Lead (Poisoning), Laugh, Love with Shannon Burkett

Shannon Burkett has lived about six lives. Broadway actor. SNL alum. Nurse. Filmmaker. Advocate. Cancer survivor. And the kind of person who makes you question what you’ve done with your day. She wrote and produced My Vagina —the stop-motion musical kind, not the cry-for-help kind—and built a global movement after her son was poisoned by lead dust in their New York apartment. Out of that came LEAD: How This Story Ends Is Up to Us , a documentary born from rage, science, and maternal defiance. We talked about everything from The Goonies to Patrick Stewart to the quiet rage of parenting in a country that treats public health like a hobby. This episode is about art, anger, resilience, and what happens when an unstoppable theater nerd turned science geek Jersey girl collides with an immovable healthcare system. RELATED LINKS Shannon Burkett Official Site LEAD: How This Story Ends Is Up to Us End Lead Poisoning LinkedIn: Shannon Burkett BroadwayWorld Profile FEEDBACK Like this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.com . See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at .

You can listen to Lead (Poisoning), Laugh, Love with Shannon Burkett online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Lead (Poisoning), Laugh, Love with Shannon Burkett is an episode from Out of Patients with Matthew Zachary by Matthew Zachary.

This episode is 00:51:54 long.

This episode was published on Jan 27, 2026.

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