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The House of Pod

The House of Pod

The Accidental Activist: A Small-Town ER Doctor's Fight for Free Speech

Oct 27, 2026 · 53m

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About this episode

Dr. Chad Smith was the only emergency room doctor living in Weaverville, California — the guy you wanted in the room when it mattered most. Then one night, troubled by what he saw on the news and read online, he posted his thoughts on his private Facebook page. The next morning, his hospital fired him. This week on The House of Pod, Dr. Kaveh Hoda sits down with Dr. Chad Smith and his civil rights attorney Matthew Kumin to unpack what happened in a small mountain town with a big story about free speech, worker's rights, and who gets to decide what a doctor can and can't say online. We dig into the First Amendment, California labor law, the difference between private and government…