Free Associations

Matt, Chris, and Jess discuss a study that looks at using an influenza treatment for prevention in exposed contacts, they debate whether we should be using lotteries to decide who gets scarce coronavirus treatments, and Matt shows he really does read the reference section. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jess examine a study that looks at the effectiveness of probiotics in those in care homes, they discuss cognitive biases in relation to decisions about COVID policies, and Jess wows us with her first Amazing and Amusing. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Don, Chris, and Matt examine a study that looks at the impact of gun ownership and risk of suicide in California, they discuss whether we should be doing trials of coronavirus policies, and Matt proves he doesn’t know a thing about hens. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Don and Chris are back with Matt to go over a study that looks at the impact on survival in those who got tuberculosis and smallpox vaccination in Denmark, they discuss whether it is ethical to expose people to coronavirus in vaccine trials, and Chris gets snotty. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt welcomes guests Nedghie Adrien and Julie Petersen to discuss a study that looks at whether having a complication in a first pregnancy predicts having one in a second, they debate whether anyone should make clinical decisions based on non-significant trial results, and Nedghie updates us on the latest in toilet technology. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt welcomes guests Lisa Bodnar and Jaimie Gradus to discuss a study that looks at the impact of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why on suicides, they discuss whether epidemiologists should be called “Doctor”, and Lisa finally uses the word ‘twizpipe’ correctly. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Jen, and guest Hailey Banack from The University of Buffalo discuss a study that looks at the effect of a new drug to treat adolescent obesity, they discuss the rise of armchair epidemiologists, and Jen reminds us of a past public health success. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Jen, and guest Kerry Keyes from Columbia University discuss a study that looks at the effect of digital media on health of adolescents, they debate whether COVID research is moving too fast, and Kerry warns us about taking medical advice from cartoons. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Jen, and guest Laura Sampson discuss a study that looks at the effect of fish oil on cardiovascular disease, they get into the weeds on the proportional hazards assumption (no hate mail please), and Matt sits down to do some coloring. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Jen, and guest Laura Sampson examine a study that looks at the risk of accidents from cycling to work, they discuss an impressive response to a mistake in a research study, and Laura gives us the skinny on doctors’ coffee consumption habits. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Jen, and guest Jennifer Weuve discuss a study that looks at whether elective and non-elective C-sections are leading to increased BMI in kids, they discuss a blog that asks whether bad statistical practices are crowding out good ones, and Matt breaks out his dance moves. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Jen, and guest host Jennifer Weuve discuss a study that looks at whether exposure to kids with chicken pox protects adults from shingles, they ask whether blinding in randomized trials really matters, and Jen survives a podcast episode that feels like a year on Mars. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

The gang paused their usual format this week to discuss how they are all dealing with the changes that have come about due to COVID-19. We got Chris, Matt, Don, Jen and newcomer Laura (and even a guest appearance by Nick) all on Zoom. We’ll be back to our regular format in two weeks. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt and Jen discuss a long-term follow up study of a drug to prevent breast cancer, they ask whether papers in predatory journals get cited, and Matt lets it all out watching guilty pleasure movies on planes. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt and Jen discuss a study on the hotspotting of healthcare, they raise a toast to the error detectors, and Jen instructs us on surviving encounters with wildlife. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen examine a study on the social determinants of homicides, they discuss whether Mendelian randomization will save epidemiology, and Matt goes for the old BMJ Christmas edition. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen discuss a study modeling the impact of improvements in quality of care, they discuss a poorly thought through letter from a group of publishers to the president, and Jen teaches us about worm memories. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen examine a study on new treatments for Ebola, they discuss whether retracted papers should still be cited, and Chris and Jen have the same Amazing and Amusing. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen discuss a study on whether Apple Watches can detect atrial fibrillation, they discuss a proposal to limit researchers to one published paper per year, and Matt wants to clown around. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen discuss a study on whether taking blood pressure medication at night is better than taking it during the day, they discuss the harms that come from hyping medical research (and what we can do about it), and Matt finally has an amazing and amusing that goes in the amazing direction. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen discuss a study on whether playing professional soccer increases the risk of death from neurodegenerative disease, they vent about how much it costs in time and money to reformat papers for journal submission, and Jen gives Chris and Matt an early Christmas present. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt and Jen examine a study from South Korea on the effects of low dose radiation on cancer, we discuss a fascinating study that was retracted and republished because of a coding error, and Matt shares Star Wars secrets gleaned from a figure in a research paper. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt and Jen discuss a new set of surprising recommendations around eating red meat, we skip the second segment entirely because we had so much to say on segment 1, and Jen reveals who has been killing all the cane toads. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen discuss a case series on California’s Extreme Risk Protection Law, the gang discuss why it’s so difficult to talk about science on controversial topics, and Chris gets serious about classical music. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .

Matt, Chris, and Jen discuss a study on the relationship between sugary drinks and cancer, the gang discuss how to improve nutritional epidemiology, and Jen gets us all up to speed about avocados. Music: "Duress" by Ketsa under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .