1036 - Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine

About this episode: Humanitarian crises don't exist in a vacuum—they are shaped by geopolitical actions like blockades, sanctions, and armed conflicts between countries. In this episode: Stanford University scholar Ruth Gibson details how geopolitical decisions impact civilians on the ground and how this framing applies to current situations in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine. Guest: Ruth Gibson , PhD, is a scholar at Stanford University where she holds appointments in at the Center for Innovation and Global Health and the Center for International Security and Cooperation . Host: Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management , a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. Show links and related content: U.S. to Blockade Ships Entering or Exiting Iranian Ports —U.S. Central Command Block Food and Medicine? —Geopolitics and Humanity Dispatch Cuban doctors endure burnout, blackouts as once-vaunted healthcare declines —Reuters Willing Accomplices: Gazprom & Rosneft's Role in the Transport and Indoctrination of Ukraine's Children —Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab Caring for Children in War-Torn Ukraine —Public Health On Call (November 2025) Starvation in Gaza —Public Health On Call (July 2025) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website .

You can listen to 1036 - Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

1036 - Geopolitics and Humanitarian Health in Iran, Cuba, and Ukraine is an episode from Public Health On Call by The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

This episode is 16:36 long.

This episode was published on Apr 15, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Public Health On Call when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.