A Shot in the Arm Podcast
Welcome to A Shot In The Arm Podcast, where we take a deep dive into the heart of global health. Since our launch in 2019, we've released over 150 episodes that illuminate the intersection of innovation and equity in healthcare. Join me, your host Ben Plumley—a global infectious disease strategist and passionate HIV advocate, along with our expert team of co-hosts, as we engage in compelling, character-driven conversations with a diverse array of guests from around the world. Together, we explore the intricate connections between everyday lives and biomedical research, tackling pressing issues like pandemic preparedness, climate disruption, and the impact of conflict. Tune in as we uncover the stories and insights that shape our collective health narrative, making complex topics both entertaining and accessible. Let's embark on this journey to improve lives, one episode at a time!
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 42 minutes
- Episodes
- 174
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Episode 06 – Colon, Meet Cancer: Is it Assez Merdique Yet?
In this episode of 'Colon Meet Cancer,' Ben recounts the surprising success story of Henrik Gretzky's Symphony Number Three, how badly it was initially received by the musicology world and draws a su…
00:25:37 |
Thu 04 Sep 2025
Prescriptions for an American Public Health Revolution: Countering the Trump Administration’s Disastrous Assaults on our Health
It’s a Paul Revere moment, “RFK Junior is coming!”
Ben is joined by author and journalist Emily Bass and UCSF Professor Eric Goosby, co-host of the Global Health Diplomats podcast to diagnose and…
01:13:24 |
Mon 01 Sep 2025
To End a Plague… Again: A Conversation with Emily Bass
In this episode of A Shot in the Arm Podcast, host Ben Plumley engages in a comprehensive discussion with journalist and author Emily Bass about the current state of global health, specifically focus…
01:13:13 |
Mon 11 Aug 2025
Episode 05 – Colon, Meet Cancer: Finding Chemo
As Ben starts his first chemotherapy cycle, he explores the controversial yet essential role of chemotherapy in cancer treatment. He looks at its historical roots and tries to understand the scienti…
00:30:00 |
Fri 08 Aug 2025
State of AIDS: Moment of Crisis or Transformation with UNAIDS’ Winnie Byanyima
Ben and Yvette catch up with Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, as the joint UN program on HIV and AIDS launched a global AIDS update report entitled “AIDS, crisis and the power to transf…
00:59:10 |
Mon 04 Aug 2025
Biomedical Innovation Needs Local Community Participation with Solange Baptiste (ITPC) & Rosemary Mburu (WACI)
In this episode of A Shot in the Arm podcast, host Ben Plumley discusses the Kigali International AIDS Society Conference with guests Solange Baptiste from ITPC and Rosemary Mburu from WACI Health. T…
00:36:31 |
Tue 22 Jul 2025
Episode 04 - Colon, Meet Cancer: Ouch!
Ben delves into the multifaceted experience of pain, beginning with a literary reference from Margaret Atwood. He shares personal anecdotes about blood draws, the insertion of a chemotherapy port, an…
00:21:17 |
Tue 22 Jul 2025
Young Advocates from APHA’s Force on the Ground Discuss HIV Prevention at IAS 2025 Conference
In this special episode of the podcast, host Yvette Raphael and a panel of young female advocates take over the discussion at the IAS 2025 held in Kigali, Rwanda. The episode features insightful conv…
00:22:11 |
Sun 20 Jul 2025
Dr. mike Reid’s 7 Dead Ideas in Global Health and What Comes After
In this episode of A Shot in the Arm Podcast, host Ben Plumley welcomes Dr. mike Reid, Associate Director of Global Health Delivery and Economics at UCSF. The discussion centers on Reid's analysis of…
00:34:43 |
Sun 20 Jul 2025
Faith Communities and Public Health Strategies with Professor Heidi Larson and Dr. Nduku Kilonzo
In this episode of A Shot in the Arm podcast, host Ben Plumley is joined by Professor Heidi Larson, co-founder of the Global Listening Project, and Dr. Nduku Kilonzo, managing director of Yemaya Heal…
00:30:26 |
Sun 20 Jul 2025
Long-Acting Injectibles’ Halo Effect on all HIV Prevention Options with Yvette Raphael and Gilead Sciences, Dr. Alex Kintu
In this episode, host Ben Plumley, along with co-host Yvette Raphael, reports from the International AIDS Society Scientific Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. They discuss significant advancements in HIV…
00:39:12 |
Sat 19 Jul 2025
Reimagining the Global HIV Response: The Kigali Call to Action
In this episode of A Shot in the Arm Podcast, host Ben Plumley is joined by Dr. Judy Auerbach, Dr. Jirair Ratevosian, and Dr. Mumbi Chola to discuss the 2025 Kigali Call to Action, a call to action f…
00:47:42 |
Sat 19 Jul 2025
Country Leadership To Transform Global AIDS Responses: Insights from Dr. Nduku Kilonzo and Dr. Thembisile Xulu
The sudden termination of US overseas funding jolted AIDS programs in countries hardest hit by the epidemic. Yet the leaders of national AIDS programs had already been preparing for the day when dono…
00:53:51 |
Wed 16 Jul 2025
Strengthening the Health Ecosystem with the GLP’s Heidi Larson & GSK’s Susie Barnes
Ben Plumley is joined by Professor Heidi Larson, Co-founder and Chair of the Global Listening Project (GLP), and Susie Barnes, Senior Vice President of Global Medical Affairs for the Vaccines Divisio…
00:43:58 |
Thu 10 Jul 2025
Episode 3 - Colon, Meet Cancer: Hurry Up and Wait
A quick trip to the surgeon reveals that all is not as it seems, and Ben’s colon cancer journey takes a sharp turn almost as immediately as it starts. Multiple tumors during a surgery initially meant…
00:17:44 |
Fri 04 Jul 2025
Episode 1 - A Preface to Colon, Meet Cancer
Healthcare just got personal for A Shot In The Arm Podcast’s Ben Plumley, who brings his offbeat insights & humor to a surprise advanced colon cancer diagnosis. Join him on an odyssey around cancer t…
00:05:19 |
Fri 04 Jul 2025
Episode 2 - Colon, Meet Cancer: Should I Be Worried?
Ben has a routine colonoscopy and comes out with an unexpected diagnosis – an ulcerated mass in his ascending colon. The gastroenterologist gives him his first tattoo ever, which is sadly visible onl…
00:20:22 |
Fri 04 Jul 2025
Viral Hepatitis in Asia Pacific: Innovation & Equity In Action With Social Entrepreneur Thomas Cai
Join host Ben Plumley from Phnom Penh Cambodia, in conversation with Thomas Cai, a visionary Chinese-born entrepreneur and CEO of Open Source Technologies. Thomas, a pioneering figure in Asia’s rap…
01:09:07 |
Mon 16 Jun 2025
78th World Health Assembly Recap with Yvette Raphael
Cohosts Yvette Raphael and Ben Plumley unpick the major news coming out of the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. – from the new pandemic treaty, to WHO budget and staffing cuts, to increases in m…
00:46:13 |
Mon 26 May 2025
A New Dawn in Global Health: Technology & AI, Security & Solidarity, One Health and Governance, with Dr Mike Reid IGHS, UCSF
While the global health community wrenches its clothes and gnashes its teeth in Switzerland at the 78th World Health Assembly, Dr Mike Reid, Associate Director of the Center for Global Health Diploma…
00:44:13 |
Mon 19 May 2025
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