We brought together health experts and writers/producers to explore how racism, bias and a mistrust of the medical system all affect the outcome for young Black women with breast cancer, and the ways TV storylines can raise awareness about health disparities.

Experts from the world of nuclear threats and international security shared their amusing, poignant and personal accounts from key moments in their professional lives during a virtual storytelling event, “The Countdown: Atomic Storytelling From the People Who Know.”

Scientists, policy analysts and activists all presented five-minute stories of their experiences working for national security in the U.S. and in critical global hotspots. Their stories were honed with help from TV/film writers from Madam Secretary, Designated Survivor, Crazy Rich Asians and others.

With newly appointed conservative Supreme Court justices, legal abortion is the floor, not the ceiling for reproductive health advocates. The pandemic has laid bare the flaws in the health care system when it comes to abortion care.