{"podcast":{"title":"Explaining History","slug":"explaining-history-7091240","podcast_index_feed_id":7091240,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/55836c0e-56ef-4a51-a7cc-9055cd2a39c7","website_url":"http://www.explaininghistory.org","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/60f6d9ac4a4aff65190f9c27/1767646091904-a5aed489-f452-4f74-af70-c7f8364b8d92.jpeg","author":"Nick Shepley","episode_count":964,"summary":"How do we make sense of the modern world? We find the answers in the history of the 20th Century. For over a decade, The Explaining History Podcast has been the guide for curious minds. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the world wars, the Cold War, and the rise and fall of ideologies into concise, 25-minute episodes. This isn't a dry lecture. It's a critical, narrative-driven conversation that connects the past to your present. Perfect for students, history buffs, and anyone who wants to understand how we got here. Hit subscribe and start exploring. Join us at Explaining History for daily modern history articles and news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-17T04:22:06.595928+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/explaining-history-7091240"},"episode":{"title":"America's Wrong Turn – How Neoliberalism Broke U.S. Healthcare with John McDonagh","slug":"america-s-wrong-turn-how-neoliberalism-broke-u-s-healthcare-with-john-mcdonagh","published_at":"2026-08-12T15:34:49+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/explaining-history-7091240/america-s-wrong-turn-how-neoliberalism-broke-u-s-healthcare-with-john-mcdonagh","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/explaining-history-7091240","url":"http://explaininghistory.org","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/explaininghistory/e/6a7c929a51319a521da175a1/media.mp3","summary":"In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined by John McDonagh, professor of practice at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, former Massachusetts state legislator, and key architect of Obamacare. He is here to discuss his new book, America's Wrong Turn: U.S. Healthcare in the Neoliberal Era – a searing diagnosis of how a revolution in economic thinking turned the American healthcare system into a global outlier. The United States spends more on healthcare than any other advanced nation – by a staggering margin – yet its health outcomes rank near the bottom. Life expectancy has been declining since 1980. The infant mortality rate is embarrassingly high. And while every other wealthy country covers 99–100% of its citizens, the U.S. still leaves millions uninsured. John explains how a single chart – showing U.S. healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP – reveals the story. In 1980, the U.S. was the highest spender but still in the pack. Then something happened. Around 1982–83, the U.S. \"jackrabbited\" away from every other nation. The culprit? The neoliberal revolution – the ideas of Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and the Mont Pelerin Society – that captured American policy under Ronald Reagan and transformed healthcare from a public good into a site of value extraction. John traces how monopoly capitalism, private equity, and the mantra of \"maximising shareholder value\" have hollowed out the system. Hospitals are bought by private equity firms, stripped of their land and buildings, and turned into tenants paying exorbitant rents. Two companies now control 90% of dialysis care. Antitrust enforcement has collapsed. The result is a system that Americans hate – but feel powerless to change. Yet John is an optimist. He argues that the feedback lo…","meta_description":"In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined by John McDonagh, professor of practice at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, for…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2339,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/explaining-history-7091240/episodes/america-s-wrong-turn-how-neoliberalism-broke-u-s-healthcare-with-john-mcdonagh/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/explaining-history-7091240/america-s-wrong-turn-how-neoliberalism-broke-u-s-healthcare-with-john-mcdonagh.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}