Episodes

Originally broadcast November 13, 2025

What if health care for moms and babies came with a cash prescription for them?

In this Conversations on Health Care episode, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome back Dr. Mona Hanna, the Flint pediatrician whose research exposed the city’s water crisis and sparked a national reckoning on environmental justice.

Now, Dr. Hanna returns to share powerful results from Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program. By providing unconditional financial support to pregnant women and new mothers, Rx Kids is improving maternal health, reducing infant deaths, and strengthening emotional well-being for families across Michigan.

“This is about investing in people’s humanity,” says Dr. Hanna. “When we provide the resources parents need to care for their babies, we create healthier families and stronger communities.”

Dr. Hanna explains how this simple but transformative idea, grounded in science, dignity, and love, has already reached more than 3,600 families in 11 Michigan communities and distributed $15 million in direct support. She also highlights how advocates can bring this program to their community.

Listen to the full interview.

You can also revisit Dr. Hanna’s earlier appearance on the program, where she discussed her pivotal role in uncovering the Flint lead water crisis and creating the Pediatric Public Health Initiative.

Originally broadcast November 6, 2025

Intimate partner violence affects more women in the United States than breast cancer and diabetes combined. Health care providers can be a lifeline for survivors, yet many still struggle to know how to talk about it or where to begin.

In this Conversations on Health Care episode, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Virginia Duplessis, associate director at Futures Without Violence and director of the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Duplessis shares how health care professionals can take practical, compassionate steps to identify, prevent and respond to domestic violence.

“Violence is not an inevitable part of the human experience. We all have a unique and important role to play,” says Duplessis.

Her work helps providers use trauma-informed care to start conversations with all patients about relationship safety and well-being. Through Health Partners on IPV + Exploitation, Futures Without Violence is building partnerships that make these conversations part of routine care.

Duplessis also highlights how prevention can begin early, from school-based programs like Coaching Boys into Men.  Pregnancy and postpartum care also give providers more opportunities to build trust and spot warning signs.

“We want every patient to leave feeling supported, listened to and connected to information about what’s available in the community if they choose to seek help,” she says.

Click below for the full interview now and explore the resources on domestic and sexual violence, child abuse and more.

Food insecurity could soon worsen for millions of families and result in devastating health outcomes. American Academy of Family Physicians CEO Shawn Martin joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to discuss how the government shutdown is putting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in jeopardy. Beginning on Saturday, Nov. 1, food assistance could end for up to 22 million recipients.

Martin and his 128,000 members are calling for bipartisan action to reopen the government and protect families from unnecessary harm.

“We must put the well-being of families first. Food insecurity is not a political issue—it’s a health issue, and every delay in action deepens the harm to our most vulnerable communities.”

In this powerful conversation, Martin explores how hunger is showing up in exam rooms, the growing pressure on emergency food banks, and what policymakers must do to prevent a widening public health crisis.

Click for the full interview now.

Originally broadcast June 5, 2024.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that several Southeastern states continue to report the highest rates of late-pregnancy fetal death in the country. This is the kind of research that energizes Nurse-Family Partnership supporters to build on their mission to positively impact and transform the lives of first-time moms and their babies through a proven home visiting model.

The NFP model connects specially trained nurses with first-time mothers from early in pregnancy through the child’s second birthday.

Sharon Sprinkle, co-director of the partnership’s nursing practice, and Jenny Harper, its government affairs director, discuss with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter the nonprofit’s founding, funding and how expectant moms can sign up.

Sprinkle says too often pregnant women say their concerns were “minimized or totally dismissed, when, in fact, if they were listened to, the outcome would have been better.”

Veterans Day, which is less than a month away, is a time to honor and reflect on those who’ve served. Yet statistics reveal a troubling reality: Veterans are dying by suicide at 1.5 times the rate of the general population. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among veterans under 45.

Craig Bryan, clinical psychologist, Iraq War veteran, and author of “Rethinking Suicide: Why Prevention Fails and How We Can Do Better,” joined hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to share critical research and real-world ideas for change.

Bryan challenges the long-held assumption that suicide prevention depends solely on mental health treatment. His work shows that more than half of veterans who die by suicide lack a prior mental health diagnosis, and that firearm safety, access to services, and new therapeutic models can make a real difference.

“Many of us were trained in firearm safety on the range. Now, we need to bring that same responsibility into our homes,” Bryan said.

This interview provides insights about how we engage with prevention and care for those who’ve served, including research on rapid escalation of suicidal crises. Bryan also highlights the life-saving potential of brief cognitive behavioral therapy (which has shown reductions in attempts of up to 60% in trials).

Originally broadcast June 18, 2024.

Originally broadcast October 9, 2025

$44 billion in drugs that help Americans are purchased through a little-known federal discount program called 340B. The program is recognized for successfully helping hospitals, community health centers and others that fund care for low-income patients.  

But that program is now facing big challenges from drugmakers, and the current government shutdown has brought new uncertainty.

Reporter William Newton of 340B Report tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that the shutdown has delayed approvals for a federal rebate pilot and furloughed key staff. “There are a lot of big question marks,” he says, noting that the delays could jeopardize timelines for hospitals and community clinics that depend on 340B savings.

David Lim of POLITICO adds perspective on how drug manufacturers and policymakers are shaping the future of the 340B program. Together, he and Newton explain how what began as a quiet effort to help safety-net providers has grown into a national discussion about drug prices and access to care.

As Newton explains, “The 340B program may sound niche, but it’s actually the second-largest government prescription drug program, touching every corner of the U.S. health-care system.”