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 Finds
Poll crosstabs
State Policy Network: State Elections in 2026 Could Reshape Policy Landscape
ABC News: Democrats, Republicans seek ‘trifectas’ in the 2026 midterms
The American Prospect: Can Nevada Democrats Roll a Trifecta?
The Committee’s Roger Marshall website: Committeetoprotectpac.org/dr-debt
Monica Robinson’s tweet about Roger Marshall saying Kansans aren’t worried about having no money due to the high cost of gas
MSNOW: Roger Marshall’s complicated history of blurring the line between taxpayer dollars and campaign cash
The American Prospect: A Major Roger Marshall Donor Is a Hospital Bandit
White House: Advancing Women’s Health To Improve Outcomes In All Phases Of Life
The New York Times: Melania Trump Announces White House Women’s Health Initiative
AlterNet: Trump humiliates Melania with stunning remark at her big White House moment
The New York Times: Melania Trump Announces White House Women’s Health Initiative
Aaron Rupar’s tweet of Trump calling RFK Jr. “a little different”
The Guardian: Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted
The Guardian: Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
CIDRAP: Hepatitis B vaccine study condemned as unethical wins approval from Danish university
The 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 Patients
Yul Brynner’s posthumous anti-smoking public service announcement for the American Cancer Society
Business Insider: Palantir CTO says some AI researchers are taking up smoking because they expect AI to cure cancer
Dr. Mikkael Sekeres’s website
Dr. Mikkael Sekeres on LinkedIn
Dr. Mikkael Sekeres on X
Dr. Mikkael Sekeres on BlueSky
Dr. Mikkael Sekeres on Instagram
Join the fight at committeetoprotect.org.
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