The U.S. has a crisis of distrust in science

Public trust in science, and in health institutions in particular, has been in decline for years. On one hand, disinformation and cultural shifts have led people to lose faith in medicine and institutions that are critical for individual and public health. On the other hand, it is not hard to find examples of institutions that have lost the public's trust for good reason. For nearly 11 years here at STAT, our journalists have been doggedly reporting on misdeeds, scandals, and crimes perpetrated by some of the biggest companies and names in the U.S. health care system. Understanding the importance of trust while recognizing that distrust is not irrational either is central to our work here at STAT. For that reason, we have recently brought on journalist Nicholas Florko as our first-ever trust-in-science reporter. "My goal is really to get to the bottom of why people distrust science, the forces behind it, and what we can do to hopefully build up some trust in science where needed," he told me in a recent conversation. In this first STATus Report after our summer hiatus, Florko joins me to discuss the importance of trust and how he's approaching this brand-new beat. 00:00 Why trust in science is eroding 00:40 Meet STAT's trust in science reporter 01:29 Why distrust can be justified 03:51 Understanding vaccine skepticism 05:41 The industry profiting from fear 06:20 Beyond vaccines: sunscreen, peptides and SSRIs 08:29 Can trust in science be rebuilt? More from STAT: Become a subscriber: https://www.statnews.com/stat-plus/ Watch Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Statnews Newsletters: https://www.statnews.com/signup/ STAT events: https://www.statnews.com/stat-events/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statnews Twitter: https://twitter.com/statnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/status_report_ig/ Flipboard: rb.gy/3xnsxr STAT Reports: https://rb.gy/rexfwj STAT eBooks: https://rb.gy/eme3h5 ABOUT STAT: Founded in 2015, STAT is a global digital media brand that focuses on delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about the life sciences industries to over six million monthly site visitors and an additional 20 million readers on the Apple News app. STAT takes you inside academic labs, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms, casting a critical eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizing corporate strategies, and chronicling the roiling battles for talent, money, and market share. With an award-winning newsroom, STAT provides indispensable insights and exclusive stories on the technologies, personalities, power brokers, and political forces driving massive changes in the life sciences industry - and a revolution in human health.