meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Pod Save America

The Making of America's Most Prominent Anti-Vaxxer

Pod Save America

Crooked Media

News, Politics

4.683.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 December 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How did Robert F. Kennedy — once the heir-apparent to the Kennedy family's Democratic dynasty — become the Secretary of Health in the Trump administration and the nation's most important anti-vaccine advocate? Michael Scherer, staff writer at The Atlantic, sat down with Kennedy for 7+ hours, getting to know him during jean-clad workouts, Congressional hearings, and the plane ride where Kennedy learned of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The image Michael paints of Kennedy, in a profile published in The Atlantic this month, is a man of extreme changes — a promising political figure turned heroin addict, an environmental lawyer turned anti-vaccine activist, a Democratic presidential candidate turned Republican Secretary of Health. Contributor Alex Wagner sits down with Michael for an interesting conversation to ask if a better understanding of the strange political figure can help us better make sense of his dangerous approach to health and politics.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Pod Save America is brought to you by PolicyGenius.

0:02.8

When I was a kid, I liked Legos a lot, and I lost the blue Lego man. No. It was gone. I looked everywhere. Every time I went into my big red Lego box, I looked for the blue Lego man as if this was the time he'd be back for a long time. It's a big part of my childhood looking for that blue Lego man. But it was gone. It wasn't going to ever be in that box. But as a kid, you don't know what's possible.

0:22.9

Is that a metaphor?

0:23.9

Yes. a big part of my childhood looking for that blue Lego man, but it was gone. It wasn't going to ever be in that box. But as a kid, you don't know what's possible. Is that a metaphor? Yes, it is. Do you know

0:26.6

that that Lego Man, that could be you. I didn't have life insurance on my Blue Lego Man.

0:33.4

Nearly half of American families say they would experience financial hardship within six months.

0:37.0

If they lost their primary income, herner.

0:39.2

Well, what a turn. And there's an easy way to secure families' future, and that's with PolicyGenius.

0:43.9

Secure your future before the new year begins locking your life insurance. Today, PolicyGenius is an online insurance marketplace that allows you to compare quotes from America's top insurers side by sign for free.

0:53.8

Their license team helps you get what you need fast so you can get on with your life. PolicyGenius helps you find the most affordable policy that meets your needs. They answer questions, handle paperwork, and advocate for you throughout the process. PolicyGenius has thousands of five-star reviews on Google and Trust Pilot from customers who found the best policy to fit their needs. with policy genius. Real have gotten 20-year, $2 million policies for just $53 a month.

1:15.0

Don't wait until next year.

1:16.0

Give your family the gift of security today with PolicyGenius.

1:18.8

Head to policygenius.com slash crooked to compare life insurance quotes from top companies

1:23.1

and see how much you could save.

1:24.3

That's policygenius.com slash crooked. Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Alex Wagner. You might know RFK Jr. as the nation's secretary of health and human

1:54.8

services, or as the loudest anti-vaxxer in American politics. Maybe you know him as the conspiracy theorist,

2:12.1

the raw milk evangelist, that guy in the Trump administration who had a worm in his brain and left a dead bear cub in Central Park and maybe had an affair with journalist Olivia Newsey, or more formally, the heir to the Kennedy legacy.

2:19.5

At 71, it feels like RFK has lived several lives, but in this current one, his actions are causing far more harm than good. We're recording this on Friday, December 5th, and just today, a federal

2:25.8

vaccine committee recommended delaying when most infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

2:32.2

It is a stark reversal of decades of guidance that newborns receive a dose

2:36.3

within the first 24 hours of their birth. This is a huge win, and I say win in quotation marks,

2:43.2

for RFK Jr., who has sought for decades to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule,

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 14 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Crooked Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Crooked Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.