Topic: Experimentation

Former FDA Commissioner and current Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb accidentally referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as "experimental" during a CNBC interview. He discussed the timeline for full FDA approval, suggesting it would provide employers with the impetus to mandate vaccinations. The hosts highlight the slip of the tongue as a rare admission of the vaccine's current status.

Fact-checkers have dismissed claims that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout violates the Nuremberg Code, arguing the code only applies to research trials and not general public health policy. Critics contend that because the vaccines are under Emergency Use Authorization, they remain technically experimental, making the code's protections against coerced medical participation relevant.

The hosts evaluate current vaccination policies against the ten points of the Nuremberg Code, which was established following Nazi medical experiments. They discuss potential violations regarding voluntary consent, animal trials, and the right of subjects to terminate their participation in a medical experiment.

Anthony Nist, a PhD student at Utah State University, shared his perspective on the media hysteria from his lab in Logan, Utah. Meanwhile, Stephen Sorrell requested job karma following mass layoffs at Barry Diller's companies, including Expedia and VRBO. The hosts criticize the "ruthless" nature of corporate layoffs occurring just days into the national crisis.

The hosts revisit clips from 2009, including Hillary Clinton's visit to a refugee camp in Goma, Congo. Another clip discusses a study from the Journal of Experimental Psychology claiming people can identify sexual orientation based on facial muscle tension. The hosts reflect on how such discussions have become taboo in the decade since the clips originally aired.

Cliff Stoll posits that search engines and high-resolution screens are "killing curiosity" by providing facile, immediate answers to every question. He argues that the joy of discovery and experimentation is lost when a computer provides a perfect explanation for why the sky is blue or how flowers grow. Stoll suggests that if one wanted to eliminate curiosity in a child, the best method would be to give them a machine that answers everything correctly without effort.

The Department of Defense is establishing a new "Defense Innovation Unit Experimental" in Silicon Valley to bridge the gap between the military and the tech industry. During a Senate hearing, officials were questioned about the costs and necessity of this unit, which some view as a redundant "money grab" for cyber-related funding.

The World Health Organization is convening a panel to discuss the ethics of using the experimental drug ZMapp during the West African Ebola outbreak. Two American healthcare workers received the drug after being transported to Atlanta. President Obama stated that the government must let "science guide" the response to the crisis.

A presidential panel released a report on 1940s US government experiments in Guatemala, where over 5,500 people were intentionally exposed to STDs like syphilis. The goal was to test the effectiveness of penicillin, but the study involved horrific methods, including injecting pathogens into subjects' eyes. CNN's coverage of the report is criticized for suggesting that exposing these "uglinesses" of history is a way to ensure they "never come to light again" in the future.

The discussion turns to documented instances of government-led human experimentation, including the injection of plutonium into children and the CIA's MK Ultra program. The hosts explore theories regarding the origins of AIDS at Fort Detrick and the use of biological agents as weapons, citing various declassified documents and historical reports.

A study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology suggests that the term "blood and treasure" is used by politicians to trigger a "sunk cost" mindset in the public. This rhetorical device frames past casualties as an investment that can only be recouped by continuing the war, a tactic observed in speeches by Obama, McCain, and Kerry.

A segment from the television show "Lie to Me" claims that people have a "sixth sense" to identify gay men based on facial muscle tension, citing the Journal of Experimental Psychology. The hosts condemn this as dangerous pseudo-science and compare it to the physiological "skull measurement" propaganda used in Nazi Germany. They argue such content is socially divisive and factually incorrect.

Pharmaceutical companies like Novartis are using experimental adjuvants such as MF59 in swine flu vaccines, despite a lack of long-term data on how they function. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius signed a decree granting vaccine makers total immunity from liability for injuries caused by these shots. Critics argue the pandemic is being used as a loophole to conduct mass human testing of unapproved vaccine additives.

Adam Curry plays a commentary from Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center regarding the H1N1 "novel" swine flu. Fisher warns that the CDC and FDA are using emergency powers granted after 9/11 to fast-track experimental vaccines without thorough testing. The segment highlights the $1 billion allocated to drug companies to produce vaccines that may contain genetically engineered viruses and reactive adjuvants.