What Scientists Say About Autism and Tylenol Use

Summary

WSJ What’s News

Episode: What Scientists Say About Autism and Tylenol Use
Date: September 23, 2025
Host: Caitlin McCabe

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the fallout from President Trump's recent and controversial warning that acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy potentially causes autism—a claim rejected by most scientists. The discussion explores the scientific evidence (and lack thereof) behind the warning, the implications for Tylenol manufacturer Kenview, and broader ramifications for public health messaging. Additional major news items include a Supreme Court case about presidential power over agency heads, a crackdown on drug trafficking in the Caribbean, Argentina's economic crisis, Nvidia's skyrocketing profits, and the Catholic Church's clergy shortage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tylenol, Autism, and Presidential Warnings

• President Trump's Announcement:

  • Trump, flanked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warned of a potential link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism:

    “Acetaminophen, which is basically commonly known as Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism. So taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it, it's not good.”
    (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 01:25)

  • The administration’s statement follows ongoing focus on autism, a diagnosis affecting about 1 in 31 children in the U.S.

• Scientific Community Response:

  • Medical experts and organizations rapidly criticized the warning as baseless and potentially harmful—a view echoed throughout the episode.
  • Brianna Abbott (WSJ health reporter):

    “Studies that are looking at a potential link between autism and acetaminophen or Tylenol have been inconclusive.”
    (Brianna Abbott, 02:27)

    • She notes a subset of studies has found some correlation, but “others don’t show that connection.”
  • The complexity of causality is highlighted:

    “Women who take Tylenol are taking it because they have an infection or fever or chronic pain. And that might actually be the increase in autism risk and not the Tylenol. So the results are definitely inconclusive.”
    (Brianna Abbott, 02:52)

• Impact on Kenview (Tylenol’s Maker):

  • With Trump’s warning, Kenview faces a looming wave of lawsuits after previously fending off litigation regarding this issue.
  • The company maintains Tylenol is safe and that scientific evidence does not establish any clear link with autism.

2. Supreme Court to Reconsider Presidential Power Over Agencies

• The Court will hear arguments over whether presidents may fire heads of independent agencies at will, questioning the precedent of Humphrey’s Executor.
• The issue has big implications for agencies like the NLRB, SEC, FTC, and more.
  • Recent actions include granting Trump's request to remove FTC’s Democratic commissioner.

3. Federal Hunger Survey Suspended

• The Trump administration placed federal researchers responsible for the annual hunger survey on leave, having just canceled the Agriculture Department’s report.
• The survey is vital for food assistance policy, funding, and measurement of program efficacy.
  • The Agriculture Dept. criticized the report as “liberal fodder” for expanding federal programs.

4. Drug Trafficking Crackdown in the Caribbean

• U.S. military and Dominican authorities recovered hundreds of cocaine packages after destroying a narco speedboat bound for the U.S.
• Operation marked the first official joint U.S.–Dominican anti-narcotics effort labeled "narco terrorism" (05:38).

5. Trump at the UN and U.S. Foreign Policy Moves

• Trump is set for his first UN General Assembly speech as president, expected to emphasize U.S. sovereignty and criticize the institution’s effectiveness.

• The U.S. record includes budget cuts, diplomatic freezes, and surprising alignment with Russia in some Security Council votes.

  • Robbie Grammer (WSJ reporter):

    “The U.S. has slashed its contribution to the UN budget, it’s positioned itself against longtime allies...”
    (Robbie Grammer, 06:04)

• Meeting with Argentina’s president may yield financial aid (dollar-denominated purchases or swap lines), contingent on economic reforms.

6. Nvidia’s Booming Cash Flow from AI

• After investing $100 billion into OpenAI, Nvidia’s profits are at a record high, with $72 billion in free cash flow over the past year—dwarfing other tech giants.
• Sam Scheckner (WSJ tech reporter):

  “That acceleration in demand…has really given it a geyser of money.”
  (Sam Scheckner, 08:17)

  • Nvidia is reinvesting profits by funding startups (e.g., CoreWeave) that in turn purchase more Nvidia chips, raising investor concerns over potentially circular demand.

  • “The question is, is this actual demand...? Or is Nvidia using the cash it has from chips it’s already sold to help basically fund AI companies buying more of those chips?”
    (Sam Scheckner, 09:23)

7. Catholic Church Faces a Vocation Shortage

• Despite a growing global Catholic population, priest numbers are plummeting due to young people’s reluctance about lifelong commitments, particularly celibacy.

• Margarita Stancati (Rome correspondent):

  “The idea of committing to something for life like the priesthood feels like an overwhelming choice in a society where... we have so many options.”
  (Margarita Stancati, 10:39)

• New Pope Leo—Robert Prevost—has sought to encourage vocations by engaging with Catholic youth and influencers and by highlighting millennials like Saint Carlo Acoutis (11:12).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On science and public health messaging:

  “By issuing the warning, Trump threw the full weight of his office behind a theory that has yet to be proven, defying careful guidance offered by some of the scientific advisors that surround him.”
  (Caitlin McCabe, 01:48)

• On the circular AI economy:

  “Nvidia plowed money into CoreWeave in order to basically give CoreWeave money to then go buy Nvidia's chips.”
  (Sam Scheckner, 08:57)

• On the priesthood crisis:

  “Young people these days have a lot of choice, and the idea of committing to something for life like the priesthood feels like an overwhelming choice.”
  (Margarita Stancati, 10:39)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Tylenol, Autism & Trump’s Warning: 00:33 – 03:04
• Supreme Court & Agency Power: 03:04 – 04:20
• Federal Hunger Survey: 04:20 – 05:10
• Caribbean Drug Seizure: 05:10 – 06:04
• UN Assembly/Foreign Policy (Argentina): 06:04 – 07:23
• Nvidia & AI Profits: 07:58 – 10:11
• Catholic Priest Vocational Crisis: 10:11 – 11:45

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode delivers clear, concise reporting on a contentious new health controversy stirred up by the White House, putting the spotlight on the unproven claims linking Tylenol to autism and the potential real-world harms of such public health messaging. It moves swiftly through several major stories—from legal battles over executive authority to the mechanics of today’s AI economy and the recruiting challenges facing the Catholic Church—offering a brisk yet thorough snapshot of the day’s most market-moving and society-shaping news.

Transcript

[Kelly Cavagnaro]

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[Caitlin McCabe]

Tylenol maker Ken View is bracing for a wave of lawsuits after President Trump issues a scientifically dubious warning that acetaminophen causes autism. Plus, the Supreme Court says it will reconsider whether the president can fire top officials and the Catholic Church has a manpower problem.

[Margarita Stancati]

The idea of committing to something for life like the priesthood feels like an overwhelming choice in a society where where actually we have so many Options.

[Caitlin McCabe]

It's Tuesday, September 23rd. I'm Caitlin McCabe for the Wall Street Journal, and here's the AM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Tylenol maker Ken View is bracing for an explosion of lawsuits following President Trump's warning yesterday that the common painkiller is a potential cause of autism.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Acetaminophen, which is basically commonly known as Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism. So taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it, it's not good.

[Caitlin McCabe]

The announcement made with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And other health leaders by his side followed months of attention by the admin on autism, a condition that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says affects about 1 in 31 children in the U.S. scientists and medical groups quickly warned that Trump's declaration was unfounded and even potentially dangerous given the downsides of untreated fever and pain in pregnant women. Brianna Abbott is a health reporter for the Journal and says that by issuing the warning, Trump threw the full weight of his office behind a theory that has yet to be proven, defying careful guidance offered by some of the scientific advisors that surround him.

[Brianna Abbott]

Studies that are looking at a potential link between autism and acetaminophen or Tylenol have been inconclusive. There have been some that have shown that women who take Tylenol during pregnancy have an increased risk of autism in their children. But there are others that don't show that connection.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Briana says one complicating factor on the matter is that untreated pain and fever in expectant mothers are also risk factors for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

[Brianna Abbott]

Women who take Tylenol are taking it because they have an infection or fever or chronic pain. And that might actually be the increase in autism risk and not the Tylenol. So the results are definitely inconclusive.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Trump's warning presents a significant issue for Tylenol maker Kenview, which up until now has been successful in fending off litigation on the matter. It says Tylenol is safe and that the science shows there is no clear link between the medication and autism. We now go to big news out of Washington, where the Supreme Court has said it would formally reconsider a nearly century old precedent known as Humphrey's Executor that limits presidential power to remove heads of independent agencies. Yesterday, the justices said they would hear arguments in December over whether laws protecting some officials from arbitrary removal infringe on presidential power. The court also granted President Trump's emergency request to remove the Federal Trade Commission's sole remaining Democratic commissioner, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. The news follows a series of prior decisions and emergency orders through which the court has signaled that its conservative majority is ready to overrule the precedent and give Trump authority over a raft of agencies that Congress has sought to insulate from political interference. This includes the National Labor Relations Board, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the securities and Exchange Commission, along with the ftc. Meanwhile, we're exclusively reporting that the team of federal economists and researchers responsible for producing the government survey measuring hunger in America were put on indefinite paid leave yesterday. It comes just two days after the Trump administration abruptly canceled the annual Agriculture Department hunger report. The food insecurity survey is used by policymakers to make funding decisions for food assistance programs and to evaluate how well those programs work. A subsequent statement by the Agriculture Department called the annual report liberal fodder used to justify expanding federal food assistance programs. Officials in the Dominican Republic have recovered hundreds of cocaine packages from a speedboat that was destroyed by the US Military as part of its drug trafficking crackdown on Venezuela. Officials said 377 packages of cocaine wrapped in tape or recently recovered bobbing in the water. They added that the speedboat was en route to the Dominican Republic and those on board plan to use the country as a bridge before smuggling the drugs to the U.S. the Trump administration has made cracking down on Latin American drug cartels a key focus of its administration, with the military striking three boats that it believes were carrying narcotics that were en route to the US So far this month, the Dominican Republic hailed the mission to recover the packages as the first joint operation with the U.S. against, quote, narco terrorism in the Caribbean. And President Trump will be making his first ever speech at the UN General Assembly In New York today, Journal reporter Robbie Grammer says Trump is expected to tout the importance of national sovereignty and criticize the UN for being ineffective underlining America's declining influence in the Group of Nations it helped to form more than eight decades ago.

[Robbie Grammer]

The US has slashed its contribution to the UN budget, it's positioned itself against longtime allies at the Security Council, and Trump left his key ambassador post here, the US Ambassador to the UN Empty for nearly nine months. In fact, his ambassador, Mike Waltz, was just confirmed a few days before his visit. The US has sided with Russia on recent UN Votes over the war in Ukraine, which is a move that many key US Allies in Europe criticized, though administration officials say it was to keep the door open for peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[Caitlin McCabe]

While Trump may leave more than a few members of the assembly disgruntled, he's set to meet at least one fan on the sidelines, longtime MAGA supporter and President of Argentina Javier Milei. The Trump administration is looking at options to provide a financial backstop to the country as it struggles to overhaul its economy. In a post on X, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said that could include swap lines and purchases of dollar denominated government debt, adding that fiscal discipline and pro growth reforms are necessary to breaking Argentina's long history of decline. Coming up, we take a look at Nvidia's booming coffers, plus a look at why fewer men are bec priests and what that means for the Catholic Church. Those stories and more after the break.

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[Caitlin McCabe]

After yesterday's announcement that Nvidia is investing $100 billion into OpenAI, you'd think the chip giant might have drawn down its coffers, but the Journal has been looking at how much money Nvidia is actually making on its AI chips, and it turns out the numbers exceed the cash flow of every other tech giant.

[Sam Scheckner]

Nvidia has done an amazing job getting people who operate data centers around the world to buy its chips in order to help train AI. Those chips are very expensive and that's generating eye popping amounts of cash flow. Nvidia was generating a little over $6 billion in annual free cash flow just three years ago, but in the last four quarters, it generated 72 billion in free cash flow. So that acceleration in demand for its chips to train and to operate AI systems has really given it a geyser of money.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Sam Scheckner is a Journal tech reporter. He told us that Nvidia is putting its cash to good use by largely propping up America's AI infrastructure.

[Sam Scheckner]

A lot of the companies that are buying these chips are startups, right? And they're not actually making any money. So what is Nvidia doing? Well, they're buying stakes in these companies. Core Weave is a major provider of basically good graphics processing units of GPUs to AI companies. Nvidia plowed money into Core Weave in order to basically give Core Weave money to then go buy Nvidia's chips.

[Caitlin McCabe]

But that circular economy also has some investors worried.

[Sam Scheckner]

The question is, is this actual demand? Are we actually talking about businesses that are going to be using AI services that require AI software that must be built on and then operated with AI chips, meaning that it's actual demand for Nvidia's product, or is Nvidia using the cash it has from chips it's already sold to help basically fund AI companies buying more of those chips? And if that's the case, then eventually there could be a collapse. The real wild card here is how much and how useful will these AI services be in the future for individuals and for businesses? For the time being, people are betting that it's going to be pretty useful, and that seems like a pretty good bet.

[Caitlin McCabe]

And while newly appointed Pope Leo has been enjoying a religious resurgence in the global population of Catholics, the head of the Catholic Church is facing a bit of a problem. A sharp decline in the number of young men who want to become priests is creating a clergy crisis. With seminaries closing and some parishes left without a priest. Our Rome correspondent Margarita Stancati says while the aging population of priests are dying, they're just aren't enough men to fill their positions.

[Margarita Stancati]

I think it's partly because, you know, young people these days have a lot of choice, and the idea of committing to something for life like the priesthood feels like an overwhelming choice in a society where. Where actually we have so many options. Part of the reason is because, yeah, young people are distracted by many things, and the priesthood really is a commitment for life. Part of that commitment is the commitment to celibacy. And as society has become more secular, that commitment has also become harder to take.

[Caitlin McCabe]

The new pontiff, also known as Robert Prevost, has appealed to those considering the priesthood to not give up. This summer, he hosted Catholic Social Media Influencers at the Vatican and participated in a Catholic Youth Festival in Rome. Earlier this month, the church also recognized its first millennial saint, the tech savvy teenager Saint Carlo Acoutis. And that's it for what's news for this Tuesday morning. Today's show is produced by Kate Bullivant and Freddy Folston. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Caitlin McCabe for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show.

Until then, thanks for listening.

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