For decades, scientists thought that placebos only worked if patients didn’t know they were taking them. Not anymore: You can give patients placebos, tell them they’re on sugar pills, and they still might feel better. No one is sure how this works, but it raises a question: Should doctors embrace placebos in mainstream medicine? (First published in 2021.)

Guests: Ted Kaptchuk, professor at Harvard Medical School; Darwin Guevarra, professor of psychology at Miami University; Luana Colloca, professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

And please email us! [email protected]

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices