The Health Disparities Podcast

In the late-1980s, Father Gregory Boyle witnessed the devastating impact of gang violence in his community during the so-called Decade of Death that peaked at 1,000 gang-related killings in 1992 in Los Angeles. In the face of criminal justice policies of suppression and mass incarceration, Father Boyle and community members adopted what was a radical approach – at the time – to treat gang members as human beings. In 1988, they started what would eventually become Homeboy Industries, which employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises, as well as provides critical services to thousands of men and women who walk through its doors every year seeking a better life. Father Greg Boyle spoke with Movement Is Life’s Dr. Bonnie Simpson Mason for an episode that was originally published in 2020.

When orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lattisha Bilbrew looks at a knee X-ray, she’s not just checking for arthritis or bone alignment. She’s studying shades of muscle and fat — clues to a patient’s strength, resilience and untapped potential. “Sometimes I’ll have a woman come in and say, ‘I’m overweight,’” Bilbrew says. “And I’ll look at her X-rays and say, ‘Yes, I see the fat — but you’ve got tons of muscle under there. You should try strength training.’” It’s that mix of empathy and empowerment that defines Bilbrew’s approach to orthopedic care — and why she’s been tapped as the keynote speaker for this year’s Movement is Life Annual Summit, themed “Combating Health Disparities: The Power of Movement and Community.” In this episode, Bilbrew speaks with Movement Is Life’s Christin Zollicoffer about her passion for medicine, which began when she was a young child growing up in England. She remembers her grandmother secretly spitting out pills prescribed for high blood pressure — a moment that left a deep impression. “My grandmother passed away shortly after that from complications of high blood pressure,” Bilbrew recalled. “I knew at that moment I wanted to be a doctor” — the kind who listens, communicates well and helps patients understand why their treatment matters. Now a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and upper extremity surgery, Dr. Lattisha Bilbrew brings that commitment to every patient encounter. A cornerstone of Bilbrew’s message is “loading” — the idea that bone and muscle grow stronger only when challenged. It’s why she encourages patients of all ages, especially women approaching menopause, to lift weights. “It's like putting gold coins in a bank for when we're older,” she says, noting that the more you build now, the more you protect yourself later. Dr. Bilbrew will be a keynote speaker at the 2025 Movement Is Life Annual Summit on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. This year’s theme is “Combating Health Disparities: The Power of Movement in Community.” Registration is now open. Visit movementislifecommunity.org for more information. Never miss an episode – subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts

Systemic racism continues to shape medical education, clinical practice and patient outcomes. It’s a topic near and dear to Dr. Uché Blackstock—physician, health equity advocate, and New York Times bestselling author of Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine. In this episode, Dr. Blackstock reflects on her own experiences as a Black woman in medicine, including a misdiagnosis during medical school that left her hospitalized. She also examines how historical policies, such as the Flexner Report and redlining, continue to impact today’s health inequities. The episode also touches on bias in clinical decision-making and the urgent need to reframe medical training around social determinants of health. This conversation with Movement Is Life’s Dr. Mary O’Connor and Dr. Hadiya Green is a call to action for everyone working to advance health equity. Registration is now open for the upcoming Movement Is Life Annual Summit on Friday, November 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. This year’s theme is “Combating Health Disparities: The Power of Movement in Community.” Visit movementislifecommunity.org for more information. Never miss an episode – subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts

There are numerous social and structural vectors for disease that are not often discussed in medical school. So, Dr. David Ansell says he had a lot to learn once he became a physician. Ansell, author of “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills,” writes about the stark disparities in access to treatment and outcomes for patients in the U.S. healthcare system. “We always talk about inequities. We have frank inequities, but we have gross inequalities,” Ansell says. “The care isn't equal… And if we could get to equal, then we can take on the inequity.” One of the most glaring examples is life expectancy; a person’s zip code can be a strong predictor for their life expectancy due to social and structural determinants of health, including structural racism and economic deprivation, he says. “If you live in The Loop in Chicago, you can live to be 85 and if it were a country, it'd be ranked first in the world,” Ansell says. “But if you live in Garfield Park, three stops down the Blue Line from Rush, life expectancy post-Covid is 66.” In this conversation, which was first published in 2023 for the Health Disparities podcast, Dr. Ansell speaks with Movement Is Life’s Dr. Carla Harwell about the importance of addressing systemic racism and inequality in the healthcare system. Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Conversation is an important part of bringing an end to racism so that everyone thrives in our society. It’s something that the leaders of 904Ward care deeply about. The 904Ward organization evolved the Jacksonville 904 dialing area code into a nonprofit whose mission is to create racial healing and equity through deep conversations and learning, trusting relationships, and collective action. Dr. Kimberly Allen served as the inaugural CEO of 904WARD from 2020 to 2025. “I think we all make judgments all the time because that's just the nature of our brains and how it works, but what I would encourage us to do is to call those judgments out and, I say, ‘Say the quiet part out loud.’ Call those judgments out so that you can start to work through where they come from,” Dr. Allen says. In this conversation, which was first recorded in 2022 for the Health Disparities podcast, Dr. Allen is joined by 904 resident Sharon LaSure-Roy. They spoke with Movement Is Life’s Sarah Hohman. Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What does it take to create healthy neighborhoods that include broad, deep, and permanent pathways to prosperity for low-income families? That question is the focus of today’s episode with Carol Redmond Naughton, CEO of Purpose Built Communities based in Atlanta. “I really have become an advocate for community development as a way to move the needle on health outcomes. And I'm not talking about simply putting a kidney dialysis center in the bottom floor of a senior high rise,” Naughton says. “I don't mean to say that that's not a good thing to do, but we've got to move upstream. We've got to be way upstream and be thinking about: How are we building communities and supporting children, so those children 60 years from now will not need kidney dialysis?” In a conversation that was first published in 2022, Naughton speaks with Movement Is Life’s Dr. Tamara Huff about the difference between access to health care and health outcomes and the importance of addressing the social determinants of health. She also calls on all of us to reflect on the systems that have kept people trapped in poverty — especially Black and Brown communities — and consider what it takes to create communities that support a “cradle to college pipeline.” Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.