Follow the Science

Latest Episodes:

29. Are Doctors Misinformed About Stress? w/ Michael Romero Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

Is the stress associated with being busy harming our health? If so, why are so many people stressed out by doing less during the pandemic? Stress is confusing because the concept is built on a questionable foundation. Tobacco companies paid researchers to show that a big rise in heart disease in the mid 20th century was caused by stress. But that was deceptive - the rise was caused by smoking.

I talk to biologist Michael Romero of Tufts University, who has helped create a more coherent picture of stress and health by looking at the kinds of stress that do physical harm across species. Scientists trying to understand stress have gone so far as to use dogs on boats to sniff out whale poop, which can be tested for stress hormones. That research has shown, among other things, that noise and pollution are causing chronic stress among whales.

“Follow the Science" is produced, written, and hosted by Faye Flam, with funding by the Society for Professional Journalists. Today’s episode was edited by Seth Gliksman with music by Kyle Imperatore. If you’d like to hear more "Follow the Science," please like, follow, and subscribe!

28. Why Social Media Has Misinformation Overload w/ David Rand & Gordon Pennycook Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

Science doesn’t lend itself to fact checking, since science isn’t a set of facts but a process for finding things out. That’s why Facebook got criticized for deleting posts suggesting the virus causing Covid-19 might have had something to do with a lab accident. The reality is we don’t know where the virus came from. This week, social scientists David Rand of MIT and Gordon Pennycook of the University of Regina will discuss why there’s so much misinformation on social media, and how to fix the problem without employing fact checkers.

27. What the Mainstream Media Got Wrong About the Pandemic w/ David Leonhardt, David Wallace-Wells & Gary Schwitzer Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

Newspapers, magazines and television played a critical role in informing people about the pandemic, and many news outlets did a good job. But some also fed misconceptions – often exaggerating risks, or equating small risks with large ones, as well as dismissing those who suggested a possible lab leak origin of the pandemic as conspiracy theorists.

In this episode, I talk to two prominent journalists, David Leonhardt (New York Times) and David Wallace-Wells (New York Magazine), and one media critic, Gary Schwitzer (Health News Review) – all have different views of what the mainstream media got right, and what we got wrong.

26. A Brief History of Lab Errors, Germ Warfare, and Secrecy w/ Jamie Metzl & Bill Sargent Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

We were told the first person to get Covid-19 was probably a rural farmer or hunter or trafficker in wildlife, but now the attention has turned to the possibility it was a scientist or lab technician. In this episode I’ll try to give that idea some historical context. Jamie Metzl is a WHO advisor and former State Department official who talks about the history of secrecy in China. He explains why he argued on 60 minutes that we need to keep investigating a lab leak. Bill Sargent is the author of the book Terror by Error, which gives a long history of humanity’s attempts to manipulate and weaponize pathogens, and the people killed by intentional and accidental releases.

25. Our Post-Vaccine Future w/ Monica Gandhi Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

The history of Covid-19 is already littered with bad predictions. There are exceptions, such as AIDS expert Monica Gandhi, who foresaw from the first clinical trial results that the pandemic would wane where vaccines – and good public health information - were readily available. Her vision of the future now is that Covid will fade as a major source of mortality and fear for the wealthy. But in poor areas, it will continue to kill, as AIDS did for many years after the invention of effective drugs. We talk about the science of immunity, and why she thinks our vaccines will protect us for years to come.

24. Hazardous Research at Virology Labs w/ Richard Ebright May 28, 2021

Show notes

What is going on in virology labs around the world? Are they really using genetic technology to create superviruses? Though scientists still don’t know whether a lab accident had anything to do with the start of Covid-19, the possibility has raised questions about dangers lurking in labs.

Biologist Richard Ebright, a professor at Rutgers University, lays out a historical tour of germ research, and argues that it’s been too loosely regulated given the dangers inherent in collecting, storing, and sometimes enhancing viruses.

23. Can We End This Nightmare Yet? w/ Babak Javid May 21, 2021

Show notes

Life suddenly feels normal in the United States, with Covid cases down, hospitals clearing out, and people taking off their masks. But India, recently praised for controlling the virus, is now immersed in a crisis worse than anything seen so far in the pandemic. UCSF physician and infectious disease expert Babak Javid talks with me about the changing fortunes of the two countries, and why we should be sending India vaccine doses. He was an early proponent of universal masking, and while he says the vaccinated should be able to unmask, he has mixed feelings about the way CDC suddenly shifted its position.

22. The Painfully Slow Return to Normalcy w/ Denis Nash & Tana Smith May 14, 2021

Show notes

On Friday, the CDC finally told vaccinated people they don’t have to wear masks anymore except in a planes, public transportation and a handful of other places. It’s an important step in the return to normalcy, but why now? And what’s taken so long? And when will CDC let up on children? In the days before the mask recommendation changed, I grilled a few experts (Denis Nash, CUNY Institute for Implementation Science on Population Health & Dr. Tara Smith, Kent State University College of Public Health) on what was holding everything up now that we have an abundant supply of a vaccine that works. Listeners can decide for themselves if the answers make sense.

21. Why We Feel Naked Without a Mask w/ Mark Changizi May 07, 2021

Show notes

People around the country have changed their behavior in big and small ways that don’t always line up with rules or guidelines to prevent Covid-19. People flout rules and take risks, and then take measures that go far beyond the rules, including wearing masks outdoors in situations where CDC says it’s not necessary. Neurobiologist Mark Changizi has some unconventional views on what’s happening. In this episode, I talk with him about ways societies sometimes change their own behavioral norms in a bottom up rather than top down fashion.

20. The Fake Science Detectives w/ David Sangers & Elisabeth Bik Apr 30, 2021

Show notes

To cheat is human – and cheating affects most human endeavors, even science. Fake science refers to a growing problem with papers that look like they describe real experimental results but the data are made up, or copied from someone else’s work, often on a different disease altogether. Meet two scientists who’ve volunteered to become fake paper sleuths.

David Sanders is a virologist at Purdue University who tracks scientific plagiarism, and has acted as a whistle blower. Elisabeth Bik is a microbiologist with a remarkable talent for spotting faked graphs. She eventually left her research job to focus full time on fake science papers and the infamous “paper mills” that churn them out for a profit. She was recently awarded the Peter Wildy Award for microbiologists who have championed outreach activities and enhanced the knowledge of microbiology as a subject.

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