Science Fictions

Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie

A weekly podcast about the latest scientific controversies, with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie

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144 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes144

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Jan 28, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
Episode 62: Violent videogames
Before the panic over social media—but after the panic over “video nasties”—was the panic over violent videogames. Was Pac-Man causing little Johnny so much frustration that he’d take it out on his siblings with his fists? Was Doom secretly training little Timmy to be a school shooter? You don’t hear so much about videogames and violence any more, but if you look at the studies (and the critiques of those studies) there’s a lot to learn about where science can go wrong. In this episode of The Studies Show—in addition to, if we’re honest, just spending quite a lot of time talking about videogames—Tom and Stuart ask whether there’s any decent evidence that gaming can make people more aggressive. The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine—a journal of underrated ideas to make the world a better place. In the episode we discussed a recent essay on cruise ships, and the surprising (and continual) improvements over the years. You can find all their essays, all of which are free to read, at worksinprogress.co. Show notes * Horribly violent games of yore: Death Race, Postal, Postal 2, Carmageddon, Doom II, Quake * Newer games mentioned in the episode: Slay the Spire, Hades, Doom Eternal, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring * Hilarious attempt by an MP to ban Space Invaders in 1981 * Chris Ferguson’s 2013 review of videogames and violence * 2003 review of “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth” * Pete Etchells’s 2019 book Lost in a Good Game * List of publications based on the Singapore dataset * Influential 2008 study by Chris Anderson showing a correlation between videogame violence exposure and violence * Small Ferguson study from 2012 controlling for several variables and finding no correlation * Study in the ALSPAC/Children of the 90s dataset * Are modern, more realistic games worse for us than older ones? Study from 2021 * Use the CRTT to get whichever result you want * Psychological measures aren’t toothbrushes * Violent crime rates over time in the US, UK, various European countries, Japan Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Jan 21, 2025 · 11 min
Paid-only Episode 16: Recycling
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com Is recycling worthwhile? Is sending your rubbish to landfill actually so bad? Grab your cotton tote bag and join Tom and Stuart as they look at the evidence—and the intense political debate and even conspiracy theories—over the surprisingly controversial topic of recycling. This is a paid-only episode, and to hear the whole thing (and read the show notes), you’ll need to become a subscriber to The Studies Show. Find out how at www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe.
Jan 6, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min
Episode 61: Conflict of interest
We want scientists to be paragons of objectivity. At the very least, we want them to tell us who’s paying their bills. But it turns out that in some fields of research, the norms about reporting financial conflicts of interest are all over the place. Scientists making big money from after-dinner speeches about their research often don’t think it’s at all relevant to disclose. In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look at the evidence on how funding affects the outcomes of scientific research—and discuss whether scientists need to be a lot more transparent about where their money comes from. Show notes * 2017 meta-analysis of the impact of funding source (for-profit vs. non-profit) on medical randomised trials * Tom’s Nature article on undisclosed financial conflicts in psychology research * New Angela Duckworth paper with no COI statement * Unconvincing ethics article on COI disclosures and public trust * Scientist declares his membership of the Scottish Socialist Party in an article about Margaret Thatcher * Ioannidis article on conflicts of interest in nutrition research Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 31, 2024 · 1 hr 15 min
Un-paywalled: Youth gender medicine & the Cass Review
This week, as a gift for New Year’s Eve, we’re opening up a previously-paywalled episode so that everyone can listen. It’s our episode from April 2024 on “Youth gender medicine & the Cass Review”. Since the show notes were previously behind the paywall, they’re copied below. If you’d like to listen to all our paywalled episodes—which are of course ad-free, like this one—you can subscribe by visiting thestudiesshowpod.com. Normal service will be resumed next week. Happy New Year! Show notes * The Cass Review’s final report * List of systematic reviews from University of York researchers that were commissioned by the Cass Review * Hannah Barnes on why the Tavistock gender identity clinic was forced to close * VICE interview with a Tavistock doctor, including information on patient numbers * Original Dutch single-case study on puberty blockers * Somewhat larger Dutch study of puberty blockers from 2011 * The “Early Intervention” study from England (not published until 2021) * Article that’s critical of the “cis-supremacy” in the Cass Review * BMJ editorial on the Cass Review * Billy Bragg claims that the Cass Review only included 2 studies out of 102 * Owen Jones’s video where he claims studies were “arbitrarily” excluded from the report * Fact-checking post from Benjamin Ryan, covering some of the criticisms of the Cass Report * Hilary Cass interviewed by The Times * Episode of BBC More or Less that addresses some of the criticisms * 2020 study on the small proportion of medical treatments where there’s strong evidence * More recent (2022) study by the same authors finding an even more depressing picture: “More than 9 in 10 healthcare interventions studied within recent Cochrane Reviews are not supported by high-quality evidence, and harms are under-reported” * The book Medical Nihilism * The BMJ review of the book, quoted in the episode Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 24, 2024 · 1 hr 5 min
Episode 60: Best and worst science of 2024
In this final episode of 2024, Tom and Stuart talk about the most exciting scientific breakthroughs of the year… but temper it with some of the worst episodes of scientific fraud and misconduct, too. Then, just as a bonus, they address some of the biggest errors made in episodes of The Studies Show in 2024, too. Thank you so much for listening in 2024. If you aren’t one already, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the podcast and get access to all the episodes. In any case, we’ll see you for more The Studies Show in the New Year! The Studies Show is sponsored by GiveWell, the non-profit aimed at making charitable donations as effective as possible. If you’re the kind of person who wants solid evidence that the money you donate is having an important effect on people’s lives, GiveWell is where you should be looking. You can get your donation matched up to $100 if you’re a first-time donor on GiveWell. Just go to the website (GiveWell.org), then click “Donate”. When you make your donation, say you heard about GiveWell on a podcast, and enter “The Studies Show” to let them know we sent you. Then you’ll see the donation matched. Show notes * Saloni Dattani’s “Five Medical Breakthroughs in 2024” post * Gavin Leech’s “Breakthroughs of 2024” thread on Twitter * Stuart’s monthly bad science newsletter Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 17, 2024 · 1 hr 4 min
Episode 59: The apocalypse
In this “fun”, festive episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart discuss two ways—one man-made, one natural—that our species might be wiped off the planet. The first is “mirror life”, a science-fiction-sounding threat that hardly anyone had heard of until last week, when a group of concerned scientists wrote an open letter arguing that this is a technology that should never be developed. The second is the eruption of a supervolcano, which has a scarily high likelihood of happening in the next century… and for which scientists say we’re “woefully underprepared”. Have a cheery Christmas! Here’s your chance to do some clear, measurable good this Christmas. We’re pleased to say that we’re being sponsored by GiveWell, the non-profit organisation who use evidence to work out which charities are the most impactful and effective. The really good news is that they’ll match any donation up to $100 for first-time donors who tell them at the checkout that they heard about GiveWell on a podcast, and then choose THE STUDIES SHOW. Go to GiveWell.org and click “donate” to get started. Show notes * Mirror life: * The 300-page full Stanford report * Science perspective piece on the risks of mirror life * Asimov Press explainer article * Supervolcanoes: * I HATE ICELAND! * Nature piece from 2022 about our “woeful” level of preparation for a massive volcanic eruption * 1816, the “year without a summer” * Evidence against the idea that Mt. Tambora nearly drove humans to extinction * 2024 paper that’s sceptical of global cooling beyond 1.5 degrees C * 2023 paper with a much more pessimistic scenario * Two useful discussions (first, second) of the effects of supervolcanoes on the Effective Altruism forum * 2018 article on what interventions might prevent or mitigate supervolcanic eruptions Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 10, 2024 · 10 min
Paid-only Episode 15: Sex and sport
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com Rather unexpectedly, the idea of separate sports for males and females has become massively controversial—a major flashpoint in the culture wars, and even in the recent US election. So what does the evidence say? Is it fair if trans women (who are biologically male) compete with females in sports like swimming, or even boxing? How much sporting performance does a lifetime of testosterone grant you? In this paid-only episode of The Studies Show, Tom and (confirmed sport-hater) Stuart look at the evidence on male vs. female sport performance—and discuss whether the argument is really more about ethics and politics than scientific evidence.
Dec 3, 2024 · 57 min
Episode 58: Psychopathy
Patrick Bateman. Hannibal Lecter. Ted Bundy. The guy who used to live downstairs from me. Psychopaths, every one. Except defining psychopathy, let alone measuring it, turns out to be surprisingly controversial among psychologists and forensic scientists. In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look at the latest attempts to define and model psychopathy, the evidence on the questionnaires used to measure it, and whether The Sopranos was right in saying that therapy only makes psychopaths worse. Our sponsor for the next month is GiveWell. They’re the org that helps you work out the most effective, life-saving ways to donate to charity. The great news is that, if you haven’t donated with GiveWell before, they’ve offered to match your charitable donations up to $100. That is, if you donate $100 to an effective charity, it’ll instantly be doubled. What are you waiting for? All you have to do is go to GiveWell.org, click “Donate”, and when you’re at the checkout choose PODCAST and enter THE STUDIES SHOW. Show notes * The Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy strongly criticise Jon Ronson’s book The Psychopath Test * 2021 Nature Reviews Disease Primers article on psychopathy * Critical discussion of whether the psychopath label should be applied to children * Christopher Patrick’s review of psychopathy research and discussion of his “triarchic” model of psychopathy * 2020 review-of-reviews on whether psychopathy checklist scores predict violence, therapy outcomes, or remorse * The 2020 letter from “concerned experts” about PCL-R scores and institutional violence * Review on psychopathy scores and “dangerousness” from 2022 * The controversial 1992 study on iatrogenic effects on psychopaths in therapy * “Are psychopathy assessments ethical?” Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Nov 26, 2024 · 1 hr
Episode 57: Collider bias
Among patients hospitalized for COVID, smokers had better outcomes. Among people with cardiovascular disease, those with obesity live longer. Among NBA basketballers, taller players don’t do any better. These are all facts. But the interpretation you might immediately draw is completely wrong. It turns out that these findings (and many more) might be due to the weird and under-discussed phenomenon of “collider bias”. Everyone who’s interested in scientific methods knows what a confounder is—but do they know what a collider is? In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart attempt to explain. We’re delighted to announce our sponsor for the next month: GiveWell. They’re the organisation who use rigorous evidence to point you towards the highest-impact charities. Want to make sure your donation goes as far as possible, maximising the lives that you’ll save and improve? GiveWell.org is the place to go. And here’s a fantastic opportunity: if you’re a new donor, GiveWell will match up to $100 of your charitable donation if you go to GiveWell.org, then choose “PODCAST” and enter “The Studies Show” at checkout. Show notes * French study on COVID and smoking rates * French doctors handing out nicotine patches during the pandemic * Review of 13 studies in China showing lower smoking rates in those hospitalised for COVID * Among heart attack sufferers, smokers have better subsequent health * Obesity linked to improved survival among patients with a wide range of diseases * Within the NBA, tall basketball players do no better than short ones * Standardized testing doesn’t predict how well graduate physics students do * The same but for biology * The same but for STEM in general * Do neurotic people actually live longer, once you correct for self-rated health? * Julia Rohrer’s blog article on collider bias, using the conscientiousness/IQ relation * The “collider scope” paper - one of the best explanations of the phenomenon * Article on “the obsesity paradox” * Follow-up arguing that it might not be a paradox at all Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Nov 19, 2024 · 1 hr 2 min
Episode 56: Water fluoridation and dentistry
Is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., just a big crank? Well, yes. But is he nevertheless correct in his specific claims about the harms of water fluoridation? It’s long been argued that it’s no longer necessary, and that it might have the scary adverse effect of lowering children’s IQs. In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look at the evidence. While they’re at it, Tom and Stuart ask whether there’s evidence for several other dentistry-related claims. Regular check-ups; flossing; fillings; fluoride toothpaste—is your dentist just b**********g you about any or all of these? [This podcast was recorded just before Donald Trump selected RFK Jr. as his candidate for US Health Secretary, but that makes the episode even more relevant]. The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. If you’re an optimist who enjoys reading about how things have gotten better in the past, and how we might make them better in the future—then it’s the magazine for you. Find it at worksinprogress.co. Show notes * RFK Jr.’s tweet about how the new Trump administration will remove fluoride from the US water supply * US National Research Council’s 2006 report on fluoridation * 2023 meta-analysis on water fluoridation and IQ * Letter co-authored by Stuart, criticising a bad study on fluoride and IQ in pregnant women and their babies * The original study * Review of fluoridation and cancer risk * 2000 UK NHS review of fluoridation and cancer risk * 2022 UK Government report on the link of water fluoridation to various different medical conditions * 2024 Cochrane Review on fluoridation and preventing tooth decay * Review of guidelines from the Journal of the American Dental Association * 2020 randomised controlled trial on fillings in children’s teeth * The Cochrane Library on the evidence for specific intervals between dental appointments (e.g. 6 months) * The American Dental Association guidelines on flossing, and the NHS ones * 2019 Cochrane review of RCTs of flossing * The ADA and NHS guidelines on brushing with fluoride toothpaste * 2019 Cochrane review on brushing and fluoride * Claims about cardiac health being related to dental health * Study of 1m people in Korea on cardiac health and tooth loss * 2020 meta-analysis of cardiac and dental health * The study included in the meta-analysis by Chen, Chen, Lin, and Chen * Claims about dental health and cancer * 2020 review of the literature * 2024 Ars Technica story on dentists over-selling their services * 2019 Atlantic piece: “Is Dentistry a Science?” * 2013 piece in the Washington State Dental News magazine on “creative diagnosis” * Articles in the British Dental Journal and JAMA Internal Medicine both arguing that evidence-based medicine has left dentistry behind Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Nov 12, 2024 · 11 min
Paid-only Episode 14: Adult ADHD
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com You might’ve noticed it: a lot of celebrities have recently been talking or writing about their diagnosis of adult ADHD. The way they discuss it, as soon as they discovered they had ADHD everything made sense: their distractibility, their difficulties following instructions, their restlessness, and so on. But is adult ADHD a real psychiatric condition? How does it differ from childhood ADHD? And (whisper it) might some people actually be faking having ADHD? In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart cast a sceptical eye over this very “trendy” diagnosis. By the way, if you’re a paying subscriber, you can add the RSS feed of this podcast to your favourite podcast app so you don’t just have to access the paid-only episodes via the Substack page. You can find out how to do so at this link.
Nov 5, 2024 · 52 min
Episode 55: Government science funding
In a desperate attempt to be relevant given the US Election, Tom and Stuart dedicate this episode of The Studies Show to talking about government investment in science. How bad is it if politicians cut the science budget? Exactly how much do you get back for every pound or dollar spent on science—and how is that even calculated in the first place? The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine—a journal of science, history, and technology that discusses the secrets behind human progress. You can read their published essays at worksinprogress.co, or their shorter pieces on their Substack at worksinprogress.news. Show notes * Nature’s editorial: “The world needs a President who respects evidence” * Trump’s science budget cuts: NIH/EPA, CDC * Nature’s editorial on the “surge in far-right parties” in Europe cutting the science budget * Tom’s 2015 BuzzFeed News article on science budget cuts in the UK * Article on Argentinian science budget cuts under Javier Milei * Andre Geim and Nancy Rothwell’s 2024 Guardian article on how £1 of science funding gets you £12 back * Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake’s book, Capitalism Without Capital * Haskel’s 2014 paper finding a £4 return on investment for every £1 spent on science * 2024 UK National Centre for Universities and Business report finding that £1 of science investment leads to £3-4 of private investment Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. We’re grateful to Jonathan Haskel for talking to us for this episode; as always, any mistakes are our own. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 29, 2024 · 1 hr 9 min
Episode 54: Halloween special on psychic mediums
WoooOOOOOoooOOOOOoooo, it’s that time of year again! It’s Halloween, so it’s time for The Studies Show hosts to face their fears, and read the research from one of the weirdest areas of science, parapsychology. This time it’s all about psychic mediums. What does it mean to test whether someone can talk to the dead? Are we any better at doing it now than we were 100 years ago at the height of “spiritualism”? And what do the most recent results tell us about the existence of the afterlife? Happy Halloween! 🎃 This week, The Studies Show is brought to you by Semafor, the online newletter service that gives you everything you need to know about politics, business, economics, and much more in the form of email newsletters. This week we talked about Ben Smith’s newsletter on a topic that’s just as scary as Halloween: the US Presidential Election. You can find it and more excellent newsletters at www.semafor.com/newsletters. Show notes * Alfred Russel Wallace’s “Defence of Modern Spiritualism” * Article on Darwin’s views on spiritualism * Peter Lamont’s book on Daniel Dunglas Home * Sarcastic sceptical article on William Crookes’s botched investigation of Home * Video of James Randi debunking the medium Peter Popoff * Ray Hyman’s classic paper on cold reading * 2021 meta-analysis on mediumship * New Italian mediumship paper from 2022 * 2023 review on “Is Biological Death Final?” with discussion of the Drake Equation for parapsychology Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 22, 2024 · 1 hr 12 min
Episode 53: The Stanford Prison Experiment
Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist who’s best known for running the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, died last week. That’s a good excuse to discuss his legacy: what did his famous experiment tell us about the power of the situation to make normal people commit evil and sadistic acts? In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart go back to the original report of one of the most famous psychology studies of all time, and then see how the experiment is looking after more than 50 years of discussion and debate (spoiler: not good). The Studies Show is brought to you by Semafor. You can sign up for their variety of online newsletters that give you in-depth information in digestible chunks. This week, we discussed the Semafor Business newsletter with Liz Hoffman, which included an interview with an electric vehicle company CEO who’s making a bet, after something of a downturn, that EVs really are the future. Show notes * The first academic paper to describe the Stanford Prison Experiment, from 1973 * More details on the study, including the prisoners’ “rebellion”, on Zimbardo’s website * The first critique from 2019, from social psychologists * The second critique from 2019, from Thibault le Texier * Zimbardo’s response to the critiques * Zimbardo on the Abu Ghraib prison torture during the Iraq War * Zimbardo’s cringeworthy BBC interview on the effects of videogames * Guardian critique of Zimbardo’s videogame claims by Pete Etchells Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 15, 2024 · 11 min
Paid-only Episode 13: Surrogacy
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com It’s a constant source of online controversy: surrogacy. A “medical ethics” issue like this wouldn’t usually be a case for The Studies Show, except that science is often brought into the argument. Is it really true, as anti-surrogacy campaigners claim, that both the surrogate mother and the baby suffer serious physical and psychological problems, in large part caused by the traumatic separation after birth? In this paid-only episode, Tom and Stuart find out. To listen to the full episode and read the show notes, become a subscriber at thestudiesshowpod.com.
Oct 8, 2024 · 1 hr 1 min
Episode 52: Very old people and "Blue Zones"
What’s the secret of living to 100? Well, it might be living in a “Blue Zone”: one of the handful of places around the world where there are apparently loads of centenarians. Except, as has been argued recently, Blue Zones might be a load of nonsense. In this epside of The Studies Show, relative spring chickens Tom and Stuart look at some of the recent controversies in demography. Is there a limit to the human lifespan? Did someone really live 122 years? And how could researchers not have noticed the glaring problems with the whole idea of Blue Zones? The Studies Show is brought to you by our new sponsor: Semafor. They’re a purveyor of high-quality newsletters offering in-depth information in digestible chunks (and they happen to be Tom’s employer). This week, we looked at Semafor Technology, in which Reed Albergotti interviewed will.i.am on AI and the future of music. Show notes * “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” * Nature paper on “Evidence for limits to the human lifespan” * Stuart’s response letter * Saul Newman’s critique * Guardian article and Retraction Watch article on the resulting controversy * 2020 New Yorker article on Jeanne Calment, the 122-year-old woman * 2004 paper on “Blue Zones”; 2013 paper * Blue Zones website and “Live to 100” cookbook * Blue Zones food guidelines * Saul Newman’s paper (2024 version) critiquing Blue Zones and supercentenarian research * Saul Newman wins the Ig Nobel Prize Credits * The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 1, 2024 · 50 min
Episode 51: Antimicrobial resistance
There are an awful lot of things to worry about in the world. Are “superbugs” among them? That is, how worried should we be that bacteria will develop resistance to our best antibiotics, meaning infections will run rampant and even basic surgery is out of the question? In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart wash their hands and then dig in to the evidence on the coming antimicrobial crisis. Exactly how many deaths can we expect from untreatable resistant infections? Turns out the question is, ahem, resistant to easy answers. (Sorry). The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. Every issue, every article, gives you a new perspective on a topic you thought you knew about, or a totally new topic to think about. In their most recent issue, you can read about inflation, ancient scrolls and AI, genetic engineering, and the evolution of coffee. We’re grateful that they support the podcast; you can read their whole site for free at worksinprogress.co. Show notes * Andreas Bäumler on “the coming microbial crisis” * Possible source for how many people used to die in surgery * BMJ article on the evidence (or lack of) showing that completing an antibiotic course is necessary * Satirical post on how the length of a course is calculated * Our World In Data on how many people die from cancer each year * UK Government review of antimicrobial resistance (from 2014), giving the 10m figure. * More mentions of 10m here (NHS), and here (Guardian) * 2016 paper in PLOS Medicine criticising the modelling that led to the 10m figure * September 2024 paper in the Lancet with a more up-to-date calculation * EU report on how MRSA rates dropped * Article on the wildly successful UK attempt to cut MRSA infections * Study on how many antibiotics are in the clinical “pipeline” * Thread on studies showing that using antibiotics prophylactically cut child mortality in sub-Sarahan Africa by 14% Credits * The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 24, 2024 · 1 hr 8 min
Episode 50: Toxoplasma
Been feeling a little strange lately? A bit impulsive, maybe? Feeling a sudden urge to get a pet cat? Sorry to say it, but maybe you’re infected with a scary mind control parasite: specifically, the paraside Toxoplasma gondii. Or… maybe not. It turns out that, despite popular belief, the supposed behavioural effects of T. gondii are supported by very weak scientific evidence. In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart explain. The Studies Show is sponsored by Works in Progress magazine. It’s the no.1 destination online if you’re interested in “Progress Studies”: research on how things got better in the past and might get better in future. Whether it’s medical technology, construction materials, or policy innovation, you can read detailed essays on it at worksinprogress.co. Show notes * Alex Tabbarok’s review of Parasite, arguing people took the wrong lessons from the film * Zombie ant fungus description * Theory for how the horsehair worm affects its host * Scepticism about whether it involves “mind control” * Description of acute toxoplasmosis * Tiny study on rats and cat urine * Well-cited (but also tiny) PNAS study on rats, mice, and cat urine * Review of toxoplasma and behavioural effects * Very useful sceptical article about toxoplasma’s effects on rodent and human behaviour (source of the quotes on Alzheimer’s) * Another (somewhat older) sceptical article * Study on getting humans to smell cat (and other) urine * Preprint on (self-reported!) toxoplasma infection and psychological traits * Initial, smaller entrepreneurship study * Later, larger entrepreneurship study (from Denmark) * Meta-analysis on whether childhood cat exposure is related to schizophrenia * Dunedin Cohort Study paper on toxoplasma and life outcomes * “The Toxoplasma of Rage” on Slate Star Codex Credits * The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 17, 2024 · 59 min
Paid-only Episode 12: Jonathan Haidt vs. social media
A while back, The Studies Show covered the question of whether smartphones and social media cause mental health problems. Amazingly, that podcast didn’t settle the issue, and the debate has continued—and continued rather acrimoniously. Psychologists—most notably Jonathan Haidt—are currently laying into each other, analysing, re-analysing, and meta-analysing datasets to try and work out whether “it’s the phones”. In this paid-only episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart explain the story so far, and in the process get very disappointed by their heroes. If you want to hear the whole episode and read the show notes, it’s easy to become a paid subscriber at thestudiesshowpod.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 10, 2024 · 1 hr 16 min
Episode 49: Scientific publishing
It’s in a peer-reviewed paper, so it must be true. Right? Alas, you can only really hold this belief if you don’t know about the peer-review system, and scientific publishing more generally. That’s why, in this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart break down the traditional scientific publishing process, discuss how it leads science astray, and talk about the ways in which, if we really cared, we could make it better. The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. Their new September 2024 issue is out now, and is brimming with fascinating articles including one on lab-grown diamonds, one on genetically-engineered mosquitoes, and one on the evolution of drip coffee. Check it out at worksinprogress.co. Show Notes * A history of Philosophical Transactions, the oldest scientific journal * Hooke (1665) on “A Spot in One of the Belts of Jupiter” * The original paper proposing the h-index * Useful 2017 paper on perverse incentives and hypercompetition in science * Goodhart’s Law * Bad behaviour by scientists: * What is a “predatory journal”? * Science investigates paper mills and their bribery tactics * The best example yet seen of salami slicing * Brief discussion of citation manipulation * Elisabeth Bik on citation rings * The recent discovery of sneaked citations, hidden in the metadata of a paper * The Spanish scientist who claims to publish a scientific paper every two days * Science report on the fake anemone paper that the journal didn’t want to retract * Transcript of Ronald Fisher’s 1938 lecture in which he said his famous line about statisticians only being able to offer a post-mortem * 2017 Guardian article about the strange and highly profitable world of scientific publishing * Brian Nosek’s 2012 “scientific utopia” paper * Stuart’s 2022 Guardian article on how we could do away with scientific papers altogether * The new Octopus platform for publishing scientific resaerch * Roger Giner-Sorolla’s article on “aesthetic standards” in scientific publishing and how they damage science * The Transparency and Openness Practices guidelines that journals can be rated on * Registered Reports - a description, and a further discussion from Chris Chambers * 2021 paper showing fewer positive results in Registered Reports compared with standard scientific publication Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe