Are DOGE Cuts Making America Healthy?

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In its first 100 days, the Trump administration — specifically, the Department of Government Efficiency — shuttered agencies and slashed budgets pertaining to foreign aid, scientific research, food safety and more. How will this impact people's health and well-being both in the U.S., and around the world? To answer that question, we're calling in our colleagues: global health correspondent Gabrielle Emmanuel and health policy reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin.

(P.S. If you liked this episode, check out the breakdown of health and science policy changes we did after Trump's first 50 days — with different NPR reporters — here.)

Want to hear more about how policy changes affect scientific research and discovery? Let us know by emailing [email protected].

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Eric Glass.
0:01.8	In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart.
0:05.2	If this story had never happened...
0:06.8	All of us wouldn't be here right now.
0:08.6	Sammy wouldn't be here.
0:09.7	She's Nana wouldn't be here.
0:10.8	Wally wouldn't be here.
0:12.3	Anyone that we know wouldn't be here.
0:14.9	So what happens when Lily's mom tells her, this story is not true?
0:20.0	This American life, surprising stories every week.
0:24.2	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:29.6	President Trump's first 100 days in office have been defined, among many other things, by Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency.
0:37.7	The ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency team is one of the defining initiatives of President Trump's term so far.
0:43.3	The Trump administration has posted a new online tracker that describes what it says are the dollars saved by the Department of Government Efficiency.
0:50.2	The Department of Government Efficiency has made it a priority to gain access to computer networks across the federal government.
0:56.6	At the direction of Elon Musk, the department has fired tens of thousands of federal employees,
1:02.6	dismantled whole parts of different federal agencies, and made deep cuts to spending on foreign aid and scientific research.
1:09.6	And it's hard to know which of these changes are temporary and which will ripple for years,
1:14.6	even decades to come.
1:16.1	Because many of Doge's initiatives have been reversed or delayed by the courts or because of public backlash.
1:22.1	That's as Musk's 130-day term as a special government employee is winding down.
1:27.3	So we on Shortwave wanted to look around and ask, what could this all mean to science in the long term?
	...

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