Season 13 • Episode 1035

1035 - The Epic Struggle for Public Health

Apr 13, 2026

13:56

Promote

Public Health

Episode Description

About this episode:

Public health efforts have led to tremendous gains throughout history—and sparked backlash. That's the argument made by Michelle A. Williams in her new book "The Cure for Everything The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving." In this episode: why community interventions often go underappreciated, the economic benefits of a healthy society, and the tension between medicine and public health.

Guest:

Michelle A. Williams, ScD, is a professor of epidemiology and population health at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She is also the co-author of "The Cure for Everything: The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving."

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.

Show links and related content:

The Cure for Everything: The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving—Penguin Random House
"On Going Backwards": A New HIV/AIDS Epidemic?—Public Health On Call (May 2025)
Recognizing W.E.B. Du Bois and His Seminal Work on Racism and Health—Public Health On Call (February 2022)

Transcript information:

Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.