Blog, Videos and Podcasts

Steven Musser, deputy center director for scientific operations at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA, discusses the use of whole genome sequencing to greatly improve the way foodborne illnesses are investigated and prevented

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) oversees the care of over 9 million vets. Within the agency, the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) works to make sure the experience of accessing benefits is easy and seamless. The VEO was established in 2015 after the VA medical center wait time crisis, when the department recognized it did not have…

Voice of America (VOA) is a unique news organization in that it is funded by the federal government. VOA provides news and information to an international audience while promoting freedom of the press, democratic values and human rights, explained Acting Director Yolanda López. VOA practices public-service journalism, holding the powerful accountable and providing a voice…

In 2019, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol went into effect, with the goal of reducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and combating climate change. Cindy Newberg, Stratospheric Protection Division director at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), helped lead negotiations for this amendment. Newberg said the EPA is successfully working with industry and environmental groups to ensure…

The director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Diana Bianchi, helped launch several large-scale studies during the Covid-19 pandemic. She discussed some of this research on Government Matters. The research showed the Covid-19 vaccine does not cause adverse effects in…

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has helped pay out billions of dollars to individuals dealing with the long-term impacts of the terror attacks. Mimi Geerges spoke to Rupa Bhattacharyya, former special master of the fund at the Department of Justice and finalist for a Service to America award, who helped the fund bounce back from…

In 2009, Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the marketing of tobacco products. Since then, the adult smoking rate has dropped from over 20% to under 13%. Many of those changes were guided by Mitchell Zeller, former director of the Center for Tobacco Products at the FDA and finalist for…

As Covid-19 spread throughout the country, many of the urban poor and rural agricultural workers could not access tests, vaccines and life-saving drugs. A team from the Office of Quality Improvement at the Health Resources and Services Administration, led by Suma Nair, delivered over 20 million vaccine doses to communities in need. Nair and her colleagues provided…

Fewer than 3% of kids with disabilities can read. Josh Josa, inclusive education specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a finalist for a Service to America Medal, has helped improve access to education for millions of students with disabilities in nearly 50 countries. Josa, a third-generation deaf person, said there are inequities in…

While people were scrambling to find face masks at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Islamic State terror group was trying to scam Americans with a fraudulent website claiming to have an abundant supply of masks. A team of federal agents discovered the scheme, shut it down and disrupted the financing network. Kyle Armstrong, a former…