The conversation with Gregg Gonsalves was truly fascinating because it emphasized just how much health and politics intertwine. During the conversation, Dr. Gonsalves stressed that both the social determinants of health and also political determinants influence health. What I found striking is that so many life or death decisions are made by people in power (such as policy makers) who are likely not fully in touch with the issues that they decide on. It is the people—who see, live, and are affected by issues—that are truly aware of the topics that policy makers decide on (and the impact that certain decisions may have). The people are the true experts of so many issues and therefore, the public’s voice and perspective should be prioritized when decisions are made by people in power so that the proper and beneficial actions can be taken and so harmful policies are not enacted. A perfect example of the importance of the community’s voice when it comes to policy—as discussed by Dr. Gonsalves—is Act Up. Act Up, an HIV/AIDS advocacy group has helped to speed up HIV/AIDS drug approval, encourage further HIV/AIDS research at the NIH, and worked toward policy to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic through politics. In short, the public, their passion, and commitment are all critical and can influence politics which is important so that policy makers are less likely to implement and/or perpetuate regulations/practices that cause more harm than good. Dr. Gonsalves also mentioned during the discussion how political agendas can—at times—outweigh population health which made me curious about something; why is it that public health (findings, recommendations, etc.) is oftentimes not held at a higher regard? Any thoughts?