

Healthy Dialogue
JAMA Network
Go beyond the latest discoveries with nuanced, in-depth conversations in Healthy Dialogue, a podcast from the JAMA Network. Host and JAMA Senior Editor, Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, sits down with the world's leading experts to explore the most pressing issues in health and health care.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 23, 2026 • 38min
Breast Cancer Part 2: The Reality of Breast Cancer Screening and Care Today
In part 2 of this Healthy Dialogue on breast cancer, Nancy E. Davidson, MD, discusses changes in screening, the patient journey, and what may lie ahead with advances in AI, cancer vaccines, and preventive medicine. Correction: a previous version of this podcast incorrectly identified Fran Visco as the founder of NABCO. Visco is the president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). Related Content: Breast Cancer's Transformation From Terminal to Manageable Breast Cancer Part 1: From Deadly to Manageable Disease
Oct 22, 2026 • 31min
Breast Cancer Part 1: From Deadly to Manageable Disease
Breast cancer has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several decades. Five-year survival rates are now 92% compared with 76% in 1975. In this special 2-part episode of Healthy Dialogue, Nancy E. Davidson, MD, oncologist and chief academic officer and executive vice president of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, discusses the advancements that led to these improvements. Related Content: Breast Cancer Part 2: The Reality of Breast Cancer Screening and Care Today Breast Cancer's Transformation From Terminal to Manageable
Oct 8, 2026 • 43min
Providing Rural Health Care Is Really Hard; 60 Million Americans Rely on It
Approximately 1 in 5 Americans live in rural areas, and in the coming years they will see dramatic shifts in their health care options due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In this episode of Healthy Dialogue Mark Holmes, PhD, joins host Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, to explore the impact of upcoming cuts to Medicaid and the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. Related Content: Providing Care to the Surprisingly Large Rural Population in the US
Sep 23, 2026 • 46min
Long COVID: the problem society wants to forget
Long COVID is a debilitating condition impacting millions of people around the world, but is still poorly understood, poorly defined, and poorly treated. In this episode of Healthy Dialogue, host Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, discusses long COVID with Wes Ely, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University, and co-author of the NASEM report on Long COVID. Related Content: Long COVID: The Problem Society Wants to Forget
Sep 3, 2026 • 53min
Everyone Will Feel the $1 Trillion Cut in Medicaid
Medicaid provides health insurance for 1 in 5 Americans and plays a crucial role in US health care infrastructure. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is estimated to cut Medicaid spending by nearly $1 trillion by 2034 and cause millions of enrollees to lose coverage. In this episode of Healthy Dialogue, Julie Donohue, PhD, professor and chair of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh, breaks down what Medicaid is, who it covers, and how proposed cuts in the OBBBA could have far-reaching effects on patients, clinicians, hospitals and communities. Related Content: Everyone Will Feel the $1 Trillion Cut in Medicaid
Aug 20, 2026 • 52min
Should Everyone be on GLP-1s?
GLP-1 receptor agonists are one of the most revolutionary new classes of drugs in decades. In this episode of Healthy Dialogue, host Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, sat down with Jens Juul Holst, MD, DMSc, and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, DMSc, 2 pioneering scientists behind the discovery and development of GLP-1 RAs. Together, they traced the fascinating origin story of GLP-1 RAs and offered their thoughts on what comes next. Related Content: GLP-1s—From Gut Hormone Discovery to a Public Health Revolution
Aug 5, 2026 • 47min
Food Politics, Obesity, and the "Wicked Mess" We're In
The United States has witnessed a staggering rise in obesity beginning in the early 1980s, leading to a wide array of important health consequences including heart disease, diabetes, and premature death. In this episode of Healthy Dialogue, Host Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, talks with Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Paulette Goddard Professor Emerita at New York University and influential author on food politics, for a candid conversation about how society became ensnared in the current obesity epidemic and what might untangle it. Related Content: Food Politics, Obesity, and the "Wicked Mess" We Are In
Jul 22, 2026 • 47min
Why and How Should the Government Fund Biomedical Research?
This episode of Healthy Dialogue explores the history and future of science funding in the US in light of recent changes, and proposed changes, from the federal government. Host Derek Angus, MD, MPH, speaks with former editor in chief of Science and a former director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH, Jeremy Berg, PhD. Related Content: Why and How Should the Government Fund Biomedical Research?

Jul 1, 2026 • 33min
Social Media Use by Children – wonderful, hazardous, or something in-between?
Dimitri Christakis, pediatrician, professor, and JAMA Pediatrics editor, studies child development and media effects. He explains how social media taps reward pathways and can produce craving-like behavior. He discusses algorithmic harms, short-form video effects on attention, policy responses like age limits, and ideas for safer platform design.
Jun 17, 2026 • 50min
Unpacking the Increase in Early-Onset Cancer
Ilana Richman, Yale epidemiologist studying screening and population trends. Kimmie Ng, Harvard clinician-researcher specializing in young-onset colorectal cancer. They discuss rising colorectal cancer in younger adults. They explore possible causes like birth-cohort effects, diet, microbiome, and immune factors. They cover screening choices, limits of lowering screening age, symptom recognition, and emerging treatments.


