Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
Episodes
320 episodes
Episode 316- How Local Power Shapes National Outcomes. With Chris Armitage
The fastest way to lose a democracy isn’t one dramatic moment, it’s the slow drift from problem-solving into tribal power games. Rich Helppie sits down with writer and Substack creator Chris Armitage to ask why serious policy talk keeps getting...
Episode 315- Brutal Truths About Healthcare Leadership. With Louis Shapiro
Healthcare keeps getting more expensive, less accessible, and harder to navigate, and the part that drives you crazy is that it also feels familiar. We sit down with Lou Shapiro, former CEO of Hospital for Special Surgery, to talk candidly abou...
Episode 314- How Data Centers And AI Are Redrawing U.S. Infrastructure
AI is pushing America into a new infrastructure era, and it’s bigger than potholes and bridges. When Professor Rick Geddes from Cornell joins us, we zoom out and connect the dots between infrastructure policy, infrastructure finance, and “infre...
Episode 313- Feeding A County Hidden In Plain Sight. With Ruth Mageria
Palm Beach County gets portrayed as sunshine and wealth, but that picture leaves out the families choosing between rent and groceries, seniors stretched by HOA hikes, and working parents who cannot keep up with prices. I sit down with Ruth Mage...
Episode 312- Healthcare Gets Better When Leaders Invest In People. with Quint Studer
Healthcare keeps getting labeled “more complex,” but that line can become a trap. When leaders accept it as truth, they stop simplifying, stop teaching, and stop making clear decisions. I sat down with Quint Studer to talk about what’s actually...
Episode 311- Can Hospitals Survive? Grumpy Old Men Take on Today's Healthcare System
Price caps make for great politics and terrible bedside reality when they ignore how hospitals actually survive. Nate Kaufman sits down with healthcare analyst and futurist Dr. Jeff Goldsmith for a blunt conversation about why “just cap hospita...
Episode 310- Making Education Work For the 21st Century. with Shaka Mitchell
Only 35% of kids testing on grade level is not a headline, it’s a flashing warning light. I sit down with education advocate and Substack writer Shaka Mitchell to ask the uncomfortable question behind the data: if students are just as capable a...
Episode 309- Betting On Yourself In Business. With Sam Caudle
Want a real blueprint for building a modern, lean business without drowning in overhead or paid leads? We’re joined by Florida realtor and creator Sam Caudle, who walks us through how a simple, service-first YouTube channel became a steady pipe...
Episode 308: From Law To Healthcare Media: Scott Becker On Building Becker’s And Fixing Care
What if the real reason care feels harder to get isn’t your insurance card or a shiny new policy, but a simple math problem: too many patients, not enough clinicians? We sit down with Scott Becker—attorney, entrepreneur, and founder of Becker’s...
Episode 307- From Corporate Comfort To Water-Wise Growth. With Kevin Green
Ready to trade permission for possibility? We sit down with Kevin Green, owner of Conserva Irrigation of Ann Arbor and co-founder of Luxhaven Lighting, to unpack how he left a comfortable corporate track and built a purpose-led service business...
Episode 306- Leaping From Data To Diamonds- with Blake Polizzi
What if courage came before confidence, not after? That theme powers a candid conversation with third‑generation jeweler Blake Polizzi of Susan Blake Jewelry, who stepped into leadership after her mother’s passing and turned a beloved family br...
Episode 305- Voices Beyond The Partisan Echo. With David Dennison
When outrage becomes the default setting, thinking gets outsourced to the loudest tribe. We invited Substack writer and teacher David Dennison to help map a way back to clear thought, using real-world examples to show how independent journalism...
Episode 304- From DC Spy Dreams To Substack: Amanda Claypool On Media, Money, And Meaning
What if the numbers that dominate headlines tell you less about the economy than the price of your groceries, your rent, and your ability to start a family? We sit with writer and analyst Amanda Claypool to unpack Main Street economics, A.I.’s ...
Episode 303- Mark Cuban On PBMs, Rebates, And Rewiring Healthcare Incentives
If you’ve ever wondered why your deductible feels like a brick wall while insurers tout “savings,” this conversation goes straight to the source. Nathan Kaufman sits down with Mark Cuban to pull apart how PBMs and insurers shape drug prices, hi...
Episode 302- Seeing Clearly: Journalism Without Gatekeepers. With Chris Bray
What if the cure for our political fatigue is as simple as slowing down and looking at the evidence? We kick off a new series spotlighting Substack writers with journalist and historian Chris Bray, whose work strips away spin by linking directl...
Episode 301- Venezuela: What the Law Says. With Anthony Colangelo
Power grabbed headlines, but the real story is law, limits, and what comes next. We sit down with Professor Anthony Colangelo of SMU to unpack the U.S. operation that seized Venezuela’s leader and to separate a clean legal argument from messy p...
Episode 300- Ten Resolutions For Health System Leaders
The status quo is expensive, exhausting, and unsustainable—so we set out a practical playbook to do better in 2026. Nathan Kaufman shares ten no‑nonsense resolutions for health system leaders who want measurable outcomes, stronger teams, and sm...
Episode 299- Inside The Fight To Fix Health Care Financing. With Nate Kaufman
The real fight in U.S. healthcare isn’t between doctors and patients—it’s against a financing maze that raises premiums, hides quality, and rewards middlemen. We pull back the curtain on why ACA plans look the same yet cost more, how public und...
Episode 298- Unfiltered Consciousness: Laughing Through Life’s Absurdities. With author Terence Duncan as well as Greg Jbara
Season Seven of The Common Bridge features host Richard Helppie in an episode that concludes with foaming mayonnaise dispensers in this lighter, story-driven talk with Tony Award–winning actor Gregory Jbara and longtime friend, designer-turned-...
Episode 297- How a System CEO Drives Access and Affordability with Optimism. With Jeff Flaks
Healthcare can feel stuck, but the ground is moving under our feet in the best possible way. We sit down with Hartford Healthcare’s CEO, Jeff Flaks, to unpack how a statewide system is using scale with purpose: pushing care into more convenient...
Episode 296- Inside Michigan Medicine: Access, AI, And A New Era Of Care. With Dr. David Miller, M.D.
What happens when a powerhouse research enterprise, a statewide health system, and a relentless push for access all meet at the same table? Our conversation with Dr. David Miller, CEO of Michigan Medicine, opens the door to a candid look at how...
Episode 295- GLP-1, Obesity, And The Cost Of Change. With Dr. David Harlan
What if blockbuster weight-loss drugs and a broken food system are two sides of the same story? We sit down with Dr. David Harlan—physician, researcher, and former NIH diabetes branch chief—to trace the unlikely path from the “incretin effect” ...
Episode 294- Inside America’s Access Crisis And Why Wait Times Keep Rising. With Rich Helppie.
Host Nate Kaufman brings Rich Helppie back for a discussion about healthcare access. A 30-day wait for a first oncology visit after hearing the word leukemia is not an edge case—it’s the new normal in a system where demand outpaces supply...
Episode 293- Subsidies, Shutdowns, And The Healthcare Squeeze. With Nate Kaufman
Politicians argue about subsidies while families face premiums that can top $26,900 and deductibles big enough to delay basic care. We step past the slogans to map how the ACA exchanges actually work today—standardized benefits that reduce real...
Episode 292- From Crisis To Reform: A Mother, A Judge, And A Broken System
One mother’s plea and a judge’s blueprint collide with a terrifying truth: the systems meant to protect people with serious mental illness—and the communities around them—often wait until harm is done. We bring Beverly Gille and Judge Milton L....
