Data Center Health Worries Animate Midterm Campaigns
Opposition to the rapid emergence of data centers in states such as Ohio and Arizona has ginned up activism and unified voters. A range of public health issues have played into the resistance.
Public Health
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Jacksonville, Florida’s Gun Violence Is Rooted in Redlining and Homes Built on Toxic Waste
Poisons from Jacksonville, Florida’s “Brown’s Dump” seeped into the lifeblood of residents. The harm to their physical and mental health is tied today to another public health crisis: high rates of gun violence among children.
Medicaid Is Now a Campaign Issue
Episode 468Republicans tried to backload Medicaid cuts in 2025’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act so they would take effect after this year’s elections, but that’s not stopping Democrats from using them to hammer their opponents. Meanwhile, the Trump administration ramps up its war on fraud. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News, and Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner speaks with Ollstein about her new book, “Side Effects.”
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As Politicians Argue About China, US Patients Find Cutting-Edge Treatment There
The rapid emergence of the Chinese biotech industry has panicked U.S. politicians, but investors and patients caution that a clampdown on pharmaceutical collaboration could hurt everyone.
By Arthur Allen -
Four Red Flags and One Truth Amid the Peptide Hype
Experimental peptides are all the rage on longevity and “optimization” podcasts, but a lot of the chatter is misleading.
By Amy Maxmen -
Fears About Kids’ Online Safety Unite Democrats and Republicans
Amid a decline in youth mental health, momentum builds for a federal crackdown on social media companies over protections for kids.
By Darius Tahir -
People Say These Peptides Hurt Them. Their Stories Are Muffled in MAHA’s Push for Medical Freedom.
People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fulfills a promise to make them more accessible.
By Amy Maxmen -
‘We Are Seen as Disposable’: Rural Residents Fight a Proposed Gas Pipeline
Research shows natural gas pipelines — and the public health risks they carry — are concentrated in low-income and minority areas where people suffer higher rates of poverty and physical disabilities and have fewer means to respond to crises.
Midterm Madness
Episode 466A new KFF poll suggests that health costs are still a top concern for voters and that Democrats have the edge over Republicans on the issue. And in an apparent attempt to close the gap, President Donald Trump is sending checks to millions of Medicare and Affordable Care Act enrollees. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Sun join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Michelle Andrews, who wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month.”
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Food Aid Enrollment Tanks After SNAP Rule Changes
It’s been more than a year since President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and SNAP enrollment is down more than 20% in Louisiana. Anti-hunger groups say far more people could lose access if states are required to cover more of the food program’s cost.
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These 100 Nursing Homes Face Perilous Flood Risk. Minnesota Shows What Can Happen.
Staff raced against rising floodwater to evacuate 36 residents from a nursing home in New Richland, Minnesota. It’s one of 100 facilities KFF Health News identified as facing some of the nation’s worst flood risk.
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Food Safety Finds a Place Among ‘Kitchen-Table’ Political Issues
Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness and high-profile recalls have made this issue a concern of voters.
Healthcare a Vague but Potent Issue for Election 2026
Episode 464Healthcare in general, and health costs in particular, are a top issue for voters in 2026. But it remains unclear exactly how voters want lawmakers to fix the problem. Meanwhile, the Trump administration doubled down on its fraud-fighting efforts. Tami Luhby of CNN, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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Black Lung Disease Remains a Threat, but Federal Officials Delay Effort To Address It
The disease has long been a risk of coal mining, an industry the Trump administration is trying to reinvigorate.
By Taylor Sisk -
The Drugs and Devices Have Been on the Market for Years. But FDA-Ordered Studies Still Aren’t Done.
To get drugs and devices out faster, the FDA lets companies conduct studies of safety or efficacy after the products are approved. In many cases, such “postmarket” studies are behind schedule or overdue, records show.
The Health Risks of AI
Episode 463Reports from a top AI company that it found and stopped attempted uses of its product to manufacture a potential bioweapon caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington this week. Meanwhile, President Trump wants to send $500 checks to about a million Obamacare enrollees. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sabrina Corlette of the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms.
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California Eyes Prison Heat Protections That Fall Short of Workplace Standards
California is crafting weaker heat protections for prisons than other workplaces, citing billions in costs to cool aging institutions as climate and health risks increase. It’s a second-class standard, health and safety advocates say, and would leave correctional workers more susceptible to heat illness.
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Trump Forced To Reinstate Digital Equity Grant Program, Minus Race Criteria He Decried
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Anger Over Health Costs Clouds Midterms
Episode 462Amid a campaign already focusing on affordability, anxious voters are unlikely to be assuaged by headlines about healthcare costs rising even more next year. And a lawsuit that could cut off access nationwide to the abortion pill mifepristone gets a hearing in federal court. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Rovner also interviews Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month.”
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Black and Latino Children Pay the Price for Florida’s Permissive Gun Policies
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By Daniel Chang and Fred Clasen-Kelly