Ep.249: Blind Spots in Modern Medicine: A Conversation with Dr. Marty Makary

In this episode, Dr. Meg Meeker interviews Dr. Marty Makary, author of Blind Spots: When Modern Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health. They explore common medical misconceptions and their wide-reaching effects, including the rise in peanut allergies linked to outdated avoidance advice, the benefits of hormone replacement therapy, the overprescription of antibiotics, and the importance of microbiome health. Dr. Makary advocates for evidence-based medicine and critiques the centralization of medical decision-making influenced by politics and financial incentives. He promotes humility and transparency in the medical field to restore public trust and combat misinformation.

Key moments:

02:08 Medical Dogma and Misconceptions  

06:33 The Peanut Allergy Epidemic  

13:31 Antibiotics and the Microbiome  

28:08 Medical Paternalism and Public Trust  

34:03 Conclusion: Challenging Medical Dogma

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Our guest:

Dr. Marty Makary is a Johns Hopkins professor and New York Times bestselling author, known for his work in public health and healthcare reform. His latest book, *Blind Spots*, highlights critical health topics often overlooked, such as the microbiome, hormone replacement therapy, the peanut allergy epidemic, and cancer prevention. With over 250 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Makary has served as a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools and contributed to major outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He has also held leadership roles at the World Health Organization and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Makary leads the Evidence-based Medicine Public Policy Research Group at Johns Hopkins and the Re-design of Healthcare Project, focusing on making healthcare more reliable and affordable. His award-winning research centers on reducing administrative waste and improving medical transparency.

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