We’re asking: is racism silently shaping the global vaccine response? And what could President Biden’s recent huge decision to take on vaccine monopolies mean for people around the world? We also do a special round of “big pharma bingo”, examining the key arguments that pharmaceutical corporations have been making that is stifling the mass production of Covid-19 vaccines. Max and Nabil are joined by three giants from the access to medicines and public health movement: Priti Krishtel and Tahir Amin (the Co-Executive Directors of IMAK, which challenges systemic injustice and advocates for health equity in drug development and access), and Asia Russell (the CEO of HealthGAP, which is dedicated to ensuring that all people living with HIV have access to life-saving medicines). Come to learn, to find inspiration, and to get the inside track on the vaccine issue. More information about the people’s vaccine is at www.peoplesvaccine.org This is the first episode of the EQUALS podcast, season four. And if you’re joining us for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, Zambian music artist PilAto on the power of music, thinker Ece Temelkuran on beating fascism, climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.