Podcasts · Science · Health & Fitness

Ground Truths

Eric Topol

99 episodes

Facts, data, and analytics about biomedical matters. erictopol.substack.com

Episodes page 1 of 2

  1. Ethan Mollick on AI: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Headed

    · 56 min

    Ethan Mollick is an Associate Professor at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, head of their Generative AI Lab, and author of the new book CO-EXISTENCE, just released, and on the NY Times bestseller list right away.…

  2. Vadim Gladyshev and the Science of Aging

    · 50 min

    Vadim Gladyshev, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, elected to the National Academy of Science, is a prolific science of aging researcher. We covered many topics…

  3. Michael Lewis: The NIH “Murder Mystery,” DOGE, and Our Government Immune System

    · 1 h 03 min

    Michael Lewis is one of the best storytellers of our era. You know and likely have read his books Moneyball, The Big Short, The Blind Side, Flash Boys, Liar’s Poker, and The Undoing Project, to name a few. He has long…

  4. Marios Georgakis: Why Did Two Major Clinical Trials for Heart Disease Fail?

    · 1 h 08 min

    In recent weeks the results (announced by press release) of 2 major placebo-controlled randomized trials—ZEUS, testing an interleukin-6 (IL-6) blocker vs inflammation, and HORIZON, testing a drug to lower Lp(a),…

  5. Two Landmark Studies Challenge Dogma About our Brain Immune Cells and Aging

    · 44 min

    This podcast is meant to complement my recent Ground Truths post Why Our Memory Slips After Age 50 which has all the relevant links to the 2 papers, key graphics, and other related publications. If you haven’t had a…

  6. Deborah Cohen: The Wellness-Industrial Complex

    · 59 min

    Deb Cohen is an award winning investigative journalist and correspondent who trained as a physician and has worked with the BBC and BMJ. She just published BAD INFLUENCE, a book which takes us deep into the…

  7. Sarah Urbut: Predicting Your Health Arc

    · 54 min

    Sarah Urbut is a physician-scientist at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Research Institute. She and her colleagues published a landmark paper in Nature on patient health journeys for 3 different…

  8. Patrick Hsu: How Is AI Catalyzing Life Science?

    · 58 min

    “The future of biology is programmable.” To give you a sense of how important this topic is, Patrick Hsu is the first guest we’ve had back to Ground Truths since the podcast began a few years ago. Nearly 2 years ago…

  9. Aaron Newman: A Breakthrough Blood Test for Cancer

    · 48 min

    The tumor microenvironment (TME), composed of immune cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, has emerged as critical to pathogenesis, prognosis and treatment for cancer (schematic Figure below). There’s no such…

  10. Elisa Port: Discuss THE BREAST ADVICE Book

    · 1 h 04 min

    “I may be the expert in cancer, but you are the expert in you.”—Elisa Port, MD Ground Truths is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.…

  11. Helen Pearson: What Constitutes Real Medical Evidence?

    · 52 min

    Helen Pearson, PhD, is an award-winning biomedical journalist at Nature, named European Science Journalist of the Year in 2025. She teaches science writing at University College London. BEYOND BELIEF is her second,…

  12. Assessment of the Hantavirus with Prof Donald Milton

    · 52 min

    Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

  13. Joanna Stern: An AI Immersion for 365 Days

    · 58 min

    Joanna Stern was the Wall Street Journal technology journalist for 12 years. She’s an Emmy award winner for her documentary E-Ternal, and recently started her own company New Things, with added advice from ChatGPT!…

  14. Roxanne Khamsi: We Are All Genetic Mosaics

    · 52 min

    “You are a slightly different genetic version of yourself today from yesterday, and will be different yet again tomorrow.”—Roxanne Khamsi “Each neuron really is a beautiful and unique snowflake”—Ed Yong Roxanne…

  15. Sebastian Mallaby: The Infinity Machine

    · 54 min

    This is one of my favorite books over recent years. Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Cocker Senior Fellow for International Economics at the Council of Foreign Relations and author of 6 bestselling books. THE INFINITY…

  16. Trisha Pasricha: How to Get to Poophoria, Making Your Bowel Movements a Joy!

    · 57 min

    Dr. Trisha Pasricha is a gastroenterologist, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and the Ask a Doctor columnist for The Washington Post. Her new book gets deep into the stigmatized, taboo, rarely discussed…

  17. On the Future of Species

    · 45 min

    Adrian is a molecular biologist and co-founder and CEO of Genyro, a synthetic biology company. He has published 2 previous books on life science (Life Without Genes and An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Genetics). In…

  18. A Master Class on Sleep

    · 57 min

    Yo-El Ju is the Barbara Burton and Reuben Morris Professor of Neurology at Washington University, St. Louis. She got her AB from Harvard and MD from Columbia and actively practices sleep medicine and is a prolific…

  19. Robert Wachter & Eric Topol - Discuss a Giant Leap Book

    · 46 min

    Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

  20. Vagus Nerve Stimulation and the Immune System

    · 1 h 04 min

    The vagus nerve, also known as the Great Nerve, connects the brain to all parts of the body, like an internet (Figure below). Every week we’re learning more about its importance for health and disease. Until recent…

  21. A Look Into the Blue Zones

    · 56 min

    Back in 2005 Dan Buettner patented Blue Zones. He’s written 9 books, of which 5 were NY Times bestsellers, and has another one in the works. His 2023 Netflix documentary series “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones”…

  22. How Our Brain Drains Its Waste Products

    · 56 min

    Jonathan Kipnis is a neuroscientist, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University, St. Louis, who discovered meningeal lymphatics and has been a prolific…

  23. The Story of Francis Crick, a new masterpiece biography by Matthew Cobb

    · 59 min

    A recording from my enthralling conversation with Prof Matthew Cobb about the life and science contributions of Francis Crick, regarded as one of the most influential biologists of all times, along with Darwin and…

  24. Jennifer Gunter & Eric Topol: Discuss Women’s Health and Recent Changes by FDA for MHT

    · 1 h 01 min

    A couple of weeks ago, the FDA Commissioner published a WSJ oped “The FDA Liberates Women’s Hormone Replacement Therapy” (←gift link) and, with other FDA colleagues, a JAMA essay entitled “Updated Labeling for…

  25. Dr. Susan Monarez—Former CDC Director, First Live Interview

    · 55 min

    Dr. Susan Monarez was the first CDC Director to be confirmed by the Senate and served from July 31, 2025 – August 27, 2025. Because she refused to give approval to new vaccine recommendations without ever seeing them…

  26. Seth Berkley & Eric Topol - Discuss Fair Doses Book

    · 47 min

    Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

  27. Tom Frieden & Eric Topol - Discuss the Formula for Better Health Book

    · 35 min

    Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

  28. Shana Kelley: Biosensors to Track Proteins and Inflammation in Our Blood in Real Time

    · 31 min

    Prof Shana Kelley is the Neena Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University and President of the CZI Chicago Biohub, which brings together life scientists at Northwestern,…

  29. Charlotte Blease: Is A.I. Going to Remedy Medicine’s Problems?

    · 31 min

    Thank you Bruce Lanphear, Clyde Wilson, Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Diego Pereyra, Dr Mike Hunter, and many others for tuning into my live video with Charlotte Blease! Join me for my next live video in the app. Whether A.I.…

  30. Peter Hotez & Eric Topol - Discuss “Science Under Siege” book

    · 53 min

    Thank you Sara Garcia, Andrew O'Malley BSc PhD, Sam Hester, Julie, Stephen B. Thomas, PhD, and so many others for tuning into my live video with Peter Hotez! Join me for my next live video in the app. Peter Hotez and…

  31. Sanjay Gupta & Eric Topol - Discuss “It Doesn’t Have to Hurt” book

    · 22 min

    Thank you Jose Bolanos MD, Dr. Zeest Khan, Lawrence Toole, Julie, Stephen B. Thomas, PhD, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Join me for my next live video in the app. A Brief Summary…

  32. Mike Osterholm & Eric Topol - Discuss “The Big One” book

    · 36 min

    Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

  33. Bruce Lanphear: Chronic Lead Exposure, a Risk Factor for Heart Disease

    · 26 min

    This is a hybrid heart disease risk factor post of a podcast with Prof Bruce Lanphear on lead and a piece I was asked to write for the Washington Post on risk factors for heart disease. First, the podcast. You may…

  34. Owen Tripp: Why Can't I Find and Get to the Right Doctor?

    · 32 min

    Eric Topol (00:06): Hello, this is Eric Topol from Ground Truths, and I'm delighted to welcome Owen Tripp, who is a CEO of Included Health. And Owen, I'd like to start off if you would, with the story from 2016,…

  35. Priscilla Chan & Jennifer Doudna: New Center for Pediatric CRISPR Cures

    · 23 min

    Eric Topol (00:05): Hello, it's Eric Topol from Ground Truths, and I've got some really exciting stuff to talk to you about today. And it's about the announcement for a new Center for pediatric CRISPR Cures. And I'm…

  36. Adam Kucharski: The Uncertain Science of Certainty

    · 45 min

    “To navigate proof, we must reach into a thicket of errors and biases. We must confront monsters and embrace uncertainty, balancing — and rebalancing —our beliefs. We must seek out every useful fragment of data, gather…

  37. Eric Topol With Devi Sridhar on her new book- How Not to Die (Too Soon)

    · 38 min

    Thanks to so many of you who joined our live conversation with Devi Sridhar! Professor Devi Sridhar is the Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh. Over the past 2 decades she has become one of…

  38. Matthew Walker: Promoting Our Sleep Health

    · 38 min

    My conversation with Matthew Walker, PhD on faculty at UC Berkeley where he is a professor of neuroscience and psychology, the founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, and has a long history of…

  39. Katie Couric and Eric Topol: On the State of US Life Science and Extending Healthspan

    · 55 min

    Thank you Richard DeWald, Michael Mann, Dr Avneesh Khare, Maud Pasturaud, Lower Dementia Risk, and many others for tuning into my live video with Katie Couric! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full…

  40. Sir John Bell: Transforming Life Science and Medicine's Future

    · 33 min

    Audio File Ground Truths can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. The UK is the world leader in human genomics, and laid the foundation for advancing medicine with the UK Biobank, Genomes England and…

  41. Tyler Cowen: The Prototypic Polymath

    · 32 min

    Audio file, also on Apple and Spotify Tyler Cowen, Ph.D, is the Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is the author of 17 books, most recently Talent.: How to Identify Energizers,…

  42. Bob Bordone and Joel Salinas: How to Deal With Conflict

    · 29 min

    In our divided world we face or avoid conflicts on a frequent basis. I turned to Bob Bordone and Joel Salinas to find out the best strategies to deal with these, including having them take on a mock conflict between…

  43. Steve Quake and Charlotte Bunne: The Holy Grail of Biology

    · 44 min

    “Eventually, my dream would be to simulate a virtual cell.”—Demis Hassabis The aspiration to build the virtual cell is considered to be equivalent to a moonshot for digital biology. Recently, 42 leading life…

  44. Katelyn Jetelina: Public health in the US

    · 27 min

    Thank you Katelyn Jetelina, Andy Meyers, Tracy Paeschke, MD, FACC, Bruce Lanphear, Tay MacIntyre, and many others for tuning into my live video with Katelyn Jetelina! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get…

  45. Anna Greka: Molecular Sleuthing for Rare Diseases

    · 49 min

    Funding for the NIH and US biomedical research is imperiled at a momentous time of progress. Exemplifying this is the work of Dr. Anna Greka, a leading physician-scientist at the Broad Institute who is devoted to…

  46. Carl Zimmer: Air-Borne and the Big Miss With Covid

    · 54 min

    Before getting into this new podcast, have you checked out the recent newsletter editions and podcasts of Ground Truths? —the first diagnostic immunome —a Covid nasal vaccine update —medical storytelling and…

  47. Emily Silverman: Storytelling, Uncertainty, and Humanity in Medicine

    · 47 min

    Before getting into this new podcast, have you checked out the recent newsletter editions of Ground Truths? —how are gut microbiome drives sugar cravings —the influence of sleep on brain waste clearance and aging…

  48. Lotte Bjerre Knudsen: The Scientist Who Drove GLP-1 Drugs For Obesity and Alzheimer's

    · 47 min

    The Chief Scientific Advisor at Novo Nordisk, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, was the key force who pushed hard to develop GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity and subsequently for Alzheimer’s. She was recently recognized by the…

  49. Ardem Patapoutian: The Pervasive PIEZO Channels

    · 40 min

    Piezo touch and pressure-sensing ion channels are showing up everywhere as the explanation for physiologic phenomena, both at the macro and micro levels. Ardem Patapoutian, my friend and colleague at Scripps Research,…

  50. Mark Cuban: A Master Disrupter for American Healthcare

    · 38 min

    American healthcare is well known for its extreme cost and worst outcomes among industrialized (such as the 38 OECD member) countries, and beyond that to be remarkably opaque. The high cost of prescription drugs…

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