Octavia's Cure

Dr. Natasha "Anu" Anandaraja: Applying Global Lessons and Resourcing Women for a Better World

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:31:11 GMT

Dr. Anu Anandaraja is the brave doctor and systems thinker who listens to women, and then advocates tirelessly to help them succeed. As a young daughter of immigrant doctors living in rural New Zealand she was inexplicably called to Africa - she became a pediatrician but felt called not to to be in community rather than hospitals, working alongside people -after genuinely listening and working in the same places for many years, she shifted her career to be responsive to the needs of women in communities around the world. In this discussion she helps us seamlessly see the connections between women living in Malawi and New York City. It is this vision of leaving no one behind that encapsulates her work with Women Together Global.

Dr. Anu Anandaraja is a pediatrician, a public health practitioner and the Founder and Executive Director of Women Together Global which operates in Malawi, the United States, New Zealand and Mozambique. She serves as a Co-founder and Advocacy Director for Equity Now at Mount Sinai.

Credits

Octavia's Cure is a production of Just Equity for Health.

This episode was hosted and executive produced by Dr. Stella Safo.

Creative direction and production by Amanda Misiti.

Post-production by Simon Cowart.

Digital content by Devon Johnson.

For more information, visit octaviascure.com.

Octavia's Cure is inspired by, but is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Octavia Butler estate.

Cover art and video intro art inspired by Nettrice Gaskins.

Sonia Panigrahy: Designing a Patient-Centered Health System

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:50:30 GMT

In this episode of Octavia's Cure, host Dr. Stella Safo talks with Sonia Panigrahy about human centered design, and what it looks like to build healthcare solutions with, not for, the people who use them. This conversation asks what changes when patients and communities are treated as co-designers of their own care, and what it would take for that kind of collaboration to become the norm rather than the exception.

Our guest this week is Sonia Panigrahy is a national expert in human-centered design in healthcare. She has worked across health systems, payers, community health. She recently founded a healthcare design consulting practice.

Credits

Octavia's Cure is a production of Just Equity for Health. This episode was hosted and executive produced by Dr. Stella Safo. Creative direction and production by Amanda Misiti. Post-production by Simon Cowart. Digital content by Devon Johnson. For more information, visit octaviascure.com.

Dr. Oni Blackstock: Learning from the HIV Epidemic How Community Can Check Public Health and Pharma

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:12:00 GMT

What can today's healthcare system learn from the HIV epidemic? In this episode of Octavia's Cure, host Dr. Stella Safo speaks with Dr. Oni Blackstock, a primary care and HIV physician, founder of Health Justice, and former Assistant Commissioner at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, about what worked, what it took to build it, and how community held public health accountable along the way. Dr. Blackstock shares hard won lessons on shared leadership, the difference between optimism and hope, and why being called out and doing the repair work is essential to building lasting trust. This conversation moves beyond critique into a real model for how community, public health, and industry can hold each other accountable and move forward together. If you've ever asked what IS working in healthcare, and how we can learn from it, this episode offers real answers grounded in decades of hard fought progress.

Credits

Octavia's Cure is a production of Just Equity for Health.

This episode was hosted and executive produced by Dr. Stella Safo.

Creative direction and production by Amanda Misiti.

Post-production by Simon Cowart.

Digital content by Devon Johnson.

For more information, visit octaviascure.com.

Octavia's Cure is inspired by, but is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Octavia Butler estate.

Cover art and video intro art inspired by Nettrice Gaskins.

Maia Laing and Flo Rosser: Advocating for Yourself as a Patient

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Octavia's Cure, host Dr. Stella Safo talks with Maia Laing and Florence “Flo” Rosser about patient advocacy, and what it really takes to show up for yourself or a loved one inside a healthcare system that doesn't always make that easy. They also discuss how to change things at the policy and system level. This is a conversation about knowledge, persistence, and community, and what patients and their advocates can teach the rest of us about navigating care with confidence.

Credits

Octavia's Cure is a production of Just Equity for Health.

This episode was hosted and executive produced by Dr. Stella Safo.

Creative direction and production by Amanda Misiti.

Post-production by Simon Cowart.

Digital content by Devon Johnson.

For more information, visit octaviascure.com.

To learn more about Sick Cells, see their website at sickcells.org

Our cover art is a production of Nettrice R. Gaskins

Octavia's Cure is inspired by Octavia Butler's work, but this production is not affiliated with or endorsed by Octavia Butler or the Butler Estate. See our attributions for more information.

Amanda Misiti: The Story Behind Octavia's Cure

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:17:22 GMT

In this introductory conversation, host Dr. Stella Safo and senior producer Amanda Misiti swap seats — Amanda asks the questions — to explain why they built Octavia's Cure, where the name comes from, and what listeners can expect from Season One and beyond. They talk about the Octavia Butler novels that inspired the show's name and mission, the promise of authenticity and humility they're making to listeners, and the tools (like the Carry the Cure card) designed to make each conversation actionable. They close with a preview of the season's six episodes and a look ahead to fall 2026.

Notable Quotes

"Octavia's, I think, visionary ability to see the future and paint the future, it actually allows people to say — this is the harsh future we're heading towards if we don't get our act together. How do we get our act together?" — Stella Safo

"I think Octavia's cure is going to require us to really practice humility in addition to coming as our authentic selves. And I think it's from a place of humility that we will find the solutions." — Stella Safo

"We all have the experience of being patients in a broken system, whether we come from really privileged backgrounds or less privileged backgrounds, and we all want a better healthcare system." — Amanda Misiti

"There is — we shouldn't have had to trade measles for microplastics." — Amanda Misiti, quoting a friend

About the Hosts

Dr. Stella Safo, MD MPH is a primary care HIV/AIDS physician and founder of Just Equity for Health, an organization advancing health equity. She holds three degrees from Harvard and is a proud New Yorker who came to the U.S. from Ghana as a child.

Amanda Misiti is the founder of Convey Dissemination Solutions, helping researchers and health leaders communicate their work. Her career spans the Peace Corps (Mali), Health and Human Services (Bangladesh), Mount Sinai, and Premier Inc.

Links & Resources

Website & episode downloads: octaviascure.com
More about the organization behind Octavia's Cure at: Just Equity For Health

Jessica Malaty Rivera: Public Health's Communication Problem

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 17:12:53 GMT

How do we talk about science in a way people can actually trust? In this episode of Octavia's Cure, host Dr. Stella Safo talks with Jessica Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and one of today's leading science communicators, about where public health communication breaks down, and how to fix it. Jessica has built a career translating complex science for wide audiences, and in this conversation she pushes back on the idea that plain language means dumbing things down. Instead, she makes the case that clear communication is about dignity, respect, and repetition, not oversimplification.

Stella and Jessica dig into why the work of science is incomplete without communication, and what it would take to close the gap between the institutions doing the research and the public that's supposed to trust them. If you've ever wondered why public health messaging so often misses the mark, this episode offers a clear eyed, hopeful path forward.

Octavia's Cure is a production of Just Equity for Health.

This episode was hosted and executive produced by Dr. Stella Safo.

Creative direction and production by Amanda Misiti.

Post-production by Simon Cowart of Cowart Company.

Digital content by Devon Johnson. For more information, visit octaviascure.com.

Imani Powell: How The Health System Fails Us

Stella Safo, MD MPH — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:51:25 GMT

Have you ever wondered how and why people lose trust in the healthcare system? What makes a mother hesitant to vaccinate her child? Whose knowledge and experience are valued and prioritized in our health system and in our society? Today we are going to go deep into Imani's story about how she and her child were treated in the hospital and the impact of that. This was very eye opening for me, and I think it will be for you too. As you're listening, if you have questions for Imani, please send them to me.

Imani Powell is a scientist, advocate, and mother. She founded The Village Consulting (https://www.thevillageconsulting.org/), which partners with organizations to provide culturally grounded education, advocacy tools, and community centered support.

Octavia's Cure is a production of Just Equity for Health.

This episode was hosted and executive produced by Dr. Stella Safo.

Creative direction and production by Amanda Misiti.

Post-production by Simon Cowart (Cowart Co.)

Digital content by Devon Johnson.

For more information, visit octaviascure.com.