Free Associations Podcast

With a sense of humor and a healthy dose of skepticism the hosts talk us through popular health studies and hyperbolic news headlines while teaching us how to ask the right questions.

Free Associations Podcast | August 28th, 2018

Is low-dose aspirin for everyone? (Guest host!)

Matt, Chris, and Jen talk about a study of whether low-dose aspirin to prevent vascular events should be weight dependent, the gang revisits placebo effects, and Jen focuses on the empathy of our dogs.

Free Associations Podcast | August 14th, 2018

Should we pay people to quit smoking? (Guest host!)

Matt, Chris, and Jennifer Rider (our first ever guest host) discuss a pragmatic trial of smoking cessation, examine the pros and cons of surrogate endpoints, and Chris schools us all on horse dentistry.

Free Associations Podcast | July 31st, 2018

Does food labeling reduce calorie consumption?

Matt, Chris, and Don review the literature on whether labelling can reduce food purchase and consumption, the gang discusses a series of trials that were found to have errors, and Chris calculates the sum total of all living things on earth.

Free Associations Podcast | July 17th, 2018

Can a vaccine treat diabetes?

Matt, Chris, and Don examine a study that looked at whether a vaccine can treat Type 1 diabetes, the gang discusses the “Loss of Confidence Project," and Matt reports on an N of 1 study that suggests red wine may be good for blood sugar.

Free Associations Podcast | June 5th, 2018

A breakthrough for lung cancer treatment?

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a new treatment for lung cancer (immunotherapy), the gang discusses a large clinical trial that controversially changed its endpoint, and Chris dives into the world of linguistics (again).

Free Associations Podcast | May 22nd, 2018

An antidepressants do-over

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a drug company antidepressant trial in adolescents that was re-analyzed by different authors who came to different conclusions, the gang discusses the pre-registration movement in psychology, and Matt finds out what happens to all those unreported clinical trials.

Free Associations Podcast | May 8th, 2018

People who live in glass houses...

Matt, Chris, and Don finally take on one of their own studies and see how it holds up, the gang discusses what to do when your study has flaws, and Chris tells us what happens if you don’t get funding as a junior faculty member.

Free Associations Podcast | April 24th, 2018

The opioids vs non-opioids showdown!

Matt, Chris, and Don tackle a study on the effectiveness of opioids vs non-opioids for chronic pain, the gang discusses new NIH rules on how a clinical trial is defined, and Matt reads us some academic love poems.

Free Associations Podcast | April 10th, 2018

Antidepressants — our first in-studio guests!

Matt, Chris, and Don are joined by two faculty from the BUSPH Biostats Department to discuss a massive meta-analysis on the effectiveness of antidepressants, then we talk about the pros and cons of meta-analysis, and Don gives us some driving advice.

Free Associations Podcast | March 27th, 2018

Is the HPV vaccine reducing infection?

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a study on the HPV vaccine and its impact on prevalence of HPV, the gang discusses what the goal of peer review is, and Matt gets on twitter to find out the latest on significance.