Podcast
Why Should I Trust You?
Hosted by Brinda Adhikari, Tom Johnson, Maggie Bartlett, Dr. Mark Abdelmalek · EN
Bold, unfiltered, and uncompromisingly honest, Why Should I Trust You? is a weekly podcast that looks at the breakdown in trust for science and public health. It drops every Thursday, with occasional additional special episodes sprinkled in.
Hosted by Brinda Adhikari, the former executive producer of “The Problem with Jon Stewart” and a former TV news journalist; Tom Johnson, the former executive producer of “The Circus,” and also a former TV news journalist; Dr. Maggie Bartlett, a virologist and assistant research professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Dr. Mark Abdelmalek a skin cancer surgeon, a medical journalist and a dermatologist practicing in Philadelphia - each week we try to figure out what is behind this staggering collapse in trust and see if we can rebuild towards trust again.
39episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
A Conversation w Gen Z On AI: Promise, Populism, Anger & Hope. How Do They Wish Older Gens Spoke About AI?
6d ago01:16:13Tap to summarizeToday, we're widening our lens to take on AI and trust because just like public health, science, and medicine, AI is becoming a trust minefield. As trust in institutions, experts, and Big Tech continues to erode, AI is arriving with enormous promises and profound uncertainties. (And don't worry—we're not taking our foot off the gas on trust and health. We're just doing more!)AI now has us confronting fundamental questions about winners and losers, promises of medical breakthroughs versus warnings of widespread job displacement, and whether the new technology encourages us to offload difficult thinking or frees us to think more deeply. And right in the middle of all these questions is the generation coming of age at the same time as AI.So, today, we've gathered Gen Zers, high school students, college students, recent graduates, young professionals, and people entering the trades. We discuss the issues surrounding AI, especially its impact on education and work, which are already shaping their lives.How do they see the opportunities and risks of AI? What excites them? What worries them? Ultimately, what kind of future do they want to build and what kind of lives do they want to lead?Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekGuests:Elizabeth FrostKhushi PatelSawyer EverittBryson CravenRotimi KukoyiMatt GeistlerKeren Michelle-AsareRohan LichtMichael D. GreenThanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →Is Parkinson’s A Preventable Disease? A Conversation w Dr. Ray Dorsey & Steve Brandenburg On Paraquat & Parkinson’s
2w ago00:57:53Tap to summarizeParkinson’s Disease is rising worldwide. It is the fastest-growing neurological disease in the world and is being called a “slow-motion epidemic.” And there is no cure. So what’s driving the increase? There are several culprits, including a body of research associating exposure to the farm herbicide Paraquat. Paraquat is banned in 70 countries. At the same time, in America, the EPA and other major reviews say the evidence still falls short of proving a direct causal link.We speak with one of the nation’s leading Parkinson’s researchers, Dr. Ray Dorsey, along with a man living with Parkinson’s after decades during which he says he was exposed to Paraquat.But this story goes beyond one chemical or one disease. It’s about how we should make decisions regarding health amidst conflicting perspectives over science, data, warning signs, and painful lived experiences.Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekGuests:Steve Brandenburg, worked for 30 years as a producer on a video team in the agricultural industry. He has since been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He hosts a podcast called “The Secret Life of Parkinson’s".Dr. Ray Dorsey, neurologist and one of the country's leading researchers on Parkinson's disease. He is the Director of the Center for the Brain and Environment with Atria Health and Research Institute.Research on Paraquat and Parkinson'shttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21269927/https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra2401857?utm_source=openevidencehttps://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/paraquat-pesticide-parkinsons-disease#:~:text=A%20common%20pesticide%20called%20paraquat,can%20cause%20the%20movement%20disorderhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11491592/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S147444222500287XEPA on Paraquat and Parkinson'shttps://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/paraquat-dichlorideThanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →A Conversation w MAHA Supporters & Public Health Veterans: On Thomas Massie + Cuts To USAID Amid An Ebola Outbreak
3w ago01:13:15Tap to summarizeWe’ve got a major news-driven episode today, focused on two stories that hit home for two big parts of our audience: MAHA and public health.First, the political earthquake rocking MAHA: Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie's defeat in his primary after a full-force effort by President Trump and MAGA. Massie was beloved by many in MAHA as an independent-minded fighter willing to challenge both parties and powerful interests. Where does this leave the MAHA-MAGA alliance? Then we turn to the outbreaks of Ebola and Hantavirus. How is the group processing the emergence of these outbreaks, especially after this administration dismantled USAID, which long supported disease surveillance and relief in hot spots, including the site of the current Ebola outbreak? Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark Abdelmalek (off)Guests:Aaron Everitt, video journalist, writer Besides the Revolution, House InHabit, former Kennedy campaign volunteer.Elizabeth Frost, co-founder MAHA Ohio, Independent Force Consultants, former Kennedy campaign grassroots organizer.Jeff Hutt, former National Field Director for the Kennedy campaign; former spokesperson for the MAHA PAC.Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, infectious disease physician, Associate Professor at Boston University School of Medicine, founding director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy and Research.Dr. Craig Spencer, emergency medicine physician and Associate Professor at Brown University School of Public Health.Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →Special Ep: A Conversation w Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Lead Reporter for the NYT Covering RFK Jr. & MAHA In An Era of Mistrust
4w ago01:09:53Tap to summarizeWe are joined today by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, one of the country’s leading health reporters and a correspondent for The New York Times, covering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the MAHA movement.In her words, Stolberg covers “the intersection of health policy and politics,” a job to which she brings decades of experience covering federal health agencies, Congress, and two presidencies as a White House correspondent for the Times. Before joining the Times, she shared two Pulitzer Prizes for reporting at The Los Angeles Times on racial unrest and an earthquake.We talk with Stolberg about covering the MAHA movement and Kennedy, including the movement’s internal dynamics, the Secretary’s successes and setbacks at HHS, and fresh reporting on the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. In addition, we discuss what it’s like working as a reporter during a time in which trust in the mainstream media has fallen.Finally, we take up the subject that sits at the center of our discussions about health today—the breakdown in trust in public health, and specifically in the federal health institutions she covers. The history of that breakdown is the focus of a book Stolberg is working on.Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekTom and I wrote a piece, check it out!It's Time to Blow Up The Public Health Events Model:https://whyshoulditrustyou.substack.com/p/its-time-to-blow-up-the-public-healthGuest:Sheryl Gay Stolberg, correspondent for the New York Times, covering healthy policy and politics, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and MAHA. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →Are MAHA & Public Health Going About Change All Wrong? A Conversation w Organizational Transformation Author Greg Satell
4w ago00:54:31Tap to summarizeThe one thing Americans seem to agree on these days is that our systems need to change. But what actually creates meaningful change?For some, it means tearing broken institutions down to the studs and rebuilding from scratch. For others, it means reforming those institutions while preserving expertise and what still works. Either way, the question remains: how do you turn shared values into sustainable, far-reaching change?Our guest today, Greg Satell, author of Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change, has spent years studying how change actually happens. What drives people to adopt change? What are the classic mistakes that prevent movements from succeeding? And in the case of both the Make America Healthy Again movement and traditional public health — two groups that want Americans to be healthier — what are they getting right, and what are they getting wrong in their drive for change?And then there’s us.We began this podcast as a way to get some understanding of the collapse in public health, science, and medicine. Now, as we try to move beyond diagnosing the problem and toward fostering collaboration and action, what lessons does Satell have for us?Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie Bartlett (off)Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off)Guest:Greg Satell, entrepreneur, business executive, author Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational ChangeThanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →The Most MAHA Democrat We've Met: A Conversation w Former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) On A New Politics in America
May 701:16:27Tap to summarizeTim Ryan, the moderate, 10-term Democratic congressman from Ohio's Rust Belt, has pushed for a different conversation for years: one that reimagines America’s approach to food and health.Long before it had a name, Ryan was championing many of the ideas now fueling the “MAHA” movement: nutritious, “real” food (he wrote The Real Food Revolution back in 2014), regenerative agriculture, openness to alternative therapies, and a reassessment of the unhealthy systems taxpayer dollars continue to support. Then he watched the movement take off and align with the Republican Party.In this episode, Ryan reflects on what it’s been like to see his long-held priorities suddenly gain traction. We ask about tensions around vaccines and whether MAHA’s alignment with MAGA is ultimately sustainable.Most importantly, we dig into his message for Democrats: embrace a modern, forward-looking health agenda that meets Americans where they are—while also calling out Republicans for, in his view, policies that run counter to what MAHA claims to stand for.Hosts: Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekGuest:Former Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), who served 10 terms in the United States House of Representatives.Recent articles by Tim Ryan on MAHA and health politics in America:https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/republicans-believe-maha-backing-farm-billhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/05/democrats-rfk-jr-maha-healthy-foodhttps://www.statnews.com/2026/04/28/microplastics-nanoplastics-health-epa-trump-arpa-h/Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →The Movement v Monsanto: Our Conversations w Rep. Thomas Massie (R), Sen. Cory Booker (D) & MAHA Influencers Alex Clark & Del Bigtree
Apr 3000:45:33Tap to summarizeHosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie Bartlett (producer)Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (seeing patients)Guests:Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)Alex Clark, TPUSA, MAHADel Bigtree, High Wire, ICANThanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →Sunday Special: As Higher Ed Research Falls Short on Impact, Here’s a Fix. A Conversation w Behavioral Scientist Daniel Max Crowley
Apr 2600:56:54Tap to summarizeTrust in higher education is slipping, with a growing number of Americans questioning whether universities are delivering value beyond their walls (and ivory towers).Today, we’re joined by Daniel Crowley, who goes by Max. He is a behavioral scientist and endowed chair at Penn State. His argument: universities produce groundbreaking research, but too often it sits on a shelf, never reaching the decision-makers who could use it to improve lives.That disconnect may help explain part of the decline in trust. Of course, many factors are driving that trend, from costs, to admissions practices, and perceptions of elitism, to name a few captured in a new report from Yale University.Crowley believes that building better systems to translate research to everyone from members of Congress to local leaders to the public itself could help turn that trust slide around.Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie Bartlett (off)Dr. Mark Abdelmalek (off)Guest:Daniel Max Crowley, director of the Prevention Research Center at Penn State University and a prevention scientist investigating how to optimize investments in healthy development and well-being.Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →The Healthcare Fraud Debate: Are We Actually Mad At the Same Thing? A Convo w Trump/MAHA Supporters + Medicaid Experts
Apr 2301:28:55Tap to summarizeToday, we are delving into the subject of healthcare fraud. The Trump administration has elevated it into a major political issue.When it comes to Medicaid fraud specifically, do you see this administration's recent actions towards states such as Minnesota as a well-meaning push to take on the bad actors and lax state oversight that has allowed this taxpayer-supported safety net to be exploited? Or do you see it as a political talking point being used to suggest widespread abuse when there is not, to justify cutting that very safety net? Or is this an abhorrent scam for which we just don't see eye to eye on the solution? The truth is, your answer may depend on where you get your information, who you trust, and how you’ve experienced the system yourself.In today’s episode, we dig into that divide. What do we actually know about healthcare fraud in America—and what is rhetoric versus reality? We bring together Trump and MAHA supporters, including a mother whose child was covered by Medicaid, along with a health reporter from Minnesota and experts on Medicaid program integrity, to ask: how big is the problem really, are we focused on the right issues, and what can we actually agree on?Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekGuests:Jacqueline Capriotti, founder and CEO of Health Revolution USA, small business owner and mother of two adults with cystic fibrosis, worked on the Kennedy/MAHA campaign. Aaron Everitt, writer and Substacker for Besides the Revolution and House inHabit volunteered for Kennedy campaign. Eleanor Hildebrandt, reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune, has covered the Medicaid fraud issue on the ground there in that state.Andy Schneider, health policy expert at Georgetown’s McCourt School who served as a senior advisor at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Obama administration.Joel White, President of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage who served as the Staff Director for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.Wilk Wilkinson, host of the Derate the Hate podcast and director of Media Operations for Braver Angels. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →Special Ep: A Conversation w the President of Moderna, Dr. Stephen Hoge On Building Back Trust Post-Covid
Apr 1700:57:16Tap to summarizeToday, we’re joined by Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna, the biotech company that helped make mRNA a household name during the pandemic, producing a vaccine taken by millions of Americans.Now, Moderna is using that same technology to push into new frontiers, developing treatments for cancers like melanoma and lung cancer. While at the same time, mistrust of mRNA and of the pharmaceutical industry more broadly has only grown.We discuss with Dr. Hoge his company's latest innovations in cancer treatment as well as an mRNA-based flu vaccine they are hoping to have available before the next flu season. We discuss what it's like to try and innovate using a platform that many Americans, coming off the pandemic experience, do not trust. And we talk about whether using mRNA as a tool against cancer might yield a different reception. Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekGuest:Dr. Stephen Hoge, President of ModernaThanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@whyshoulditrustyou.net
Transcribe →