Realfoodology Podcast: “Vaccine Safety Studies Don’t Exist” – The Myth of Safe & Effective

Host: Courtney Swan
Guest: Del Bigtree (Emmy award-winning journalist, producer of “An Inconvenient Study”)
Date: November 11, 2025

Overview of the Episode

This episode features controversial vaccine safety advocate Del Bigtree, who discusses his new documentary “An Inconvenient Study.” The film centers on a purportedly unpublished vaccinated vs. unvaccinated study at the Henry Ford Health System. The conversation questions the scientific grounding of the “safe and effective” vaccine mantra, highlighting the alleged lack of placebo-controlled safety studies for childhood vaccines, and explores potential links between vaccine policy and rising chronic illnesses in children. The episode is framed as a call for scientific transparency, informed consent, and open debate about vaccine safety.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin and Persistence of “Safe & Effective” (06:36–09:34)

• Del Bigtree argues the “safe and effective” label stems from early vaccine history, when scientists promoted vaccination despite known side effects to achieve herd immunity.
• He claims the original scientists kept working on safety behind closed doors but never succeeded, and eventually, “the real clergy died... We didn’t do it. We couldn’t achieve it.” (09:19 – Bigtree)

2. “Lack” of Placebo-Controlled Vaccine Safety Studies (10:31–19:29)

• Bigtree recounts a meeting with Dr. Marcus Zervos (Henry Ford Health) who admitted, “We have never done any safety studies on any of the childhood vaccines.” (12:44 – Bigtree)
• Standard pharmaceutical products typically undergo double-blind, placebo studies; Bigtree claims this has never occurred for childhood vaccines.
• When pressed, regulatory agencies reportedly cannot produce documentation of placebo-controlled vaccine trials.

  “They do not exist... what you have with vaccine safety is simply wishful thinking.” (18:27 – Bigtree)

3. Retrospective Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Studies & “Suppressed” Data (19:55–30:16)

• Bigtree describes the “Henry Ford Health” retrospective study comparing health outcomes of ~16,000 vaccinated vs. ~2,000 unvaccinated children.
  • Key results: Vaccinated children were much more likely to have chronic diseases.
  • In some domains (e.g., ADHD, diabetes, tics, intellectual disabilities), unvaccinated children had zero cases (36:48 – Swan).
• He argues the study was not published due to fear of reputational/professional harm rather than scientific shortcomings.

4. The Expert Testimony and Placebo Study Debate (23:05–26:52; 42:50–46:16)

• A highlighted moment features testimony from Jake Scott, a scientist brought in to prove vaccine trials exist. But after cross-examination, it is claimed zero true placebo-controlled studies on CDC-scheduled vaccines exist.

  “Your final statement is: ‘I'm surprised... we haven't even looked through [all the studies].’ That is exactly what I’ve dealt with for 10 years. This is where the science is at. They actually think they’re just gonna win this debate on bravado.” (26:08–26:51 – Bigtree)

• Deposition from Dr. Katherine Edwards (author, Plotkin’s Vaccines): under oath, she cannot point to studies showing certain vaccines don’t cause autism (42:50–46:16).

  “Do you have a study that supports that dtap doesn’t cause autism?”
  “I do not have a study that DTAP causes autism, so I don’t have either.” (43:35–43:41 – Edwards)

5. Attempts to Explain “No Link to Autism” Claims (37:47–44:38)

• The podcast discusses debated links between vaccines and autism, with Swan and Bigtree asserting that studies either lack statistical power or diagnostic limitations skew the numbers.
• They claim diagnostic changes over the years, as well as underdiagnosis in the control groups, may mask real trends.

6. Chronic Disease, Autism, and "The Sickest Kids" Crisis (34:18–36:48; 48:20–50:34)

• Citing the Henry Ford study, Bigtree claims 57% of vaccinated children develop chronic disease by age 10, compared to 17% of unvaccinated.
• The conversation repeatedly draws a contrast between the perceived safety record of vaccines and surging rates of autoimmune and neurological disorders.

7. The Vaccine “Religion”, Regulatory Capture, and Scientific Denial (26:08–28:44; 65:33–67:46)

• Bigtree calls routine faith in vaccines “a religion”:

  “If you are pro-vaccine, you’re anti-science. Because science would have demanded they do the placebo trials.” (28:14 – Bigtree)

• Argues regulatory capture and pharma funding of medicine and media maintains the status quo.

  “They buy more politicians in your government than any other industry... even more than oil and gas.” (66:37 – Bigtree)

8. The Case of Gardasil and Individual Adverse Events (55:06–59:25)

• The story of Colton Berrett, a teen paralyzed after HPV vaccination, is recounted. Gardasil and other “high aluminum load” vaccines are targeted as especially suspect.

  “The paralysis one… every parent, I almost want to say every parent, I heard this more than a dozen times… 'my child was a star athlete prior to being paralyzed by this vaccine.'” (57:08–58:00 – Bigtree)

9. Personal Testimony: Host’s Family Experience (70:05–74:24)

• Courtney Swan shares the story of her brother, reportedly healthy until immediately after vaccination as an infant, after which he suffered severe brain damage and passed away at age 11.

  “My mom... now is asking. She doesn’t know what shots he got. But after that, his fever spiked. He ended up in an incubator for three weeks. After that, he could never hold up his head. He could never walk, he could never talk…” (70:15 – Swan)

10. Call to Action and Societal Implications (83:21–86:24)

• Bigtree urges listeners to demand robust safety studies and collective action, claiming, “If every child in California, if the parents just say, ‘You know what? We're not doing this anymore,’ the schools are not going to be able to force them to.”
• The episode ends on advocacy: watch and share the film ("An Inconvenient Study"), question received wisdom, and organize for change.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “They have no science, they've got no cards... I know the hand we've got, and I think that's what's happening right now.”
  – Del Bigtree (04:32–06:36)

• “The head of infectious disease at Henry Ford says, I have to tell you, you’re right. We have never done any safety studies on any of the childhood vaccines.”
  – Del Bigtree recounting Dr. Zervos’ comment (12:44)

• "They do not exist. And so what you have with vaccine safety is simply wishful thinking..."
  – Del Bigtree (18:27)

• “This is a faith-based religion... if you are pro-vaccine, you’re anti-science. Because science would have demanded they do the placebo trials.”
  – Del Bigtree (28:14–28:44)

• "The result is there's zero trials, zero, which were relied upon... to license a routine injected vaccine on the CDC schedule that included a placebo..."
  – Jake Scott, conceded on study review (25:44–26:02)

• “This study shows 57% by the time [vaccinated] kids are 10 years old will now have a lifelong chronic disease... up from 12% in the 1980s.”
  – Del Bigtree (47:10–48:20)

• “We don't know what's causing autism but we know it's not vaccines, which is the craziest statement I've ever heard.”
  – Del Bigtree (41:18)

• Courtney Swan’s family story:
  – “He got those shots, and he was never the same.” (70:21 – Swan’s mother quoted)

• "Of all the things that we should have done blindly, this was not it."
  – Del Bigtree (81:45)

• "We are killing off our species. We're making our kids sick. We're destroying our fertility."
  – Del Bigtree (85:15)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic / Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Guest Introduction, episode setup | 00:00–04:32 | | The “safe & effective” vaccine origin story | 06:36–09:34 | | Placebo studies – regulatory failures and whistleblowers | 10:31–19:29 | | Retrospective study explanation & Henry Ford incident | 19:55–30:16 | | Claims about no chronic illness in unvaccinated group | 34:18–36:48 | | Autism & ADHD – statistical limitations, diagnostic drift | 37:47–44:38 | | Vaccine-autism research reviewed under oath | 42:50–46:16 | | Discussion on chronic illness rates, science vs. faith | 48:20–50:34 | | How double-blind safety studies were bypassed in history | 51:05–53:05 | | Gardasil & personal injury stories | 55:06–59:25 | | Personal case: Host’s brother | 70:05–74:24 | | Call for collective action and skepticism | 83:21–86:24 | | Final calls to watch “An Inconvenient Study” | 85:20–86:30 |

Tone and Language

The conversation is conversational but driven by alarm, skepticism, and advocacy. Both host and guest adopt a tone of righteous outrage and concern blended with anecdote and appeals to common sense. Bigtree frequently uses metaphors and direct challenges to mainstream authority, and Swan echoes and intensifies those critiques with personal recollections and emotional language.

Summary for New Listeners

This episode, though highly controversial and at odds with mainstream medical consensus, offers an in-depth look at claims made by figures in the vaccine safety-critical movement. The discussion is peppered with accusations of regulatory corruption, scientific fraud, and cover-ups, illustrated with personal and professional anecdotes. Central is the argument that a lack of placebo-based safety trials challenges the very legitimacy of the vaccine schedule, with retrospective studies and personal narratives used as support.

Listeners should be aware that many claims made are not accepted by the wider scientific and medical community, and mainstream experts robustly dispute them. This summary is intended to capture the episode’s content and flow, not endorse its accuracy.

Calls to Action and Resources

• Watch "An Inconvenient Study" for free at anInconvenientStudy.com
• Share the documentary to spark debate and promote alleged scientific transparency.
• Prioritize informed consent and question "safe & effective" claims without robust evidence.

End of summary.