Hey, it's Rachel Martin. I'm the host of Wildcard from NPR. For a lot of my years as a radio host, silence sort of made me nervous. That pause before an answer, because you don't know what's going on on the other side of the mic. But these days, I love it.

Oh, gosh. Give me a minute. Yeah, yeah. Think. Listen to the Wildcard podcast only from NPR.

You're listening to the 1A podcast.

I'm Jen White.

And I'm Todd's Willick.

We're back this week for If You Can Keep It, where we talk about the latest political news and what it means for the health of our democracy.

This time, how politics is reshaping public health, dividing institutions, and eroding trust.

In recent weeks, we've seen a seismic shakeup inside the Department of Health and Human Services,

an unprecedented discord between

the agency, scientists, and doctors. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is defying decades of

scientific data and proven life-saving benefit, especially when it comes to vaccines. All along the

way, he's bucking the science-back guidance of doctors groups. And

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had something to say about that at a Senate hearing on

Thursday where Kennedy was called to testify. Who are the organizations that are agreeing with you

in casting aspersions on vaccines? The primary advisors are Marty McCarrie, Jay Batachara, Dr. Oz, Vinay-Pers.

So you've got a few doctors who agree with you.

What I'm giving you the name.

Not a few doctors.

What you're talking about is there's a big different senator between established science

and the scientific establishment, which has been co-opted by the pharmacy.

So you're telling me, you're telling the American people that the American Medical Association

representing hundreds of thousands of people have been co-opted and that they should not trust their doctors.

...