The Broken Science Podcast

This week on The Broken Science Podcast we look back at Emily’s introduction to the BSI’s event last February in Phoenix, Arizona. In post-modern science, the merits of a study are determined by consensus rather than the study’s predictive value. In her introduction to the event, Emily lays out how post-modern science came to be, and warns of it’s perils.

If you’ve ever taken Statistics 101 – or participated in any basic research work – you’re probably familiar with the old adage “correlation does not imply causation.” Despite the saying’s popularity, many researchers (and media outlets) are quick to publicize “statistically significant” findings without further investigation in cause. This week, we explore the complexities of interpreting scientific data with a deep dive into the world of statistics with statistician William Briggs, which was recorded during his appearance at Hillsdale College's April 2023.

For most of modern history, people considered Alzheimer's to be a hopeless diagnosis, with nothing to do but wait for the inevitable decline of one's mind. In this week’s podcast we hear from Dr. Dale Bredesen, a renowned neuroscientist who took on his own industry and challenged the current recommendations. This was originally recorded as an interview conducted by BSI’s Emily Kaplan as a part of the Empowered Health Podcast in 2019. We’ve worked hard to create show notes, which include a transcript of the episode with links out to all mentioned references allowing listeners to continue learning about Broken Science. A link to this week’s show notes can be found on BrokenScience.org/podcasts

Science, once a beacon of objectivity, has become marred by corruption and misuse. At BSI, we are on a mission to unravel the tyranny of broken science and those who exploit it. In this week’s episode, we hear from Greg Glassman as he dives deep into the issues of broken science and addresses the consequences of research that will not replicate. This talk was recorded over a year ago in Santa Cruz, California. Glassman, utilizing the chalkboards at the old CrossFit HQ, outlines the objectives of The Broken Science Initiative. He writes on the chalkboard five critical facets of modern science and discusses how they resonate with common sense. We’ve worked hard to create show notes, which include a transcript of the episode with links out to all mentioned references allowing listeners to continue learning about Broken Science. A link to this week’s show notes can be found on BrokenScience.org/podcasts

In this week's episode join The Broken Science Initiative and Gary Taubes as we discuss the errors pervasive in nutrition research. Taubes and Kaplan talk about how Taubes’ groundbreaking research has changed the public’s awareness and yet is still met with push back from the media. The original interview was taped in 2019 for the Empowered Health Podcast with BSI’s own Emily Kaplan. Taubes, the renowned author of "Good Calories, Bad Calories," "Why We Get Fat," and "The Case Against Sugar," has undertaken the arduous process of meticulously analyzing the research and scrutinizing every footnote to discern between reliable advice and unsubstantiated claims. Prepare to gain valuable insights from Taubes' and Kaplan’s deep dive into the world of scientific literature and their shared quest to separate fact from fiction. We’ve worked hard to create show notes, which include a transcript of the episode with links out to all mentioned references allowing listeners to continue learning about Broken Science. A link to this week’s show notes can be found on BrokenScience.org/podcasts

In this week’s episode, statistician William Briggs shares his perspectives on the state of science and its recent challenges, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. This talk was originally recorded in front of a live audience on June 3, 2023, at The Castro Ranch in Aromas California. Briggs emphasizes that while not all science is broken, there has been an alarming trend of broken science that demands our attention. He clarifies that the intention is not to criticize science as a whole, but rather to address the increase in flawed methodologies and the undue prominence given to such flawed and broken science. Drawing from his expertise, Briggs highlights the implications of following a broken philosophy of science. Briggs asks: Why did Covid-19 trigger such an overwhelming global panic? What led to the sudden necessity of following "the science" without question?  Drawing on historical examples like the Asian flu pandemic of 1957-58 and the Hong Kong Flu pandemic a decade later, he questions the disparity in reactions between those crises and the panic that ensued with Covid-19. Throughout the episode, Briggs delves into the consequences of flawed scientific tools and explores the role of models as  tools of predictability that do not necessarily predict anything accurately. We’ve worked hard to create show notes, which include a transcript of the episode with links out to all mentioned references allowing listeners to continue learning about Broken Science. A link to this week’s show notes can be found on BrokenScience.org/podcasts

In this week’s episode, we’re sharing a talk given by BSI co-founder Greg Glassman in April 2023. Roughly 500 people gathered to hear about The Broken Science Initiative which was cohosted by Hillsdale College’s Academy for Science and Freedom and BSI.   Glassman explains, there are significant widespread issues within many areas of science, specifically within social sciences and medicine. In these areas, we are witnessing a shift towards pleasing gatekeepers and promoting industry interests. Glassman expresses his concern about the adverse impact this has had on medicine, as entire departments and fields have fallen victim to what he calls "epistemic debasement."   Glassman shares personal anecdotes from his childhood. Reflecting on his own educational trajectory, he talks about his father, Jeff Glassman, who was the head of research and development at Hughes Aircraft Company.  Visit our webiste: https://brokenscience.org/

Welcome to the Broken Science Podcast, where we consider what happens when predictive value is replaced by consensus in science. Don't forget to follow along with all of our social media channels, as well as going to brokenscience.org and signing up for the newsletter, sharing with friends, interacting with the community, and checking out all of the incredible resources we have there, which include show notes on each podcast episode, which is essentially a transcript of the show with links out to every reference mentioned. Our goal with doing that is to allow you all to fact check what we're saying as well as to allow you to continue to explore on your own any of these topics that interest you. Thanks for joining Visit our website: https://brokenscience.org/