NIH Archives - ��ϳԹ�� News

GOP Mulls More Health Cuts

Episode 440

April 2, 2026

Despite public opposition to the cuts they made to federal health programs in 2025, Republicans reportedly are considering more cuts to help pay for the war in Iran. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot ban “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ minors. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join ��ϳԹ�� News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ��ϳԹ�� News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the last two “Bill of the Month” stories.

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Letters to the Editor

Readers Sound Off on Wage Garnishment, Work Requirements, and More

��ϳԹ�� News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

April 1, 2026

What the Health? From ��ϳԹ�� News

RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Schedule Changes Blocked — For Now

Episode 438

March 19, 2026

A federal judge in Massachusetts this week sided with public health groups to block changes to the federally recommended schedule of childhood vaccines, dealing at least a temporary setback to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to remake the schedule. Meanwhile, Congress has put its debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act on the back burner, but the issue of rising health care costs is still front and center for the voting public. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ��ϳԹ�� News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman to kick off a new series looking at health care solutions, called “How Would You Fix It?”

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RFK Jr.’s Very Bad Week

Episode 437

March 12, 2026

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had another tough week. In addition to Kennedy having rotator cuff surgery, the nomination of his ally to become surgeon general is teetering, the controversial head of the FDA's vaccine center is resigning next month, and a new survey shows Americans trust government health officials less than they do former Biden official Anthony Fauci. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join ��ϳԹ�� News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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The Week in Brief

The NIH Workforce Is Its Smallest in Decades. Here’s the Work Left Behind.

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton

March 6, 2026

A collage showing the faces of Sylvia Chou, Marc Ernstoff, Alexa Romberg in the top row. The bottom row shows Daniel Dulebohn, Jennifer Troyer, and Philip Stewart.

The People — And Research — Lost in the NIH Exodus

Government data shows the National Institutes of Health lost about 4,400 people — more than 20% of its staff — as the Trump administration slashed the federal workforce. Hear from six scientists on why they walked out the door and the work they left behind.

By Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton

March 6, 2026

A woman in a yellow cardigan sits in front of a window, staring out

Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone

Cancer treatments, disease outbreaks, addiction science: Scientists say an exodus from the National Institutes of Health will harm the nation's ability to respond to illness.

By Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton

March 6, 2026

Letters to the Editor

Readers Lean On Congress To Solve Crises in Research and Rehab

��ϳԹ�� News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

March 3, 2026

What the Health? From ��ϳԹ�� News

Turnarounds and Shake-Ups

Episode 434

Feb. 19, 2026

The twists and turns continue at the nation’s health agency, where this week’s announcements included notice that the FDA will review Moderna’s new flu vaccine after all and that a handful of top agency officials are getting new jobs. Those developments and others can be traced to a White House looking to shake things up before the midterms — and win over voters on health care. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join ��ϳԹ�� News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more.

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A box of ivermectin tablets is shown in a pharmacy.

US Cancer Institute Studying Ivermectin’s ‘Ability To Kill Cancer Cells’

At a January event organized by allies of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., National Cancer Institute Director Anthony Letai said results may be released “in a few months.” Ivermectin, used to deworm horses and other animals, has become a symbol of resistance against the medical establishment among supporters of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and many conservatives.

By Rachana Pradhan

Feb. 10, 2026

A researcher sits at her desk indoors. A laptop is in front of her.

NIH Grant Disruptions Slow Down Breast Cancer Research

The Trump administration has made the future of federal funding for cancer research uncertain. At one groundbreaking breast cancer research lab, work that could save lives has slowed significantly.

By Martha Bebinger, WBUR

Feb. 3, 2026

What the Health? From ��ϳԹ�� News

Culture Wars Take Center Stage

Episode 429

Jan. 15, 2026

With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ��ϳԹ�� News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ��ϳԹ�� News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.

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The Week in Brief

The Covid Contrarian Clubhouse Makes Its Mark on Trump’s Washington

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Rachana Pradhan

Nov. 21, 2025

A photo of a sign outside the National Cancer Institute's campus in Rockville, Maryland.

US Cancer Registries, Constrained by Trump Policies, To Recognize Only ‘Male’ or ‘Female’ Patients

Under Trump policies, cancer registries in 2026 will have to classify sex data strictly as male, female, or unknown, a change scientists and advocates say will harm the health of one of the nation’s most marginalized populations.

By Rachana Pradhan

Nov. 21, 2025

A Small Texas Think Tank Cultivated Covid Dissidents. Now They’re Running US Health Policy.

Fueled by covid backlash, a libertarian author created the Brownstone Institute in 2021. In recent months, people with ties to the group have catapulted to the highest levels of U.S. government, exercising significant authority over access to vaccines and scientific research.

By Rachana Pradhan

Nov. 19, 2025

A photo of the exterior of the NIH Clinical Center. A red sign out front identifies it as Building 10.

Watch: Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Tumble After Trump Cuts

Fewer people are seeking care at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, a renowned research hospital, under the second Trump administration.

By Rachana Pradhan

Sept. 11, 2025

Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research

The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.

By Arthur Allen

Sept. 3, 2025

What the Health? From ��ϳԹ�� News

Trump Further Politicizes Science

Episode 410

Aug. 14, 2025

President Donald Trump’s latest executive order about science and medicine seeks to take funding decisions out of the hands of career scientists and give them to political appointees instead. And a gunman, reportedly disgruntled over covid vaccines, shoots at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, killing a law enforcement officer. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join ��ϳԹ�� News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of the health services research group AcademyHealth, about how to restore the public’s trust in public health.

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A photo of three medical workers in surgical garb treating a patient in front of an MRI machine.

Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Have Plummeted Under Trump, Jeopardizing Care

The renowned research hospital that cares for people with rare or life-threatening diseases has been pummeled by an employee exodus and the gutting of research, both driven by the Trump administration.

By Rachana Pradhan

Aug. 7, 2025

A photo of the front of a research building. A sign on the front reads, "National Cancer Institute."

Listen: Some Scientists Speak Out on Deep Cuts to National Cancer Institute, While Others Flee

The U.S. has made enormous progress reducing cancer mortality since the 1990s, partly due to significant investment in research at the National Cancer Institute. But scientists say the Trump administration has been hollowing out the agency in its push to dramatically shrink the federal government.

By Rachana Pradhan

July 25, 2025

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