Free Associations

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a study on whether commonly used contraception increases HIV risk, the gang discuss how to improve the communication of science, and Don finally does standup comedy. Journal club article: Contraception and HIV study

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss the relationship between ability to smell and mortality, the gang discuss the role that journals have to play in combating false medical claims, and Matt explains his concerns about the future of sandwiches. Journal club article: Olfaction and mortality study

Matt, Chris, and Don determine whether you really need to walk 10,000 steps per day, the gang discuss a paper that had two discussion sections which came to two different conclusions, and Don enlightens us on whether couples look alike. Journal club article: 10,000 steps study

Matt, Chris, and Don have been traveling recently so for this episode we bring you another collection of the best of Amazing and Amusing. Enjoy!

Matt, Chris, and Don look at the impact of medical scribes on doctor productivity, the gang discuss a journal that only publishes unsurprising results, and Don grosses us out with facts about viruses. Journal club article: Medical scribes study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study of the risk of HIV transmission when a person is successfully taking HIV treatment (spoiler: the risk is 0), the gang discuss what a “risk factor” is, and Matt channels his inner Harry Potter. Journal club article: HIV transmission study

As we are nearing our 50th episode we wanted to take a look back at one of our favorites. Enjoy this rebroadcast of the poop pill episode. Journal club article: Fecal transplant study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at how living on the wrong side of a time zone affects your health, the gang discuss when it might be ok to conduct a trial without patient consent, and Matt wines. Journal club article: Time zone study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study of the impact of cannabis use on psychosis, the gang discuss something called ethics dumping, and Chris goes on a rant about naked mole rats. Journal club article: Cannabis study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a new treatment for postpartum depression, the gang discuss some statistical pitfalls in personalized medicine, and Chris schools us all on cat behavior. Journal club article: Brexanolone study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study of whether complementary medicines during cancer treatment impact survival, the gang discuss when it is ok to self-plagiarize, and Don has some breaking news about cheese. Journal club article: Complementary medicine and cancer study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at yet another study that found no link between the measles mumps rubella vaccine and autism, the gang discuss whether email is making us stupid (stupider?), and Matt has some news about beer. Journal club article: MMR and autism study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study among the Amish to look for causes of asthma, the gang discuss an update to Plan S, and Chris notices an interesting pattern around STI transmission. Journal club article: Asthma among the Amish study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study that tested whether e-cigarettes are better than traditional approaches for helping people quit smoking, the gang discuss the value of “null” findings, and Matt has a message for cheaters. Journal club article: E-cigarettes study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study of a desensitization treatment for those with peanut allergy, the gang discuss whether artificial intelligence will replace us, and Matt learns how quickly he can put us all to sleep with a boring conference talk. Journal club article: Peanut allergy study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study that used an antibody to treat Alzheimer’s disease, the gang goes back to the well to talk about conflicts of interest, and Matt tells us the secret to good course evaluations! Journal club article: Alzheimer’s study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study using month of birth to explore whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is over-diagnosed, the gang discusses a study on how patients feel about having their clinical trial data shared, and Don enlightens us on which Legos taste best. Journal club article: ADHD and month of birth study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study of the effects of eating organic foods on risk of cancer, the gang discusses the role of data safety and monitoring boards in clinical trials, and Matt gives his shortest amazing and amusing ever. Journal club article: Organic food and cancer study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study of whether herpes virus is associated with dementia, the gang discusses a new database of retracted studies and what it tells us, and Don gives us the ICD10 codes we never knew we needed. Journal club article: HSV and dementia study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at two studies on asthma medication dosing, the gang discusses whether ad hominem attacks on science are more effective than attacks on the science itself, and Matt finally figures out which host is more popular. Journal club articles: Asthma dosing study 1 Asthma dosing study 2

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a massive cross-sectional study on the relationship between exercise and mental health, the gang discusses whether critiquing science gives fodder to those who wish to dismiss science, and Don finally solves all our manuscript issues. Journal club article: Exercise and mental health study

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a study that used a unique approach, analyzing observational data like a randomized trial, to look at the effect of a common NSAID on cardiovascular disease, the gang discusses a study attempting (and often failing) to reproduce results originally published in Nature and Science, and Chris, yet again, finds […]

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a trial that focuses on whether melatonin can help people with a sleep disorder, the gang discusses a provocative editorial that says nutritional epidemiology is deeply flawed, and Chris learns the dangers of ignoring Matt’s emails. Journal club article: Melatonin study

Matt, Chris, and Don take on a study from China on the relationship between smog and cognitive function, the gang discusses a new policy by EU funders preventing their grantees from publishing in paywalled journals, and Chris insists he gets two Amazing and Amusings. Journal club article: Smog and cognitive function

It’s our one year anniversary! Chris and Don are away this week so rather than have Matt talk to himself, we thought we’d go back and revisit some of our favorite Amazing and Amusing segments from the past year. Thanks for listening and for a great year!