Stranded Technologies Podcast

Jessica Flanigan is a philosopher at the University of Richmond, where she holds the Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values. She is the author of Pharmaceutical Freedom, which argues that patients should have the right to choose their own medicines, not just refuse them. Her work covers human challenge trials, seatbelt mandates, billionaires, and charismatic leadership, and she has won Richmond’s top awards for both teaching and scholarship.Today, she is also part of the Montana Experimental Treatment Review Board (ETRB), where she serves as the bioethics and patients’ rights member.More about Jessica Flanigan’s work:* Pharmaceutical Freedom* Jessica Flanigan personal website This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitatimes.com

Holly Fernandez Lynch is is Associate Professor of Medical Ethics and Law at the University of Pennsylvania, and one of the most influential voices in US bioethics on questions of clinical trial ethics, patient access, and research participant compensation. Holly was an opponent of the 2017 federal right-to-try act, joined Niklas to debate the problems with right-to-try vs. expanded access, and the potential merits and risks of Montana’s approach.Montana goes beyond federal right-to-try by dropping the life-threatening-disease requirement and lifting the ban on profit. Is a passed phase 1 trial enough protection against snake oil, how is paying a patient to access an unapproved treatment different from paying a research participant to accept risk, and can the data this generates might count as real evidence, or would it be just used as an excuse to skip the FDA process?More about Holly Fernandez Lynch’s work:* Holly on LinkedIn This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitatimes.com

John Cochrane, economist and professor of finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business and fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins the podcast to discuss the first principles of healthcare regulation. John debunks three arguments most commonly used to justify heavy healthcare regulation: that the poor need protection, that patients lack the information to choose well, and that people in a health crisis can’t shop around. Instead under a free market solutions such as private certification and insurance would price in the risk for consumers, bundle and unbundle better options up like in airlines, retail and other consumer industries.More about John Cochrane’s work:* After the ACA: Freeing the Market for Health Care* “Free Market Vaccines” on Cochrane’s blog* John on X This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitatimes.com

Niklas sits down with Dr. Anish Koka, a practicing cardiologist, and Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio, a neurosurgeon and academic, co-hosts of The Doctor’s Lounge. It’s a dense conversation about why the US healthcare system is structurally built to favor consolidation, bureaucracy, and large hospital systems, rather than independent doctors or patients.They break down specific rules working against independent practice, like Stark Law, which bars doctors from referring patients to equipment they own while hospitals face no such restriction, and Certificate of Need laws in over 35 states, which require government approval to open a new healthcare facility, often granted by boards run by existing competitors.The conversation traces how these incentives, not bad intentions, produced the consolidation defining American healthcare today, and looks at early state-level experiments, including Montana’s rollback of Certificate of Need, as a possible blueprint for reform.→ Listen to their podcast episode with Niklas on The Doctor’s LoungeMore about Anish Koka’s work:* Anish on X* Anish’s SubstackMore about Anthony DiGiorgio’s work:* Anthony on X* Anthony’s website This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitatimes.com

Soham is the founder of PopVax, a company building vaccines faster and cheaper using AI, mRNA platforms, and a radically efficient preclinical pipeline based in India.Crémieux is a pseudonymous writer and researcher known for data-driven essays on genetics, drug regulation, and biotech policy.In this episode, we break down how vaccines actually work, why they may be one of the most powerful longevity medical interventions ever created, and how new approaches could prevent not just infections — but cancer, neurodegeneration, and chronic disease.We also explore why biotech innovation is shifting toward countries like China and India, how regulatory systems slow down progress, and what it would take to radically accelerate drug development worldwide.This is a conversation about science, institutions, and the future of human health.More about Soham’s work:* PopVax* Soham on XMore about Crémieux’s work:* Cremieux Substack * Crémieux on X This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitatimes.com