The Messy Politics of Oprah and Dr. Oz

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4.6 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2022

⏱️ 23 minutes

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Summary

Back in the before-times, when we used to go into the radio station every day, our office next-door neighbor was WNYC host Brian Lehrer. He hosts a 2 hour live radio call-in show every day from 10 to noon in New York city.

In this segment from his show he examines the relationship between Dr. Oz and Oprah Winfrey.

The Trump-endorsed Dr. Oz recently won the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania. One reason the doctor is so popular, despite the many critics who say he promotes unscientific therapies and cures, is his many appearances on Oprah Winfrey's long-running daytime talk show. Kellie Jackson, historian, associate professor of African Studies, Wellesley College and host and executive producer of the Oprahdemics podcast, and Leah Wright Rigueur, associate professor of history, Johns Hopkins University and co-host of the Oprahdemics podcast, talk to Brian about Oprah's role in giving Dr. Oz a platform, what he became and if she has any responsibility to speak out.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Back in the before times when we used to go to the radio station every day, the great WNYC
0:09.2	host Brian Lehrer was a few feet away in the next office. He hosts a two hour live
0:15.1	call and show every day from 10 to noon in New York City. I was making my coffee the
0:21.0	other morning and I heard a segment on Brian's show I thought you guys might like. The conversation
0:27.1	examines the relationship between Dr. Oz, the GOP Senate candidate in Pennsylvania after
0:33.6	winning his primary there and the woman who promoted his career. Oh bro, Winfrey. Here's
0:39.9	Brian.
0:40.9	It's the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. Dr. Mehmet Oz. Yes, we're going
0:58.3	to talk about Dr. Oz, who we haven't in this whole election cycle or maybe ever come to
1:02.5	think of it on the Brian Lehrer show. The Turkish American heart surgeon who hosted a popular
1:08.0	daytime TV show for many years, right? In case you missed it over the weekend, he is now
1:13.8	officially the GOP Senate candidate in Pennsylvania after the recount his opponent conceded. He has
1:20.9	trumps endorsement as many of you know. And one reason the doctor is so popular, despite
1:26.7	the many critics who say he promotes unscientific therapies and alleged cures is his many appearances
1:33.6	on Oprah Winfrey's long running daytime talk show. So joining me now are historians Kelly
1:40.1	Jackson, who's a professor of Africana studies at Wellesley and Leah Wright, regor, who's
1:45.6	a professor of history at Johns Hopkins. They are co-hosts of a new podcast called Oprah
1:51.0	Demix, like Oprah and academics get it? They have a special episode now called the Oprah
1:57.2	Oz Conundrum in which they explore Oprah's role in giving Dr. Oz a platform what he became.
2:05.6	And they ask whether or not she has any responsibility to speak out against this candidacy for Senate
2:11.0	if she opposes it or thinks he's been a quack or whatever she thinks about him now. So
2:17.2	Dr. Jackson, Dr. Regor welcome to WNYC. Thank you. Thanks for having us. Yes, thank you.
	...

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