Dr. Leana Wen, a health news commentator for The Washington Post and CNN, is known for trying to have an open view toward untraditional opinions. For instance, she tells “Conversations on Health Care” that the new National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration directors are both “qualified individuals who have credentials from major medical institutions, who have worked in those fields.”

She says her hope is that “behind the scenes they will act as tempering force… against the worse excesses around …Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and vaccine policy.”

But she also tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that “Of course, this is an extremely worrisome time… many of the changes we’re seeing are even more extreme than may have been anticipated.”

In addition, Dr. Wen urges nuance in evaluating public health claims. “It’s important for us to evaluate each of these claims separately… and not have a knee-jerk reaction to everything [Kennedy] says.”

This episode dives into the politics of vaccines, the measles outbreak, food additives, artificial intelligence in medicine, and the evolving role of trust in public health.

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