The DISRUPTED SCIENCE Podcast

Acetamiophen is one of the most studied analgesics in the world, and was the centerpiece of a famous product recall when a murderer laced capsules with potassium cyanide. The company swept the shelves in the name of public safety, and restocked them only after establishing new tamper-proof packaging.

Today, Big Tech is releasing products that are leading to clear consumer harms, yet remain idolized and immunized. Why is this? Is there a quasi-religious aspect to technology and its offshoots we need to recognize? How does this dovetail with re-emerging religious fundamentalism in general? And where does it leave science?

We discuss these topics and share our ”Discoveries of the Week.”

Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

This week, in a special Friday episode, we are pleased to bring you an interview with Christine Laine, the Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Internal Medicine, which is published by the American College of Physicians (ACP).

The Annals and the ACP have been at the center of a couple of controversies stirred up by the MAHA crowd. You’ll hear how word reached the Annals team that RFK, Jr., wanted a paper about vaccines and autism retracted. (Hint: RFK, Jr., looks bad, the Annals comes out smelling like a rose.) And you’ll hear more about that BMC Environmental Health paper, and why its methodology is suspect, how its author still involved in the legal case where his evidence was disallowed by a judge, and more.

We also discuss the use of AI in medical science, point-of-care systems, and physician training and practice — including how it’s affecting patient interactions.

At its heart, it is an interview about the power of expertise, the importance of good journals within scientific communities, the role of editorial care and collaborations, and how we collectively get science done right. Unlike what some would have you believe, it’s not easy.

We hope you enjoy the interview.

Show Notes

Dr. Andrea Love’s coverage of the Tylenol paper’s disreputable background: https://news.immunologic.org/p/the-tylenolautism-pseudoscience-pipeline

The paper in question: https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0 

Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

The author of the book, Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future, Anita Chan is a Professor in the School of Information Sciences and Department of Media and Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Today, she joins us to discuss the relationships between Big Data, eugenics, Big Tech, techno-fascism, AI in science, and more. It's an enlightening conversation, and an especially urgent one given how hard Big Tech is attempting to co-opt our culture.

We also share our “Discoveries of the Week,” including a rediscovery of a classic technique for teaching. (Hint: It still works.)

Show Notes

Predatory Data book: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/predatory-data/paper?ref=the-geyser.com

Interview with Olivia Guest and Iris van Rooij: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-6amys-196264a

Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Platypus Pups video: https://youtu.be/ZEl5RJiiLbk

“Disrupted Science” t-shirt: https://crowdmade.com/collections/petty-larceny-merch/products/petty-larceny-disrupted-science-t-shirt-black

It's Peer Review Week — but what does that mean anymore? We examine the focus on AI in this year's event, dissect how the definition of "peer review" has shifted from audience-focused selection and refinement to author-focused speed and scale as science has been platformed and adopted a tech-influenced mindset.

Show Notes [Due to a technical problem, this week is audio-only]

Peer Review Week: https://peerreviewweek.net/

Silverchair AI thoughts: https://www.silverchair.com/news/the-coming-inflection-point/

Elsevier announcement: https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/redefining-research-elsevier-announces-next-generation-ai-powered-researcher-solution

Cactus Communications announcement: https://cactusglobal.com/media-center/paperpal-ai-that-brings-out-the-best-in-you/

Interview with Olivia Guest and Iris van Rooij: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-6amys-196264a

Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

In this special episode, we speak with two authors of the position paper, "Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia," Olivia Guest and Iris van Rooij, and discuss how academics and scientists need to probe the claims of so-called AI systems, their compatibility with scientific and academic endeavors, and the personal responsibilities academics, researchers, and teachers retain despite these new toys.

Show Notes

"AI Slop and the Destruction of Knowledge": https://irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/ai-slop-and-the-destruction-of-knowledge/

"Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia": https://zenodo.org/records/17065099

Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

A July 2025 preprint on Preprints.org (MDPI) gets withdrawn, and the caterwauling about censorship begins. This episode helps you get your bearings, we hope.

Show Notes

The MDPI withdrawal: https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202507.2155/v1

The MAHA Substack complaint: https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-mdpi-censors-one-of-the

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is widely reported as a philanthropy. In fact, it is an LLC operated by the holding company the family uses, sells assets off after acquisition, and is platforming biomedical preprints and other scientific information for its own purposes. It has effectively acquired bioRxiv and medRxiv, operating them in a new entity, openRxiv Corp.

In this episode, we explore how CZI LLC was set up, how Meta got its name (hint: they acquired the brand via a science AI acquisition), and discuss the implications of having billionaires with shifting political ideologies involved in funding scientific initiatives.

Show Notes

Krumholz Is an Officer of openRxiv — https://www.the-geyser.com/krumholz-is-officer-of-openrxiv/

Editor Becomes a MAHA Darling — https://www.the-geyser.com/editor-becomes-a-maha-darling/

What Is CZI Really Up To? — https://www.the-geyser.com/what-is-czi-really-up-to/ 

Chicago bird collision monitors — https://www.birdmonitors.net/

Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

In this episode, we dive deeper into the background of Jim O’Neill, the interim acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the heels of the messy firing of the Senate-approved Director (and actual scientist) Susan Monarez.

It turns out, the Silicon Valley desire to have science become predictable, end death, and create endless wealth for a few is really driving a lot of this, from Peter Thiel to RFK Jr. to O’Neill. 

Show Notes

Interview with Demetre Daskalakis: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-c-d-c-s-vaccine-chief-on-why-quitting-was-his-only-option/id1200361736?i=1000724015879 

Insilico.com: https://insilico.com/ 

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Today, we dive into a few aspects of the imposition of tech thinking into the scientific endeavor, including business models, AI, accidental certifications, and new NIH policies. 

Show Notes

Jessica Knurick post: https://drjessicaknurick.substack.com/p/trust-the-science-doesnt-mean-what

Comet Plus: https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-comet-plus

"Scholarly Kitchen" guest post by Mike Olson: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/26/guest-post-beyond-classification-the-human-cost-of-library-and-information-labor-under-digital-capitalism/

Clay Shirky on the return of the Blue Books: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/opinion/culture/ai-chatgpt-college-cheating-medieval.html

Pygmy sea horses: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/science/evolution-genetics-seahorses.html

Video of pygmy sea horses (NatGeo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4q3sBuCkRQ

Better bee food to thwart colony collapse: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250822073807.htm

See our book cover: https://www.the-geyser.com/how-the-internet-disrupted-science/ 

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Contact us: [email protected] 

It's our first interview for the podcast, and we landed a great guest!

Jason Steinhauer is a “public historian” working at the intersection of history, tech, media and politics. He writes and speaks about how social media, tech, and A.I. are shaping our history, politics, democracy, and future. His 2021 book, “History, Disrupted,” touches on many of the same issues we discuss in our forthcoming book about expertise, gatekeepers, the sharing of knowledge, and how information incentives work.

Link to his book: https://www.amazon.com/History_-Disrupted_-How-Social-Media-and-the-World-Wide-Web-Have-Changed-the-Past/dp/3030851168/

Link to his newsletter: https://jasonsteinhauer.substack.com/

Link to his page: https://www.jasonsteinhauer.com/ 

Link to the FT story about Sam Altman’s desecration of the kitchen: https://www.ft.com/content/b1804820-c74b-4d37-b112-1df882629541 

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Contact us: [email protected]