Claim OwnershipWhy Should I Trust You?
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© 2026 Why Should I Trust You?
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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.
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Our guest today is Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As he leads the world’s largest biomedical research enterprise and now the CDC--the first time one individual has led both institutions--we discuss his goals, governing philosophy, and vision for the future of American health science. After emerging as a vocal critic of federal health leadership during the pandemic, how does he now app...
In the wake of the President's executive order on glyphosate, the herbicide widely used on American farms and long derided by MAHA, there is intense focus on the movement. People are asking whether the wheels are coming off, whether this is the moment the MAGA–MAHA alliance begins to fracture. And that question isn’t just coming from critics. Many MAHA supporters themselves are wondering the same thing. President Trump’s executive order invoked the Defense Production Act to safeguard U.S. sup...
Now, some of you may have heard the recent headlines that the FDA refused to review Moderna’s application for its new flu vaccine … a vaccine that uses mRNA technology. And then a few days ago, the agency has REVERSED course. We had an episode planned all about what this decision means and whether or not it speaks to something larger about making vaccines in this moment…. So now we’re rolling with the news of that big reversal. And the truth is, we are kind of still asking the same ques...
Today, we bring together a group of Black women with a wide range of perspectives — from mainstream public health and medicine to MAHA and everything in between — for a candid conversation about their health, their lived experiences, and their trust, or lack of it, in the systems designed to heal us. Black women face higher rates of diabetes and stroke, more aggressive cancers, and far riskier pregnancies. And yet, time and again, they say the medical system meant to care for them has too oft...
You might remember monoclonal antibodies from the height of the pandemic, when President Trump and later Joe Rogan revealed they'd been treated with them for COVID. On today's episode, we dive into monoclonal antibodies--the science, the hopes, the limitations. Monoclonal antibodies, the lab-created antibody treatment designed to disrupt a threat, boost your immune system, or even stave off an infection, are already a game-changer for millions of Americans struggling with disease or compromis...
In today’s episode, we focus on a battle underway between two institutions that have long worked side by side. On one side: the Department of Health and Human Services. On the other: the American Academy of Pediatrics. Right now, these two organizations are in disagreement over how best to protect the health of children. You’ve likely seen the headlines: for the first time, the AAP has broken with the CDC, refusing to endorse the agency’s childhood vaccination recommendations. Instead, the AA...
The deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis has become a flashpoint in the national conversation. It feels like an inflection point. Today, we’re joined by evolutionary biologist and influential podcaster Bret Weinstein; MAHA supporter and writer Aaron Everitt; and doctors Rachael Beddard and Craig Spencer, both writers and prominent voices in public health. Together, we examine what Minneapolis tells us about where we are as a country today: How is it that...
Dr. Kirk Milhoan, chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), is our guest today. ACIP sets America’s vaccine policy, and since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the reins at HHS, it has been at the center of some of the most heated public health debates. A pediatric cardiologist, Air Force veteran, and physician who has dedicated his life to helping sick children around the globe, we’ll ask Dr. Milhoan about his philosophy on vaccines, how he approaches vaccine policy for Amer...
Today, we’re joined by Kelly Ryerson, known to many as the “Glyphosate Girl”. Ryerson is a leading grassroots voice inside the MAHA movement focused on environmental toxins, especially herbicides and pesticides, which she believes are putting public health at risk. Her fight comes at a volatile moment: the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pivotal case that could sharply limit Americans’ ability to sue pesticide makers, Congress is debating industry liability shields, and a major glyphosate ...
With the new federal nutrition guidelines out — and the old food pyramid effectively turned on its head — we dig into what this moment is really about. Where do MAHA and traditional nutrition experts actually agree on the new recommendations, and where do they sharply diverge? How has industry influenced past guidelines, and is it exerting a similar influence on the new ones? How should we understand the bold messaging about ending the “war” on protein and “healthy” saturated fats? And despit...
Today, we’re joined by sociologist Vivek Chibber, the provocative scholar and social critic who has a pointed critique of the modern day Left. The host of the Confronting Capitalism podcast joins us and argues that their management of institutions—including academia, media, the Democratic Party, and even public health—is completely out of touch with the lives and struggles of working and middle-class Americans. We discuss how this disconnect is fueling the widespread distrust of experts and i...
We delve into the CDC’s move to recommend fewer vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule, one of the most significant steps taken by the Kennedy administration so far. The change is sparking strong reactions across the spectrum, and we aim to understand why it’s happening, what evidence is being used to justify it, and what the potential consequences could be for children, parents, and public trust. The administration says it looked to models abroad, particularly Denmark, where fewer v...
Welcome to Season 2! As the new year gets underway, we’re looking inside America’s exam rooms. We’ve brought together a group of traditional, allopathic doctors across multiple specialties and a group of MAHA supporters. With breaking news about changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and the dietary guidelines, this felt like the right moment to convene an honest conversation between physicians and patients about how the relationship is working. Trust in doctors remains high—but it’...
**This will be our last episode in 2025! We will be back in early January 2026! Have a happy holiday season and a huge thank you for listening!!** Are our schools making our kids sick? Not because of moldy buildings or bad cafeteria food, but because of what the modern school day has become. From increased screens in the class and shrinking free time to teachers and administrators forced to focus more and more time on prep for standardized testing, schools today would be nearly unrecognizab...
Welcome to a new era for public health. In the wake of RFK Jr.’s ACIP committee making its first major change to America’s childhood vaccine schedule—ending the universal Hepatitis B birth dose—we break down what this means, and what it doesn’t. Much of the mainstream public-health world is sounding alarms, calling the move dangerous, unscientific, and the opening salvo in a broader campaign against childhood vaccines. So today we ask some tough questions: Is this a reckless break from scienc...
It’s a newsy week for public health and medicine, with potential changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and a senior health agency official raising alarming doubts about the safety of the COVID vaccine for children — claims public health veterans are calling irresponsible and baseless. Against that backdrop, we sit down with a group of 8 people who care deeply about both health and faith, but who come from opposite sides of our health culture war. We ask how they see this moment, and how w...
**We taped this episode earlier this week. Happy Thanksgiving. *** On this Thanksgiving, we each reflect on an episode that struck us. We are so grateful to you, our listener community. We all care about our health, our country and our families so much. We hope you all get to spend today surrounded by people you love. Thank you and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all. Thanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We...
Today, we’re talking about a different kind of health: the health of our media and information diet. What information we consume, how we consume it, and whether today’s social media ecosystem has become so toxic that it threatens not only our well-being, but the health of our democracy itself. It’s no secret that trust in mass media has plunged to an all-time low, with the old top-down model of journalism—where a handful of outlets controlled the flow of information—losing its authority. ...
In the final installment of our series from the Children’s Health Defense conference in Austin, we sit down for candid, face-to-face conversations with attendees. They share their life stories, talk about their thoughts on vaccines, on why RFK Jr. resonates with them, and why they came to Austin. We also reflect on our own experience: Why did we go? What did we learn about the MAHA movement and the extent of the mistrust in science and medicine today? And, ultimately, what have we learned abo...
In part two of our three-part series from the Children’s Health Defense conference in Austin, we sit down with one of the most influential figures in the MAHA movement: Del Bigtree. A longtime ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Bigtree is a singular presence—an expert communicator, storyteller, and filmmaker with a reach of tens of millions. To fans and supporters, he’s a charismatic fighter taking on the chronic illness crisis and exposing corruption. His critics say he is a spreader of anti-vac...
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Thank you for this episode. It was very intresting. I think there need to explore dimensions of trust. I mean, building trust is not possible over a night, a consistent reliable transparent work is needed. On the other hand, it is fragile, especially in case of public health, and could be destroyed by just one inaccurate statement. Another thing I beleive is communicating risk which scientists ignored. Openning a feild for non experts to raise their voices. Thank you once again and keep posting