The Wooden Teeth Show
Government, elections, historical myths, webs of influence – they’re all affecting your health more than you think.
- Update frequency
- every 27 days
- Episodes
- 59
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis
Jake speaks with Lishaun Francis of Children Now. They discuss the nature of the crisis of suicide, anxiety, depression and substance use facing kids today, and what we can do about it on a policy le…
The COVID-19 Vaccine Endgame
While COVID-19 vaccine distribution has been ahead of schedule in its early phases, polling shows that convincing those who remain unvaccinated will be difficult. Jake speaks with Dr. Jennifer Reich …
Gaslit by the Gas Industry
Jake speaks with Sabrina Pacha of Healthy Air and Water Colorado, where they discuss the health effects of using gas in homes and how the gas industry is pushing back against converting homes to elec…
Jack Healy of the New York Times on COVID-19 impact on Native Americans
Native American communities are being devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the toll isn’t just on health, but also on culture, as language, customs and oral history is perishing along with Native…
Public Health & Politics with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed
Jake speaks with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed about how Abdul's public health training informs his political instincts, the status of the public health workforce, and his insights on why President Trump won in…
On the Wildfire Frontline with Dan Gibbs
Jake speaks with Dan Gibbs, who is a wildland firefighter and Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Dan was deployed this year to fight what were the largest forest fire…
Rebuilding in the Wake of the Pandemic with Dr. Ashwin Vasan
Jake speaks with Dr. Ashwin Vasan, a physician and epidemiologist who is also the President & CEO of Fountain House, an organization with international reach that supports people with mental illness.…
A Breath of Fresh Cyanide
While our air quality overall has improved in the last 50 years, air pollution today still causes about 100,000 premature deaths annually in America. It costs us all about $886 billion per year. The …
The Future of Big Tobacco is ... Japanese?!
Altria recently introduced "Heat not burn" tobacco products in Atlanta, their first U.S. test market. This is the latest ploy big tobacco is using to hook people on nicotine. It’s so new it makes vap…
Coming out, interrupted.
Justin took the stage at a recent rural philanthropy event and, for the first time in his life, publicly shared his story about coming out as a gay man. However, his microphone got cut off.
In this e…
A conversation with Liz Plank about idealized masculinity
In this episode, Jake speaks with award-winning Vox journalist Liz Plank about her new book, "For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity." We explore the negative health impact of toxi…
What it means to be "healthy": some thoughts from the SXSW Wellness Expo
This week, we’re taking a look back at one of our favorite episodes from the season: our trip to SXSW’s Wellness Expo, where we interviewed visitors and vendors about their thoughts on what it means …
Need some summer reading ideas? We got you covered.
In this episode, we are looking back at some of our favorite interviews from this season about books—books that inspire, that force us to reevaluate our preconceived notions, and that illuminate some…
How does economic inequality influence mental health?
In this episode, Jake speaks with Richard Wilkinson, co-author, along with Kate Pickett, of a new book titled "The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity and Improve Ever…
The re-birth of the public option
A public health insurance failed to make it into the Affordable Care Act, but now states are creating their own version of the public option. Colorado has adopted legislation that initiates the imple…
All About the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary
On today’s episode, we speak with political consultants Jayson Sime and Kate Duch of One Minus Beta about the process and politics of the 2020 process to produce a Democratic nominee for President. H…
When we elect women, what happens to our health?
This week, our host Jake Williams chatted with Edwin Ng of the University of Waterloo and Carles Muntaner of the University of Toronto. They examined the effect of female representation in government…
Why are some cities better at keeping people alive?
A low-income resident of New York City or San Jose, CA lives about 5 years longer on average than a low-income resident of Detroit or Indianapolis. The evidence suggests that this is due, at least in…
Why does CrossFit have a political agenda?
This week: We learn that there’s an exercise Jake can’t do, find out why a gym company has a government affairs director, and learn about “unholy alliances” of less-than-savory businesses and governm…
Politicians can choose their own voters. Is that a threat to democracy?
Every 10 years, based on the data provided by the U.S. Census, states redraw the country's congressional and state legislative districts. It’s an intense and often contentious political process that…