Latest Interviews
Showing 3766–3780 of 5,336 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute25 min
Wednesday Lunch feat. Bill Cassidy
Bill Cassidy, Esther Krofa, Dan Diamond
At the Milken Institute's Future of Health Summit, Senator Bill Cassidy and Faster Cures' Esther Krofa discussed strategies to balance drug affordability with the financial incentives required for medical innovation. Cassidy defended the pharmaceutical industry against claims of excessive profitability while advocating for subscription-based pricing models and rejecting direct government negotiation as a threat to high-risk research. The dialogue highlighted specific legislative successes in closing rebate loopholes and ending gag clauses, concluding with a realistic assessment that a comprehensive drug pricing bill has a 60% probability of enactment by year-end.
- Milken Institute57 min
Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health in America
Christy Turlington Burns, Dr. Michael Liu, Dr. Lena Nguyen, Representative Lauren Underwood
In a session featuring Dr. Michael Liu, Christy Turlington Burns, Dr. Lena Nguyen, and Rep. Lauren Underwood, experts addressed the 50% rise in U.S. maternal mortality and the threefold racial disparity that leaves over 700 women dead annually. The panel detailed recent legislative victories by the Black Maternal Health Caucus, including $50 million in funding and a push for 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, while emphasizing that half of these deaths are preventable through safety bundles and bias training. Despite concerns about technology exacerbating inequities, the speakers advocated for high-touch care models and systemic reforms targeting social determinants to secure bipartisan support for maternal survival.
- Milken Institute58 min
Poised to Break the Bank: Paying for Chronic Disease
Allison, Anand, Tom, Nancy, Paul Davis, Eric, Michael Golinkoff, John Rother, Megan Golden, Jess Leifer, Stephanie Cousins
A multi-sector consensus addresses the $2.4 trillion annual burden of chronic U.S. diseases by implementing interventions like Geisinger's Food Pharmacy, which reduces healthcare costs by aligning patient acuity with intensive lifestyle support. While capitated payment models and digital innovations such as Omada Health improve scalability and outcomes, structural barriers including payer misalignment and low screening rates for prediabetes necessitate policy shifts toward sugar taxes and multi-payer funding. Concurrently, the medical landscape is pivoting from opioid reliance to holistic pain management and gene therapies, with academic institutions like Kaiser Permanente adapting curricula to prioritize prevention and address the mental health needs of 74% of employees.
- Milken Institute58 min
Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis
Ed, Dan Diamond, Dr. Megan Ranney, Dr. Babak Sarani, Lina Wen, Dr. Mallory Williams, Maya, Chris Corey, Kenyatta Hazelwood, Josh, Bob
A panel of medical professionals and public health experts advocates for a public health approach to gun violence, emphasizing that current political narratives often overlook evidence-based solutions like high-capacity magazine restrictions in favor of ineffective symbolic measures. The discussion highlights a severe research drought caused by federal inaction since 1996, while profiling successful local interventions such as Baltimore's Safe Streets program and urging the integration of trauma centers into long-term community conflict resolution. Despite broad optimism for shifting discourse, the panelists warn that sustained progress remains contingent on overcoming funding gaps and addressing the social determinants of health that disproportionately impact minority communities.
- Milken Institute1h 16m
Reducing the Cost and Risk of Dementia
Nora Super, Michael Belleville, Jennie Chin Hansen, Kevin Crain, Jeff Huber, Shari Ling, Sarah Locke, Ian Cramer, Orion, Alan Stevens, Jill Lesser
The Milken Institute's new report on reducing dementia costs sparked a multi-sector dialogue involving CMS officials, patient advocates, and industry leaders to address critical gaps in workforce preparedness and community support. Key initiatives highlighted include CMS's expanded billing codes for cognitive screening, the rapid growth of accredited Geriatric Emergency Departments that reduce hospitalizations, and innovative financial strategies to protect caregivers from retirement disparities. Panelists emphasized that effective intervention requires moving beyond isolated medical treatment to holistic models that integrate home care, fraud detection, and policy changes aimed at improving long-term quality of life.
- The Economist8 min
Drugs in sport: can science stop the cheats?
The World Anti-Doping Agency struggles to enforce rules against the International Olympic Committee's resistance while relying on evolving detection methods like the Athlete Biological Passport that capture only 1–2% of actual cases. High-profile admissions from athletes such as Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong, alongside whistleblower revelations, highlight a massive gap between official statistics and a 2011 survey suggesting 44% of competitors have doped. Although scientists like Dr. Yanis Pitsiladis are developing costly genetic sequencing to identify biomarker changes, severe funding limitations and rapid innovations in drug design continue to fuel a perpetual arms race between cheaters and authorities.
- Milken Institute35 min
A Conversation with Chef José Andrés
World Central Kitchen, founded by José Andrés, deploys a decentralized network of over 44,000 volunteers to serve millions of meals globally by prioritizing immediate on-site adaptation over rigid bureaucratic planning. In crisis zones ranging from the Bahamas to Haiti, the organization utilizes local food systems and improvised logistics to deliver fresh nutrition while transitioning to economic recovery initiatives that support local micro-businesses. This model, funded primarily by small individual donations, explicitly challenges traditional aid structures by focusing on preventing health crises through nutrition rather than treating illness after the fact.
- Milken Institute59 min
Age-Forward 2030: The Intersection of Housing and Health Care
Susan Donley, Gretchen Alkema, Bechara Choucair, Tama Duffy Day, Christopher Herbert, Susan Donnelly
Driven by the urgent reality that half of middle-income seniors cannot afford both housing and care, this event convenes policymakers, healthcare leaders, and urban planners to address the rising demographic of adults over 80 who face severe social isolation and financial insecurity. The discussion highlights successful cross-sector initiatives, such as California's "Master Plan for Aging" and intergenerational housing models, which integrate affordable housing with health services to reduce costly hospitalizations and extend life expectancy. Participants outline a 2030 vision requiring federal and local governments to dismantle policy silos, reform zoning laws, and invest $200 million or more to create stable, age-friendly communities that leverage older adults as active societal contributors.
- Milken Institute58 min
Gut Feeling: Food, Microbiome, and Disease Prevention
Julie DiBiase, Robynne Chutkan, Rob Knight, David Perlmutter, Karen Sandell Sfanos, Robin Chutkan, Mark Hyman
Leading experts in functional medicine and microbiome research convened to establish that diet and environmental exposure fundamentally dictate human health by shaping the trillions of symbiotic microbes governing metabolism and immunity. Their discussions highlighted critical interventions, ranging from plant-rich dietary protocols that promote beneficial bacteria like *Akkermansia* to germ-free animal studies proving that specific microbial strains can transmit diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders. Ultimately, the panel advocates for a shift toward personalized medicine that utilizes longitudinal microbiome data and holistic lifestyle changes to prevent chronic illness rather than relying on transient pharmaceutical fixes.
- Milken Institute23 min
Tuesday Lunch With Alex Azar, Secretary, US Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Azar outlined a unified healthcare strategy centered on three core promises of affordability, choice, and quality, executing this vision through value-based payment models and targeted initiatives for high-impact areas like the opioid crisis and chronic kidney disease. Specific progress includes a 5% drop in overdose deaths and a shift to risk-sharing primary care models that empower providers to address social determinants of health, alongside efforts to expand home dialysis and stabilize ACA premiums through state reinsurance pools. The administration's "protect what works, fix what is broken" approach seeks to safeguard coverage for 331 million Americans while redesigning payment structures to prioritize preventive care and long-term fiscal sustainability.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
The Business Case for Addressing Social Determinants of Health
Joanne Kenen, Georges Benjamin, Thomas Moriarty, Ashley Perry, Lauren Shweder Biel, Emily Yu, Joanne Cannon, Lauren Schwader-Beal, Katherine Connelly, Michael Golinkoff
Moderated by Joanne Cannon, a panel of public health leaders and corporate strategists redefined the conversation around Social Determinants of Health by prioritizing the business case for intervention over traditional philanthropy. Speakers detailed scalable models such as DC Greens' produce prescription program and CVS's integrated health hubs, which leverage data-driven insights to prove cost savings through medication compliance and reduced emergency room visits. The group concluded that sustainable growth depends on transitioning funding from grants to payer reimbursement within value-based care systems, leveraging political and corporate influence to address root causes like housing instability.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Opioid Addiction: A Crisis Fueled by Stigma
Robert Redfield, Sarah Carlin-Smith, Dr. Kelly Clark, Gary Mendel, Dr. Andrei Ostrovsky, Jerome Adams, Ronnie Solomon, Michael Golinkoff
A collaborative panel led by Surgeon General officials and researchers from Shatterproof and McKinsey identifies stigma as the primary barrier in the opioid crisis, highlighting how it drives public misunderstanding, provider bias, and critical gaps in Medicaid and federal funding. The group outlines a strategic shift toward humanizing recovery narratives, integrating addiction care into chronic disease management frameworks, and utilizing settlement funds for evidence-based programs to reduce overdose mortality by 50%. By advocating for the removal of restrictive privacy laws like 42 CFR Part 2 and the elimination of the X-waiver, the initiative seeks to dismantle systemic prejudices that currently prevent 60% of treatment facilities from offering FDA-approved medications.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
The Future of Brain Health
Maxine Waters, Michael Clowden, Meg Terrell, Dr. Ruth Benka, Dr. Marie Bernard, Dr. Rod Hockman, Nora Super, Dr. Rudy Tanzi
Congresswoman Maxine Waters secured bipartisan backing from 130 legislators for a proposed $2.65 billion Alzheimer's research budget, aiming to meet the 2025 national goal of a cure while addressing the projected bankruptcy of the U.S. healthcare system. Parallel scientific advances, including Biogen's Aducanumab and new insights into viral links and sleep-based protein clearance, are being matched by systemic reforms to shift 50% of care to home settings and address the disproportionate burden on female caregivers. Despite these strides, experts emphasize that reducing reliance on acute hospitalization and mitigating risks through lifestyle interventions like blood pressure control and social engagement remain critical to curbing the disease's demographic and economic impact.
- The Economist12 min
Doping in sport: why it can't be stopped
Grigory Rodchenkov, Richard McLaren, Alexander Zhukov, Pavel Kolobkov, Vitaly Mutko, Callum Skinner, Antoine Duval, Rob Keeler
Following the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics scandal, where whistleblower Grigory Rechenkov and the Richard McLaren report exposed a state-sponsored Russian doping conspiracy, systemic flaws in global sports governance have hindered effective enforcement. Critics argue that structural conflicts of interest between the IOC, WADA, and government bodies, combined with financial dependencies on broadcasting revenue, have allowed over 1,000 athletes to evade consequences despite overwhelming evidence of cheating. This disconnect has eroded athlete confidence, leading to concerns that anti-doping agencies prioritize institutional stability over fair competition.
- Jane Street47 min
Unboxed Types for OCaml
The presentation "Making a Camel Less Like Lisp and More Like C++" addresses OCaml's performance limitations by introducing explicit "layout kinds" that allow the compiler to statically determine memory representations for unboxed types like 64-bit integers and records. This system distinguishes between tagged pointers managed by the garbage collector and raw bit representations passed directly in registers, enabling efficient libraries to remain opaque while avoiding the overhead of standard boxing. By replacing fragile dynamic heuristics with explicit type annotations, the proposal facilitates predictable high-performance computing without sacrificing the language's safety guarantees or requiring complex template expansion.