lung adenocarcinoma and what the surgery suggests about his prognosis. We cover why lung cancer in non-smokers is on the rise, how public health measures like smoking cessation campaigns and radon testing save lives, whether AI will help cure cancer, and Dr. Sekeres’s upcoming book.
LINKS
The New York Times:Trump Approval Hits New Low Two Weeks Before Midterms, Poll FindsPoll
crosstabsState Policy Network:
State Elections in 2026 Could Reshape Policy LandscapeABC News:Democrats, Republicans seek ‘trifectas’ in the 2026 midtermsThe American Prospect:Can Nevada Democrats Roll a Trifecta?The Committee’s Roger Marshall website:
Committeetoprotectpac.org/dr-debt𝕏Monica Robinson’s tweetabout Roger Marshall saying Kansans aren’t worried about having no money due to the high cost of gasMSNOW:Roger Marshall’s complicated history of blurring the line between taxpayer dollars and campaign cashThe American Prospect:A Major Roger Marshall Donor Is a Hospital BanditWhite House:
Advancing Women’s Health To Improve Outcomes In All Phases Of LifeThe New York Times:Melania Trump Announces White House Women’s Health InitiativeAlterNet:Trump humiliates Melania with stunning remark at her big White House momentThe New York Times:Melania Trump Announces White House Women’s Health Initiative𝕏Aaron Rupar’s tweetof Trump calling RFK Jr. “a little different”The Guardian:Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns haltedThe Guardian:Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-BissauCIDRAP:Hepatitis B vaccine study condemned as unethical wins approval from Danish universityThe Washington Post:I’m an oncologist. Here’s what nonsmokers need to know about lung cancer.Miller School of Medicine:
Like Father, Like Daughter: A Generational Calling to Improve the Lives of Cancer PatientsYul Brynner’s posthumous
▶anti-smoking public service announcementfor the American Cancer SocietyBusiness Insider:Palantir CTO says some AI researchers are taking up smoking because they expect AI to cure cancerDr. Mikkael Sekeres’s
websiteDr. Mikkael Sekeres
on LinkedInDr. Mikkael Sekeres
on XDr. Mikkael Sekeres
on BlueSkyDr. Mikkael Sekeres
on Instagram
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