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The 229 Podcast

Podcasts Hosted by Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, and Drex DeFord

In-depth interviews with healthcare CIOs, CISOs, and technology leaders. Bill Russell explores the decisions, strategies, and innovations shaping healthcare transformation.

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Episodes (418)

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The 229 Podcast UnHack the Podcast UnHack the News 2 Minute Drill Newsday Executive Interview Solution Showcase

Nov 20, 2025·2 Minute Drill

2 Minute Drill: Cybercriminals Weaponize AI: Self-Modifying Malware with Drex DeFord

Cybercriminals are escalating their tactics by deploying AI-enabled malware that adapts in real-time. Google Cloud and Anthropic threat intelligence reports reveal attackers using tools like Prompt Flux malware to contact AI APIs mid-attack, rewriting code to evade detection. Threat actors are bypassing AI safety guardrails through social engineering, tricking models into providing malicious capabilities. The underground cybercrime market now offers sophisticated multifunction tools, lowering ba

Nov 17, 2025·Newsday

Newsday: Security Culture Saves Hospital and Resource Gaps with George Pappas

November 17, 2025: How does a 25-bed critical access hospital successfully stop a cyberattack when larger health systems fall victim? George Pappas , CEO of Intraprise Health , unpacks the Colorado hospital that shows how security culture beats expensive technology. The conversation reveals why vendor transparency remains elusive despite high-profile breaches, explores the harsh reality of hospitals that know their vulnerabilities but lack resources to fix them, and tackles AI governance challen

Nov 12, 2025·2 Minute Drill

2 Minute Drill: CISA Extension, Oracle Breach Fallout, and the Wiz Acquisition with Drex DeFord

CISA 2015's temporary extension buys time until January, but what happens next? Drex breaks down the Oracle E-Business Suite ransomware attack affecting 29 victims—including potential third and fourth-party partners in your supply chain. Plus, Google's $32B Wiz acquisition clears a major hurdle, and Armas' $435M funding round signals where security investment is heading. Keep your threat intel pipelines hot and your radar up. Remember, Stay a Little Paranoid X: This Week Health Linke

Nov 12, 2025·Solution Showcase

Solution Showcase: Building a Successful 5-Year Digital Roadmap with Pam Austin and Chris Jenkins

November 12, 2025: After a major consolidation and Epic implementation during COVID-19, Ballad Health could have focused solely on survival. Instead, Pam Austin , CIO at Ballad Health , partnered with Chris Jenkins , EVP of Digital Strategy and Enterprise Imaging at Healthlink Advisors , to build a comprehensive five-year digital roadmap anchored in six strategic pillars. This conversation explores how they established IT governance that turns noise into clarity, created an Office of the CIO to

Nov 10, 2025·Newsday

Newsday: AWS Outage Exploration and Removing Risk from Your Data with Vik Patel

November 10, 2025: When AWS experienced a major outage affecting over 500 companies, healthcare IT leaders were reminded that cloud architecture isn't just a technical decision; it's a strategic imperative. Vik Patel, COO from Tido dives into the cascading failures that exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare's cloud dependencies. From Epic instances running on AWS to the emerging challenges of AI data lakes, this conversation reveals why simplicity in architecture might be healthcare IT's most un

Nov 4, 2025·2 Minute Drill

2 Minute Drill: EY Data Leak, India's Cybercrime Villages, and AI Browser Risks with Drex DeFord

Ernst & Young exposed 4TB of client data on an unsecured database, highlighting data hygiene failures even at major consulting firms. India's cybercrime villages have transformed entire communities from agriculture to organized online fraud operations. New AI browsers from Perplexity and ChatGPT lack critical security controls, creating risks as they access cookies, session tokens, and sensitive files. Healthcare leaders must treat these emerging tools like untrusted interns and supervise ev

Nov 3, 2025·Newsday

Newsday: The CxO Pulse - Insights and Lessons from 229 Summits with This Week Health

November 3, 2025: What are healthcare IT leaders really concerned about? Fresh from three 229 Project summits across the country, Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, and Drex DeFord pull back the curtain on the most pressing conversations happening right now. From simplifying AI governance with a two-track vendor approach to rethinking hiring strategies for an agent-driven future, this episode captures the pulse of healthcare leadership in real time. Discover why some organizations are solving hundr

Oct 29, 2025·Solution Showcase

Solution Showcase: Smooth and Rapid Growth In the M&A Era with Glen Phares and Brent Lamm

October 29, 2025: When UNC Health embarked on integrating 14 hospitals and hundreds of clinics across North Carolina, they needed more than just technology—they needed a scalable playbook. Brent Lamm , SVP and CIO at UNC Health , joins Glen Phares , National Director for Healthcare Solution Delivery at Experis Health Solutions , to reveal how UNC Health built repeatable processes for rapid M&A integration. From consolidating nine different payrolls into one ERP system to managing infrastruct

Oct 28, 2025·2 Minute Drill

2 Minute Drill: Pokemon Go's Hidden Agenda: How AR Apps Map the World With Drex DeFord

Drex explores how Niantic's Pokemon Go used gameplay to crowdsource geospatial AI training data, including strategically placing Pokemon at hospitals and clinics to map sensitive facilities. Players unknowingly volunteered location data, camera scans, and movement patterns through terms of service agreements most never read. A cautionary tale about digital consent and the hidden costs of "free to play" apps in healthcare settings. Remember, Stay a Little Paranoid X: This Week Health

Oct 27, 2025·Newsday

Newsday: Why Constraints Drive Innovation - AI Agents and the Jobs They Can’t Fill

October 27, 2025: Bill, Drex, and Sarah discuss the realities of implementing AI agents across organizations. The group tackles uncomfortable questions about workforce displacement, the critical thinking skills being lost to automation, and the massive energy demands threatening AI sustainability. From simplifying complex systems to understanding what innovation really means under constraint, This Week Health explores the practical and philosophical challenges facing healthcare technology leader

Oct 22, 2025·2 Minute Drill

2 Minute Drill: AI Infrastructure Power Crisis and AWS Updates with Drex DeFord

The future of AI resilience isn't just about firewalls and backups—it's about ensuring power grids, chip fabrication facilities, and cloud infrastructure can withstand attacks and disruptions. As AI becomes critical infrastructure, the question isn't whether it will change everything, but whether we can power and protect it without creating catastrophic business liabilities. Remember, Stay a Little Paranoid X: This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade

Oct 20, 2025·Newsday

Newsday: MFA Isn't Enough and Why Healthcare Can’t Just Hack Back with Preston Duren

Multi-factor authentication isn't the bulletproof security measure it once was. Preston Duren , VP of Threat Services at Fortified Health Security , explores how cybercriminals are outsmarting traditional MFA through sophisticated phishing tactics and MFA bombing. The conversation shifts to the debate over platform consolidation—does fewer mean safer, or are we creating attractive single points of attack? With AI rapidly transforming both offensive and defensive capabilities in cybersecurity, th