A New Vision for Public Health with Ashwin Vasan
Thursday, October 22, 2026
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The speaker reports that the NYC Health Department currently relies on a reactive model dependent on building owners policing their own cooling towers, and argues that deploying predictive analytics and syndromic surveillance technology could enable a proactive, hyperlocal approach to legionella prevention.
The speaker reports that nearly one in three Americans are resorting to AI chatbots as their only option to get medical care due to inability to afford doctor visits, highlighting a financial access barrier driving AI substitution.
The speaker reports that at one cancer center, radiologists reading routine chest CTs missed nearly half of the smallest clots without AI assistance, but with AI assistance they missed almost none.
“ai is pushing further at one cancer center radiologists reading routine chest cts missed nearly half of the smallest clots while with ai assistance they missed almost none”
Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Public Health senior fellow Ashwin Vasan to discuss the ambitious agenda he pursued as New York City health commissioner: helping New Yorkers live longer, transforming mental healthcare, and rethinking what government can do to make people healthier. Howie examines the blood clots suffered by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the questions they raise about player safety; Harlan discusses the financial pressures that put healthcare out of reach for many Americans. Show notes: Blood Clots and the NFL "NFL Network: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts likely out for rest of 2026 season due to blood clots" (https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-qb-jalen-hurts-out-2026-season-blood-clots) Pulmonary embolism: symptoms and causes (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pulmonary-embolism/symptoms-causes/syc-20354647) "Venous Thromboembolism Within Professional American Sport Leagues" (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5753956/) CDC: Data and Statistics on Venous Thromboembolism (https://www.cdc.gov/blood-clots/data-research/facts-stats/index.html) "No apparent association between mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and venous thromboembolism" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268960X22000443) "NFL commissioner says protocols were 'incredibly good' and welcomes investigation after Jalen Hurts injury" (https://abcnews.com/US/nfl-players-association-calls-full-investigation-jalen-hurts/story?id=137439814) Ashwin Vasan "Mayor Mamdani Appoints Dr. Dave A. Chokshi to the NYC Board of Health" (https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/09/mayor-mamdani-appoints-dr--dave-a--chokshi-to-the-nyc-board-of-h) Omicron Variant: Symptoms and Treatment (https://www.webmd.com/covid/covid-omicron-variant) Legionnaires' disease: symptoms and causes (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/legionnaires-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20351747) Ashwin Vasan: "Balancing Personal Choice and Societal Factors in Health" (https://lnkd.in/p/g-45gyNS) Peptides: Types, Health Benefits, and Uses (https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-are-peptides) NYC Health: Healthy New York City: Goals for 2030 (https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/about-doh/healthynyc.page) What Is Cardiovascular Disease? (https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease) NYC Health: Public Health Corps (https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/neighborhood-health/public-health-corps.page) Mary Bassett (https://hsph.harvard.edu/profile/mary-travis-bassett/) Fountain House (https://www.fountainhouse.org/) Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GG12N8QC?lv=shuf&channelId=520&plpRedirect=mhFallback) "Who is Jordan Neely, the man killed in NYC subway chokehold death?" (https://abcnews.com/US/jordan-neely-man-killed-nyc-subway-chokehold-death/story?id=114848209) "Community Mental Health Act of 1963: Passage, Repeal, and Aftermath" (https://fedlaws.org/community-mental-health-act-of-1963-passage-repeal-and-aftermath/) Mountains Beyond Mountains (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tracy+kidder+mountains+beyond+mountains&language=English) "World Health Organization and UNAIDS unveil plan to get 3 million AIDS patients on treatment by 2005" (https://www.who.int/news/item/01-12-2003-world-health-organization-and-unaids-unveil-plan-to-get-3-million-aids-patients-on-treatment-by-2005) Commonweal Ventures (https://www.commonwealventures.com/) Financial Insecurity in America "Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities" (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/10/14/many-americans-are-struggling-to-afford-basic-necessities/) Pew Research Center: "Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact" (https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/americans-and-ai-2026-chatbots-smart-devices-and-views-on-impact/) "ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating that Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000" (https://icer.org/news-insights/press-releases/icer-west-health-release-new-report-indicating-that-median-prices-of-newly-launched-drugs-continue-to-exceed-250000/) "Social Security Trustees Report Warns of 22% Benefit Cut In 2032" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/teresaghilarducci/2026/06/10/social-security-trustees-report-22-benefit-cut-looms-in-2032/) In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program (http://som.yale.edu/emba), you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health (https://ysph.yale.edu/school-of-public-health/graduate-programs/online-mph-program/) offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.
Show transcript excerpt
Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Public Health senior fellow Ashwin Vasan to discuss the ambitious agenda he pursued as New York City health commissioner: helping New Yorkers live longer, transforming mental healthcare, and rethinking what government can do to make people healthier. Howie examines the blood clots suffered by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the questions they raise about player safety; Harlan discusses the financial pressures that put healthcare out of reach for many Americans. Show notes: Blood Clots and the NFL "NFL Network: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts likely out for rest of 2026 season due to blood clots" Pulmonary embolism: symptoms and causes "Venous Thromboembolism Within Professional American Sport Leagues" CDC: Data and Statistics on Venous Thromboembolism "No apparent association between mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and venous thromboembolism" "NFL commissioner says protocols were 'incredibly good' and welcomes investigation after Jalen Hurts injury" Ashwin Vasan "Mayor Mamdani Appoints Dr. Dave A. Chokshi to the NYC Board of Health" Omicron Variant: Symptoms and Treatment Legionnaires' disease: symptoms and causes Ashwin Vasan: "Balancing Personal Choice and Societal Factors in Health" Peptides: Types, Health Benefits, and Uses NYC Health: Healthy New York City: Goals for 2030 What Is Cardiovascular Disease? NYC Health: Public Health Corps Mary Bassett Fountain House Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City "Who is Jordan Neely, the man killed in NYC subway chokehold death?" "Community Mental Health Act of 1963: Passage, Repeal, and Aftermath" Mountains Beyond Mountains "World Health Organization and UNAIDS unveil plan to get 3 million AIDS patients on treatment by 2005" Commonweal Ventures Financial Insecurity in America "Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities" Pew Research Center: "Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact" "ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating that Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000" "Social Security Trustees Report Warns of 22% Benefit Cut In 2032" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.
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