Episode 121: Dr. Ashish Jha

In this week's episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Ashish Jha — physician, health policy expert, and former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator — for a candid look at what the pandemic revealed about how America actually works under pressure. This conversation moves well beyond COVID. Dr. Jha explains what happens inside government during a crisis, why emergency powers quietly reshape policy across the entire system, and how short-term urgency consistently crowds out long-term planning. From there, the discussion turns to the deeper structural issue: healthcare. The U.S. is on track to spend roughly $70 trillion on healthcare over the next decade — a number that sits at the center of federal debt, state budgets, and household finances. But the real problem isn’t how much care we use — it’s what we pay for it. Jim and Dr. Jha break down: Why prices — not utilization — are driving costs How innovation is both life-saving and financially destabilizing Why hospitals lack real surge capacity And why meaningful reform continues to stall They also tackle harder questions around personal responsibility, prevention, and whether a system can be both compassionate and financially sustainable. At the core of the conversation is a broader insight: There is a reasonable 70% of Americans — not the extremes — who could support real solutions. But they are not the ones driving policy or public discourse.  This episode is about healthcare — but more importantly, it’s about whether a polarized system can still solve complex problems before a crisis forces the issue.