Why Public Health Keeps Getting Ignored Until It’s Too Late with Michelle Williams & Linda Marsa

If public health is the foundation for individual health, why is it still treated like a “nice to have” until a crisis hits? In this episode, Michelle Williams, an epidemiologist and public health leader, and Linda Marsa, a health care journalist, discuss what public health actually is, why it matters for human thriving, and how it differs from medical care that treats one patient at a time. They unpack how incentives often push resources toward reactive, profit-driven care instead of prevention, even though social determinants like housing and clean air drive most health outcomes. The conversation traces recurring patterns of “willful blindness,” in which commerce and ideology trump evidence, from historical outbreaks to today’s fights over air pollution. They also spotlight reasons for hope: rigorous data, public health heroes across generations, real grassroots and legal efforts protecting public health wins, and practical protocols that have cut maternal deaths. Tune in and learn how public health can move from stepchild to foundation, and what it takes to leave no population behind. Resources: Connect with and follow Michelle Williams on LinkedIn. Connect with and follow Linda Marsa on LinkedIn and visit her website! Follow Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on LinkedIn and explore their website! Read The Cure for Everything: The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices