Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Why Should I Trust You?
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How Covid Radicalized Us All | 09 Jan 2025 | 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! | |||
| Trailer! Why Should I Trust You? | 02 Jan 2025 | 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! | |||
| Why We Can't Stop Talking About Ivermectin | 16 Jan 2025 | 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! | |||
| A CIA Declaration, Subpoenas, & Fauci’s Pardon: Why the Lab Leak Debate is Still Raging On | 06 Feb 2025 | 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! | |||
| RFK Jr. Testifies, MAHA Flexes, and Public Health Panics | 30 Jan 2025 | 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! | |||
| The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. | 23 Jan 2025 | 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! | |||
| Special Episode: A Conversation with Dr. John Ioannidis | 20 Jan 2025 | 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! | |||
| Is it True You Can't Sue a Vaccine Manufacturer? We Ask a Vaccine Legal Scholar | 13 Feb 2025 | 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! | |||
| Measles, Pharma and Mistrust: A Conversation with MAHA Moms and Dr. Paul Offit | 20 Feb 2025 | 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! | |||
| MAGA + MAHA: How Will This Work Exactly? We Speak With Journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon | 27 Feb 2025 | 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! | |||
| On Measles: Vaccines vs Vitamin A. Plus, What Marion Nestle Says Public Health Is Getting Wrong | 20 Mar 2025 | 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! | |||
| How Do You Solve a Problem Like Big Pharma? We Ask a Bioethicist | 13 Mar 2025 | 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! | |||
| Censorship vs. Science: The Fight Over Free Speech That Is Tearing Us Apart | 06 Mar 2025 | 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! | |||
| America’s Funding Cuts Chaos + Are We the Next No-Lockdown Sweden? We Chat with Anders Tegnell | 27 Mar 2025 | 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! | |||
| Special Ep: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Marks on Vaccine Safety, Trust, and the True Scope of the Measles Outbreak | 11 Apr 2025 | 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! | |||
| Wendell Potter, A Health Insurance Exec Turned Whistleblower, On Blowing Up Our System | 10 Apr 2025 | 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! | |||
| What's the End Game? We Talk Massive Remaking of HHS with Gov't Reformer Jennifer Pahlka | 03 Apr 2025 | 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! | |||
| Inside A Rare Conversation Between MAHA Grassroots and Public Health Leaders | 08 May 2025 | 01:45:50 | |
In today’s episode: a conversation between two sides that don’t typically speak with each other—mainstream public health leaders and voices from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. These groups often talk about each other, but rarely to each other. Five MAHA members from their state chapter in Ohio. Five public health leaders. We had met and developed relationships with them over months of discussing their vision of health in this country. And a few weeks ago, we invited them to have a conversation with each other. They all agreed. On today's episode, we play the conversation in three sections. Following each section, we are joined by the Dean of Yale School of Public Health's Megan Ranney and MAHA Ohio's Grassroots Coordinator Elizabeth Frost who were on the call, to dig into their reactions. This dialogue comes at a critical moment for public health and science, as the Trump administration slashes funding and jobs in a sharp reorientation of America’s health agencies and scientific research infrastructure. The divisions between these two camps run deep—over vaccines, the role of government, over health itself, and the polarizing figure of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s current health secretary. Trust is eroding on all sides. So we asked: what if we tried to bridge the gap? Do these sides actually have more in common than they think? Would they be willing to be open and honest with each other? Would they get stuck on the conversation over vaccines? What you will hear is an important starting point -- with more conversations planned for the future. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: MAHA Grassroots from Ohio: Elizabeth Frost** Nancy Fuller Donald Wiggins Daniel DeLuca Mark Harris Public health leaders: Megan Ranney** Reed Tuckson Katelyn Jetelina Craig Spencer Paul Offit **Were on the group zoom conversation with MAHA and public health as well as podcast guests today Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Can Dems Be the Party of Health in an Age of RFK Jr.’s MAHA? A Conversation w Sen. Maggie Hassan | 01 May 2025 | 00:45:44 | |
During RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing back in January, many voices competed to be heard. But one cut through the noise: Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — a Democrat, a policymaker, and the mother of a son with Cerebral Palsy. Her emotional testimony about love, a mother's guilt, and the daily realities of disability struck a national chord. Today, she joins us. She tells us about where she finds yes, disagreement — but also, surprising common ground — with MAHA parents seeking answers about autism, vaccines, food, and chemicals. Can this Democrat from the "Live Free or Die" state help rebuild trust in public health, a field often tied to collective sacrifice? And with her party facing historic polling lows, how does she believe Democrats can craft a new health message, even as they fight to protect scientific research and Medicaid from deep cuts she sees as devastating? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) Relevant committees she serves which relate to the subject of our podcast: Senate HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions); Senate Finance Committee; Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs Source: Clip from January 2025 of Sen Maggie Hassan at RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing: Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| How to Reach People in Today's New Media Amid a Crisis of Mistrust. A Conversation with Emily Jashinsky | 24 Apr 2025 | 00:53:43 | |
We’re joined by Emily Jashinsky, co-host of Counterpoints with Ryan Grim. Formerly with The Federalist and The Hill, Emily now serves as DC correspondent for UnHerd and hosts Undercurrents TV. She’s someone well-versed in this shifting media landscape. Together, we explore the rise of the so-called “New Media”—a world where legacy outlets are giving way to right-leaning podcasters, YouTubers, and social media influencers. As trust in public health, science, and institutions craters, we ask: is this new media ecosystem fueling the breakdown, or finally reflecting a mistrust that’s been simmering for years? And while critics on the Left call this new media machine unstoppable—blaming it for everything from Trump’s rise to the collapse of trust in science—we push back on that narrative. Could this shifting landscape actually offer unexpected opportunities for public health voices willing to step into the fray? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett (off this week) Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off this week) Guest: Emily Jashinsky, former The Federalist, The Hill, co-host of Counterpoints web and podcast show; and the DC correspondent of UnHerd - a news and current affairs site and host of Undercurrents TV. Sources: Media Matters "Bubbles" Graphic on Dominance of Right-Leaning Media https://x.com/GoAngelo/status/1900959918040989731 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah6kirkSwTg Emily Jashinsky: Legacy Media Indict Themselves When They Blame the "Right Wing Media Ecosystem" https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/08/legacy-media-indict-themselves-when-they-blame-the-right-wing-media-ecosystem/Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| A Writer's Journey w a Rare Disease Led Her to Champion Obamacare & Democrats. Why She Is Now a MAGA Supporter. | 17 Apr 2025 | 00:47:38 | |
In today’s episode, we speak with Evan Barker, a writer, podcaster, and former Democratic staffer and fundraiser who, in 2024, voted for Donald Trump. Raised in a working-class community by her mother, Barker's family lived paycheck to paycheck. Then she was diagnosed with a rare, potentially fatal chronic illness. Raised in a blue-collar Missouri community, Evan represents a much-needed voice at the table as America wrestles with how to get healthier. Does she feel MAHA represents the America of her upbringing? How did the party of Obamacare--which provided her insurance and thus the opportunity to go to college--lose her trust? And despite her vote for Trump, does she trust the Republican Party will hold the line on cuts to Medicaid, which millions of working-class Americans depend on? Finally, does this former Democrat think either party has a health agenda that will rebuild trust with middle-class America and will make us healthier? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Evan Barker: writer; former Democratic campaign operative; host of podcast Not Going Back Source: Evan Barker: I Raised $50 Million for the Democratic Party. This Week I Voted for Donald Trump. https://www.thefp.com/p/democrat-fundraiser-evan-barker-i-voted-trump Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Special Ep: We Talk COVID.Gov, Lab Leaks & Raccoon Dogs w Paul Offit, Maciek Boni & David Wallace Wells | 11 May 2025 | 01:21:48 | |
In this special episode, we dig into the origins of the pandemic. Has America decided it began with a lab leak? Is the debate over? The Trump administration says yes, launching a new government website asserting that Covid originated in a lab, not from animal-to-human transmission at the now-infamous Wuhan market. In recent days, Trump signed an executive order halting gain-of-function research, the type his administration claims caused the alleged leak. Tulsi Gabbard, now Director of National Intelligence, says she’s working on the definitive report. And Senator Rand Paul is once again calling for Dr. Fauci to be held accountable. But talk to many scientists, and the response is clear: not so fast. To help us unpack where the evidence stands—and how politics is reshaping the conversation—we're joined by three returning guests: Dr. Paul Offit, infectious disease expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Dr. Maciej Boni, epidemiologist and professor at Temple University who was part of an early research effort into Covid’s origins; and David Wallace-Wells, New York Times science columnist and longtime chronicler of the pandemic’s many turns. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Dr. Maggie Bartlett Guests: Dr Paul Offit, infectious disease pediatrician, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Dr Maciek Boni, infectious disease epidemiologist, Temple University David Wallace Wells, science writer, New York Times Tulsi Gabbard on Gain on Function Research and Covid Origins Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Why Americans Are Turning to the Paranormal—and What That Says About Trust, w Author Matt Hongoltz-Hetling | 15 May 2025 | 00:49:11 | |
Do you believe in ghosts? The paranormal? Hold that thought. Believe it or not, it ties directly into the themes of our show. Trust in our institutions is crumbling—from government and media to higher education, and yes, even medicine, science, and public health. Today’s guest, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of the new book The Ghost Lab, Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, joins us to explore the growing belief in the paranormal—and what it reveals about our national psyche. He argues that our fascination with ghosts, aliens, and the unexplained may be more than fringe curiosity. It could be a lens into where our deepening mistrust is leading us. We talk about how the scientific method is being used to investigate hauntings, why medical associations might consider hiring a resident medium, and how something as strange-sounding as moisturizing with snail mucin might contain unexpected insight into building trust. This is a conversation about the difference between healthy skepticism and corrosive doubt—and what rises to replace expertise when the experts no longer hold sway. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, investigative journalist and author of The Ghost Lab and If It Sounds Like a Quack. NYT Opinion by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling Every Doctor Faces This Dilemma https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/opinion/doctors-vaccines-patients.html Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Searching for the Causes of Autism: A Conversation with Two Moms, Alison Singer and Nancy Fuller | 29 May 2025 | 01:20:54 | |
Few topics crystallize our current breakdown in trust more than autism. And with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s renewed push to find its cause, autism isn’t just back in the national spotlight—it’s fueling a debate that’s dividing communities. Supporters see Kennedy as a force disrupting the status quo, channeling money and fresh energy into the search for answers. Critics see a stunt that prioritizes personal belief over established science and may ultimately be about eroding trust in vaccines. Either way, it exposes just how deep our mistrust runs: vaccine skeptics dismissing science based on who delivers it, while some in the scientific establishment hesitate to revisit old debates because of who’s asking the questions. Caught in the middle? Millions of families living with autism. Today, a candid conversation with Nancy Fuller, a MAHA mom navigating her son’s diagnosis—and insights from Alison Singer, co-founder of the Autism Science Foundation and mother of daughter with autism, on where the research stands today and where we go from here. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Nancy Fuller, Make America Healthy Again (Ohio), mother of a son with autism Alison Singer, Co-Founder/President, Autism Science Foundation, mother of a daughter with autism Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| On Trust in Biden, Media, Politicians & On Aging: A Conversation with CNN's Jake Tapper | 22 May 2025 | 00:58:35 | |
Today, we’re joined by CNN's Jake Tapper, who along with Axios' Alex Thompson, are authors of the new book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. Their reporting is sending shockwaves throughout Washington and beyond--its release landing the same week as the news of the former president’s aggressive cancer diagnosis. The result is a seismic reckoning with Biden’s decision to seek re-election despite visible signs of age-related decline. And Tapper and Thompson have been blasted over whether they did everything they could to hold the president and his team accountable. We ask: How much did the media know—and not report, including Tapper himself? Why did Biden, his top advisors, and Democratic leaders ignore the overwhelming concerns from the public about Biden’s frailty? And how did that denial deepen America’s distrust in its leaders, its institutions, and the press? Yes, this is a story about health, aging, and what we expect from our leaders—but at its core, it’s about truth and trust. It is the kind of hard truth about aging and vulnerability that we -- and our systems -- often resist confronting Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Jake Tapper, CNN, co-author, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Special: MAHA Meets w Public Health, the 2nd Conversation: On RFK Jr., Vaccines, Corporate Influence, & More | 20 May 2025 | 01:34:02 | |
In today’s episode — the second installment of our conversation between MAHA and Public Health — we bring together veteran public health leaders and grassroots activists from Ohio’s Make America Healthy Again chapter, two sides that allegedly don't agree on much. Our first conversation raised big questions. Some asked: Why even engage? At a time when devastating cuts are hitting public health and science, and America’s public health mission is being reshaped, many believe this moment calls for a fight — not a dialogue. But we chose conversation. And today's conversation took us straight to the fault lines of some of the most divisive health issues in America today. What we heard surprised us. Some positions weren’t as hardened as we expected. Some people, not as dug in. There’s tension and disagreement — but also moments of agreement, and more than just a flicker of hope. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Elizabeth Frost, MAHA Mark Harris, MAHA Nancy Fuller, MAHA Daniel DeLuca, MAHA Megan Ranney, Public Health Reed Tuckson, Public Health Katelyn Jetelina, Public Health Craig Spencer, Public Health Paul Offit, Public Health Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Can Nuance On Raw Milk Boost Vaccine Uptake? A Conversation On Data & Messaging w Emily Oster | 05 Jun 2025 | 00:50:53 | |
We’ve heard it—and you’ve probably heard it too: critics of public health say the way health advice is delivered is a big part of why trust is plummeting. The critique goes like this: experts and institutions often take complicated, nuanced data and present it as all-knowing, black-and-white rules—“Vaccines are safe,” “Raw milk is bad,” “Fluoride in drinking water is essential.” But too often, the public hears little explanation, context, or nuance—rarely an acknowledgment of what isn’t known, in the rush to declare what is. And when every message feels equally urgent, it’s hard to know what really matters most. Is presenting complicated data with simple, unflinching certainty the best way to help people make healthy choices? In a busy world, does simplifying at the expense of nuance lead to better health—or to eroded trust? And how is public health’s mandate—to speak to the whole community, including large percentages of people who lack regular access to health professionals—different from the personalized advice of a one-on-one doctor’s visit? In 2025, with endless information and competing voices, how must public health communication evolve to meet the times? Today on Why Should I Trust You?, we’re joined by Emily Oster—economist, professor, health-data expert, best-selling parenting author, and founder of ParentData.org. We talk health, data, and how to communicate honestly about risk and benefit. Could a new approach to health guidance be the key to rebuilding trust? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Emily Oster, author, economist, founder ParentData (www.parentdata.org) Books: Expecting Better; The Family Firm; Crib Sheet Resources: Emily Oster: There's a Better Way to Talk About Fluoride, Vaccines and Raw Milk https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/opinion/vaccines-fluoride-raw-milk.html Emily Oster: Let's Declare a Pandemic Amnesty https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/covid-response-forgiveness/671879/ Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Special: MAHA Georgia & Public Health In a Spirited Discussion On the Legacy of the Covid Vaccine | 10 Jun 2025 | 01:20:46 | |
On today's special episode, a raw and unflinching conversation between MAHA advocates from Georgia and a group of veterans from public health. The discussion dives straight into one of the biggest drivers of mistrust in public health today: the COVID vaccine. Is it a life-saving marvel of modern science or a dangerous technology imposed on the public with little regard for liberty and safety? The groups share profound concerns about where we’ve been and where we’re headed when it comes to Americans' trust in public health, medicine, and science. Many of them differ fundamentally on the promise of the vaccine versus what it delivered, on how the healthcare system delivered and failed at the same time, and on how that trust lost can be earned back. Yet the discussion is grounded in respect, empathy, and a shared goal of healthier communities, which might just be the key to pulling us out of our spiral of mistrust. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Guests: Joining the discussion from MAHA Georgia are Joey Fargar, Aaron Rossi, Christy Kennedy, Melinda Hicks, and from Ohio, Elizabeth Frost. From public health, Paul Offit, Reed Tuckson, Anne Zink, and Ashwin Vasan. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Lessons From the 1980s AIDS Crisis and Applying It To Today: A Conversation w Dr. Reed Tuckson | 03 Jul 2025 | 00:36:59 | |
When COVID hit, public health leaders often said, “There was no playbook.” But was that really true? Decades earlier, during the AIDS crisis, America’s public health system went through a trial by fire—learning hard lessons about how to communicate amid uncertainty, adapt to evolving science, and work with communities instead of against them. Flash forward to COVID, and many Americans say they lost trust after experiencing what they saw as a top-down, dismissive approach from public health leaders. They say their questions and concerns about mitigation efforts and science were often met with rigid messaging, outright dismissal, and even censorship. In today’s episode, we sit down with Dr. Reed Tuckson, a public health leader and former Commissioner of Public Health for Washington, D.C., during the height of the AIDS epidemic. He reflects on what that era taught him—and what it might still teach us about rebuilding trust today. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off this week) Guest: Dr. Reed Tuckson, former Commissioner of Public Health in Washington DC; founder, Coalition for Trust in Health and Science Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Fired ACIP Members Speak To Us On the Future of Vaccines + Dr. Michael Mina On A 'Code Red' Moment | 26 Jun 2025 | 01:23:31 | |
Why is a little-known CDC advisory committee meeting today making big headlines? Because Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just fired every single member—replacing them with his own hand-picked team. The committee in question is ACIP, a group of independent experts that guides how vaccines are used by hundreds of millions of Americans. Kennedy called the shake-up a “clean sweep,” claiming the previous committee's work was just a rubber stamp for Big Pharma and couldn’t be trusted. Many in the medical and scientific community warn that this move could dismantle the nation’s vaccine system, erode public trust, and drive up costs. What should we trust? And can we trust that the health of Americans is not getting caught in the crossfire? Today, we speak with two of the fired ACIP members to hear their direct response to the accusations. Then, Dr. Michael Mina—physician, scientist, and critic of the firings—joins us to unpack the broader context of these sweeping changes to America’s vaccine policy, what concerns are real, and what might be overblown. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Charlotte Moser, ex-ACIP, co-director, Vaccine Education Center Dr Jamie Loehr, ex-ACIP, family physician Dr Michael Mina; physician, immunologist; epidemiologist https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/opinion/rfk-vaccine-policy-changes.html Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| The Medicaid Axe is About To Fall. We Asked a Group of MAHA, MAGA & Independent Parents to Weigh In | 19 Jun 2025 | 01:37:26 | |
In today’s episode, what do a group of MAHA, MAGA, and independent moms and dads of children with disabilities think about the changes Republicans in Congress are hashing out right now for Medicaid, as they push to pass President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill”? If a healthier America is your top priority, this is a red-alert moment. A nonpartisan Congressional estimate finds that the House-passed Medicaid changes would lead to millions of Americans losing health insurance. And just this week, the Republican-controlled Senate released its own draft, proposing even bigger changes that would result in deeper cuts. With 71 million enrollees, Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, a vital lifeline for both Red and Blue America. So what do these parents — who either depend on Medicaid now or expect to in the future — want Republican lawmakers and MAHA leaders to know about the realities of their daily lives? Is this what they voted for? And if not, what will they do about it?
Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett (off this week) Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Jacqueline Capriotti, health coalition leader, substack author Health Revolution USA, mother of two kids with CF, MAHA advocate James Cummings, digital engagement strategist, father to children with rare diseases Sue Teitelbaum, mother of daughter with special needs Nancy Fuller, MAHA Ohio grassroots, mother to son living with autism Elizabeth Frost, MAHA grassroots leader Ohio Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of Yale School of Public Health; ER physician Dr. Craig Spencer, associate professor Brown University, ER physician, Doctors Without Borders Dr. Reed Tuckson, founder of Coalition to Build Trust in Health and Science, physician. Resources: https://5calls.org/ https://clairesplacefoundation.org/ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/saw-rtw/retain/phase-one From Jacqueline Capriotti: https://healthrevolutionusa.substack.com/p/when-trust-the-science-isnt-enough?r=5aqw38&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Why Does the Phrase “mRNA” Rip Americans Apart? We Chat w Nobel-Prize Winning Scientist Drew Weissman | 12 Jun 2025 | 01:05:12 | |
It’s the four letters that changed our lives: M-R-N-A. Today, we unpack a growing backlash that is driving down childhood vaccination rates, leading to cuts in mRNA research, and prompting different states to pass laws restricting its use. The mistrust was on display this week as RFK Jr. fired a key committee of experts that evaluates vaccines. Our guest today is Dr. Drew Weissman, who, along with Dr Katalin Kariko, won the Nobel Prize for revolutionizing mRNA technology. We’ll dive into why their breakthrough has become a lightning rod—and whether the controversy could derail our best shot at curing tomorrow’s worst diseases. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| A Conversation w Dr. Francis Collins On Reforming NIH, Cuts to Research, MAHA, & On Trust | 10 Jul 2025 | 00:46:43 | |
On today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Francis Collins, the former head of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Collins has spent his career pushing the frontiers of science — from discovering genes linked to deadly diseases to leading the historic Human Genome Project. And during COVID, he helped steer the government’s public health response, including the rapid development of the COVID vaccine — work that still puts him in the hot seat with communities who feel science betrayed their trust. Now, as the Trump administration and the Make America Healthy Again movement tackle America’s chronic health crisis with a radically different approach, what does he make of what he’s seeing, from the sweeping shift in priorities to widespread cuts in research funding? Does he see common ground with the MAHA movement’s goals? And, after a lifetime devoted to advancing science and health, what does he believe is the best way to rebuild trust and make America healthier? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Dr. Maggie Bartlett Dr.Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health, author The Road to Wisdom Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| A Revealing Conversation btwn MAHA, Doctors & Journalists On Trust In Media, In RFK Jr & In Experts | 17 Jul 2025 | 02:01:34 | |
What happens when you bring a group of MAHA advocates together with journalists and public health communicators and ask: When it comes to the media, who do you trust for your information and why? What about doctors? What about Sec. Kennedy? This week, we found out. The result is an intense, surprising, sometimes funny, often confounding conversation about trust, Big Pharma, censorship, facts, “misinformation” (one voice says, stop using that word, another asks, well, then what do we call it?), bias, doctors, plumbers, and what truth even means anymore. In this special episode, we dig into how we might be able to rebuild trust when so many of us only listen to our own carefully curated echo chamber. Joining us was a group of MAHA supporters: Elizabeth Frost (MAHA Ohio) Mark Harris (MAHA Ohio), Nancy Fuller (MAHA Ohio), Jacqueline Capriotti (Health Revolution USA, director of outreach during Kennedy campaign), and Aaron Everitt (Besides the Revolution Substack, contributor to House InHabit). From the science communication side: Jessica Grose (opinion writer, New York Times), Kristen Panthagani (You Can Know Things), Dr. Mati Davis (former health director, St Louis), Dr. Craig Spencer (Brown Univ, Doctors without Borders, columnist), Chelsea Cipriano (former deputy PIO for Dept of Health in NYC) We launched a substack!! Want more reflections from the WSITY team on our conversations with public health and MAHA? Guest essays from diverse perspectives? Videos where we discuss what we thought after a particular podcast episode? Sign up for free or premium paid content now! Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| What's A Conspiracy Theory Anyway? We Talk UFOs, Gov't Secrets & Journalism w Two WSJ Reporters | 31 Jul 2025 | 01:08:39 | |
With the Jeffrey Epstein saga dominating the conversation for weeks now, it feels like we’re roasting in a summer of conspiracy theories. And given how conspiracy and cover-up play a recurring role in the story we’re exploring about the breakdown of trust in public health and medicine, this week felt as good as any to take on the topic. So, what’s fueling today’s conspiracy theories? And -- hold that thought -- do we as a society even LIKE the phrase conspiracy theory any more? Where’s the line between healthy skepticism and something more destructive? And couldn’t we come up with a better term for the beliefs of people who say they feel dismissed by an establishment that labels their good-faith suspicions as conspiratorial? To help us unpack all this, we’re joined by two Wall Street Journal reporters, Aruna Viswanatha and Joel Schectman. Back in June, they published a major investigative piece that dove into the godfather of all conspiracy theories: the claim that the U.S. military has been secretly studying alien spacecraft for decades. What these reporters uncovered wasn’t what anyone expected and is our jumping-off point for a conversation about conspiracy theories, legitimate suspicion, and how investigative journalism might hold a key to not only getting at the truth, but also rebuilding trust. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Joel Schectman, Wall Street Journal Reporter Authors, The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America's UFO Mythology https://tinyurl.com/mrxsxxrp Resources: Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misguided/202506/why-people-believe-conspiracy-theories MAHA Supporters Weigh in on Kevin Hall Episode https://whyshoulditrustyou.substack.com/p/maha-supporters-weigh-in-on-kevin Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Kevin Hall Is Still Ultra Processing: On Leaving NIH, On MAHA, On Food in America | 24 Jul 2025 | 01:18:51 | |
Kevin Hall is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of food on our health. A former NIH scientist, he led some of the most eye-opening studies on the connections between ultra-processed foods and overeating, obesity, and chronic disease (Spoiler alert: It's not pretty.). So when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement took the reins at HHS, with gobs of energy and focus on tackling food, you’d think this would be Kevin Hall’s moment. Instead, in a stunning move, Hall walked away. He says that his earliest interactions with the new team left him feeling censored and worried that he'd no longer be able to conduct unbiased science. So, what made one of America’s leading nutrition scientists see red flags as the MAHA-backed team got to work on the very issue that he's laser-focused on? And now, with a little time and distance, what does he think MAHA is getting right, getting wrong, and what its followers should be demanding from their leaders to truly make America eat healthier? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Kevin Hall, nutrition and metabolism scientist, formerly NIH; co-author Food Intelligence, coming out Sept 23, 2025. Available to pre-order here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671334/food-intelligence-by-julia-belluz-and-kevin-hall-phd/ Let's keep the conversation going! Join us on Substack: https://whyshoulditrustyou.substack.com/ Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| A CDC Director-palooza: A Candid Conversation w Two Former CDC Chiefs Drs. Tom Frieden & Mandy Cohen | 07 Aug 2025 | 01:13:26 | |
Is the CDC finally being fixed—or intentionally dismantled? HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is implementing dramatic cuts and a reorganization that he says will help focus the CDC on its core mission: fighting communicable diseases. As part of the overhaul, he’s also reshaping the agency’s role in setting vaccine policy for all Americans. Supporters see this as a chance to streamline an agency weighed down by competing agendas and bureaucratic gridlock. Critics call it a five-alarm fire, warning that these changes threaten to dismantle the very public health infrastructure that has long protected Americans, especially the most vulnerable. To help us understand what’s at stake, we’re joined by not one, but two former CDC directors: Dr. Tom Frieden and Dr. Mandy Cohen. What do they think the CDC got wrong during the pandemic? Where does their old agency need to change today? What of the current reforms makes sense or puts the health of Americans at risk? And most importantly, how can the CDC regain the trust it once commanded? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Dr. Mandy Cohen, former director of the CDC, former HHS secretary for the state of North Carolina; national advisor Manatt Health Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC, author, 'The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives—Including Your Own'. President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Special: Leading MAHA Activist Zen Honeycutt, On Her Anger At the EPA + On Cuts to Science. Is This What MAHA Wants? | 01 Aug 2025 | 00:37:56 | |
We are joined by Zen Honeycutt, the founder of Moms Across America and a leading voice in the MAHA movement. She’s an outspoken force of nature on a range of issues that she sees as negatively impacting the health of children. There are many directions our conversation could take (and many things to debate), but we focused on a question we hear frequently from our listeners: How is MAHA responding to all the recent developments at the Environmental Protection Agency and the efforts to roll back regulations? Does she see these changes as undermining MAHA’s mission to curb toxic exposure and improve Americans' health? Along the way, we also ask her how she is processing the massive cuts to scientific research, and finally, what her message is to the MAHA community at this pivotal moment (Hint: Her eyes are squarely on the Midterms). Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off today) Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Sunday Special: A Conversation w Neil deGrasse Tyson & Scott Hamilton Kennedy On Science, Tribalism and Truth | 10 Aug 2025 | 00:53:06 | |
Welcome to a special episode of Why Should I Trust You? We’re joined by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy. There may be no more recognizable figure in science today than Tyson: astronomer, author, public thinker, and the guy who’s done more than just about anyone to make science accessible. Today, our focus is less on the cosmos and more on us humans—and why we’re losing trust in the very science Tyson represents. The pair have released two timely films: Shot in the Arm, about vaccines, and Food Evolution, which explores genetically modified food. With the rise of MAHA, both topics couldn’t be more front and center.We talk about anecdotes versus data, empathy for diverging points of view, why humans struggle with probability, how imprecise communication—whether about a novel virus or a UFO sighting—breeds mistrust, and why, as a species, we need to figure out this trust thing, fast. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Neil Degrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, author, director of Hayden Planetarium Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Shot in the Arm, Food Evolution Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Bonus Episode! A Conversation w Former FDA Chief David Kessler. Did He Just Give RFK Jr a Tool to Fight the Food Industry? | 18 Aug 2025 | 00:42:30 | |
Our guest today is David Kessler, the former FDA commissioner who once devised a strategy to take on Big Tobacco. Now, he’s back with a bold game plan for MAHA and President Trump to challenge the makers of ultra-processed foods. While making food healthier is central to MAHA’s mission, critics say its early wins, like persuading companies to remove certain food dyes, are a positive first step but won’t significantly improve public health. Kessler argues that RFK Jr.’s FDA already has both the scientific evidence and the legal authority right now to require food makers to prove that the ingredients in processed foods are safe. It’s a plan that would force a confrontation with Big Food. Is Kessler calling Kennedy’s bluff or handing him a powerful tool? Could this strategy survive legal and political pushback? And if it did, what would our supermarket shelves look like then? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Dr. David Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| MAHA-Public Health Conversation #6: On Food, On Nutrition, On Government, & On the Shooting at the CDC | 14 Aug 2025 | 01:58:04 | |
In this special episode of Why Should I Trust You?, we're taking on the all-important topic of food with members of the Make America Healthy Again movement, along with a panel of seasoned experts in food and nutrition science, including Kevin Hall, the former NIH nutrition scientist. We set out to talk about nutrition, the food industry, and politics--but the conversation quickly took off in directions we never expected. What does the group make of the administration's early "wins" on food dyes? Is there agreement that the carrot-not-regulation approach with the food industry is the way to go? Is MAHA's alliance with MAGA proving successful or limiting? And finally, if all sides worked together, what real solutions could be achieved to help Americans eat healthier? We also ask the groups to reflect on the violent attack on the CDC last week. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Elizabeth Frost: head of MAHA grassroots in Ohio, former OH state director for the Kennedy campaign, co-founder, Independent Force Consulting Jacqueline Capriotti: MAHA Mom, Patient Advocate, Substack: Health Revolution USA, Chronic Disease Outreach for the Kennedy Campaign Erin Martin: founder and director of FreshRX Oklahoma, and a clinical gerontologist; advocate for regenerative farming John Klar: lawyer, farmer, writer The MAHA Report, advocate for regenerative farming Aaron Everitt: Writer and video essayist at Substack: Besides The Revolution, frequently contributes to House InHabit a major MAHA influencer Jessica Reed Kraus' newsletter; Kennedy campaign volunteer Kevin Hall: who until this spring was at the NIH as a nutrition scientist, focusing a lot of his research on ultra processed foods and the causes of obesity, book coming out Food Intelligence, The Science of How Food Both Nourishes Us and Harms Us: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671334/food-intelligence-by-julia-belluz-and-kevin-hall-phd/ Tashara Leak: Registered Dietitian, Associate Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Associate Dean in Human Ecology at Cornell University. Susan Mayne: former director of Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA; currently a professor at Yale School of Public Health Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis: an infectious disease specialist who until very recently was the head of the Dept of Health for the city of St Louis Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| A Conversation w Fox News Medical Correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel On mRNA, RFK Jr, & On Reaching People | 21 Aug 2025 | 00:50:58 | |
His voice reaches millions of Americans who many in mainstream science and public health just don’t reach these days. He is Dr. Marc Siegel, the senior medical analyst for FOX News who recently argued that President Trump should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for leading Operation Warp Speed – the rapid development of mRNA vaccines that was given to millions during the covid pandemic. The Fox News medical correspondent is outspoken on mRNA technology as the Trump administration cancels promising mRNA research. We’ll ask him what’s behind that provocative argument and what lessons he has for all of public health and science as they try to rebuild trust. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson (off this week) Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Dr. Marc Siegel, Senior Medical Analyst, Fox News; medical director for Doctor Radio on SiriusXM, and he is a primary care internist and professor of medicine at NYU Langone, in New York City. He has a book coming out in November called The Miracles Among Us which will be published by Harper Collins - Fox News Books. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| A Conversation With The Three CDC Leaders Who Resigned In Protest & MAHA Supporters | 04 Sep 2025 | 01:59:21 | |
Americans today are engaging in a great Rorschach Test over public health–and its results may determine our future. Are radical changes at the CDC and beyond moving us in the right direction for a healthier nation, or dangerously backwards? Are we undoing the very system that has protected us for decades (from infectious disease)? Or upending a system that has made us sicker (chronic disease epidemic)? Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) has succeeded in putting that question front and center. The movement encourages us to research for ourselves and make health decisions based on our unique family's needs. The days of lining up and getting your shot, no questions asked, are done. The days of trusting the experts appear to be winding down, too. That theme became clear in our conversation with the CDC leaders who recently resigned in protest. They tendered their resignations in defiance over RFK Jr.’s management of the agency, including the the firing of his handpicked director Dr Susan Monarez. It was a fascinating conversation, where we explored the role of the CDC, the Covid response, vaccine mandates, and the role of government in general. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC Dr. Debra Houry , the CDC's former Chief Science and Medical Officer Dr. Dan Jernigan, former Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at CDC Elizabeth Frost, MAHA Ohio, ran Kennedy grassroots in Ohio Aaron Everitt, video essayist, substack Besides the Revolution, frequent contributor to House InHabit Tracy Hollister, former Deputy Elector Director for Kennedy campaign, public policy researcher, MAHA advocate Travis Tripodi, consultant in the health technology industry; libertarian; MAHA and Kennedy supporter Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| How Corporations Fuel Our Chronic Disease Crisis: A Conversation w Public Health Researcher Anna Gilmore | 28 Aug 2025 | 00:39:50 | |
Our guest today, researcher Anna Gilmore, recently went viral with a provocative revelation: just four products cause at least a third of all deaths worldwide. But behind the attention-grabbing headline is her deeper mission--exposing a complex, corporate-driven system that fuels poor diets, worsening health, and our chronic disease crisis. To avoid regulation and keep government subsidies flowing, Anna says industry bankrolls and skews scientific research, while working to convince us that our poor health is all our fault. With MAHA’s momentum and focus on food, what’s her advice for the movement? Will MAHA’s current approach of calling for voluntary changes be enough? Ultimately, is capitalism incompatible with health? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off this week) Guest; Anna Gilmore, professor of Public Health and Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group and the Co-Director of the Center for 21st Century Public Health at the University of Bath in England. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Special Ep: Following the Murder of Charlie Kirk, Is Engaging In Civil Disagreement Worth it? We Chat w Aaron, Elizabeth & Craig | 11 Sep 2025 | 01:02:35 | |
It's been 24 hours since we learned about the shooting and murder of famed conservative activist and leader Charlie Kirk. We wanted to bring together some friends of the show, people we engage with frequently on the pod, to discuss what happened to Charlie, and to get into how we as a society can disagree better, whether getting to yes or even trying to bring ourselves into the same room together these days is worth it. The answer is: yes. We must. Now more than ever. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Guests: Elizabeth Frost, MAHA Ohio, Kennedy organizer Aaron Everitt, substacker, video journalist, Besides the Revolution, Kennedy volunteer Dr. Craig Spencer, ER physician, Associate Professor at Brown School of Public Health, works also w Doctors Without Borders Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Kennedy's Health Plan for America + Do Black Americans Feel Seen By MAHA? A Conversation w Dr. Michael Forde | 11 Sep 2025 | 01:10:21 | |
**We recorded this episode on Wednesday early morning. ** In this episode, we break down what’s in the plan, what’s missing, and how both the MAHA movement and the public health community are responding. Joining us is Dr. Michael Forde, a public health leader working to reduce health inequity and inequality. At a moment when MAHA has moved chronic disease to the center of the national conversation, does the Black community feel included in their plan? And how do recent cuts to food programs, Medicaid, and diversity-focused health research square with the mission of making all communities healthier? Finally, we ask, how can medicine, science, and public health build trust with a community that has profound reasons to mistrust them? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Dr. Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Dr. Michael Forde, a public health leader focused on public health equity. He is the director of health equity for a Fortune 500 health company, where he works within the state of Maryland to improve access to care, with a focus on Medicaid. Follow him on IG, YouTube and TikTok, @MichaelHForde, where he breaks down the history, stories and facts about the Black American experience with our health system. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| The Hepatitis B Birth Dose Vaccine: Do We Need It? An Honest Conversation w Dr. Paul Offit & Dr. Michael Mina | 18 Sep 2025 | 01:21:41 | |
It’s the very first shot a newborn gets—just hours after birth. Today, Secretary Kennedy’s new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Committee is reviewing whether it should remain so. We’re talking about the Hepatitis B “birth dose,” the starting point of America’s childhood vaccine schedule since 1991. But for some parents today, it’s the starting point of their vaccine hesitancy. They ask: “Why give a vaccine against a virus mostly spread through sex or IV drug use to a brand-new baby?” That question has fueled broader mistrust of the government’s vaccine message. Supporters counter that childbirth itself is a major risk if the mother carries Hep B—and testing is far from foolproof. They point to the thousands of babies infected each year before the birth dose became universal, and cases plummeted. What would delaying that first shot until later in childhood mean? Is it a way to rebuild public trust or a risky rollback that could put more kids in danger? We explore these questions with two leading voices in vaccines, Dr. Paul Offit and Dr. Michael Mina, who don’t totally see eye to eye on the "birth dose". Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Dr. Paul Offit, a leading pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, was on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee, director of the Vaccine Education Ctr at the Children Hospital of Philadelphia Dr. Michael Mina, an epidemiologist, immunologist, and physician. Former associate professor at Harvard Medical School & TH Chan School of Public Health, led America’s test-to-treat program during the pandemic; has served as a scientific advisor for health start-ups. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Special Ep: A Lively Discussion w Farmers, Journalists, & Advocates -- MAHA & Others -- About Farming Our Country's Food | 16 Sep 2025 | 01:24:21 | |
On today's episode, we are heading to the farm, which is where one of America's biggest debates is taking place over food, health, and who and what we trust. Modern agriculture feeds the nation and the world, but its tools raise tough questions about long-term impacts on our health, not to mention our land. You'll hear from farmers, journalists and advocates -- some aligned with MAHA and others not -- as we dig into how we grow and harvest our food, the pressures on the population and on the planet, what we know and don't know about the harms of pesticides, and their take on the new MAHA Commission report on the topic of pesticides. And we will ask: would some in MAHA even break with the GOP if Congress moves to shield pesticide makers from lawsuits? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off this episode) Guests: Stephanie Nash, a fourth-generation dairy farmer who lives and works in Tennessee. On IG, @nofarmsnofood John Klar, operates a small farm in Vermont, and is an author for the MAHA Report, a popular newsletter; he is a supporter of Sec. Kennedy and MAHA's vision. Michelle Miller, a popular presence on social media, @thefarmbabe, former corn and soybean farmer, she says she spends her time traveling the country unearthing the truth about modern farming and supporting farmers. Erin Martin, founded Fresh RX Oklahoma, which prescribes local, regeneratively grown food to reverse food linked chronic disease in Oklahoma; co-lead Oklahoma Food is Medicine policy; frequent supporter of MAHA vision. Michael Grunwald, who is a journalist focused on the climate, agriculture and author of a new book: "We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate.” He is a contributor to the New York Times opinion page and a former staff writer for the Washington Post, Time and Politico Magazine. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| Public Health Is Outgunned: A Conversation w Science Communicators Katelyn Jetelina and Jessica Steier | 09 Oct 2025 | 01:15:17 | |
Today, we’re exploring the new world of health and science communication now that the old playbook is dead. The days of publishing a study and expecting to reach the public with it through legacy media or pointing people to health institutions and medical associations for guidance are over. Millions no longer trust the science, the guidance, or the messenger. Meanwhile, the Make America Healthy Again movement is finding new ways to communicate and harness the enthusiasm of its followers. So what now for traditional public health? On today’s episode, we talk with Katelyn Jetelina of Your Local Epidemiologist and Jessica Steier of Unbiased Science—two innovators navigating this new communication landscape. They’re working to cut through the noise and connect evidence to people’s lives, even as traditional institutions struggle to keep up. We’ll ask how they’re adapting, what’s working, and whether the scientific establishment is giving communicators like them the support they need in this moment of upheaval. Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guests: Katelyn Jetelina, founder, author Your Local Epidemiologist; data scientist and epidemiologist; named Time 100 Most Influential People in Health Jessica Steier, data scientist, doctor of public health, founder and CEO of UnBiased Science site and podcast; has written recently about autism studies for the New York Times. Your Local Epidemiologist: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/ UnBiased Science: https://www.unbiasedscience.com/ Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||
| On Medical Freedom, DEI, RFK Jr. & Free Speech: A Conversation w Author Coleman Hughes | 02 Oct 2025 | 00:58:05 | |
Coleman Hughes is a thinker, writer, podcaster, and author. You may know him from his Conversations with Coleman podcast with The Free Press, from appearances on CNN, Joe Rogan, and The View, or from his recent book, in which he argues that America should strive toward colorblindness, treating people and designing public policy without regard to race. In addition to that, what interests us is that he’s an independent, unorthodox voice—someone who doesn’t follow the political script his critics assume he should. That speaks to something we think about a lot here: too often, we take our cues from our “side” and stick to the script, seeking approval from our team, instead of engaging with compelling versions of an opposing view. That dynamic can be just as true among public health institutions as it is among supporters of MAHA. So today, we ask Coleman: What has he learned from being that unorthodox voice—challenging the side that thought he was one of their own? And, ultimately, how does he think we can bridge divides and rebuild trust? Hosts: Brinda Adhikari Tom Johnson Maggie Bartlett Dr. Mark Abdelmalek Guest: Coleman Hughes, host of Conversations with Coleman produced by the Free Press; author, The End of Race Politics: The Argument for a Colorblind America Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! | |||