PopTalks with Dr. Thoại Ngô

Episodes

• 
  The Information Revolution: Are We Better Informed or Just Faster at Being Misinformed? 12.10.2026 47m

  Today, most people encounter breaking news not through a newspaper or broadcast, but through a TikTok video, an Instagram reel, or an AI chatbot. In this episode of PopTalks, Dr. Thoại Ngô sits down with Jason Lemon, Deputy News Director at Newsweek, to unpack what happens to truth and trust when anyone can publish and algorithms decide what we see. Drawing on recent survey data showing record-low trust in news worldwide, the two explore how journalism is adapting to an audience that increasi...
• 
  Fear, Power, and the Rule of Law: Lee Gelernt on America's Immigration Crisis 28.09.2026 46m

  Immigration enforcement in the United States has entered uncharted territory. In this episode, Dr. Thoại Ngô is joined by Lee Gelernt, Senior Attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, to examine what's changed — and why it matters far beyond the immigrant communities most directly affected. Gelernt discusses the unprecedented scale of immigration enforcement since January 2025, the invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against an alleged Venezuelan gang, and the reshaping of im...
• 
  After Dobbs: The Future of Reproductive Freedom in America 14.09.2026 40m

  In the inaugural episode of PopTalks, Dr. Thoại Ngô sits down with Brigitte Amiri, Lead Attorney and Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, for a conversation about the state of reproductive rights in America four years after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Drawing on more than two decades of litigation experience, Brigitte helps listeners understand the legal landscape that has emerged since 2022 — from the patchwork of state abortion ban...
• 
  Introducing: PopTalks with Dr. Thoại Ngô 17.08.2026 1m

  The forces shaping human health don't respect borders, budgets, or political cycles. Understanding them requires going deeper than the headlines — and further than any single discipline. PopTalks is a global health podcast hosted by Dr. Thoại Ngô, Chair of the Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Each episode, Dr. Ngô sits down with leading scientists, policymakers, innovators, and community leaders to examine the forces tran...