Why Should I Trust You?
Why Should I Trust You?
Podcast Description
Bold, unfiltered, and uncompromisingly honest, Why Should I Trust You? is a weekly podcast that looks at the breakdown in trust for science and public health. It drops every Thursday, with occasional additional special episodes sprinkled in. Hosted by Brinda Adhikari, the former executive producer of “The Problem with Jon Stewart” and a former TV news journalist; Tom Johnson, the former executive producer of “The Circus,” and also a former TV news journalist; Dr. Maggie Bartlett, a virologist and assistant research professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Dr. Mark Abdelmalek a skin cancer surgeon, a medical journalist and a dermatologist practicing in Philadelphia - each week we try to figure out what is behind this staggering collapse in trust and see if we can rebuild towards trust again. We hear from people who are wary about public statements, recommendations and studies coming from what they view as an elitist and conflict-riddled scientific establishment. And we hear from those in this establishment who fear the consequences of what they see as a dangerous trend towards anti-expertise. And then somehow, we will seek a path through all this!
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on the erosion of trust in science and public health, exploring themes such as vaccine hesitancy, conspiracy theories, and the political ramifications of scientific discourse. Specific episodes dive into topics like the lab leak theory of COVID-19 origins and the public health implications of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s political rise.
Why Should I Trust You? is a bold, unfiltered, weekly look at the collapse of public trust in science, medicine, public health, and AI. Every Thursday, we dig into what’s behind that breakdown and whether there is common ground beneath our division.
Described as “truly excellent” in The New York Times, WSITY has drawn attention across America’s divides, from being mentioned on Joe Rogan’s podcast to NPR. We host conversations that cross political and cultural lines, bringing people together with the experts they no longer trust. Hosted by Brinda Adhikari (former EP of The Problem with Jon Stewart), Tom Johnson (former EP of The Circus, former TV news journalist), Dr. Maggie Bartlett (virologist and assistant research professor, University of Texas Medical Branch), and Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (skin cancer surgeon and medical journalist).
Today we ask: When it comes to spending taxpayer dollars on scientific research, how much should elected politicians decide what gets funded, and how much should be decided by scientists and those who lead our health agencies?
Where should the line be between supporting the best scientific questions and the ones that our elected leaders think are best?
Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek
Guests:
Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals. 2001 to 2009, he served as science advisor to the Republican leadership on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he was responsible for negotiating budgets for the NIH and several of the other health agencies.
Michael Green, a population health researcher and a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His work includes examining how people's experiences of unfair treatment in health care affect their health.Michael is one of the researchers who filed a class-action lawsuit this month alleging the NIH is using keyword searches to flag grants for things like DEI and gender, and to cut or force changes to those grants.
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