Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Real Terrorists/Solutions For the Homeless
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Real Terrorists/Solutions For the Homeless

Ralph talks about the “real terrorists” in our midst – killer germs – with Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center For Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.  And then Brian Carome, executive director of Street Sense Media, tells us how his organization is helping the homeless in the Washington DC area.

Dr. Michael Osterholm is a professor and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the 2017 book, “Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs in which he not only details the most pressing infectious disease threats of our day but lays out a nine-point strategy on how to address them, with preventing a global flu pandemic at the top of the list.  His recent op-ed in the New York Times is entitled We’re not Ready For a Flu Pandemic.”

“I have raised from the beginning on the public health budget: this is about national security.  Whether a bomb comes lands somewhere in our country or bullets kill our troops or land mines, you know, infectious agents are much more efficient at it and can do it overnight. And we see that.  And in a sense this is about national security…  We need a moonshot approach on this flu vaccine, because again, the cost of even one pandemic will be so substantial any investment we make on this will be pennies on the dollar in savings.”  

Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.


Brian Carome is the executive director of Street Sense, whose mission it is to end homelessness in Washington DC by providing jobs, training and other services to the area’s homeless population. Previously he served as Executive Director at Housing Opportunities for WomenProject Northstar and A-SPAN. Additionally, he worked at New Hope HousingSasha Bruce Youthwork, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and the Father McKenna Center.

“We kind of have a two-fold mission. One is we provide both opportunities for employment and income earning opportunities to men and women, who at some point in their life have experienced homelessness.  We also provide them with platforms for self-expression, which I think many of us just take for granted. But these are folks who are far too often left out of the conversation when it comes to public policy in our country.  The second half of our mission is to educate the public, to give them a first hand look at the issue of homelessness, who it’s affecting, how it’s affecting them, and shining some lights on solutions as well.” 

Brian Carome, Executive Director of Street Sense Media

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Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader talks about what’s happening in America, what’s happening around the world, and most importantly what’s happening underneath it all.