Beatrice and Phil speak with lifelong activist William Bronston about his experiences trying to take down the infamous Willowbrook institution from within as a young doctor, his appeal to replace “long term care” with “lifetime care," and how his work towards deinstitutionalization informs his ongoing advocacy for single payer healthcare.

Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/lifetime-care-dr-william-bronston

This episode was originally released for patrons on August 28th, 2023, as Artie explains in a brief note at the top of the show. To support the show and help make episodes like this one possible, become a patron at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Find Bronston's book "Public Hostage, Public Ransom" here: www.publichostagepublicransom.org/ 
and the state single payer plan he coauthored here: caltcha.org/model

Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Find Jules' latest book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny

Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Become a patron

Lifetime Care w/ William Bronston

This episode was originally released for patrons on February 10th, and we are unlocking it today as threats to cut Medicaid and Social Security have only grown louder and more explicit since it was recorded (and as our central comments on the nature of "waste, fraud and abuse" rhetoric remain, unfortunately, enduringly relevant). 

We're back from our parental leave (!) next Monday in the patron feed with new episodes, and will certainly be picking up where this conversation left off very soon.

To support the show and help make episodes like this one possible, become a patron at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Beatrice, Artie and Phil discuss how Trump and Musk’s DOGE increasingly seems poised to go after Medicare and Social Security, how the constant refrain that Republicans are looking to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” in social spending is a lie meant to obscure their real agenda, and why the open plot to add work requirements to Medicaid would be a tremendous disaster.

Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Find Jules' latest book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny

Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

"Waste, Fraud and Abuse"

This week on CodeWACK!

Are Americans finally waking up to the truth about single-payer healthcare? With new Medicare for All bills recently reintroduced in Congress, we’re setting the record straight. Will it really save us money? Is it socialized medicine? And why aren't our legislators addressing the REAL causes of our skyrocketing healthcare costs?

To unpack this, we spoke with Rachel Madley, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Health and Democracy. A former health policy advisor to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal — lead sponsor of the House Medicare for All bill — Rachel helped shape and reintroduce the landmark legislation in 2023. She’s also a former FDA staffer and holds a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Columbia University, where she was active in both Physicians for a National Health Program and Students for a National Health Program.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! 

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate. 

New from CodeWACK! We can save billions on health care — why won’t Congress do it?

About the Louisville Family Community Clinic. A non-profit, free clinic that is registered as a Charitable Health Provider in Kentucky. Services are provided by volunteer physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other health professionals in the community. We provide medical assistance to individuals without health insurance. Our medical providers see adults and children with a variety of acute, episodic illnesses. Interpreters are also available for those patients who speak Spanish.Our facility is run on generous donations and grants from private and family foundations, as well as individual contributions.

Single Payer Radio | The Family Community Clinic | 05-30-2025

Paul Hoppe, with cohosts Drs Michael Flynn, Gene Shively and their guest Dr Brende Lott, DNP, CNM (certified nurse-midwife) discuss Midwifery plus the effects of the draconian women's health laws in the State ok Kentucky.

Single Payer Radio | Dr. Brende Lott | Midwifery | 7-14-25

THIS WEEK ON CODE WACK!

What happens when doctors feel forced to act against their own moral compass? When financial barriers—not clinical judgment—determine the care a patient receives?

We’re talking about moral injury in medicine—how it’s affecting physicians, harming patients, and why it’s getting worse under our profit-driven healthcare system.

Joining us is Dr. Diljeet Singh, an integrative gynecologic oncologist and president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She shares powerful stories from her own practice—and from the front lines of American healthcare—that reveal a deeper crisis than just burnout. This is the first episode in a two-part series.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! 


And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

New from CodeWACK! Betrayal, Burnout & Moral Injury:  Doctors and the Financialization of Medicine

Subscribe on Patreon and hear this week's full patron-exclusive episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/136779075

Beatrice speaks with Kathryn Olivarius about the economy and social structure that emerged around yellow fever in antebellum New Orleans, the ecosystem of deniers, capitalists, and novel theories of "immunity" that shaped it, and her book Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom.

Runtime 1:42:12

Note: We're back! Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and many kind messages during our parental leave. As we ramp production back up we'll be prioritizing the patron feed first to make sure patrons get a full new episode every week.

Get Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Find Tracy's book Abolish Rent here: www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2443-abolish-rent

Unlock full episode

Teaser - Immunocapitalism w/ Kathryn Olivarius (Re-Air)

This time on Code WACK! 

We talk a lot about how our healthcare system fails us when we get sick, but what about when regulators fail to PREVENT ILLNESS?  Case in point: lead poisoning. It’s not just a danger from the past. Thousands of children are sickened from lead poisoning each year across the country. 

This week we’re looking at New York State which has older, poorly maintained housing stock in several areas, and where we’ve seen some of the highest incidences of lead poisoning in the country.  So why hasn’t the state legislature passed the Lead Paint Right to Know Act, a bill that could help protect families from this entirely preventable harm?

To learn more, we recently spoke with Shannon Burkett, a New York mother whose son Cooper was diagnosed with lead poisoning as an infant in 2008. Shannon is also the writer, producer, and editor of the podcast LEAD: How This Story Ends Is Up to Us. Both Shannon, a registered nurse, and Cooper, now 18, have been powerful voices in the fight to end lead poisoning. 


This is the second episode in a two-part series.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! 

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.


New from CodeWACK! Stealing our children's potential: The failure of lead poisoning policy

This time on Code WACK! 
As a consequence of Trump's drastic cuts to Medicaid and other health programs, experts estimate that between nearly 8 million and 10 million more Americans will be uninsured by 2034. These include the most vulnerable among us, people who depend on Medicaid because they are poor, ill and/or live with disabilities. And here’s the kicker: experiencing disability isn’t as rare or improbable as we’d like to think. 


That's why this fight for health care is about all of us—our families, our neighbors, and our future. From hospital care to home-based services to keeping rural clinics alive, Medicaid is a pillar of our healthcare system—and when it’s weakened, entire communities feel the impact. So what happens when that pillar is damaged? We recently spoke to Andy Imparato, executive director of Disability Rights California, and policy analyst Sabrina Epstein.  This is the second episode in a two-part series with Disability Rights California.


Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! 


And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.



New from CodeWACK! The brutal dismantling of America's healthcare safety net

This time on Code WACK! 

Millions of Americans are expected to forgo buying health insurance starting in 2026 as the cost of their coverage soars. Others who currently qualify for Medicaid may find the rules have changed and they are no longer eligible. What can people do when they need care but can’t afford it? And why are young people especially at risk?
To find out, we spoke with Rachel Madley, director of policy and advocacy at the Center for Health and Democracy. She previously served as health policy advisor to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and worked in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Having struggled personally with a chronic medical condition, Rachel shares her firsthand experience staying alive despite America's cruel healthcare system. This is the second episode of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! 


And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate. 


New from CodeWACK! Need care but lack insurance? Check out these free & low-cost options

Forward Radio is independent, listener-sponsored, volunteer-powered, grassroots community radio WFMP-LP Louisville, Kentucky. We have been broadcasting at 106.5fm and live-streaming at forwardradio.org since April 9, 2017. Please donate at forwardradio.org to keep us on-air. It costs $20/day to keep this programming coming your way.

Politics, culture, and public policy from the left. Stay alive another week.

w/ Beatrice Adler-Bolton, Artie Vierkant, Phil Rocco and Jules Gill-Peterson. 

https://www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

New tracks tagged #Medicare for All