A Roadmap for Health Activists with Professor Nicholas Freudenberg

For more than five decades, Nicholas Freudenberg has been at the forefront of some of the most consequential public health movements in America. As Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Public Health at the City University of New York (CUNY), he has dedicated his career to understanding—and transforming—the social, political, and economic forces that shape health outcomes. In this compelling episode of Let's Have This Conversation, Nicholas shares why improving public health requires far more than advances in medicine. It demands courageous leadership, community activism, policy reform, and a willingness to challenge systems that perpetuate inequality. Our conversation explores the evolution of public health activism through the lens of some of society's most pressing challenges, including: Nicholas also discusses his newest book, Fighting for New York: Activism for Health and Social Justice Since the 1960s, which chronicles decades of grassroots organizing and reveals the lessons today's leaders, advocates, educators, and policymakers can apply to create healthier, more equitable communities. As the founder of CUNY's Urban Food Policy Institute, the Hunter College Center on AIDS, Drugs and Community Health, and the university-wide Healthy CUNY initiative, Nicholas has spent a lifetime turning research into action. His work demonstrates that meaningful societal change happens when academic knowledge, community engagement, and public policy come together. Whether you're a public health professional, healthcare leader, policymaker, nonprofit executive, educator, student, or simply someone passionate about creating healthier communities, this conversation offers valuable insights into how collective action can improve lives and shape a more just society. This episode examines critical questions facing communities around the world: Join us for an insightful conversation about leadership, advocacy, public policy, social justice, and the enduring power of ordinary people working together to create extraordinary change.   For more Information: https://sph.cuny.edu/about/people/faculty/nicholas-freudenberg/ Get the Book: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/fighting-for-new-york/9780231221405/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices