Science Journalist: They Called Him Crazy Then The Death Rate Went to Zero
Science Journalist: They Called Him Crazy Then The Death Rate Went to Zero  
Podcast: Into the Impossible With Brian Keating
Published On: Sun Mar 29 2026
Description: Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list  to win a meteorite 💥 Matt Kaplan is a science journalist at The Economist and a trained paleontologist. His new book I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right is a candid investigation into how science actually works — and why the engine of discovery is badly in need of a tuneup. In this conversation, we discuss why the pandemic exposed science's dirty secrets to the public, how Ignaz Semmelweis discovered handwashing saved lives and was thrown in an asylum for it, why Katalin Karikó survived where others didn't, the replication crisis and how funding models are making it worse, whether older scientists should control research dollars, why Galileo was never actually tortured, and what journalists and scientists must do differently before public trust collapses entirely. Matt Kaplan also recently discussed science communication and dysfunction on other outlets — in this conversation, we go deeper on the replication crisis, the Semmelweis story, and why the funding model is quietly corrupting the scientific process. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes each week  🎧 Ad-free episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/drbriankeating  INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE — where Nobel Prize winners, physicists, and bold thinkers explore the biggest questions in science. Key Takeaways 00:00 Why the pandemic was science's most damaging moment of exposure 03:30 The scientific-industrial press complex — and who's really to blame  06:50 How science journalism fails the public 85% of the time  10:00 Ignaz Semmelweis: the man who proved handwashing saves lives and was destroyed for it  20:10 Why infection rates dropped from 21% to zero — and nobody listened  24:30 What Katalin Karikó had that Semmelweis didn't: shelter  28:00 The replication crisis — why nobody is funding the most important work in science  33:00 How funding models force scientists to run experiments they've already won  40:30 Should older scientists control research dollars? A Nobel laureate weighs in  43:45 Why Galileo was never tortured — and why the myth won't die  47:00 The rhinoceros tooth: a paleontologist's lesson in confirmation bias ➡️ Follow Matt Kaplan  🌐 Website: https://www.somuchsciencesolittletime.com/about  📚 I Told You So! Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right: https://www.amazon.com/Told-You-Scientists-Ridiculed-Imprisoned/dp/1250372275   ✍️ Email: mattkaplan@economist.com  Join this channel to get access to perks like monthly Office Hours: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join  📚 Get my books: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu  Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U  Losing the Nobel Prize: http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA  Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (audiobook): https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un  Follow me to ask questions of my guests:  🏄‍♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating  🔔 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1   📝 Mailing list: http://briankeating.com/list  ✍️ Blog: https://briankeating.com/blog  🎙️ Audio-only: https://briankeating.com/podcast #physics #science #sciencejournalism #MattKaplan #briankeating #intotheimpossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices