The Inside Track: the pope, the Force and the hope

8 April, 2026

Global Health Matters episode 65: April 2026

The Global Health Matters podcast [https://tdr.who.int/global-health-matters-podcast] is the podcast from TDR featuring renowned experts as well as emerging voices from across the globe, with a focus on sharing perspectives from low- and middle-income countries. The podcast includes our Signature episodes as well as "Dialogues" and "Trailblazers with Garry."

The Inside Track: the pope, the Force and the hope

Dear listener,

The Inside Track is a new series from Global Health Matters offering context, clarity and foresight that you won’t find in traditional news shows. Each episode brings host Garry Aslanyan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/garry-aslanyan/] together with two recurring voices: Catherine Kyobutungi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-kyobutungi-6573524b/], who brings insight from the frontlines of health research and policy in Africa, and Ricardo Baptista Leite [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardobaptistaleite/], a physician and global thinker on health, politics and AI. Together, they unpack the headlines with candid conversations grounded in lived experience. If you work in global health and want a better understanding of what’s happening, why it matters and what to watch out for, this series is for you.

What do the pope, the Force and a dose of hope have in common? In this episode of The Inside Track, we discuss planetary health — the idea that human health is inseparable from the health of the planet. The discussion underscores how factors like climate, food and living conditions drive most health outcomes, far beyond clinical care. Garry, Catherine and Ricardo call for a shift from reactive health systems to prevention, and for rethinking “development” to prioritize sustainability alongside human wellbeing.

We hope you enjoy this podcast as much as we do. Please share it with anyone interested in global health. We also love receiving your feedback, so feel free to write to us or send a video or voice message.

Best regards,

The Global Health Matters podcast team

TDRpod@who.int [mailto:tdrpo@who.int]

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