

A Health Podyssey
Health Affairs
Each week, Health Affairs' Rob Lott brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry.
A Health Podyssey goes beyond the pages of the health policy journal Health Affairs to tell stories behind the research and share policy implications. Learn how academics and economists frame their research questions and journey to the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Health policy nerds rejoice! This podcast is for you.
A Health Podyssey goes beyond the pages of the health policy journal Health Affairs to tell stories behind the research and share policy implications. Learn how academics and economists frame their research questions and journey to the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Health policy nerds rejoice! This podcast is for you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 12, 2025 • 23min
Health Affairs This Week: What's On Farzad Mostashari's Mind for Health Policy
Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Farzad Mostashari, founder & CEO of Aledade and the former National Coordinator for Health IT, to the pod to break down insights in the latest MedPAC report, quality measurement reform, and areas of opportunity for value-based care.Health Affairs is hosting an Insider exclusive event on May 29 focusing on the FDA's first 100 days under the second Trump administration featuring moderator Rachel Sachs alongside panelists Richard Hughes IV and Arti Rai.Related Links:Crossing the Chasm: How to Expand Adoption of Value-Based Care (The New England Journal of Medicine)2025 MedPAC Report

May 6, 2025 • 32min
Eric Topol on the Science of Super-Aging and Longevity
Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Eric Topol, Executive Vice President of Scripps Research, on his new book, Super Agers, which provides an evidence-based approach on extending healthy lifespans.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

May 5, 2025 • 16min
Health Affairs This Week: How Federal Restructuring Affects Data That Affects Health Policy
Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Akilah Wish to the program to discuss the impacts of preserving the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the effects of physical exercise on health, and how this type of data helps inform policy making.We are hosting another live podcast recording of A Health Podyssey featuring host Rob Lott and guest Andrew Ryan where they will discuss his paper in the May 2025 edition of Health Affairs and take questions from a live audience. Sign up today.Health Affairs is hosting an Insider exclusive event on May 29 focusing on the FDA's first 100 days under the second Trump administration featuring moderator Rachel Sachs alongside panelists Richard Hughes IV and Arti Rai.Related Links:CDC's Population Health Office Is Gone (MedPage Today)Adult Physical Inactivity Outside of Work (CDC)Adult Activity: An Overview (CDC)How Exercise Helps You Age Well (NCOA)Establishing The President's Make America Healthy Again Commission (The White House)

Apr 29, 2025 • 21min
Mary Kathryn Poole on How Economic Assistance Models Impact Food Security & Diet
Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Mary Kathryn Poole of Harvard University to discuss her recent paper that breaks down and compares economic assistance models on food security and diet quality. Order the April 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

Apr 22, 2025 • 16min
Shuyue Deng on Medically-Tailored Meals' Impact on Health Care
Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Shuyue (Amy) Deng of Tufts University to discuss her recent paper that takes a closer look at the estimated impact of medically tailored meals on health care use and expenditures in the US.Order the April 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

Apr 16, 2025 • 25min
Food, Nutrition, & Health: A Different Type of Hunger w/ Heather Thomas
Welcome to the final episode in a special four-part series from Health Affairs on the intersection of food, nutrition, and health. This special series compliments the release of a theme issue on food, nutrition, and health, which is currently available to read.In this episode, Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Ellen Bayer speak with Heather Thomas from the nonprofit A Place to Stand about her Narrative Matters essay from the issue, "A Different Type of Hunger." The essay explores Thomas' experience fighting to access and maintain food benefits in the US as a mother of six whose family is food insecure.Order the Food, Nutrition, and Health Issue.

Apr 15, 2025 • 26min
Kurt Hager on Medicaid Nutrition Supports Linked To Reduced Hospital & ED Use
Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Kurt Hager of the University of Massachusetts to discuss his recent paper that explores how Medicaid nutrition supports were associated with reductions in hospitalizations and emergency department visits in Massachusetts through 2020–23. Order the April 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

Apr 14, 2025 • 31min
Elizabeth Popp-Berman on How the U.S. Can Build a Just Political Economy for Health
In a special podcast episode, Health Affairs Scholar Associate Editor Loren Adler interviews Elizabeth Popp-Berman about the Health and Political Economy series of papers recently published in Health Affairs Scholar. The series asks how might the U.S. build a more just and inclusive political economy for health rather than take the status quo for granted. This paper collection was developed in partnership with the The New School’s Health and Political Economy Project (HPEP), a field catalyst initiative advancing a just and inclusive economy for health, and supported by the Commonwealth Fund.Read the Collection:Health and political economy: building a new common sense in the United StatesAdvancing a political economy approach to health using lessons from US antitrust and climate policyReviving public provisioning in US health careThe fundamental importance of social insurance for health equityCentering marginalized care: Home care cooperatives and system change

Apr 9, 2025 • 10min
Food, Nutrition, & Health: Behind the Pages
Welcome to the third episode in a special four-part series from Health Affairs on the intersection of food, nutrition, and health. This special series compliments the release of a theme issue on food, nutrition, and health to be released this week.In this episode, Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Ellen Bayer discuss the content in the theme issue.Order the Food, Nutrition, and Health Issue.

Apr 8, 2025 • 27min
Seth Berkowitz on the Intersection of Income, Food, & Health
Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Seth Berkowitz of the UNC School of Medicine to discuss his recent paper that explores a new approach to help guide research and policy at the intersection of income, food, nutrition, and health. Order the April 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast