Épisodes

  • When “Studies Show” Doesn’t Mean What You Think

    When “Studies Show” Doesn’t Mean What You Think
    Oct 22 2026
    Every day, headlines claim that science has proven something extraordinary, but how often do those claims accurately reflect the research? In this episode of Science vs. Spin, we examine how scientific findings become exaggerated, why correlation is frequently mistaken for causation, and how statistics can be used to make weak evidence appear convincing. From misleading health headlines to the psychological biases that shape what we believe, we uncover how legitimate research gets transformed into questionable public certainty. Discover how to separate credible scientific evidence from sensationalized claims and recognize the difference between what a study actually found and what the headlines want you to believe.
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    4 min
  • Rhonda Patrick and Sauna Longevity: Correlation or Causation?

    Rhonda Patrick and Sauna Longevity: Correlation or Causation?
    Oct 11 2026
    Can regular sauna bathing actually extend your life, or are popular longevity claims getting ahead of the science? We examine research frequently discussed by health scientist Rhonda Patrick, including studies linking sauna use with lower cardiovascular mortality and longer life expectancy. Discover what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain, and why correlation is not the same as causation.
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    4 min
  • Can Exercise Really Work as Well as Antidepressants?

    Can Exercise Really Work as Well as Antidepressants?
    Oct 4 2026
    You’ve probably seen the headline: exercise can be just as effective as antidepressants for treating depression. It is an appealing claim, especially as research increasingly demonstrates important mental-health benefits from physical activity. But comparing exercise with antidepressant medication is considerably more complicated than comparing two numbers from a clinical trial. In this episode of Science vs. Spin, we examine what randomized trials and systematic reviews actually tell us about exercise, depression, and antidepressant treatment. The verdict reveals an important difference between saying exercise treats depression and saying exercise can replace antidepressants.
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    3 min
  • Does Childhood Trauma Actually Change the Brain? What Brain Scans Can—and Can’t—Tell Us

    Does Childhood Trauma Actually Change the Brain? What Brain Scans Can—and Can’t—Tell Us
    Sep 29 2026
    You’ve probably heard that childhood trauma “rewires the brain,” but what does that phrase actually mean? Brain-imaging studies have found differences associated with childhood adversity, yet those findings are often more complicated than popular headlines suggest. In this episode of Science vs. Spin, we separate what neuroscience has actually discovered from what the evidence cannot yet prove.
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    3 min
  • Biomarkers Under the Microscope: Separating Real Science from Medical Hype

    Biomarkers Under the Microscope: Separating Real Science from Medical Hype
    Sep 15 2026
    Biomarkers are sold as the future of medicine — earlier diagnoses, personalized treatment, objective tracking of disease — but the science behind that promise is shakier than the marketing suggests. This episode pulls apart where biomarkers genuinely help versus where they fail to predict what actually matters: quality of life and long-term survival. The gap is even wider in psychology and psychiatry, where reaching for a biological number risks turning complex human conditions into oversimplified metrics. We make the case for treating biomarkers as fallible tools that demand skepticism and clinical judgment, not as shortcuts to certainty.
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    6 min
  • Why Personality Surveys Measure How You Talk, Not Who You Are

    Why Personality Surveys Measure How You Talk, Not Who You Are
    Sep 8 2026
    Self-surveys dominate psychology and social psychology because they are cheap and easy to administer. The correct question is not whether people can answer Likert items, but whether those answers remain comparable across people, groups, or decades and whether the resulting scores correspond to anything that actually matters.
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    3 min
  • Dr. Brown on Bad Research: How Flawed Science Gets Past Peer Review

    Dr. Brown on Bad Research: How Flawed Science Gets Past Peer Review
    Aug 30 2026
    Carlos talks with Dr. Brown about how flawed studies make it into publication and, from there, into headlines people trust. The conversation digs into common red flags — small sample sizes, p-hacking, conflicts of interest, and cherry-picked data — that separate rigorous science from spin dressed up as research. It's a practical guide to reading a study more critically before believing the claim built on top of it.
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    59 min