Code WACK!

Why are immigrant workers more vulnerable than other workers during this pandemic? When they do get sick, what options do immigrants without documentation have when it comes to care? What public heal…

What are commonalities in the undocumented experience? Is denial of access and punishment the chief purpose of U.S. immigration policy? How did California evolve from one of the most anti-immigrant s…

What's the one common denominator among women experiencing homelessness? Is homelessness a moral failing, or a consequence of complex trauma? Does substance abuse cause homelessness, or is it a copin…

Why is it that 60% of the women living on Skid Row are African-American?  What happens when women become too sick to work and lose their health insurance? What programs promote access to health care …

What special challenges do people without permanent housing face with coronavirus? And what programs have served to protect them during the pandemic?  How has the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affo…

What are the root causes of homelessness among women? What role does gender-based violence play? What policies would reduce the risk of women becoming homeless?  Amy Turk, a social worker and chief …

Did Gov. Gavin Newsom change his mind on single payer? Is the Healthy California for All Commission meeting its mandate? Where are the major California healthcare foundations when it comes to reform?…

Why won’t our legislators take up the political fight against health insurers and pharmaceutical companies? How can we shift the definition of what’s politically possible when it comes to our health …

What’s holding the U.S. back from Medicare for All? (Hint: It’s not just Trump.) What about California? In this second episode in a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Michael Lighty, founding fe…

Will "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" solve America's healthcare problems? Is COVID-19 a game-changer in the fight for single-payer? In this first episode of a podcast series with host…

How are some hospitals conserving personal protective equipment? (Hint: In ways that would be unthinkable before the pandemic.) And who’s ultimately responsible for assuring sufficient PPE supplies? …

How are nurses of color impacted by racism, both on the job and in the streets? Could using weapons of war against protesters increase the spread of coronavirus? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Ros…

How do U.S. policies intensify the vulnerability of Black communities, including during pandemics? What caused the historical distrust between the Black community and the American healthcare system? …

How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting Black workers? What does it mean in light of the inequality the Black community already faces? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Janel Bailey, Co-Executive D…

Why are people of color disproportionately affected by chronic illnesses like diabetes and asthma? Is it the individual’s fault, or is it their environment? Would better health insurance help? Listen…

What's America’s deadliest underlying condition? How have decades of unbridled gentrification, racial and economic segregation and discrimination intersected to keep communities of color in the eye o…

How does it feel to risk your life just going to work, like during the coronavirus pandemic? What's the best way to tackle the PPE shortage? In this final episode in a four-part series, Dr. Philip Ve…

Why was there such an uneven distribution of testing capacity in the United States and how can we address that problem in the future? How does bureaucracy impact American health care? In this third o…

How has our fragmented healthcare system affected our ability to perform basic public health functions? What lessons can we learn from other countries with nationally-centralized electronic health re…