The Entangled Health Podcast

Madison Murphy Barney
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The Entangled Health Podcast explores what is possible when we honor story as strategy. The show is hosted by Madison Murphy Barney, a public health storyteller and strategist. With her Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Madison has worked with federal ministries of health, leading hospitals and healthcare systems, billion-dollar foundations, teaching hospitals, and large nonprofits to operationalize storytelling initiatives. Each episode of The Entangled Health Podcast weaves together story, strategy, and systems change. You’ll hear how organizations can use storytelling to: Build trust with communities Reconnect staff to purpose Influence policy and shift narratives Generate resources for lasting change This podcast is for leaders, practitioners, and dreamers who know that connection is medicine. 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com Links & Resources: Quiz: https://form.jotform.com/Mmbarney/storytelling-quiz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-murphy-barney/ Website: https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Email Address: mbarney@entangledhealth.com

  1. MAR 4

    The Pitfalls of Urgency (For Organizations): When Moving Fast Undermines Trust

    In this episode of The Entangled Health Podcast, we explore the hidden cost of urgency inside organizations. In public health, philanthropy, nonprofits, and health systems, urgency is often rewarded. Grant deadlines. Political pressure. Board expectations. Media cycles. The need to show impact now. But urgency and strategy are not the same thing. And when it comes to storytelling, community engagement, and trust-building, urgency can quietly undermine the very outcomes we’re trying to create. In this episode, we unpack the difference between speed and urgency. Story-driven strategy can move quickly. A Story Lab Session can create clarity in hours. A listening strategy can be designed in weeks. But trust cannot be rushed. If you’re a decision-maker navigating pressure right now, this episode is an invitation to move with ethical velocity instead of fear-driven speed. Because if we want systems that heal, we cannot build them at the speed of panic. -- 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    20 min

  2. FEB 18

    From Conversation to Constellation: How a Single StoryLab Session Becomes a Five-Year Strategy

    What happens when an organization carves out 2-3 hours for genuine conversation about storytelling? In this episode, we explore the StoryLab session: a structured visioning process that meets organizations exactly where they are and helps them see where storytelling could take them.  We break down the four lenses of listening that shape every session (listening, capacity, budget, and operations), explain how assessment transforms into actionable vision, and make the case for why strategy built on deep understanding outlasts strategy built on assumptions. Whether you're considering a partnership or simply curious about what intentional storytelling infrastructure looks like, this episode pulls back the curtain on how meaningful, long-term impact begins with a single conversation. In This Episode: Why a StoryLab session is fundamentally different from a discovery call or intake meeting The four diagnostic lenses: listening, capacity, budget, and operationsHow we move from "where you are" to "where you could be" within a single sessionThe concept of storytelling interventions as building blocks toward culture change What organizations actually receive after a StoryLab session The "evergreen" principle: designing for longevity, not just the immediate projectSigns your organization might be ready for this kind of strategic conversationKey Takeaways:1. Deep listening changes everything. Most organizations have never been asked what they want their stories to do. Starting with that question, rather than jumping to tactics, reshapes what becomes possible. 2. Strategy emerges from understanding, not templates. A five-year storytelling strategy isn't a rigid plan imposed from outside. It's a constellation that takes shape as you understand an organization's true capacity, constraints, and aspirations. 3. Constraints are information, not obstacles. Honest conversation about budget, staffing, and operational realities doesn't limit imagination. It grounds it in what can actually be sustained. 4. Each intervention builds toward something larger. A single story project has value on its own, but when designed intentionally, individual projects compound into organizational culture shift over time. 5. Storytelling infrastructure outlasts storytelling campaigns. The goal isn't content production. It's building systems and practices that allow stories to do ongoing work for communities and organizations. Questions to Reflect On: What stories is your organization telling right now, and who's doing the telling?If storytelling were fully integrated into your work five years from now, what would be different? What institutional knowledge is at risk of being lost if you don't capture it intentionally?Who in your organization would steward storytelling work, and do they havethe capacity to do it well?-- 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    29 min

  3. FEB 4

    The Swiss Cheese Model of Public Health: Why Story Is the Structure

    Public health doesn’t fail because we’re missing one solution.It fails because we keep treating complex systems like they can be fixed in parts. In this episode, I introduce the Swiss Cheese Model of Public Health—a frameworkfor understanding why health outcomes depend on multiple, imperfect layersworking together, and why people keep falling through the cracks when those layersaren’t aligned. Those layers include: Access to responsive care and servicesAn ecosystem of community support and opportunityPolicies and practices that truly see and serve usA healthy, abundant environment to live, connect, and belongEach layer matters. None are sufficient on their own. And here’s the key insight:Story-driven strategy is the wrapper that holds these layers together. Story isn’t marketing. It isn’t a testimonial tacked on at the end. Story is how systems listen, learn, and align. Without it, even the best programs, policies, and investments fragment—and people fall through. This episode is for anyone working in public health, healthcare, philanthropy, nonprofits, or systems change who knows that siloed solutions aren’t enough—and wants language, structure, and strategy for doing this work differently. What We Cover Why public health interventions fail even when they’re well-funded and well-intentionedThe Swiss Cheese Model of Public Health and its four interdependent layersWhy “gaps” in systems aren’t personal failures—they’re structural realitiesHow story reveals where systems actually break down in real lifeWhy story-driven strategy is infrastructure, not communicationsWhat changes when organizations use story to align care, policy, community, and environment How to move from fragmented efforts to coherent, people-centered systems-- 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    28 min

  4. JAN 21

    Storytelling for Rural Health Equity: A Conversation with Chelsey Canavan

    In rural communities, the standard metrics often miss what matters most. So how do health organizations build trust and make the case for their work when the data tells an incomplete story? In this episode, I sit down with Chelsey Canavan, my client at the Center for Advancing Rural Health Equity at Dartmouth, to explore how storytelling has become central to their work. We discuss why rural health settings demand different approaches, demystify storytelling for health and justice orgs, and trust building through story. Whether you work in health equity, rural health, or any setting where numbers alone can't capture impact, this conversation offers a grounded look at what becomes possible when organizations learn to lead with story. In this episode: Why traditional data often fails rural health contextsMaking storytelling accessible for data-driven teamsStory as a trust-building practice, not just a communications tacticLessons from three years of partnership-- 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    37 min

  5. JAN 7

    Why You Should Hire the Doula to Do Your Strategy Work

    What if the best strategic mind for your organization isn't the one with the sharpest certainty—but the one most comfortable in the unknown? This episode explores why doula skills are strategy superpowers, and why the work of birth and the work of story are fundamentally the same. 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    34 min

  6. 12/17/2025

    Before & After Storytelling: How Organizations Transform When They Truly Listen

    Most health and justice organizations still treat storytelling as a comms task—something you gather for a campaign or report. But when narrative becomes part of the organizational body, everything shifts. In this episode, we explore the real Before → After transformation that happens when organizations start to deeply listen, center lived experience, and build story into their strategic infrastructure. We cover: Increased health-seeking behaviorsStronger and more responsive programsHigher staff retention and satisfactionDeeper patient–provider connectionA powerful bank of evergreen advocacy toolsExpanded funding opportunities driven by community storyThis episode is a guide to imagining what becomes possible when your organization moves from extractive storytelling to relational narrative strategy. 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    27 min

  7. 12/03/2025

    Doing Communications Differently: A Conversation with Dorian Johnson

    Today’s guest is Dorian Johnson — a health communicator, strategist, and storyteller whose work challenges the traditional, top-down ways public health has been taught to “message” to communities. Instead, Dorian pushes us to see communication as relationship, as accountability, and as a form of practice that must be rooted in listening. Together, we explore: What traditional health communications gets wrongStorytelling as a tool for connection across powerCommunity engagement that is real—not performativeDoing communications differentlyThe future of public health communicationsThis conversation is warm, honest, and deeply grounded. If your organization is wrestling with trust, relevance, or community connection—this episode will help you rethink what’s possible. 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    44 min

  8. 11/26/2025

    Listening to Complexity: Why Simplifying Health Breaks Reality

    We’re taught to simplify things, but what if simplicity in our work creates a false reality? In this episode, we explore how embracing complexity leads to more effective, human-centered strategy. Learn why storytelling isn’t just a communication tool—it’s how we return to truth, design from reality, and create programs that actually serve. 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together at https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com

    16 min
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About

The Entangled Health Podcast explores what is possible when we honor story as strategy. The show is hosted by Madison Murphy Barney, a public health storyteller and strategist. With her Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Madison has worked with federal ministries of health, leading hospitals and healthcare systems, billion-dollar foundations, teaching hospitals, and large nonprofits to operationalize storytelling initiatives. Each episode of The Entangled Health Podcast weaves together story, strategy, and systems change. You’ll hear how organizations can use storytelling to: Build trust with communities Reconnect staff to purpose Influence policy and shift narratives Generate resources for lasting change This podcast is for leaders, practitioners, and dreamers who know that connection is medicine. 🔗 Stay Connected Take the Quiz → Discover where your organization most needs storytelling Let's connect on LinkedIn Lean more about how we can work together Reach out with questions and inquiries at mbarney@entangledhealth.com Links & Resources: Quiz: https://form.jotform.com/Mmbarney/storytelling-quiz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-murphy-barney/ Website: https://madisonmurphybarney.com/entangled-health Email Address: mbarney@entangledhealth.com

Information

  • Creator
    Madison Murphy Barney
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Madison Murphy Barney