Why Prevention Is the Best Medicine with Dr. Tom Frieden
Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People
Guy Kawasaki
4.5 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 22 October 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dr. Tom Frieden has spent his career on the front lines of public health, leading the fight against smoking, tuberculosis, influenza, and more as NYC Health Commissioner and CDC Director. In this episode of Remarkable People, Guy Kawasaki explores Frieden’s powerful philosophy for better living, drawn from his book The Formula for Better Health. Together, they discuss the six keys to healthier communities, the importance of trust in science, and why small lifestyle choices can save millions of lives.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | During my time leading the CDC, there was a really big Ebola epidemic in West Africa. |
| 0:05.0 | It was spreading widely. |
| 0:07.0 | And one of the things that had to change were burial practices, where people would wash the body. |
| 0:13.0 | And people with Ebola, who've died from Ebola, have massive numbers of Ebola particles after death. |
| 0:19.0 | And so that had to change. But these were centuries-old |
| 0:22.1 | traditions. And the outsider going in saying, change the way you do this, wasn't going to work. |
| 0:27.5 | It didn't get turned around until the community leaders themselves understood what the risks were, |
| 0:33.6 | why they had to change, how they did that. and they themselves then were the messengers of the |
| 0:38.3 | community so i think finding the right message the right messengers is really important |
| 0:43.0 | good morning i'm guy Kawasaki this is the remarkable people podcast and we have a remarkable |
| 0:52.6 | guest today his name is is Tom Frieden. |
| 0:56.8 | He was the New York City Health Commissioner from 2002 to 2009. |
| 1:02.1 | Then he was the director of the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, from 2009 to 2017. |
| 1:10.0 | Basically, he has guided responses to smoking, tuberculosis, H1N1 influenza, Ebola, and opioids. |
| 1:18.6 | He's been around, and today he leads to resolve to save lives. |
| 1:23.8 | This is a global initiative to reduce cardiovascular disease and epidemics around the world. |
| 1:30.2 | He has a new book out. |
| 1:31.9 | The book is called The Formula for Better Health, How to Save Millions of Lives, Including Your Own. |
| 1:39.1 | Welcome to Remarkable People, Tom. |
| 1:41.4 | Thank you, Guy. |
| 1:42.3 | I'm so much looking forward to our conversation. |
| 1:44.6 | So first, I want to tell you that on my podcast, |
... |
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