What Working at the CDC Is Really Like (From the Inside)!
What is it actually like to work at the CDC?
In this episode of the Unknown Variables Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Erin Thomas — a sociologist at the CDC — to unpack the side of public health most people never see: systems, behavior, trust, and the human factors that determine whether good science turns into real-world outcomes.
We talk about:
- Why “CDC work” is so much more than labs and vaccines
- How bias and structural barriers show up in lactation support and breastfeeding care
- What the U.S. Ebola response revealed (and why COVID exposed it at scale)
- Why changing guidance can destabilize the public — even when it’s scientifically correct
- How CDC work shifts across roles: research → evaluation → tuberculosis (TB) programs
- Why TB still matters in the U.S. (and who it impacts most)
- What it takes for evidence to actually change practice in a massive organization
- And what still gives her hope about the future of public health
If this conversation helped you see public health differently, subscribe/follow — it tells me to keep making episodes like this.
Guest: Dr. Erin Thomas (CDC)
Note: Views expressed are the guest’s own and do not necessarily represent the CDC.
Host: Anthony J. Rojas, Ph.D.
