Sara Rodriguez: Why a Nurse-Turned-Politician Is Wisconsin’s (Healthcare) Answer

Sara Rodriguez: Why a Nurse-Turned-Politician Is Wisconsin’s (Healthcare) Answer

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is the only candidate for governor with real healthcare experience — a nurse, a former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, and a healthcare leader who has actually worked inside the system she’s now running to fix. In this conversation, we get into what sets her apart in the 2026 Wisconsin governor’s race. Rodriguez opens up about her time as an EIS officer — including being on one of the first CDC teams into New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina — and how that experience shaped how she thinks about public health, crisis response, and government’s obligation to show up when people are most vulnerable. We also don’t shy away from the contrast with the other side of the aisle, exposing how Tom Tiffany has consistently voted in line with Donald Trump to take away abortion and reproductive healthcare, gut Medicaid, and undermine the ACA. We talk about: Her path from ER nurse to CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer to Lieutenant Governor Her firsthand account of responding to Hurricane Katrina How she’s the only healthcare professional in the governor’s race and why that matters Her plan to fix Wisconsin’s broken healthcare system Follow Sara Rodriguez: www.saraforwi.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraforwi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraforwi Twitter/X: https://x.com/saraforwi TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@saraforwi BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/saraforwi.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saraforwi Subscribe to my Substack: drkristinlyerly.substack.com Instagram: @drkristinlyerly Threads: @drkristinlyerly TikTok: @drkristinlyerly Bluesky: @drkristin4wi.bsky.social Facebook: @drkristinlyerly Twitter/X: @drkristinlyerly LinkedIn:@drkristinlyerly Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters. Producer: Abraham Lyerly Music: Nic Tierman Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez

Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski on Abortion, Fixing What They Broke & Why Lieutenant Governor?

Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski sits down with OB-GYN and reproductive rights advocate Dr. Kristin Lyerly to talk about the legacy of the Dobbs decision, her Constitutional offices on the “garden level” of the Capitol, and why she’s running for Lieutenant Governor instead of the top seat. From rebuilding hollowed-out state offices to helping Wisconsinites start businesses and stay in their homes in the midst of an affordability crisis, Sarah Godlewski has spent her career fixing what they broke. Now she’s asking Wisconsin voters to give her the chance to do it from a different perch. Plus — don’t miss the surprise appearance by her 6-year-old son Hartley, who crashed our interview and gave us a genuine boy mom moment you won’t want to miss. In this episode: The legacy of Dobbs — four years later, what it’s really meant for Wisconsin women The “garden level” offices: how Republicans hollowed out two constitutional offices and what Sarah did about it Why she chose Lieutenant Governor over Governor — and what she plans to do with it Affordability, Medicaid, and the Republican betrayal of Wisconsin families What a Democratic trifecta actually means for Wisconsin Follow Sarah Godlewski: www.sarahforwisconsin.com Twitter: @SarahforWI Facebook: @SarahforWI Instagram: @sarahgodlewski Subscribe to my Substack: drkristinlyerly.substack.com Instagram: @drkristinlyerly Threads: @drkristinlyerly TikTok: @drkristinlyerly Bluesky: @drkristin4wi.bsky.social Facebook: @drkristinlyerly Twitter/X: @drkristinlyerly LinkedIn:@drkristinlyerly Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters. Producer: Abraham Lyerly Music: Nic Tierman Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez

“No Wrong Door” — Right Fix? What Sets David Crowley Apart on Healthcare and More

Healthcare is the issue voters keep coming back to in this race, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley says it’s “a top issue if not THE top issue” for Wisconsinites. In this conversation, I sit down with Crowley to dig into his healthcare plan, including his “No Wrong Door” approach to mental health and crisis care, his proposal to open up BadgerCare as a true public option, and how he plans to pay for any of it given Wisconsin’s track record on Medicaid expansion. We also talk about the administrative failure that left Milwaukee County employees without health benefits (it actually didn’t), what it taught him, and — in a field with seven strong Democratic candidates — what he says actually sets him apart. Learn more about David Crowley here: crowleyforwi.com Facebook: @CrowleyforWI Instagram: @CrowleyforWI Twitter: @DavidCCrowley BlueSky: @davidcrowley4wi.bsky.social Follow Dr. Kristin Lyerly: Substack: @drkristinlyerly Instagram: @drkristinlyerly Threads: @drkristinlyerly TikTok: @drkristinlyerly Bluesky: @drkristin4wi.bsky.social Facebook: @drkristinlyerly Twitter/X: @drkristinlyerly LinkedIn:@drkristinlyerly Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters. Producer: Abraham Lyerly Music: Nic Tierman Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez

Manufactured Crisis: How Trump and Republicans Broke Wisconsin’s Health Care

Over 275,000 Wisconsinites are on track to lose their health care coverage. Premiums have more than doubled overnight. Hospitals are closing. And it didn’t happen by accident. In this episode, I’m joined by Brad Woodhouse, President of Protect Our Care, and Wisconsin political strategist Joe Zepecki to break down the findings of a devastating new report: Health Care in Crisis: Trump and Republicans Are Making Health Care Unaffordable for Wisconsinites. We get into all of it — the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, the ACA tax credits that were allowed to expire, the eight Wisconsin hospitals and clinics already closed or at risk, the 60-year-old couple now spending nearly 37% of their income on health insurance, and the pharmaceutical companies that defied the president’s own requests and raised prices anyway — while posting $177 billion in profits. This is what a manufactured crisis looks like. And these are the people responsible for it. In this episode: Who is losing coverage and why What the Medicaid cuts actually mean for Wisconsin families, kids, and rural communities Why hospitals are closing — and what happens when they do How Big Pharma is cashing in while seniors pay more What accountability looks like from here Read the full report: https://defendamericaaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DAA-WI-Health-Care-Affordability-Report-June-2026.pdf Follow Protect Our Care: www.protectourcare.org Substack: @protectourcare Instagram: @protect.our.care Threads: @protect.our.care TikTok: @protectourcare YouTube: @protectourcare Facebook: @protectourcare Twitter/X: @protectourcare LinkedIn:@protectourcare Follow Dr. Kristin Lyerly: Substack: @drkristinlyerly Instagram: @drkristinlyerly Threads: @drkristinlyerly TikTok: @drkristinlyerly Bluesky: @drkristin4wi.bsky.social Facebook: @drkristinlyerly Twitter/X: @drkristinlyerly LinkedIn:@drkristinlyerly Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters. Producer: Abraham Lyerly Music: Nic Tierman Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez

Fran Hong: Bold, Unapologetic, and Ready to Fix Healthcare

In this episode of The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show, I sit down with Wisconsin State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Fran Hong to dig into the healthcare vision she’s running on — and why it’s unlike anything else in the field. We talk about her path to Medicare for All, her plan to take on hospital pricing and insurance claim denials, what reproductive healthcare access really looks like under a Hong administration, and why she believes maternal health is about so much more than pregnancy. Fran is bold, she’s specific, and she is not playing it safe. Connect with Francesca Hong: Website: francescahong.com Instagram: @francescahongwi X/Twitter: @FrancescaHongWI Threads: @francescahongwi Facebook: @FrancescaHongWI TikTok: @francescahong BlueSky: @francescahongwi.bsky.social Follow Dr. Lyerly nearly everywhere! YouTube: @drkristinlyerly TikTok: @drkristinlyerly Instagram: @drkristinlyerly Facebook: @drkristinlyerly Substack: @drkristinlyerly Twitter: @kristinforWI BlueSky: @drkristin4wi.bsky.social LinkedIn: @drkristinlyerly Reddit: @drkristinlyerly Credits: Producer: Abraham Lyerly Music: Nic Tierman Graphic Design: Nathaniel Gonzalez