The VPZD Show

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Science
**The VPZD Show**

Two doctors, one podcast, Alt-Middle as heck. Featuring Dr. Vinay Prasad (host of Plenary Session) and Dr. Zubin Damania (host of The ZDoggMD Show).

Latest Episodes:

Affirmative Action, AI Medical Recording, AI Doomers Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Easy topics for easy times 🤭 Originally streamed ⁠⁠⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠⁠⁠! (#42)

Using Beethoven's Archduke Trio as a lens for why AI-generated art still falls short of true creative risk-taking
Whether AI companies calling for regulation are protecting the public or protecting their own competitive lead
The "Chernobyl of AI" idea, and skepticism toward vague doomsday percentage predictions
Burnout across the AI industry, and a personal parallel to burning out in medicine before starting ZDoggMD
Why doctors, unlike coders, are resistant to AI encroaching on their work
A court ruling on whether the raw audio of an AI-assisted medical visit is discoverable in a malpractice suit, and a comparison to body cam data
The DOJ's civil rights division investigation into UCSF and other med schools over affirmative action compliance post-SFFA v. Harvard
Whether standardized test scores, grit, or adversity best predict who becomes a good doctor, and the weak evidence behind racial concordance studies
A broader reflection on how identity and tribalism shape reactions to contested topics, using the Israel-Palestine debate and the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran episode as examples
Institutional neutrality, the NIH funding fight involving Russ Vought, and why one-sided political stances put universities at risk
Addressing a live comment about their COVID-era track record and clarifying actual positions
Closing thoughts and sign-off

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Macklemore, Confidence Intervals, LG Spying Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

Exploring the issues of the day, (Mackle)more or less 🤭 Originally streamed ⁠⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠⁠! (#42)

Topics covered: the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran controversy over political statements at concerts; land acknowledgments and performative activism; T-Rex body temperature research using tooth enamel isotopes; amateur archaeology and human evolution theories; the fluoride-in-water debate, weighing dental benefits against IQ concerns; a University awards ceremony disrupted by political chanting; Jonathan Haidt's three great untruths and campus culture; why Middle East politics resist typical activist framing; Wall Street Journal's editorial inconsistency on FDA drug decisions; statistics deep dive on p-values, split alpha, and confidence interval interpretation; new ACGME resident work-hour rules and their unintended consequences; administrative burden as the real driver of resident burnout; Angela Duckworth's concept of grit, examined through the lens of descriptive versus prescriptive reasoning; ambition, cortisol, and the psychology of never feeling successful; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as a surprisingly good stage production; a JAMA study on pilots, flight attendants, and radiation-induced cancer; skepticism toward routine dental X-rays; hot tub-associated lung disease and questionable AI-generated medical advice; cold plunge trends and the lack of supporting data; why subtle political art works better than explicit statements; the controversy over AI assistance in solving a famous unsolved math problem; concerns about LG smart TVs recording audio and network data; and closing thoughts on 90s hip-hop versus the explicitness of modern rap.

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Pancreatic Cancer Drug, USPSTF, Tylenol-Autism Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

We're trying to become better listeners, SO PREPARE FOR SOME SHOUTING 🤭 Originally streamed ⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠! (#41)

We cover the new pancreatic cancer drug daraxonrasib and its rash side effect, survival benefit, and cost; what makes pancreatic cancer especially deadly; Vinay’s clinical background across hematology and oncology; how mechanistically cancer actually kills; the challenge of finding good podcast guests and why authenticity matters more than plugging a product; vaccine mandates and the difference between individual versus population-level benefit; the USPSTF’s recent upheaval and the challenge of evidence-based guidelines on contested topics like depression screening, mammograms, and prostate cancer screening; observational versus randomized evidence, with examples spanning flu vaccines, shingles vaccines and dementia, and Tylenol in pregnancy and autism; the OpenAI Navier-Stokes controversy and AI’s role in mathematics; AI in medicine and a JAMA perspective piece on AI replacing physicians; statins, coronary calcium scores, and personal decision-making around cardiovascular risk; weight stigma in medical training and the complexity of obesity; alternative medicine, longevity influencers, and Vinay’s evolving views on certainty; the ethics and mechanics of prediction markets and biotech stock betting; and reflections on active listening and communication style on the show.

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Fauci's Diary, Vinay's FDA Experience, Jason Arday (Recorded LIVE) Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Yeah it's been over a year but you can't keep a couple of handsome brown guys apart forever 😎 A BRAND NEW VPZD EPISODE, originally streamed LIVE on YouTube! (#40)

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Ivy Leagues, Vaccine Science, Politics & Stuff Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

We're back, just cuz we had dinner and felt like a live nightcap. Enjoy!

Watch the originally live YouTube video here.

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Trump Transition, Reproductive Rights, Vaccine Truth Nov 14, 2024

Show notes

Why Trump Won & What It Means For Healthcare Nov 09, 2024

Show notes

Regardless of your political leanings, this live podcast WILL traumatize you 😻.

Election reactions, media polarization, what this might mean for healthcare and WAY more than you cared to hear about Peyronie’s disease 🍆🤓. Watch the video version here.

Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together.

More on Zubin.

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Rogan & Trump, Dumb Medical Practices, A VPZD Book Club? Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

In this episode we discuss Joe Rogan/Trump Interview insights, the ‘science’ of polling, irrational COVID policies, erosion of trust in the medical establishment, the dangers of public health dogma, Trump Derangement Syndrome™️, reflections on the US political system, Zubin’s TikTok verification drama, what creates successful social media reach, TikTok’s cringey docs, the impact of shame on medical practice and education, Rogan’s fixation on physical fitness, why Yoga kicks ass, Vinay’s literary review of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series, and Zubin’s personal experience with psychedelics (watch THAT video here).

Video version of this episode here.

Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Public Health Sex Party Hypocrisy Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

Former New York public health official Jay Varma's hypocritical sex parties during COVID, why we refuse to talk to most reporters, VP’s take on the new schizophrenia drug, the 10 year anniversary of VP’s PARADIGM-HF heart failure drug trial smackdown, how much an MD/PhD with 100 years of training makes when they finally finish school, Marty’s new book, a Stanford and Emory conference where VP is speaking on public health controversies, and much more!

Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blind Spots (w/Dr. Marty Makary) Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

Marty's in tha' house to rap about his new book, out Sept. 17th! Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health. Video version here.

Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices