Them Before Us Podcast #099 | Katy Talento Talks Trump and How to Life Hack the Healthcare System

Date: February 27, 2026
Host: Jennifer Friesen (Training Director, Them Before Us)
Guest: Katy Talento (Harvard-trained epidemiologist, naturopathic doctor, former Trump White House health policy advisor, founder of katytalento.com)

Episode Overview

This wide-ranging episode features Katy Talento sharing her personal and professional journey through healthcare policy, politics, and her unique approach to improving American health. She provides an insider’s perspective on DC politics—including Trump’s White House and the evolution of legislative dysfunction—and dives deep into her own infertility experience, the shortcomings of current medical practice, and actionable health “life hacks.” The conversation is candid, practical, and rooted in Katy’s Christian worldview.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Katy’s Unconventional Journey (01:16 - 07:20)

• Childhood & Faith:

  • Grew up across Texas and Virginia. Came to faith via Young Life, flirted with Mormonism, ultimately converted to Catholicism in her 30s.
  • “My mother likes to say that my teenage rebellion was to like, find religion, which is true.” (03:36, Katy)
  • Entered a convent for a time—"Sound of Music style"—remains connected to the sisterhood, runs their health plan.

• Career Path:

  • Settled in Northern Virginia. Worked in the U.S. Senate and other government roles, always feeling somewhat out of place:
    • “I never quite respected government very much and I was always sort of embarrassed that I worked for it…” (04:56, Katy)

• Behind the Nuns' Battle:

  • In the Trump White House, primary accomplishment was ending the “persecution” of the Little Sisters of the Poor by securing religious liberty (07:20–08:29).

Insider Politics: Washington, The Senate, and Trump (12:11–23:06)

• Senate Culture:

  • Senate requires bipartisan cooperation; individual senators can block anything (“one senator can just object to anything happening and that thing is dead” (13:13)).
  • Katy underscores bipartisan relationships, even with ideological opponents (e.g. working with staff for Obama, Clinton, Kennedy).

• Legislative Dysfunction:

  • Real legislative breakdown started in 2006 with the loss of the traditional budget process, replaced by “backroom” continuing resolutions (17:35, Katy).

• Polarization & Trump’s Impact:

  • Hyper-partisanship intensified under Obama, with dissent labeled as racism.
  • Trump’s outsider attitude disrupted “clubby,” ego-driven Congress, which Katy sees as a positive:
    • “The President really came in and, like, burned down all those sacred cows and just didn't have any respect for these people for all the right reasons. And I really appreciate that.” (21:27, Katy)
  • First-term Trump admin suffered from inexperience and internal resistance; learned from these mistakes by the second term.

Epidemiology and COVID Reflections (25:57–32:45)

• COVID as a Turning Point:

  • “It's like the super bowl for any epidemiologist…Thank God I actually left the White House before COVID.” (26:08, Katy)
  • Left before pandemic, which allowed her to question public health orthodoxy and the incentives behind mandates and vaccine policies.
  • Regrets over dismissing RFK Jr.’s push for a vaccine safety commission:
    • “So many people were harmed by the vaccine and the lockdowns and the quarantine measures. What if we'd had a vaccine safety commission?” (29:50, Katy)

• Incentives and Policy Failures:

  • Explains how government incentives (e.g. PREP Act, liability protections) distorted the COVID response (“if ivermectin worked…then the vaccine wouldn't be liability protected.” (28:04, Katy)).

• Current Policy Challenges:

  • Describes the challenge of integrating “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) influencers with experienced policy and bureaucratic staff. Says the overlap is minimal—a “structural problem” for meaningful reform.

Fertility, the Medical System, and Women's Health (34:23–53:49)

Personal Infertility Journey (34:23–48:14)

• Mislabeling and Medical Gaslighting:

  • Details how physicians hand out diagnoses (“infertile”) without addressing root causes—stress, nutrition, lifestyle.
  • “We receive labels from the medical system…and then we wear it like a cloak…our body responds when we take it on.” (36:49, Katy)
  • After being labeled infertile, she abandoned trying for biological children, turned to adoption (praising its beauty and challenges).

• Missed Opportunities for Real Health:

  • Links infertility to modern life: chronic stress (“not-so-low-grade fight or flight”), ultra-processed foods, lack of circadian rhythm.
  • Doctors focus on interventions—not first principles:
    • “Nobody even tried that. Like, I would have tried anything…at that moment, I would have changed anything.” (46:23, Katy)

• Turning Point:

  • Only after her sister died of cancer in her 30s did Katy embark on a comprehensive health overhaul, years after her infertility diagnosis.

Practical Advice for Women (49:52–53:49)

• The Basics Before Intervention:
  • Recommends addressing sleep, circadian rhythms, reducing blue light after dark, proper diet, and managing stress before considering hormonal interventions like birth control pills.
  • “For our hormonal system to work right, it starts with our circadian rhythm, it starts with the sun.” (51:00, Katy)
  • Encourages women to synchronize sleep with children’s schedules, prioritize sunlight exposure, and block blue light at night.

Healthcare System “Life Hacks” & Katy’s Current Work (54:04–55:57)

• What She’s Doing Now:

  • Runs katytalento.com and writes a Substack focused on “life hacking” the healthcare system (policy, natural medicine, insurance navigation).
  • Builds alternative health plans for faith-based employers, emphasizing nurse navigation, quality care, and moral/ethical compliance:
    • “We really try to find ways to make healthcare more human…when you fire Blue Cross, it’s hard, so I quarterback these plans.” (54:04, Katy)

• Where to Find Her:

  • Website and Substack: katytalento.com

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Neither little Katie nor big Katie knows what she wants to be when she grows up.” (01:46, Katy)
• “I was told that every woman has period cramps...you're just being a baby. This is every woman's curse, right? Sorry, Eve screwed you all.” (35:15, Katy)
• “When we believe these labels…and we, our body obeys our beliefs, just like creation obeys the Logos of God.” (36:49, Katy)
• “It wasn’t just the Trumpification of Washington, which I would argue was a really positive development in many ways.” (19:44, Katy)
• “He [Trump] just had no respect for that. He had none of that deference toward these guys. And it was so healthy.” (21:09, Katy)
• “If you can’t have the screens off after the sun goes down...get some blue light blocking glasses. That’s not a reason to stay up till midnight...but at least…” (52:10, Katy)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Katy’s faith and early life: 01:16–07:20
• Behind the scenes with the nuns and religious liberty: 07:20–08:29
• DC politics and bipartisan realities: 12:11–16:36
• Washington’s legislative breakdown: 17:35–23:06
• Trump as a disruptor: 21:09–23:06
• COVID, public health, and lessons learned: 25:57–32:45
• The impact of loss/network: Elon buying Twitter, tilt in public dialogue: 33:03–33:33
• Personal and societal infertility experience: 34:23–48:14
• Women’s health and lifestyle advice: 49:52–53:49
• Healthcare system “life hacks”/current projects: 54:04–55:57

Resources and Further Reading

• Katy Talento’s Substack & Articles: katytalento.com
• Infertility Article Reference ("Infertile"): Published on Them Before Us Substack
• Recommended Books:
  • “Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders” by Tom Coburn (As discussed at 20:06)
  • Bobby Kennedy’s books on public health and scientific enterprise (referenced at 29:50)

Conclusion

This candid and wide-ranging episode offers unique insight into the intersection of policy, faith, and practical health advocacy from a DC veteran and reform-oriented health expert. Katy’s journey underscores the need for skepticism of labels, prioritizing natural rhythms and lifestyle changes, and the importance of a child-centric, truth-seeking approach to both health and politics.