Why Should I Trust You?

Bold, unfiltered, and uncompromisingly honest, Why Should I Trust You? is a weekly podcast that looks at the breakdown in trust for science and public health. It drops every Thursday, with occasional additional special episodes sprinkled in.

Hosted by Brinda Adhikari, the former executive producer of “The Problem with Jon Stewart” and a former TV news journalist; Tom Johnson, the former executive producer of “The Circus,” and also a former TV news journalist; Dr. Maggie Bartlett, a virologist and assistant research professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Dr. Mark Abdelmalek a skin cancer surgeon, a medical journalist and a dermatologist practicing in Philadelphia - each week we try to figure out what is behind this staggering collapse in trust and see if we can rebuild towards trust again.

We hear from people who are wary about public statements, recommendations and studies coming from what they view as an elitist and conflict-riddled scientific establishment. And we hear from those in this establishment who fear the consequences of what they see as a dangerous trend towards anti-expertise. And then somehow, we will seek a path through all this!

Contributors

Co-host

Brinda Adhikari

Brinda is an award-winning journalist and executive producer with over 20 years in the impact-driven storytelling space. She was most recently Jon Stewart's executive producer on the 5x-Emmy nominated "The Problem," on AppleTV+. Before that, she worked at ABC and CBS News for nearly 20 years as a producer and journalist. She is a 6x-Emmy nominated producer and has been honored with Edward R. Murrow awards, a Gracie and a Front page award and more for her work in journalism. She is currently an independent producer living in Brooklyn, NY.

Co-host

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Dr. Mark is a highly regarded skin cancer surgeon and award-winning journalist. For the past 15 years he has worked as a medical contributor, investigative reporter and producer at ABC News. His journalism career was shaped working alongside ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer sharing impactful stories with audiences of Good Morning America, World News Tonight, 20/20, Nightline, and Hulu. Dr. Mark is a recipient of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, one of journalism's most prestigious honors. His work has earned several Edward R. Murrow awards and he has been nominated for a Peabody Award and five Emmy Awards. He is an adjunct Associate Professor of Dermatology at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and is the founder of Dermatology of Philadelphia | Mohs Surgery Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Co-host

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Maggie L. Bartlett is an Assistant Research Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Program Director for the Global Virus Network. She specializes in emerging infectious diseases, focusing on RNA persistence and post-infectious conditions. Her groundbreaking work spans neurotropic viral diseases, post-viral syndromes, and immune-privileged zones. She founded a production company called Infectious Insight to connect high-caliber media professionals and world-renowned experts in pandemic resilience to drive science-centric content accessible to all.

Co-host

Tom Johnson

Tom is an award-winning news producer with experience in documentary series, digital, cable and network news. For the past 7 years, Tom was the Showrunner and an Executive Producer of Paramount+ and Showtime's five-time Emmy-nominated political news and documentary series, The Circus. Previously, he was the Executive Editor of Bloomberg Politics and Executive Producer of the nightly news program With All Due Respect, airing on Bloomberg and MSNBC. Before that, Tom spent two decades at ABC News, where he served as Senior Broadcast Producer for the network’s flagship evening program, World News Tonight. His work has been honored with Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, and Peabody awards.