Seth Berkley used to run the world's largest vaccine funding organization. He and Steve talk about the incredible value of vaccines, the economics of immunizing the developing world, and the current attacks on public health.
Jan 17
3. Kerwin Charles: “One Does Not Know Where an Insight Will Come From”
The dean of Yale’s School of Management grew up in a small village in Guyana. During his unlikely journey, he has researched video-gaming habits, communicable disease, and why so many African-Americans haven’t had the kind of success he’s had. Steve Levitt talks to Charles about ... Show More
39m 29s
Jan 10
2. Mayim Bialik: “I Started Crying When I Realized How Beautiful the Universe Is”
She’s best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, but the award-winning actress has a rich life outside of her acting career, as a teacher, mother — and a real-life neuroscientist. Steve Levitt tries to learn more about this one-time academic a ... Show More
45m 30s
Feb 2025
The Anti-Vaccine Movement
The alleged link between vaccines and autism was first published in 1998, in a since-retracted study in medical journal The Lancet. The claim has been repeatedly disproven: there is no evidence that vaccines and autism are related. But by the mid-2000s, the myth was out there, an ... Show More
48m 48s
Jun 2025
Information Inoculation: Why we need to fight misinformation about vaccines | TED Health
<p>Ethan Lindenberger never got vaccinated as a kid. So one day, he went on Reddit and asked a simple question: "Where do I go to get vaccinated?" The post went viral, landing Lindenberger in the middle of a heated debate about vaccination and, ultimately, in front of a US Senate ... Show More
45m 39s
May 2025
Special Episode: Dr. Adam Ratner & Booster Shots
For the past few months, measles has been in regular rotation in the news cycle here in the US, with outbreaks occurring across the country in regions with low vaccine uptake. These outbreaks represent a worrying trend in the rejection of scientific and medical expertise, with lo ... Show More
52m 32s
Feb 2022
Paralysis Treatment, Protein Vaccines Advantages, How Cuba Made Five Vaccines, Fish Sounds. Feb 18, 2022, Part 2
<p>New Device Helps People With Paralysis Walk Again</p>
<p>Spinal cord injuries are notoriously difficult to treat, especially for those who have been paralyzed for several years.</p>
<p>Now, researchers have developed a new implant that is <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com ... Show More
47m 33s
Jun 2025
Information Inoculation: Defending Against Medical Myths: The real reason polio is so dangerous | Dan Kwartler
<p>In 1952, polio was everywhere: killing or paralyzing roughly half a million people annually. Yet just 10 years later, paralytic polio cases in the US dropped by 96% and we were on track to get rid of polio for good. But in recent years, the virus started striking back. So, wha ... Show More
34m 45s