NEW YORK — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a new podcast called "The Secretary Kennedy Podcast," with a debut set for next week. The show will feature Kennedy in conversation with doctors, scientists and agency staff, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials.

The podcast will cover affordability and topics including chronic disease, nutrition, food quality and health costs, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said. Work on the production began early in the second Trump administration, as the department developed the project alongside its other communications efforts.

"The set for the podcast was assembled primarily from items the agency already had and includes seating for four people," said Tyler Burger, HHS digital communications manager and producer of the new podcast.

Kennedy hosted his own podcast before entering government. He joined the Trump administration in 2025 and has served as the nation's health secretary since then, overseeing a department that encompasses agencies responsible for public health research, food and drug regulation, and disease prevention.

The new podcast arrives as the format has become an increasingly common channel for government officials and public institutions to communicate with audiences without the traditional intermediary of a press conference or news briefing. Podcasts are commonly produced in both audio and video formats and are regularly clipped and shared across social media platforms, said Melina Much, a postdoctoral fellow for New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics. Much added that podcasts tend to be more intimate, conversational and friendly than traditional interviews and allow officials to promote themselves with less pushback.

An exact launch date beyond next week has not been announced, and officials have not specified where the podcast will be distributed.