Mar 11 2025 24 mins 10
The pandemic continues to roil our political discourse as Stanford health economist Jay Bhattacharya prepares to take over as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), America’s premiere biomedical research agency. A COVID contrarian and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, Bhattacharya is a polarizing figure in science. Supporters say he’s a fearless advocate for open inquiry and free speech in science, while his critics maintain that Bhattacharya is a crank who flouts expert consensus and poses an enormous threat to scientific progress. Podcast:
This pitched battle over the soft-spoken academic turned bureaucrat raises some important questions. For one, how did a radical outsider like Bhattacharya get the Trump Administration’s attention? There were many high-profile scientists who challenged the government’s pandemic response, so why did Bhattacharya stand out among them? Perhaps more importantly, can he do the job he’s been tasked with?
Join Cameron English and Dr. Liza Dunn as they break down these issues on episode 306 of the GLP Facts and Fallacies podcast.
Dr. Liza Dunn is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD
Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow him on X @camjenglish
