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Home > Public Health Insight > Flint Is (Re)Writing Its Own Story & You Should Pay Attention
Podcast: Public Health Insight
Episode:

Flint Is (Re)Writing Its Own Story & You Should Pay Attention
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:16:11
Publish Date: 2026-02-24 06:00:00
Description:

Flint, Michigan was once known as one of America's most prosperous industrial cities. Decades of deindustrialization and a water crisis changed that, but crisis isn't the whole story. Laura Keen of GiveDirectly joins the podcast to explore the resilience behind the popular headlines, the gaps in America's safety net, and what the expanded Child Tax Credit revealed about child poverty. All of it set the stage for Rx Kids — one of the most ambitious social programs in the country.


References for Our Discussion

◼️The US town that pays every pregnant woman $1,500: ‘We’re not OK with our babies being born into poverty’ 

◼️Direct Unconditional Cash Transfers Boost Well-Being for Mothers and Babies 

◼️Perinatal Cash Transfers and Birth Outcomes: A Population-Based, Quasi-Experimental Study of the Rx Kids Unconditional Cash Prescription During Pregnancy and Infancy 

◼️Hardship and Hope: The Relationship Between Unconditional Prenatal and Infant Cash Transfers, Economic Stability, and Maternal Mental Health and Well-Being

◼️To End Extreme Poverty, Give Cash — Not Advice | Rory Stewart | TED

◼️New research: Cash for pregnant moms in Flint led to healthier births and millions in healthcare savings 



Guest

◼️Laura Keen, U.S. Program Director, GiveDirectly



Host

◼️Gordon Thane, BMSc, MPH, PMP®


Producer

◼️Gordon Thane, BMSc, MPH, PMP®

◼️Abhinya Gulasingam



Production Notes


◼️ Music from Johnny Harris x Tom Fox: The Music Room



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