Pod Force One — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Fauci’s Lies, Child Trans Malpractice, MAHA Breakthroughs: FDA Chief Tells All
Host: Miranda Devine
Guest: Dr. Marty Makary, FDA Commissioner
Date: November 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In a candid, wide-ranging interview, Miranda Devine sits down with FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary at the agency’s Maryland campus. The episode explores the controversial legacy of Dr. Anthony Fauci, COVID-19 policies, vaccine risks, the state of medical misinformation, food industry reform, root causes of the childhood health crisis, the gender medicine debate, and much more. Dr. Makary provides rare, unvarnished insight into the intersections of medicine, politics, and public health policy in America, highlighting his priorities and fresh approaches at the FDA.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Anthony Fauci’s Legacy and COVID Origins Cover-Up

• Dr. Makary strongly criticizes Dr. Fauci, stating:

  “I think he gave a lot of bad advice...Insisting schools shut down...pushing vaccine mandates and boosters...not talking about myocarditis or vaccine injury...pushing cloth masks, censoring Americans...” (03:39)

• He accuses Fauci of orchestrating a cover-up of COVID’s origins, referencing documentary evidence and “the Diffuse grant” which explicitly outlined dangerous gain-of-function experiments in Wuhan. Many top virologists privately agreed it was a lab leak while publicly denying it due to funding pressures.

  “It’s a no brainer where it came from...Fauci and Collins...commissioned the pieces that lied about the COVID origins.” (05:17)

2. Medical Establishment, Groupthink, and Misinformation

• Dr. Makary laments the politicization and loss of open debate in medicine, noting groupthink, censorship, and the complicity of major medical journals.

  “It’s now: censor them, silence them, dismiss them, get them fired, lock them up in jail. That is a very toxic level of polarization...” (03:42)

• He points out the funding structure:

  “NIH feeds every university in the US...sets the research agenda...for 20 years it’s been Fauci and Collins — Frankenstein these viruses...” (09:56)

3. COVID Vaccine Policy and Youth Risks

• Makary condemns the prior administration’s one-size-fits-all vaccine policy, specifically its risk to young males and the lack of transparency about myocarditis.

  “They sat on data on the myocarditis risk...thousands of American kids got myocarditis...It was entirely avoidable.” (13:03)

• On vaccine efficacy: “When it first came out, it was a good match...but over time, natural immunity became ubiquitous...You cannot keep taking it every three months.” (13:35)

4. COVID Pandemic’s Impact on Students & Inequality

• Makary wrote early op-eds (e.g., “Reopen Safely”) challenging school closures, noting how elite academics were shielded while poor students suffered from lost learning, malnutrition, and increased dropouts.

  “For kids in inner city Baltimore...it was brutal. Many kids never came back to school.” (17:04)

5. Reforming the Food System & Nutrition Policy

• Makary identifies the US food system and the “food pyramid” as catastrophic failures, driven by industry rather than science. He details food dyes, processed carbs, and the resulting obesity/diabetes crisis.

  “Nutrition science is one of the most corrupted of all disciplines within the medical science.” (17:54) “60 to 70% of a kid’s calories now are ultra-processed foods. No one talked about it.” (18:32)

• Under Makary, the FDA is removing all petroleum-based food dyes and rewriting nutrition guidelines to focus on whole foods, healthy fats, and fiber.

  “We're ending the 50 year war on natural saturated fat.” (19:49)

6. Childhood Allergies, Peanut Epidemic, and Medical Dogma

• Explains how misguided policies (e.g., late exposure to peanuts) triggered an allergy epidemic, compounded by academic arrogance.

  “The American Academy of Pediatrics ignited the modern day peanut allergy epidemic ... That’s the danger of groupthink in medicine.” (30:21)

• Broadly critiques the habit of silencing dissent.

7. The Microbiome, Chronic Disease, & Drug-Overreliance

• Makary elucidates rising rates of autoimmune illness, gut-related disorders, and the damage of antibiotic overuse and processed foods on the microbiome.

  “90% of your body’s serotonin is made in the gut...The average two-year-old has been on two and a half antibiotics already.” (26:12)
  “We drug our nation's kids at scale...snacks during the day that are junk food...then they can’t sit still...so we drug them...” (18:57)

8. Scientific Courage & Backlash

• On speaking out against mainstream COVID policy:

  “The School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins...did everything they could to distance themselves from me...they felt I was spreading misinformation.” (37:46)
  “I realized...there’s a sort of facade that can be put out there...Fauci...introduced...as the nation’s leading infectious disease doctor. He’d never done...an infectious disease fellowship. He did a rheumatology fellowship.” (39:32)

9. Restoring Trust in Medicine

• Makary emphasizes humility, honest communication of uncertainty, and flexible vaccine schedules to rebuild public trust.

  “From pre-Covid until last year, trust in doctors went from 71% to 40%...We have to fix that.” (40:53) “…To say you must get [Hepatitis B shot] on the first day of life for a little baby...it was approved based on a four or five day study...We think it’s safe. We haven’t done the studies.” (42:44)

10. The Gender Medicine Controversy

• He critiques the practice of gender transition interventions in minors, calling out profit motives, groupthink, lack of evidence, and parent manipulation.

  “Surgeons told me, ‘Well, if the psychiatrist gives a note...I just do it.’ This is not right.” (53:47)
  “We’re going to look at this...and point out what’s evidence based and what’s dogma.” (56:29) On puberty blockers: “No clinical evidence of any high level to support puberty blockers and these transition operations in children.” (56:05)

11. Fixing Drug Manufacturing & FDA Reforms

• Addresses safety lapses in overseas drug production (China/India), vowing stricter standards and incentives for U.S. manufacturing.

  “The FDA...had issued overrides of massive safety violations seen in manufacturing facilities overseas...We're not going to play games.” (65:27)

• Details streamlined approval of generics and biosimilars; major reductions in drug pricing; blitz of enforcement on misleading pharma ads.

  “Drugs now are going to be more accessible, more affordable.” (73:25)

12. Medical Breakthroughs on the Horizon

• Makary pledges the FDA is prioritizing “more cures, meaningful treatments,” faster reviews, and “powerful new treatments” — from cancer to Alzheimer’s.

  "In this administration, you're going to see a powerful treatment for certain types of cancer, I believe for neurodegenerative disorders, some in particular like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS..." (68:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dr. Fauci & COVID Origins:

  “He was involved in a massive cover up...Whether or not he was involved in the experiments or funding the experiments that led to the origins of COVID, he was clearly 100% involved in the cover up.” — Dr. Makary (01:23)

• On Medical Polarization:

  “It’s now censor them, silence them, dismiss them, get them fired, lock them up in jail. That is a very toxic level of polarization.” — Dr. Makary (03:32)

• On the Food Pyramid:

  “The food pyramid was some of the most damaging misinformation written by the food industry...nutrition science is one of the most corrupted of all disciplines...” — Dr. Makary (17:54)

• On Restoring Trust:

  “If we don’t know something, we need to say we don’t know.” — Dr. Makary (42:41)

• On Gender Medicine:

  “You're permanently sterilizing a child...their life will be different. Surgeons told me, ‘Well, they go through a psych evaluation — I just do it.’ That’s not right.” — Dr. Makary (53:47)

• On FDA’s Mission:

  “My top priority at the FDA is more cures and meaningful treatments for the American people and healthier food for children. And we’re delivering on that.” — Dr. Makary (17:43)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Fauci’s COVID advice and cover-up: 00:39–05:17
• Medical groupthink and NIH funding: 03:14–09:56
• COVID Vaccine & Youth Myocarditis Risk Suppression: 12:50–13:30
• Vaccine Efficacy in Context & Limitations: 13:30–14:32
• School Closures & Pandemic Inequality: 16:04–17:48
• Food Pyramid Failure & Dyes Ban: 17:54–21:49
• US Childhood Food Allergy Epidemic: 29:17–30:21
• Gut Microbiome & Child Health Crisis: 26:08–28:14
• Speaking Out & Academic Backlash: 37:46–39:59
• Vaccine Schedule Rethink & Denmark Comparison: 42:41–44:09
• Child Transgender Medicalization & Evidence: 53:47–56:20
• Drug Manufacturing Outsourcing Hazards: 65:27–67:38
• FDA Priorities for Innovation & Cutting-Edge Cures: 68:12–70:26
• Crackdown on Pharma Advertising: 71:27–73:25

Conclusion

Dr. Makary lays out a bold vision for restoring trust in American medicine through candor, humility, transparency, and an evidence-based approach that puts health outcomes first. The episode is a pointed indictment of the failures of the medical establishment, particularly under Anthony Fauci, but also an optimistic roadmap for change: from food system reform, restoring personal agency in health decisions, confronting harmful dogmas, to fostering faster life-saving innovation.

This summary omits ad reads and non-content segments as requested. For full context and details, listen to the full episode.