Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider

In today's episode, you'll hear from someone who did just that.

Ethan Lindenberger didn't set out to start a movement.

He just asked a question.

And in doing so, he stepped into one of the most polarizing public health conversations of our time.

His story is a reminder that you don't have to be an expert to make an impact.

You just have to be willing to stand up for what's real, even when it's uncomfortable.

Because protecting our health and the health of others often starts with one brave decision to speak out.

Then stick around after the talk for an interview with Dr. Jennifer Reich, an expert on why some parents choose to not vaccinate their children.

But before we dive in, a quick break to hear from our sponsors.

That was Ethan Lindenberger at TEDx Mid-Atlantic in 2019.

Now I want to welcome Dr. Jennifer Reich to take us deeper into this topic.

Dr. Reich is a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Denver and a researcher on vaccine decision-making.

Her work explores how parents make choices about childhood vaccination and how those decisions are shaped by social, cultural, and political forces.

She's the author of Calling the Shots, Why Parents Reject Vaccines, and has spent years studying how trust, identity, and misinformation influence public health.

And today we'll be talking about what drives vaccine hesitancy, how misinformation takes root, and more importantly, what we can do about it.

Dr. Reich, welcome.

Thanks so much for having me.

So Jennifer, you've spent years listening to parents who are skeptical of vaccines and I want to start there.

What have you learned by really listening to these stories and what might we overlook when it comes to these parents' concerns?

I think it can be easy to dismiss people who believe misinformation as anti-science or irresponsible.