Special Episode: Deborah Cohen & Bad Influence

If you have a medical question, where do you turn? How often is google or social media your first stop? As you sift through the AI overview and countless reels professing to have the answers, it becomes harder and harder to separate fact from fiction. Do these supplements actually do what they promise? Should I be wary of this commonly prescribed medication? Even if you’re not directly seeking this information, it finds you anyway, preying on health anxieties and promising an easy fix. In this week’s TPWKY book club episode, Dr. Deborah Cohen, medically-trained, award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and editor, joins me to discuss the implications of this flood of health misinformation, which she explores in her recent book Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health. From podcast bros touting peptide injections to TikTok influencers swearing by supplements, Cohen demonstrates that the internet is a wild west in desperate need of consumer protections. But it has also been a double-edged sword, providing community and connection alongside these bad actors. How can we continue to leverage the good of the internet to democratize health information while putting guardrails on nefarious wellness influencers hawking lies for profit? Tune in to find out.

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