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!

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.