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Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
by Richard Helppie
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
Episodes
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Episode 340- Building Michigan’s Healthcare Workforce. With Russ Kavalhuna
Healthcare workforce shortages are not a single problem with a single fix, they are a pipeline problem. I’m joined by Russ Kavalhuna, President of Western Michigan University, to talk about what it looks like when a community decides to grow its own talent instead of hoping someone else moves in....
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Episode 339- How Grand Rapids Builds Talent And Health. With Rick Baker
Health care is not just a line item for employers, it’s a defining force in whether a region can grow, attract talent, and stay competitive. From the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Rick Baker of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce to connect the dots between community…
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Episode 338- Medicaid On The Line in Michigan. With Monique Stanton
A lot of health care headlines sound distant until you realize how quickly a policy tweak can turn into a long drive, a missed refill, or an ER visit that could have been prevented. From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Monique Stanton, President and CEO of the Michigan League for...
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Episode 337- Fixing Michigan’s Broken Mental Health System. with Michael Webber
A brand-new building can look like progress, but what happens when the real problem is leadership and accountability behind locked doors? From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Michigan State Senator Michael Webber to talk candidly about state-run psychiatric hospitals, what he…
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Episode 336- "The Power Of And" In Health Care. With Matt Elliott
Health care gets blamed on villains, but the harder truth is that most people are reacting to the incentives right in front of them. From the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Matt Elliott, founder of Blue Lake Ideas and former president of Bank of America Michigan, to ask the...
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Episode 335- Building Safer Systems For Kids. With Luanne Thomas Ewald
A kid walks into the ER because they thought a THC edible was candy, and the package did the lying. That’s one of the most unsettling through-lines in my conversation with Luanne Thomas Ewald, chief operating officer at CS Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital at…
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Episode 334- Building Detroit’s Next Medical Campus. Dr. Adnan Munkarah
Detroit’s next wave of health care may be built as much with partnerships as with concrete. We sit down with Dr. Adnan Munkarah, President for Care Delivery and Chief Clinical Officer at Henry Ford Health, to unpack what it takes to modernize an academic medical center while keeping a…
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Episode 333- The Gift Of Life. With Dorrie Dils
One choice at the DMV can ripple into hundreds of surgeries, thousands of hospital hours, and a second chance at life for people you’ll never meet. From the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Dorrie Dils from Gift of Life Michigan to unpack what actually happens when someone…
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Episode 332- Health Care Should Be A Right, Not A Privilege. With Debbie Stabenow
Health care feels personal until you try to navigate it and realize how many parts are designed to be confusing. From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with former Michigan U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow for a fast, candid conversation about what’s working, what’s breaking, and what...
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Episode 331- Your Deductible Is High And Here Is Why. With Dominick Pallone
Premiums are climbing, deductibles feel heavier every year, and most people still can’t tell you why health care costs what it costs. From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we talk with Dominick Pallone, CEO of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, to get a clear look at what health plans...
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Episode 330- When A Heart Attack Hits Nobody Asks Party. with Sarah Anthony
A state budget can feel like spreadsheets and deadlines until you connect it to the moment someone needs insulin, prenatal care, or an ER visit they never planned for. From the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Michigan State Senator Sarah Anthony, chair of appropriations, to talk...
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Episode 329- Detroit’s $2.2B Hospital Bet. with Denise Brooks-Williams
A 111-year-old Detroit institution is making one of the biggest bets in Michigan health care, and the details are more ambitious than a new building. From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we talk with Denise Brooks Williams, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Henry Ford Health...
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Episode 328- Michigan Health Care Affordability. with Bill G. Schuette
Michigan’s biggest challenges aren’t neatly separated into “economy” over here and “health care” over there. From the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Representative Bill G. Schuette of Michigan’s 95th District to connect the dots between population growth, good jobs, education...
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Episode 327- How Michigan Hospitals Stay United Under Pressure. with Brian Peters
Medicaid decisions made in a capitol building can land in a hospital waiting room fast and the ripple effects are bigger than most people realize. From the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, to talk about what...
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Episode 326- The Cost Squeeze In Health Care. With Rob Casalou
This episode of The Common Bridge is part of a special 21‑part series of interviews recorded with healthcare leaders from across Michigan during the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, in partnership with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association Health care isn’t just a line item anymore, it’s…
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Episode 325- How Michigan Medicine Sees The Path To Lower Costs. David Miller, M.D., MPH
Healthcare affordability is having a moment, and not the vague kind. From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we sit down with Dr. David Miller, Executive Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs at Michigan Medicine and President of the University of Michigan Health System, to talk about what it takes to…
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Episode 324- Independent Hospitals And Local Power. with Bill Manns
This episode of The Common Bridge is part of a special 21‑part series of interviews recorded with healthcare leaders from across Michigan during the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, in partnership with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association Healthcare costs keep climbing, but the most...
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Episode 323- Stop Counting Hours And Start Hiring Graduates. with Rick Snyder
This episode of *The Common Bridge* is part of a special 21‑part series of interviews recorded with healthcare leaders from across Michigan during the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, in partnership with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association. In these short conversations, with his guests,...
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Episode 322- Why The Real World Feels Different Than The News.
Scotland takes over Boston, travelers flood YouTube with “America is amazing,” and suddenly a question hits hard: if the country is truly collapsing, why do so many visitors leave impressed by the people, the space, and the everyday energy? We use that contrast to dig into one of the biggest…
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Episode 321- Leadership in Action. A Disruptor Who Defied the Odds. With Dr. Imamu Tomlinson
The emergency department is where America’s healthcare system tells the truth. It’s the hospital’s front door, it can’t turn people away, and it absorbs every crack in primary care access, insurance coverage, and patient flow. I’m joined by Dr. Imamu “Mu” Tomlinson, CEO of Vituity, to talk about...
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Episode 320- You Will Love America More When You Talk To People
The fastest way to lose faith in your country is to let a screen tell you who your neighbors are. We take that head-on, because the gap between media narratives and real life keeps growing, and it is warping how we talk about policy, elections, and each other. Rich Helppie shares what we are...
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Episode 319- Primary Care Under Pressure. With Dr. Harry Albers
Primary care is where healthcare either works or quietly breaks, and Dr. Harry Albers helps us say the uncomfortable parts out loud. We talk about the emotional reality of managing chronic disease without instant wins, and the operational reality that burns physicians down: EMR documentation…
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Episode 318- What If Hunger Looked Like You? With Angela Moloney
Hunger isn’t a distant problem, it’s often a quiet one. Host Rich Helppie sits down with Angela Moloney, President and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan, to unpack what food insecurity looks like today and why solving it takes more than good intentions. We connect the dots...
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Episode 317- Unity Through Service. With Chip Webster
America doesn’t feel like it’s debating anymore. It feels like it’s detonating. We sit down with Chip Webster, founder of Unity in Service Incorporated, to talk about what he saw after five long RV loops around the United States and why it convinced him the country isn’t just politically split,...
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Episode 316- How Local Power Shapes National Outcomes. With Chris Armitage
The fastest way to lose a democracy isn’t one dramatic moment, it’s the slow drift from problem-solving into tribal power games. Rich Helppie sits down with writer and Substack creator Chris Armitage to ask why serious policy talk keeps getting drowned out by team identity, and what regular…
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Episode 315- Brutal Truths About Healthcare Leadership. With Louis Shapiro
Healthcare keeps getting more expensive, less accessible, and harder to navigate, and the part that drives you crazy is that it also feels familiar. We sit down with Lou Shapiro, former CEO of Hospital for Special Surgery, to talk candidly about what changes and what never changes in the U.S....
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Episode 314- How Data Centers And AI Are Redrawing U.S. Infrastructure
AI is pushing America into a new infrastructure era, and it’s bigger than potholes and bridges. When Professor Rick Geddes from Cornell joins us, we zoom out and connect the dots between infrastructure policy, infrastructure finance, and “infretech” the technology that makes civil and social...
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Episode 313- Feeding A County Hidden In Plain Sight. With Ruth Mageria
Palm Beach County gets portrayed as sunshine and wealth, but that picture leaves out the families choosing between rent and groceries, seniors stretched by HOA hikes, and working parents who cannot keep up with prices. I sit down with Ruth Mageria, executive leader at Cros Ministries, to talk…
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Episode 312- Healthcare Gets Better When Leaders Invest In People. with Quint Studer
Healthcare keeps getting labeled “more complex,” but that line can become a trap. When leaders accept it as truth, they stop simplifying, stop teaching, and stop making clear decisions. I sat down with Quint Studer to talk about what’s actually breaking healthcare operations and hospital finances...
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Episode 311- Can Hospitals Survive? Grumpy Old Men Take on Today's Healthcare System
Price caps make for great politics and terrible bedside reality when they ignore how hospitals actually survive. Nate Kaufman sits down with healthcare analyst and futurist Dr. Jeff Goldsmith for a blunt conversation about why “just cap hospital prices” can sound like reform while quietly setting...
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Episode 310- Making Education Work For the 21st Century. with Shaka Mitchell
Only 35% of kids testing on grade level is not a headline, it’s a flashing warning light. I sit down with education advocate and Substack writer Shaka Mitchell to ask the uncomfortable question behind the data: if students are just as capable as ever, why are outcomes so uneven and, in some…
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Episode 309- Betting On Yourself In Business. With Sam Caudle
Want a real blueprint for building a modern, lean business without drowning in overhead or paid leads? We’re joined by Florida realtor and creator Sam Caudle, who walks us through how a simple, service-first YouTube channel became a steady pipeline for high-trust, high-intent buyers across…
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Episode 308: From Law To Healthcare Media: Scott Becker On Building Becker’s And Fixing Care
What if the real reason care feels harder to get isn’t your insurance card or a shiny new policy, but a simple math problem: too many patients, not enough clinicians? We sit down with Scott Becker—attorney, entrepreneur, and founder of Becker’s Healthcare—to trace how a media brand grew from a...
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Episode 307- From Corporate Comfort To Water-Wise Growth. With Kevin Green
Ready to trade permission for possibility? We sit down with Kevin Green, owner of Conserva Irrigation of Ann Arbor and co-founder of Luxhaven Lighting, to unpack how he left a comfortable corporate track and built a purpose-led service business anchored in water conservation, rigorous systems…
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Episode 306- Leaping From Data To Diamonds- with Blake Polizzi
What if courage came before confidence, not after? That theme powers a candid conversation with third‑generation jeweler Blake Polizzi of Susan Blake Jewelry, who stepped into leadership after her mother’s passing and turned a beloved family brand into a modern, data‑driven business. We trace the...
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Episode 305- Voices Beyond The Partisan Echo. With David Dennison
When outrage becomes the default setting, thinking gets outsourced to the loudest tribe. We invited Substack writer and teacher David Dennison to help map a way back to clear thought, using real-world examples to show how independent journalism can resist the dopamine rush of instant certainty…
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Episode 304- From DC Spy Dreams To Substack: Amanda Claypool On Media, Money, And Meaning
What if the numbers that dominate headlines tell you less about the economy than the price of your groceries, your rent, and your ability to start a family? We sit with writer and analyst Amanda Claypool to unpack Main Street economics, A.I.’s shock to white-collar work, and why trust in legacy...
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Episode 303- Mark Cuban On PBMs, Rebates, And Rewiring Healthcare Incentives
If you’ve ever wondered why your deductible feels like a brick wall while insurers tout “savings,” this conversation goes straight to the source. Nathan Kaufman sits down with Mark Cuban to pull apart how PBMs and insurers shape drug prices, hide rebates, and use denials as financial float—while...
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Episode 302- Seeing Clearly: Journalism Without Gatekeepers. With Chris Bray
What if the cure for our political fatigue is as simple as slowing down and looking at the evidence? We kick off a new series spotlighting Substack writers with journalist and historian Chris Bray, whose work strips away spin by linking directly to source documents, video and on-the-ground...
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Episode 301- Venezuela: What the Law Says. With Anthony Colangelo
Power grabbed headlines, but the real story is law, limits, and what comes next. We sit down with Professor Anthony Colangelo of SMU to unpack the U.S. operation that seized Venezuela’s leader and to separate a clean legal argument from messy policy ambitions. From irregular rendition to…
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Episode 300- Ten Resolutions For Health System Leaders
The status quo is expensive, exhausting, and unsustainable—so we set out a practical playbook to do better in 2026. Nathan Kaufman shares ten no‑nonsense resolutions for health system leaders who want measurable outcomes, stronger teams, and smarter payer strategies without falling for vendor…
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Episode 299- Inside The Fight To Fix Health Care Financing. With Nate Kaufman
The real fight in U.S. healthcare isn’t between doctors and patients—it’s against a financing maze that raises premiums, hides quality, and rewards middlemen. We pull back the curtain on why ACA plans look the same yet cost more, how public underpayment pushes employer premiums up, and why...
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Episode 298- Unfiltered Consciousness: Laughing Through Life’s Absurdities. With author Terence Duncan as well as Greg Jbara
Season Seven of The Common Bridge features host Richard Helppie in an episode that concludes with foaming mayonnaise dispensers in this lighter, story-driven talk with Tony Award–winning actor Gregory Jbara and longtime friend, designer-turned-humorist Terence Duncan, celebrating Duncan’s new…
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Episode 297- How a System CEO Drives Access and Affordability with Optimism. With Jeff Flaks
Healthcare can feel stuck, but the ground is moving under our feet in the best possible way. We sit down with Hartford Healthcare’s CEO, Jeff Flaks, to unpack how a statewide system is using scale with purpose: pushing care into more convenient, lower-cost settings, investing in equity, and...
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Episode 296- Inside Michigan Medicine: Access, AI, And A New Era Of Care. With Dr. David Miller, M.D.
What happens when a powerhouse research enterprise, a statewide health system, and a relentless push for access all meet at the same table? Our conversation with Dr. David Miller, CEO of Michigan Medicine, opens the door to a candid look at how precision care, digital tools, and financial reality...
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Episode 295- GLP-1, Obesity, And The Cost Of Change. With Dr. David Harlan
What if blockbuster weight-loss drugs and a broken food system are two sides of the same story? We sit down with Dr. David Harlan—physician, researcher, and former NIH diabetes branch chief—to trace the unlikely path from the “incretin effect” to GLP-1 therapies that are transforming care for…
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Episode 294- Inside America’s Access Crisis And Why Wait Times Keep Rising. With Rich Helppie.
Host Nate Kaufman brings Rich Helppie back for a discussion about healthcare access. A 30-day wait for a first oncology visit after hearing the word leukemia is not an edge case—it’s the new normal in a system where demand outpaces supply and incentives reward the wrong behaviors. Nate opens with…
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Episode 293- Subsidies, Shutdowns, And The Healthcare Squeeze. With Nate Kaufman
Politicians argue about subsidies while families face premiums that can top $26,900 and deductibles big enough to delay basic care. We step past the slogans to map how the ACA exchanges actually work today—standardized benefits that reduce real choice, narrow networks that hide access problems…
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Episode 292- From Crisis To Reform: A Mother, A Judge, And A Broken System
One mother’s plea and a judge’s blueprint collide with a terrifying truth: the systems meant to protect people with serious mental illness—and the communities around them—often wait until harm is done. We bring Beverly Gille and Judge Milton L. Mack Jr. together to map how a 28-year struggle…
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Episode 291- How A Neurosurgeon Heals Broken Spines With A Broken Health System. With Dr. Rod Oskouian
Spine surgery sits at the crossroads of need, nuance, and noise—and few people explain that terrain better than Dr. Rod Oskouian, a high-volume neurosurgeon who has led a complex spine program and also navigated care as a patient. Dr. Oskouian and Healthcare Bridge host, Nate Kaufman pull back…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
HOSTED BY
Richard Helppie
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Richard Helppie's Common Bridge have?
Richard Helppie's Common Bridge currently has 348 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Richard Helppie's Common Bridge about?
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
How often does Richard Helppie's Common Bridge release new episodes?
Richard Helppie's Common Bridge publishes regularly with 348 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Richard Helppie's Common Bridge?
You can listen to Richard Helppie's Common Bridge on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Richard Helppie's Common Bridge?
Richard Helppie's Common Bridge is created and hosted by Richard Helppie.
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