Why Should I Trust You? (Brinda Adhikari, Tom Johnson, Maggie Bartlett, Dr. Mark Abdelmalek)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Why Should I Trust You?
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Jan 2025 | Trailer! Why Should I Trust You? | 00:00:35 | |
Hi everyone! Welcome to Why Should I Trust You?, a new weekly podcast looking at why so many Americans have lost trust in science and public health. Hosted by two former TV news journalists and a virologist, each week we will hear from those who mistrust mainstream science and also hear from those who ARE mainstream science. Join us as we take on everything from vaccines to doctor-patient relationships to what science has to say when there is uncertainty -- and how we can move forward together. Beginning in early January 2025! Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 09 Jan 2025 | How Covid Radicalized Us All | 01:25:34 | |
It's been 5 years since the pandemic and America's trust in public health, medicine, and science has plummeted. It's no secret that the COVID-19 response left a significant portion of Americans seething mad. Now, as the Trump administration, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading the charge, prepares to take control of public health, and with the emergence of a new virus posing a growing threat, Brinda, Maggie, and Tom dig beneath the poll numbers and declining vaccination rates to explore what happens when so many Americans begin to question mainstream science. We speak with a suburban mom and lifelong Democrat about her personal health journey, her experience during the pandemic, and ultimately how her views on science and health led her to vote this time for Donald Trump. VIEWS ON CHILDHOOD VACCINATIONS Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 16 Jan 2025 | Why We Can't Stop Talking About Ivermectin | 01:06:48 | |
Ivermectin is in the spotlight again -- thanks to Joe Rogan, Mel Gibson, and even some related legislation making its way around the country. Moreover, people we are speaking with who mistrust mainstream science regularly bring it up as an example illustrating a dishonest public health and media establishment. 20-30% of prescriptions are off-label: Is Ivermectin Bogus or a “Miracle Drug”? Emergency Use Authorizations of COVID-19–Related Medical Products: Bill forcing hospitals to administer ivermectin, other requested treatments nears finish line Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 20 Jan 2025 | Special Episode: A Conversation with Dr. John Ioannidis | 00:56:47 | |
Special episode alert! Not afraid to ruffle feathers, rock the boat, or insert your idiomatic expression here, Ioannidis, true to form, set the scientific world afire in the earliest days of the pandemic when he criticized the public health community's rush to shut down schools and businesses without more reliable data on how severe the virus would become. This, as expected, raised the ire of the public health establishment, which criticized his downplaying of an unfolding pandemic that would ultimately claim 1.1 million American lives. Now, the unicorn part: Today, while believing that aspects of our response to the pandemic did more harm than good, he is staunchly pro-vaccine, believes the COVID vaccine was a triumph of science, and has zero interest in pointing fingers of blame. Dr. Ioannidis also states unequivocally that vaccines do not cause autism and that treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine have not been proven to work on COVID, often drawing ire from those who are skeptical of mainstream science. With all this as a prologue, what does he think about the outbreak of mistrust that is consuming America today? We discuss how he believes we can find common ground, focus on the real threats we face (e.g., conflicts of interest in scientific research), and rebuild trust in one another.
Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 23 Jan 2025 | The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. | 01:14:56 | |
Amid a blitz of public health-related executive orders issued by President Trump since Monday alone, including one that will pull America out of the WHO, comes news that a date has finally been set for RFK Jr's highly-anticipated confirmation hearing -- as of the moment of publishing, it will take place next week. Offit responds to the story we feature of Daniel King, a once healthy, pro-vaccine Army veteran who says his health is now devastated and he wonders if it may have been due to the Covid vaccine—all he is looking for is some help understanding his condition and says the medical community is ignoring his pleas, further pushing him towards alternative sources of information. Finally, with RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearings around the corner, what’s the one question Dr. Offit most wants senators to ask? Huge thanks to Braver Angels and David Lapp for helping us meet Daniel King. Rutherford: Troops Discharged for Refusing COVID Vaccine Must Be Reinstated Routine childhood vaccination rates lower than pre pandemic levels Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 30 Jan 2025 | RFK Jr. Testifies, MAHA Flexes, and Public Health Panics | 01:04:06 | |
With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifying to become Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary, optimism and joy are coursing through the ascendant Make America Healthy Again movement, while fear and confusion are taking hold in American public health circles. To critics, he is an outspoken vaccine skeptic and spreader of conspiracy theories. To supporters, he is a singular figure, a warrior able to take on a broken system that is responsible for America's chronic health epidemic. As the nomination was rolling forward, the Trump administration sent shockwaves through the public health community, freezing day-to-day operations and funding and overwhelming doctors and scientists who are asking: Is this typical fallout from a new presidential transition or the start of a campaign to control science? We’re joined by Travis Tripodi a longtime supporter of RFK Jr., as well as Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, a public health leader and author of the wildly popular substack "Your Local Epidemiologist". Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 06 Feb 2025 | A CIA Declaration, Subpoenas, & Fauci’s Pardon: Why the Lab Leak Debate is Still Raging On | 01:10:57 | |
With the CIA now siding with the "lab leak" theory, President Trump reportedly considering cuts to “risky” virus research, Republican Senator Rand Paul firing off subpoenas, and President Biden’s pre-emptive pardon of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the fierce debate over COVID’s origins is only intensifying. And while many believe we’re no closer to an answer, the fight itself is deepening our national crisis of trust in science. In this episode, we sit down with David Wallace-Wells, science columnist for The New York Times who has written extensively about the origins of Covid, and Robert F. Garry, a leading virologist who found himself at the center of this storm after publishing a paper on COVID’s origins and being hauled in front of Congress. We explore how what began as a scientific question spiraled into a full-blown political battle, fueling a growing mistrust in science five years after COVID emerged. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: David Wallace Wells, science columnist, New York Times; author, The Uninhabitable Earth Robert Garry, virologist; professor of microbiology/immunology/assistant dean, Tulane University School of Medicine Sources: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/opinion/covid-lab-leak-theory.html https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/45389-americans-believe-covid-origin-lab?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fpolitics%2Farticles-reports%2F2023%2F03%2F10%2Famericans-believe-covid-origin-lab Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 13 Feb 2025 | Is it True You Can't Sue a Vaccine Manufacturer? We Ask a Vaccine Legal Scholar | 00:46:18 | |
A major source of mistrust in public health today is the belief that you can't sue a vaccine manufacturer if you suffer an adverse reaction. Many ask: Why should I trust vaccines if I can't hold vaccine makers accountable? For them, it sounds un-American, heavily biased toward Big Pharma, and proof that the system is rigged. It is something that the incoming health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spoken about often. But is it true? In this episode, we sit down with Dorit Reiss, a legal scholar specializing in vaccines and the law, to separate fact from fiction. We dive into why vaccine makers were ever granted any shield from liability to begin with. And we look at where America ultimately landed on this issue, by unpacking the facts and tracing the history. What we found surprised us. We asked: what recourse do people have if they experience a rare side effect and want accountability from a vaccine maker? What avenues exist today and do they work? Is our understandable desire to have available vaccines -- which have saved hundreds of millions of lives -- allowing room for a fair process to hold vaccine makers accountable for adverse reactions? Plus, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now becomes the new leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, what potential changes could he bring to the vaccine landscape? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Dorit Reiss, Professor of Law, University of California Law San Francisco; vaccine law specialist Sources: GAO report 2024 on how Covid vaccine compensation program is fairing https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107368 New York Times from November 1986 on Reagan
https://pauloffit.substack.com/p/a-dangerous-time-for-americas-children-3bb
Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 20 Feb 2025 | Measles, Pharma and Mistrust: A Conversation with MAHA Moms and Dr. Paul Offit | 01:00:15 | |
This week, in his first speech addressing the Department of Health and Human Services as its new chief, RFK Jr. said the path to the country earning back trust was through transparency. As Kennedy was saying these words to a packed audience, Texas was clocking in more measles cases, in what is turning out to be its worst measles outbreak in 30 years. With rising mistrust in public health and declining vaccination rates, measles - a disease we eradicated over 20 years ago is making a comeback, worrying many in public health. But two MAHA moms in their fifties we heard from on today's episode ask a question we are increasingly hearing more often these days: what's the big deal about measles? Both these moms got it as children and recovered, missed a few days of school and then had lifelong immunity. Is public health over reacting? They point to a classic Brady Bunch episode where the kids all catch measles, reflecting how the virus was once considered a rite of passage, a harmless childhood illness. If anything, doesn't getting a disease strengthen the immune system? Before the vaccine, measles claimed the lives of 500 children every year and hospitalized tens of thousands more, and sometimes led to severe complications in kids many years after they got sick. But now that we have a vaccine, what’s the real risk of measles today? And why is the measles vaccine -- while still popular among the vast majority of this country -- losing the trust of a small but growing group of Americans? In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Paul Offit, a leading expert on childhood vaccines, to explore the questions surrounding measles and dig into the facts about pharmaceutical funding while aiming to model a more constructive conversation. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Yesenia Muhammad, Atlanta, MAHA Mom Melinda Hicks, Atlanta, MAHA Mom Dr. Paul Offit, pediatrician, infectious disease and vaccine specialist Sources: States looking to create exemptions for public school vaccine mandates: Public Attitudes on the MMR vaccine: CDC numbers on risk from Measles Measles compromises immune memory Measles virus infection diminishes preexisting antibodies that offer protection from other pathogens Clinical Trial data on MMR: Clinical evaluation of a new measles-mumps-rubella trivalent vac Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 27 Feb 2025 | MAGA + MAHA: How Will This Work Exactly? We Speak With Journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon | 01:12:54 | |
With measles cases spreading and reports of the first measles death in 10 years, all eyes are on the new health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, in what is his first real public health test. He said the measles outbreaks were not unusual. According to the CDC and Your Local Epidemiologist newsletter, 2025 has already passed 8 out of the last 15 years in annual counts of measles. On today's episode: In 2024, after Kennedy rose to join Donald Trump, what we got was a powerful union, between MAGA and MAHA. When Kennedy dropped his independent bid for the White House and endorsed Donald J. Trump, his MAHA supporters rallied behind the Republican candidate. This merger unites two groups that, at first glance, seem to have little in common. One is a populist movement, championing the working American who feels overlooked and dismissed by the elites. The other is a coalition of wellness enthusiasts and vaccine skeptics, critics of big business, and those wary of pharma’s influence over health policy and advocates of health freedom, coming together in common cause. But what happens when the realpolitik of governing kicks in, with its focus on priorities, compromises, and funding? Will MAGA rally behind MAHA’s causes, especially if they call for more business regulations, farming restrictions, and higher health standards? Is MAHA wise to trust MAGA? Journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon, author, journalist, and vocal Trump supporter, joins the discussion, with a take on all of this that you won't want to miss. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Batya Ungar-Sargon, columnist The Free Press, author Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women Sources: RFK and Donald Trump’s alliance https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/09/rfk-trump-health-maga/680011/ The anti-vaccine movement https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9981160/ MAHA’s agenda https://thehill.com/newsletters/health-care/5144511-rfk-kennedy-maha-era-begins/ What is MAHA? https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/what-is-maha-health-wellness-movement-rfk-jr-policies.html MAHA’s legislative goals https://www.axios.com/2024/11/14/maha-movement-federal-health-agencies Recent history of the vaccine skeptical movement https://www.thenation.com/article/society/the-anti-vax-movement-hustl/ The MAHA Commission https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/trump-maha-commission-rfk-chronic-illness Republicans and Democrats Views on Vaccines https://news.gallup.com/poll/648308/far-fewer-regard-childhood-vaccinations-important.aspx Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 06 Mar 2025 | Censorship vs. Science: The Fight Over Free Speech That Is Tearing Us Apart | 01:23:21 | |
During incoming NIH secretary Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's confirmation hearing this week, he vowed to "establish a culture of respect for free speech in science & scientific dissent at the NIH"; he went on to call dissent "the very essence of science". Dr. Bhattacharya has been one of the most outspoken critics of what he perceives to be censorship and the deliberate muzzling of scientists during Covid. Today, we dive into the complex and contentious issue of censorship—one of the biggest drivers of mistrust in public health. Was it justified for the government to pressure social media companies to remove posts about COVID-19 and vaccines that they deemed dangerous misinformation? Or did that cross a line into stifling free speech? today, with the Trump administration now overseeing public health, issuing new executive orders aimed at limiting DEI programs, language and studies throughout the federal government. Do these actions cross the line into censoring science? Why are we caught in a battle between science and free speech, and how did we get here? And how do we move forward? To help explore these questions, we’re joined by two individuals from very different backgrounds who emerged as important voices during the pandemic: Wilk Wilkinson, a trucking company manager in Central Minnesota and host of the Derate The Hate podcast who has joined forces with scientists such as Dr Francis Collins and Dr Jay Bhattacharya on various topics; and Dr. Maciej Boni, a biology professor at Temple University and infectious disease epidemiologist who worked on the front lines of various outbreaks, from swine flu, bird flu to Covid-19. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Wilk Wilkinson, Braver Angels leader; Host of Derate the Hate podcast; manager of trucking operations Dr. Maciej Boni, professor of biology at Temple University; infectious disease epidemiologist Sources: Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to Rep. Jim Jordan https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/PDFFiles/Mark-Zuckerberg-Letter-on-Govt-Censorship.pdf Rep. Jim Jordan’s investigation into Biden’s “Censorship Scheme” Free speech and content moderation Supreme Court: Murthy v. Missouri https://hms.harvard.edu/news/whats-stake-us-supreme-court-case-misinformation Supreme Court: Missouri v. Biden Biden & Social Media https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/us/politics/biden-facebook-social-media-covid.html Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 13 Mar 2025 | How Do You Solve a Problem Like Big Pharma? We Ask a Bioethicist | 01:11:19 | |
"Big Pharma" — two words that Americans love to hate. When asked about the pharmaceutical industry, most of the country responds with a mix of anger and suspicion, using terms like "corporate capture," "revolving door," and "profits over people" to describe its influence, a sentiment felt even stronger after the pandemic. And yet, we are a nation that depends on their life-saving, life-improving products. Americans demand innovation from Big Pharma, but are simultaneously frustrated and mistrustful of their motives and influence. Today, we delve into our complex relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. What fuels this mistrust? Is there a better system? Joining us is bioethicist, author, and TED Talk star hailing from Penn State University Jonathan Marks, who believes it doesn’t have to be this way. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Jonathan Marks, Director of Bioethics Program at Penn State University, lawyer, author The Perils of Partnership: Industry Influence, Institutional Integrity, and Public Health Sources: 2019 pharma ranked least well regarded industry https://news.gallup.com/poll/266060/big-pharma-sinks-bottom-industry-rankings.aspx 2023 Gallup on pharma https://news.gallup.com/poll/510641/retail-pharmaceutical-industries-slip-public-esteem.aspx Lessons from Corporate Influence in the Opioid Epidemic https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32661741/ STAT on financial donations to Congress https://www.statnews.com/feature/prescription-politics/federal-full-data-set/ NIH funds drug research https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5878010/ TED TALK: Jonathan Marks: In Praise of Conflict https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf8j5LFv3nI Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 20 Mar 2025 | On Measles: Vaccines vs Vitamin A. Plus, What Marion Nestle Says Public Health Is Getting Wrong | 01:03:16 | |
Amid a deadly measles outbreak, a fresh battle has erupted, pitting mainstream public health against MAHA, infectious disease against chronic disease, and Vitamin A against vaccination. It's a fight that hinges on a fundamental question: Is your illness driven more by infectious disease or underlying chronic conditions? One side argues that vaccination is the only way to prevent measles. At the same time, the other emphasizes diet, nutrition, and Vitamin A, even bringing up cod liver oil as part of the discussion. Then there's MAHA's passion to address America’s unhealthy diet. Should critics of MAHA separate what they agree with from what they don't? In this episode, we unpack the fight amid an outbreak and hear from Marion Nestle, one of America’s leading nutritionists and public health experts. Sources: Vitamin A and Measles https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7076287/ Vitamin A deficiency https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022316622012238?via%3Dihub RFK Jr on Foxnews: RFK Jr with Sean Hannity https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369888081112 Interview of parents of child in TX measles outbreak death Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 27 Mar 2025 | America’s Funding Cuts Chaos + Are We the Next No-Lockdown Sweden? We Chat with Anders Tegnell | 00:59:54 | |
Our team first takes on the drastic funding cuts shaking the medical, scientific, and public health communities before turning to a provocative question: What if, during the next pandemic, we avoided strict lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and widespread restrictions? What if schools, workplaces, bars, and gyms stayed open, and the government encouraged precautions rather than enforcing them? Would more people die, or would people comply? Does it have to be a choice between life and the economy? We speak with a firefighter, Barry Arata, who was told during the pandemic, he had to vaccinate or face termination from his position. We learned what he did next and how it changed his view on government and trust. To explore all this, we bring on Anders Tegnell, architect of Sweden’s controversial no-lockdown strategy. Sweden bucked the trend and stayed open—was it a success or a deadly gamble? How do Swedes view the balance between personal responsibility and public health? And while America is a very different place, should we follow Sweden’s example next time? With trust in the system where it is today, do we even have a choice? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-state-epidemiologist-sweden-covid-strategy.html New York Times' David Wallace-Wells on Sweden’s pandemic response https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/opinion/sweden-pandemic-coronavirus.html Study on Sweden’s Covid deaths https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10399217/#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20Sweden%20experienced%20relatively,to%20their%20version%20of%20reality. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 03 Apr 2025 | What's the End Game? We Talk Massive Remaking of HHS with Gov't Reformer Jennifer Pahlka | 00:52:42 | |
Health and Human Services chief RFK Jr. unleashed much-anticipated cuts this week, bringing the total to 20,000 jobs slashed from our nation’s premier health institution. This follows cuts in money for state public health agencies and funding freezes for research centers tackling everything from cancer to veterans' health. Secretary Kennedy says this is to streamline government agencies' practices which he says will ultimately make America healthy again. For too long, both parties ran the show without challenging the status quo. Meanwhile, trust in public health on behalf of a public desperate for action was plummeting. How much did that lack of change pave the way for the radical shift we’re seeing now? To help make sense of it all, we speak with Jennifer Pahlka—author, technologist, and government reformer. A pioneer in bringing tech-driven innovation to government long before DOGE was a glint in Elon Musk’s eye, Pahlka has a lot to say about government efficiency, streamlining bureaucracy, and where these cuts might be leading us. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Jennifer Pahlka, author Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age, and How We Can Do Better; former U.S. deputy chief technology officer under President Barack Obama where she helped set up the U.S. Digital Service. Sources: Fortune on Pahlka and DOGE cuts https://fortune.com/2025/03/05/doge-co-founder-digital-service-jennifer-pahlka-code-for-america Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2025/01/elon-musk-doge-government-efficiency/681366/ Pahlka op-ed NY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/opinion/democrats-elon-musk-doge.html Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 10 Apr 2025 | Wendell Potter, A Health Insurance Exec Turned Whistleblower, On Blowing Up Our System | 00:57:19 | |
On today's episode, we tackle a topic that sparks more fear, frustration, and mistrust than perhaps any other: health insurance. From denied claims to endless bureaucratic red tape and the dread of sky-high out-of-pocket costs, it's no wonder so many Americans feel trapped. While more people are covered than ever before, many are still skipping doctor visits, avoiding exams, and forgoing prescription refills due to the financial burden. The raw emotion was on full display in the shocking response to the murder of the United Healthcare CEO. Today, we sit down with Wendell Potter, a former health industry insider turned whistleblower who walked away from his high-paying job to fight for reform in the very industry he once served. In today's divisive conversation about making America healthier, is fixing healthcare the one thing we can all agree on? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Wendell Potter, former health insurance executive at Cigna; president of the Center for Health and Democracy Sources: I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/opinion/health-insurance-united-ceo-shooting.html In US, Inability to Pay For Care, Medicine Hits New High Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| 11 Apr 2025 | Special Ep: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Marks on Vaccine Safety, Trust, and the True Scope of the Measles Outbreak | 01:10:50 | |
This is in direct contrast to Secretary Kennedy's statement just yesterday that the nation's measles outbreak is under control. Plus why he felt he could not stay at the FDA anymore, his answers to parents' questions about vaccine safety, what he sees for public health right now and what he wants to do next. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, in a special episode, we’re breaking from our usual Thursday release schedule to bring you an in-depth conversation with Dr. Peter Marks—America’s top vaccine official, who just stepped down from his role at the FDA.
Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Dr. Peter Marks, former director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration. He oversaw the FDA vaccine program. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||