Octavia’s Cure

A Conversation Series About the Future of Healthcare

Hosted by Dr. Stella Safo, MD, MPH

Presented by Just Equity for Health (JEH)

Launching Summer 2026

We're living through a moment of rupture, and trust in healthcare and public health institutions is fracturing. For communities that have long been underserved by these systems, however, that loss of trust isn't new. It's rooted in generations of inequity, exclusion, and harm — a wound that has never fully healed.

Octavia's Cure was created at this moment by physician, advocate, and Just Equity for Health founder Dr. Stella Safo, because crisis can also be a time of innovation. This work invites us to stop asking why the system is failing, and start imagining how we can build something better.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

Dr. Stella Safo

Octavia's Cure draws its name from the spirit of Octavia Butler, a Black woman writer who was a visionary, futurist, and truthteller.

Ms. Butler didn't look away from hard truths, rather she looked through them and, in doing so, showed us what was possible on the other side. That's what our series aims to do: Octavia's Cure explores what becomes possible when we stop accepting that broken systems as inevitable, and come together to begin imagining what else we can create.

What is Octavia’s Cure?

Colorful mosaic-style portrait of Maya Angelou with her hand resting on her chin, surrounded by vibrant geometric patterns.
A black-and-white photo of a woman standing in front of a bookshelf, wearing a light-colored long-sleeve top with a zipper collar, and posing with one hand on her hip.

Art generated by Nettrice Gaskins

A group of four happy people, two women and two men, smiling and laughing outdoors on a sunny day with palm trees in the background.

Each episode is a conversation with people who know healthcare from the inside out, and from the ground up:

  • Patients navigating broken systems

  • Clinicians delivering care under impossible conditions

  • Organizers creating community solutions

  • Designers building new models

  • Community members whose experiences are too often overlooked

These are the voices helping us envision new possibilities.

How it Works

Octavia's Cure releases in seasons, with focused episodes that go deep on a theme, then pause so listeners can process, reflect and carry the ideas forward.

Four people sitting in a circle, engaged in a conversation and smiling, in a cozy room with bookshelves and decor.

Meet the Octavia’s Cure Team

A woman smiling outdoors, wearing colorful earrings and a black blouse with red and yellow patterns, with a green blurred background.

Stella Safo

Host & Executive Producer

A woman with curly hair wearing a blue top, sitting outdoors in a natural setting with blurred trees and ground in the background.

Amanda Misiti

Creative Director & Producer

Portrait of a smiling woman with dark hair and brown eyes, wearing a patterned teal blouse and jewelry, standing indoors with a neutral background and some greenery visible.

Devon Johnson

Digital Content Producer

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Simon Cowart

Post-Production Producer

Join the Conversation

Together, we’ll ask and explore the big questions:

What does healthcare look like when it actually meets your needs? What does public health look like when it improves health for all and not just some? What does it take to build systems worthy of trust? How can we all help build these systems better?

That’s Octavia's Cure. Welcome to the conversation.

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Contact us with comments or questions at:

info@justequityforhealth.com

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