Dr. Jay Goes to Washington: Reforming Science from the Inside at NIH | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Uncommon Knowledge

Hoover Institution

Politics, History, News:politics, Science, News

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Peter Robinson speaks with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a former Stanford professor and epidemiologist, and the newly appointed director of the National Institutes of Health. Once labeled a “fringe epidemiologist” by the previous administration at NIH, he now leads the world’s largest biomedical research agency and its $50 billion annual budget. Their conversation explores the structural flaws in America’s public health institutions, including the replication crisis, the culture of scientific risk aversion, and the NIH’s growing failure to address the rise of chronic disease. Dr. Bhattacharya outlines his vision for reform—emphasizing transparency, innovation, and restoring public trust in science. He also addresses the politics of scientific funding, the need for better vaccine evaluation standards, and the rationale behind the administration’s new restrictions on gain-of-function research. It is a candid and thoughtful discussion with a scientist now tasked with reshaping the very system he was once attacked by. Recorded on May 21, 2025.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just four months ago, the best place to find my guest today
0:04.0	would have been in the office he had occupied for more than two decades
0:08.0	in an out-of-the-way corner of the Stanford campus.
0:11.0	And when he came to the door, he would have been wearing his favorite item of clothing,
0:16.0	a Stanford hoodie.
0:18.0	Today, that man is the director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. J. Badacharya
0:24.4	on Uncommon Knowledge Now. Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge.
0:38.7	I'm Peter Robinson, a native of India,
0:41.7	Jayanta Badacharya.
0:43.3	Did I get that close?
0:44.4	I can't pronounce it myself, Peter.
0:47.1	Gianta Badachari moved to the United States with his family when he was a child.
0:51.1	After growing up in Southern California, Dr. Bada Charia enrolled in Stanford University,
0:56.3	where he earned his undergraduate degree, his master's degree, his MD, and his doctorate in economics,
1:04.8	and then became a member of the Stanford faculty. During the COVID lockdown, Dr. Badachari
1:10.3	helped to write the Great Barrington Declaration,
1:12.6	a document that opposed the lockdowns, calling instead for focused protection, that is, concentrating
1:18.6	efforts on those most at risk while reopening schools and places of work.
1:22.6	For taking this position, Dr. Bada Chariah found himself censored on social media and under attack
1:29.5	from public health officials.
1:31.4	The then director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, referred to Dr.
1:36.2	Badacharya as, direct quotation, a fringe epidemiologist, close quote.
	...

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