The Emergency Room Gives Us A Pitt

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 28 January 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

In this episode, Jess and Sarah welcome Dr. Michael Falk, a pediatric emergency medicine physician, to address critical public health and pediatric care topics. The scientists examine the concerning rise in measles cases while exploring common parental concerns about fever and febrile seizures in children. Dr. Falk shares valuable insights from his emergency room experience, providing practical guidance on when families should seek medical attention for their children. Throughout the conversation, the experts emphasize the vital role of vaccination in preventing serious childhood illnesses and discuss the importance of informed consent in medical decision-making. The episode concludes with an optimistic perspective on public health advocacy, offering listeners both practical pediatric health knowledge and encouragement about the future of community health efforts.Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lwhh9e-BTPs(00:00) Intro & Public Health Update(04:59) What's A Health/Science News Item That Caught Your Attention?(07:27) Understanding Fever And What It Means(12:40) What Might Be Causing Your Fever?(15:33) Febrile Seizures(22:53) Should We Treat A Fever Or Let It Ride?(25:36) What Symptoms In Kids Should We Go Straight To The ER For?(27:08) What Might Parents Want To Steer Clear Of For Their Kids?(31:02) Is There A New Flu Strain This Season?(33:50) What's Giving You Hope In Public Health And Science Right Now? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interested in advertising with us? Please reach out to advertising@airwavemedia.com, with “Unbiased Science” in the subject line.PLEASE NOTE: The discussion and information provided in this podcast are for general educational, scientific, and informational purposes only and are not intended as, and should not be treated as, medical or other professional advice for any particular individual or individuals. Every person and medical issue is different, and diagnosis and treatment requires consideration of specific facts often unique to the individual. As such, the information contained in this podcast should not be used as a substitute for consultation with and/or treatment by a doctor or other medical professional. If you are experiencing any medical issue or have any medical concern, you should consult with a doctor or other medical professional.Further, due to the inherent limitations of a podcast such as this as well as ongoing scientific developments, we do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information or analysis provided in this podcast, although, of course we always endeavor to provide comprehensive information and analysis. In no event may Unbiased Science or any of the participants in this podcast be held liable to the listener or anyone else for any decision allegedly made or action allegedly taken or not taken allegedly in reliance on the discussion or information in this podcast or for any damages allegedly resulting from such reliance. The information provided herein do not represent the views of our employers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:20.6	Welcome to Unbiased Science, where we bring scientific method to the madness.
0:26.8	We're your hosts Dr. Jess Steyer and Dr. Sarah Scheinman.
0:31.2	And today we have a very special guest who has seen it all.
0:41.8	Dr. Michael Falk will introduce him in just one moment,
0:49.8	and he is going to talk to us about his experience as a pediatric emergency physician.
0:55.4	We have all the respect in the world. Well, I'm married to an emergency doc.
0:57.9	I don't know if I've mentioned that a couple of times here on the pod.
1:07.2	And I'll tell you that whenever things come up with the kids, I mean, aside from the fact that there are our own children, he's always like, nope, nope, pediatric emergency medicine.
1:08.5	That's its own thing.
1:13.5	So we are going to pick Mike's braid in just a moment. Before we do,
1:19.7	just a little bit of a public health recap, something that caught my attention recently is movement on the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. The acronym is ACCCV. Now, this is a
1:27.2	committee of experts who weigh in on what's called the
1:31.1	vaccine injury compensation table. And if there are certain things on that list, it means that if a
1:39.8	child does experience a vaccine injury, they can sue vaccine manufacturers for what is on that table.
1:48.0	And a lot goes into that. That's a whole other conversation. We could certainly do a whole podcast
1:52.6	on it. But if something is on that table, it makes it easier to litigate. If it's not,
1:58.4	not so much because the evidence is not as strong. Now,
2:01.5	unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks, it's been reported that more than half of the existing
2:07.4	members on this committee have been fired, which to me signals that there's going to be changes
2:13.6	on who is on this committee and likely what will be put on this injury table.
2:19.7	I've written about this before. Our team has tackled this before. But if, for example, we were to
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