logo
episode-header-image
Sep 4
10m 18s

A vaccine skeptic is leading public heal...

NPR
About this episode

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a scathing line of questioning from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday.

Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic and is using his position as Secretary of Health and Human Services to radically change vaccine policy. 

In recent weeks, there have been a number of public health officials who have resigned or been fired, creating chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies. 

Federal employees are also speaking out, including more than 1,000 former and current HHS employees who penned a letter urging Kennedy to resign. 

Now, some states are taking vaccine policy into their own hands

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, Marc Rivers, and Manuela Lopez Restrepo, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.

It was edited by Jonaki Mehta, Diane Webber, and Scott Hensley.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Up next
Nov 21
Trump moves closer to closing the Education Department
When President Trump nominated Linda McMahon as education secretary, he told her to put herself out of a job. She moved one step closer to that this week when the Trump administration shifted the responsibility of several departments to other federal agencies.<br/><br/><br>NPR's ... Show More
8m 39s
Nov 20
Expensive and exhausting: Why caregivers need to care for themselves, too
Caregiving services for seniors can<a href="https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/long-term-care-costs-options"target="_blank" > </a>easily cost more each year than what the average American makes. And health insurers, both government and private, may not provide ... Show More
10m 20s
Nov 19
How Chicago's ICE resistance was born
<div aria-setsize="-1" class="c-virtual_list__item" tabindex="0" role="listitem"><div role="presentation" class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message"><div role="document" aria-roledescription="message" class="c-message_kit__hover"><div ... Show More
11m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 5
Senators Unleash on R.F.K. Jr.
<p>In an extraordinarily tense showdown on Thursday, senators of both parties confronted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine policies, his firing of the director of the C.D.C., and the growing list of federal health officials who have resigned in protest of hi ... Show More
31m 40s
Aug 29
The C.D.C.’s Vaccine Chief on Why Quitting Was His Only Option
<p>Over the past 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been plunged into turmoil.</p><p>Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to fire the agency’s director, Susan Monarez, igniting a standoff that prompted three other senior officials to resign. ... Show More
29m 19s
Mar 2025
Who’s Running America… Trump’s Health Secretary (RFK Jr)
Our latest mini series is here and this time we're profiling some of the key players in Donald Trump's presidency, who are now running America. We’re ending the series with Robert F Kennedy Jr., the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has been tasked with making A ... Show More
34m 59s
Jun 2025
RFK Jr.'s New Vaccine Advisors Signal Big Changes
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Policy, an influential CDC committee that shapes U.S. vaccine policy, has become a flashpoint in recent weeks. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members and replaced them with 7 new members — many of whom do not have dee ... Show More
13m 33s
May 2025
R.F.K. Jr. Sends a Message on Vaccines
<p>The Trump administration on Tuesday bypassed the traditional system of vaccine guidance and abruptly ended the government’s recommendation that two key groups of Americans receive vaccinations against Covid.</p><p>Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter at The ... Show More
28m 50s
Sep 18
The Fired C.D.C. Director Testifies
<p>For weeks, fights have been escalating between top scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., culminating in his accusation that the agency’s top official, Dr. Susan Monarez, was untrustworthy.</p><p>Dr. Monare ... Show More
29m 11s
Sep 22
RFK Jr.'s vaccine dream team
Noted vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced a key board of vaccine advisers at the CDC. After a chaotic meeting, they just handed down their first set of new recommendations. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen and Ariana Aspuru, edited by Jolie Myers, fact- ... Show More
26m 10s
Jan 2025
How R.F.K. Jr. and ‘Medical Freedom’ Rose to Power
<p>Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a crucial nomination hearing on Wednesday where a panel of skeptical senators probed his past, often contentious remarks.</p><p>Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy for The Times, explains how someone who’s considered on the fringe in a lot ... Show More
35m 10s
Sep 25
The Anti-Vaccine Movement
The alleged link between vaccines and autism is back in the news this week, being regularly speculated on by both President Trump and Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The claim has been repeatedly disproven: there is no evidence that vaccines and autism a ... Show More
49m 25s
Sep 5
Inside the Turmoil at the CDC
In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman is joined by associate editor for health and medicine Lauren J. Young to unpack the growing unrest at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following the departure of the agency’s director Susan Monarez. As criticis ... Show More
14m 2s