This Episode Comes With A Surgeon General's Warning

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

In this episode, Jess and Sarah welcome Dr. Jerome Adams, former US Surgeon General, to discuss critical public health challenges facing the nation. The scientists explore the complex issues of vaccine hesitancy and health misinformation, examining how declining trust in federal health institutions has shaped public health outcomes. Dr. Adams emphasizes the importance of empathetic approaches when addressing parental vaccine concerns and highlights the vital role of local health authorities in building community trust. The conversation covers practical public health measures like hand hygiene while discussing innovative opportunities to improve health communication through technology and youth engagement. Throughout the episode, the experts offer insights into rebuilding public confidence in health institutions and adapting communication strategies for an evolving information landscape. And after getting some questions since the last episode, Jess and Sarah also make a clarification about hand sanitizer usage at the end of this week's episode. Video available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XiXHdkUsMyg (00:00) Intro and Public Health Update (04:13) What Is A News Item That Caught Your Attention And Why? (07:05) Are Certain Groups More Susceptible To Vaccine Myths? (11:08) What About Parents Who Are Concerned About The Link Between Vaccines And Autism? (14:22) Expanding The Blame? The Evolution Of Health Misinformation (18:55) The Confusion Over Current Vaccine Recommendations (23:17) Where Can Clinicians Go For Keeping Up With The Changes In Guidance? (25:04) Ripple Effect Of Declining Vaccine Confidence (27:11) What Is Giving Hope Right Now In Public Health And Science? (30:32) Clarification On Hand Sanitizer Usage From Last Week's Episode http://stm.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.aar6115 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
0:20.0	Welcome to Unbiased Science, where we bring scientific method to the madness.
0:26.2	We're your host, Dr. Jess Steyer, and Dr. Sarah Scheinman.
0:30.8	And today, we are in the presence of public health royalty.
0:35.4	So I am going to skip over all of the big, all of the intro stuff that we usually do.
0:42.1	Sarah and I, we actually, we do have a little bit of an update that pertains to the last
0:46.5	episode that we recorded about hand sanitizer, but we're going to keep that for the
0:51.7	very end.
0:52.9	So without further ado, we'd like to welcome
0:55.7	our esteemed guest, Dr. Jerome Adams, who is the former U.S. Surgeon General. And I'm pinching myself
1:03.9	right now. This is just such an honor. So thank you so much, Dr. Adams, for joining us today.
1:10.1	Well, great to be here with you and looking forward to the conversation.
1:13.6	You know, I tell folks that, yes, I was the former surgeon general, but I'm always going to be a dad.
1:20.2	And so these issues are incredibly important to me as a father of three kids.
1:26.2	You know, it's not just something that I talk about two people. It's something
1:31.3	that I'm dealing with in my own life. Even as my, you know, two of my kids are now adults. They're
1:38.2	in college. And, you know, they're having to make their own decisions about vaccines and about trust in public systems.
1:47.5	And so I'm really, really looking forward to the conversation we're about to have.
1:51.9	All right.
1:52.4	Awesome.
1:53.0	Let me just read this very impressive bio quickly before we dive in.
1:58.2	We're both so excited to get to chatting.
	...

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