Podcast
Medicare for All
Hosted by Benjamin Day and Gillian Mason - Healthcare-NOW · EN
Benjamin Day and Gillian Mason of Healthcare-NOW break down everything you need to know about the social movement to make healthcare a right in the United States. Medicare for All!
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
No Surrender Summer: Cleve Jones, Seven Days in June, & the Latest Healthcare News
3d ago00:53:22Tap to summarizeThe fight for our health is heating up this summer! Across the country, folks are getting ready for a summer of action to demand real justice in our healthcare system. At Healthcare NOW, we’re calling it No Surrender Summer, and it’s all kicking off with Seven Days in June, a national week of action against healthcare cuts. Seven Days In June was conceived by iconic activist Cleve Jones. Cleve is the man who started the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which began with one square in 1985, became a key tool in educating the public about the AIDS epidemic, and is now the largest public folk art project in history. He’s an expert on public health organizing, he’s a legend, and he’s here to talk with us today about how we bring attention to the fight for human dignity this summer and beyond! You can find more information about Seven Days In June and find an action near you at www.sevendaysinjune.org. Find more actions you can take to defend healthcare all summer long at www.healthcare-now.org/no-surrender-summer. https://www.youtube.com/live/MAPRSfsPbFQ?si=NXZB_pFSkQzgLPUz Follow and support the pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!
Transcribe →Dry Hot American Summer: Water Wars, Health Impacts, & the Latest Healthcare News
2w ago01:02:28Tap to summarizeWe usually stick to the healthcare news here, but this time, we’re covering a story happening right in our own backyard that could have huge public health consequences. Corpus Christi, Texas is about to be the first American city to run out of water, which threatens the health and wellbeing of the entire city, and especially the folks who are already in precarious health situations. Today we’re talking to local activist Isabel Araiza about what’s happening in Corpus, why we let big businesses put a price tag on our public goods, and why this isn’t just a Texas problem. PLUS, the latest healthcare news! https://www.youtube.com/live/MEXnETtAWP8?si=XdjYVL9C_YtAHmKF Isabel Araiza was born and raised in Corpus Christi. She earned her PhD in Sociology from Boston College and returned to Corpus to teach. She’s currently an Associate Professor of Social Sciences at Del Mar Community College. For the Greater Good Coastal Bend, the grassroots group Isabel co-founded has been advocating for quality of life issues in the Coastal Bend since 2016. You can find out more about their work here. For a Perfect Union has produced an excellent video about the Corpus Christi water crisis featuring Isabel and other local activists. Please watch and share to help spread the word! Follow and support the pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!
Transcribe →Healthcare Not Warfare (2026 Edition) & the Latest Healthcare News
3w ago01:08:02Tap to summarizeContent Warning: This episode is somehow even swearier than usual. War is hell. Mostly because it kills people indiscriminately and disrupts the lives of huge groups of people, but also because it costs so much money that could be spent on saving lives. Now, after a year of hearing that our country is so hard up for money that we need to make massive cuts to Medicaid and other public health programs, we’re at war in the middle east AGAIN, racking up unnecessary deaths and a massive tab. Linda Bilmes at the Kennedy School said that the cost of the war would definitely reach a trillion dollars, even if it ended tomorrow – and she said that a couple weeks ago. In this episode, we’ve got Alex Lawson and Eagan Kemp here to talk about why the US is spending money on missiles but can’t afford Medicare for All. PLUS, here at the pod, we’re trying out a new format to be able to bring you more up-to-date updates about what’s happening in healthcare politics in this country and the movement to change healthcare politics in this country for good! There’s so much going on right now in America’s war on our health, and between the insurance companies and congress and the MAHA crowd, it’s so hard to keep up. We, as always, want to help out with the unpleasant work of sorting through the noise and amplifying the really important stuff, so from now on, we’ll be starting out each episode with a healthcare news roundup of some of the top stories you need to know. Of course, accurate but irreverent commentary and analysis will be provided! Let us know what you think! https://www.youtube.com/live/WhpL26Zrsgk?si=905gS_V3IFb6sM-E Alex Lawson is the Executive Director of Social Security Works, the convening member of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition— a coalition made up of over 340 national and state organizations representing over 50 million Americans. Eagan Kemp is an expert in health care policy, including single-payer systems, private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Veterans Health Administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, social determinants of health, mental health and drug shortages. He has served as senior policy analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (Does that still exist?), but right now he’s the Health Policy Advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. Thanks to political science professor Dr. Misty Parker for joining us for the news! Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!
Transcribe →Primary Care: Abdul El Sayed & Medicare for All on the Campaign Trail
Mar 3100:39:20Tap to summarizeIt’s primary season, y’all! Today I’m joined by Abdul El Sayed — doctor, public health expert, and candidate for the Democratic party nomination in Michigan to talk about healthcare in this election and on the campaign trail! https://www.youtube.com/live/gYy53RAC8Zk?si=AtCEyUq8634waWlA To read more about Abdul and the race for US Senate in Michigan, you can check out his campaign page. You can find more information about his book, Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide here on Goodreads! Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! Chip in here to support our work!
Transcribe →The One Where We All Get Professional Help
Dec 1700:53:10Tap to summarizeFriends, I’ve got a question for you: how are you doing these days, mental-health-wise? Sometimes on the Medicare for All podcast we can get so busy edutaining about healthcare inequity that we forget to take a pause to check in and make sure we’re all OK. What’s that you say? You too are feeling a little… unwell these days? Us too! It’s an objectively terrible moment in history, we’re entering life under fascism, and all the cool people and things we care about are getting disappeared or DOGEd. When we win Medicare for All, we’re all going to be able to get the mental health support we need, but in the meantime, for this special fan service episode, we’ve gotten us all some help. Our guest today is a licensed counsellor who has agreed to give us all some advice on how to keep fighting the man AND avoid crashing out in 2026! https://www.youtube.com/live/rl6sGzXxxgM?si=H0-78K-ko-AmOpAh Tristyn Ariyan is a Licensed Professional Counselor based in San Antonio, TX. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts, followed by a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health from Bradley University. Tristyn is a National Board Certified Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and an active member of both the American Counseling Association and the Texas Counseling Association. Tristyn founded her private practice, Luna Therapy Solutions, LLC, in early 2022. She also knows more than you might think about Insane Clown Posse. Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! If you want to support our work, you can donate here!
Transcribe →Florida (Wo)Man Needs Healthcare: An Invitation to Our Conference!
Sep 2600:36:15Tap to summarizeAt Healthcare NOW, we’re used to getting push-back from folks who don’t believe in Medicare for All, and we always expect to hear from those folks – but this episode is about something different. When we announced our annual national  Medicare for All Strategy Conference is happening this November, we got some push-back – not about our fight for healthcare justice, but about our choice of venue. Some of our supporters were upset that we’re going to be gathering in a Red State – ok, arguably the king of the Red States: Florida. We’ve gotten emails from folks who won’t attend on principle because they refuse to go to (and this is a quote) the “Evil DeSantis State.” So today we’re joined by one of the leaders of Medicare for All Florida to dig into what’s happening in Florida, why we’re heading to the Sunshine State for our conference, and – most importantly – how you can join us this November 22&23rd to bring the fight to Red America. https://www.youtube.com/live/2PU2kuMoaJw?si=Sd1duyLhAXUoeqHG Consider this your official invite to our National Medicare for All Strategy Conference: Find out more and register here! Want to learn more about how Medicare for All activists are fighting to move forward toward healthcare justice amid constant assaults on public healthcare from their state government? Check out the Medicare for All Florida website! Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! If you want to support our work, you can donate here!
Transcribe →Bots, Trolls, & Haters
Aug 2600:56:23Tap to summarizeAnyone who’s been on the internet and wants to preserve their sanity knows one, eternal truth: Don’t read the comments section. The comments, as we all know, are where our better angels go to die – where we forget our humanity and type out the ugliest, scariest stuff we were apparently thinking all along? Well, today, against our better judgement, we are going to disregard best practice and dig in to what people are saying in the comments about healthcare. Because how are we ever going to win over the people if we don’t know what the people have to say? We tasked our researcher, Ashley Schultz — the most chronically online of our followers, with digging through the dregs of the internet, and she’s here to talk about what she found. https://www.youtube.com/live/qsWogMDDbWw?si=exWiYo0B5L5BTVgC Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! If you want to support our work, you can donate at our website, healthcare-now.org.
Transcribe →Health Crisis in Palestine!
Aug 201:02:20Tap to summarize:::CONTENT WARNING::: This episode contains graphic discussions of genocide. Here at the Medicare for All Podcast, we are usually focused on the US, but the fight for universal access to healthcare is one that stretches way beyond our borders. Today we take a global perspective and check in with a group of doctors who are putting their lives on the line to address the serious devastation happening right now in Gaza and its impact on the health of Palestinians living through that devastation. We’re joined by the founders of Doctors Against Genocide to talk about how a political conflict turns into a public health crisis, and what kind of action we can take to stop it. Our guests are Dr. Karameh Hawash-Kuemmerle, a pediatric neurologist in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dr. Nidal Jboor, an internist in Dearborn, Michigan, who together co-founded of Doctors Against Genocide (DAG), “a global coalition of healthcare workers dedicated to succeeding where global governments have failed in confronting Genocide.” https://www.youtube.com/live/sTCSO2kFeA8?si=tCuiVlE3I7Co3HoC Want to support the incredible work of Doctors Against Genocide? Whether or not you’re a doctor, you can join DAG and/or donate here! Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! If you want to support our work, you can donate at our website, healthcare-now.org.
Transcribe →Medicaid — They Cut; We Bleed!
Jun 2300:48:19Tap to summarizeWe’re talking about Medicaid folks, the public healthcare system meant to be our social safety net for anyone who can’t afford private insurance and doesn’t have access to healthcare from an employer. I’m sure most of you are aware of Medicaid — but what you might not know is just how many of our friends and neighbors land in that safety net every year. Over 70 Million people in this country rely on the Medicaid program for basic healthcare. That’s 20% of Americans, or one out of every five people you meet. That means that even if you are not on Medicaid, the $880 Billion in cuts to the program proposed by congress will affect you or someone you love, and not in a good way. In fact, just today, researchers at Yale and UPenn released new research stating that the Trump cuts would cause over 51,000 additional Americans to die each year. For this episode, I’m joined by Jaron Benjamin, Deputy Chief of Campaigns from Popular Democracy to break down why we all need to care about stopping the cuts and act NOW, before it’s too late! https://www.youtube.com/live/I4xu6zglswc?si=OmFDD5gezpbwppNq We need YOU to join the fight to save Medicaid! Find out more about what you can do here! You can learn more about the great work happening at Popular Democracy here! Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! If you want to support our work, you can donate at our website, healthcare-now.org.
Transcribe →Resistance 2.0!
May 16, 202500:45:24Tap to summarizeWhether you are a party planner or a community organizer, you know that since the pandemic, it has been REALLY hard to get folks out of the house. It makes sense: the news is depressing, our screen-based scrolling culture is alienating, and our politics are polarizing to the point where a casual conversation can easily escalate to throwing hands. That being said, this month has been different! In response to Trump 2.0, we’re seeing an uprising of activism in the streets, with millions of Americans participating in Hands Off protests and other actions to fight back against Trump’s attacks on everything from migrant rights to Medicaid. What’s behind this second wave of Trump resistance? As per usual, it’s a lot of ordinary people deciding they can’t wait any longer for change. On today’s episode, I’m talking to the leaders taking action in my local Texas community to get some perspective on Resistance 2.0 and why it’s all kicking off right now! https://www.youtube.com/live/7OedeuSqD40?si=eXb6DqbW-5vz0LeS In this episode, Gillian talks with her favorite new activists from Indivisible Coastal Bend, the local Indivisible chapter in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ashley, Misty, and Stacie have always been concerned with politics, but the latest developments of the 2nd Trump Administration prompted them to take their concern to the streets and start organizing! Now these women are local leaders in the national uprising happening right now across the US, fighting against cuts to Medicaid and social security, the elimination of DEI, and the overall assault on Democracy. You can read more about the incredible work they’ve been doing here and here! This is an important moment for all of us in the healthcare justice movement to get together with our allies in the streets to stand up for our public healthcare and demand that we move forward toward universal healthcare, not backward, leaving even more folks out in the cold. So make sure to sign up for our Healthcare Now HEAT (Health Emergency Action Team) to get alerts about rapid response actions you can take to defend Medicaid, Medicare, the VA, reproductive healthcare, gender-affirming care, vaccines, the rights of healthcare workers, and more! Join the team here! Follow & Support the Pod! Don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to The Medicare for All Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform! This show is a project of the Healthcare NOW Education Fund! This show is a project of the Healthcare-NOW Education Fund! If you want to support our work, you can donate at our website, healthcare-now.org.
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