Below is a lightly edited, AI-generated transcript of the “First Opinion Podcast” interview with Brinda Adhikari and Tom W. Johnson, hosts of the podcast “Why Should I Trust You?” Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday.
Torie Bosch: In 2025, the well-known emergency physician Craig Spencer found himself in an unexpected place: the Children’s Health Defense Conference in Austin, Texas. There, he chatted with anti-vaccine activists, MAHA supporters, and others with deep distrust of doctors and mainstream medicine. As he wrote in an essay for STAT about the experience, “I didn’t change any minds, nor did my convictions waver. But every conversation was honest and respectful.”
