#5SmartReads - March 20, 2023

Novo Nordisk to lower list price of some of its insulin by up to 75% in the U.S. (NBC News)

I so wish that Novo made this move because it was morally the right thing to do (and not because of Lilly’s similar move and declining profits on these products).

I’m not applauding it, but I am waiting for Sanofi to make its own price drop announcement (which I predict will be right before their next quarterly earnings call).

Unlike Lilly (who reduced the out-of-pocket payment of all their insulin products to $35/month, via participating pharmacies), Novo Nordisk is cutting the prices of their insulin products by 65-75%, but the lowest price of one of Nordisk’s products is still coming in around $50.

It’s a move in the right direction, but it feels like a paltry one when so many Americans are still rationing medication that they need a full dose of.

I’ve got my eye on Sanofi, and hoping that the Health & Human Services Department explores procurement and distribution programs for insulin like what was done for the COVID vaccines.

Let’s Talk Barbara Walters (The Cut)

Barbara Walters was a legend in the news and media world. She was also far from perfect, and had plenty of cringey and insensitive moments that captured the news cycle over the intended purpose of her interviews.

Rarely does a piece of reporting live in the nuance and the messy middle, opting for a clean-cut extreme accompanied by a clickbait headline and a mere sliver of the whole story. Irin Carmon’s interview with 17 leading women in news about how Barbara shaped their career and lives is that feature - and a brilliant one at that.

While this is very much a piece about Walters and her career, it’s also a careful history of women in the workplace (both of how things have changed and how some have stubbornly remained the same).

It’s a long read, so save this one for when you have time to prepare a warm drink, curl up in your favorite chair, and take your time to read it.

But do read it.

You have the right to a lawyer, but public defenders note a lack of resources, respect (NPR)

The reality is far different, as Eliza Orlins shares every single day on her Instagram.

There are so many factors about modern life that the Constitution failed to predict or capture when it was drafted to form our government. And while much of that attention is focused on the Supreme Court within the judiciary, more deserves to be on the state of public defense and the incredible work these lawyers do with nearly zero resources.

I’m very honored to serve on the board of Youth Represent, a nonprofit that provides youth with pro bono criminal & civil legal representation in New York City. Legal advocacy groups like YR can help shoulder the burden that falls on public defenders, and our public defenders need significantly more funding to hire more lawyers and give them the resources to defend their clients.

If you’d like to support Youth Represent’s work AND enjoy some incredible wine presented by André Mack, please join us for our virtual wine fundraiser on May 18th!

The Chicks were silenced over politics. 20 years later, those lessons shaped country music’s new generation. (The 19th*)

The Chicks were my entry point into country music (Ready To Run still fires me up and I could write a dissertation on the impact of Goodbye Earl in music since).

Given that I listened to their music mainly on the CDs I purchased or on my iPod playlists, I only remember the news headlines from their cancellation in the early 2000s. So much of this piece was news to me as a result, and a fascinating one on who country music is for and who it’s not - both as artists and fans.

The Chicks have made in indelible impact on music, from fans’ tastes (I’m a Kasey Musgraves and Maren Morris fan because of them, and will be checking out the artists interviewed in this piece) to the music industry as a whole.

I’ll leave you with Margo Price’s words on the state of country music. That you can’t tell whether this was said 20 years ago or today is telling.

EPA moves to limit "forever chemicals" in drinking water (Axios)

This would be a transformative measure proposed by the EPA, and I’ll take whatever impact it’ll have under this administration and any Democratic one.

Sadly, without it being codified by Congress, it’ll be swiftly repealed under a Republican administration (as we saw happen when the 45th president was sworn in).

That the immense body of data we have on the impact of PFAS (polyfluroalkyl substances) on our health and our environment is ignored or rejected by so many lawmakers is tragic. And the private sector, while moving in the right direction, has moved too slowly and thousands (if not millions) of lives have been negatively impacted as a result, with little to no recourse.

Something as essential as clean drinking water shouldn’t be a political thing. It’s sad that it is, and it’s sadder that we can’t put politics aside to pass what should be a unanimous law to protect our water quality when we are clearly able to.