Public Science in Peril: Hank Greely of Stanford on Funding, Fishing, and the Fight for Knowledge

In this urgent and unflinching conversation, Stanford law professor Hank Greely returns to Mendelspod to address the mounting threats of the Trump administration to public science funding and the institutions that regulate medicine. As the NIH faces existential challenges and the FDA comes under fire, Greely lays out a compelling case for why government-supported research remains essential—not just for innovation, but for maintaining a functional society.

“Research is like fishing,” Greely explains. “You cast your net, and sometimes you catch something big, sometimes you don’t. But if you stop casting altogether, you’re guaranteed to catch nothing.” He argues that long-term investment in science is the only way to sustain real progress, even if individual studies don’t always yield immediate breakthroughs.

Greely also draws a stark historical comparison, warning that the current climate resembles the Communist Cultural Revolution, “except this time the war on expertise and knowledge isn’t coming just from the top down—it’s being fed from every direction.” The consequences, he suggests, could be felt for generations.

Yet, while calling for outspokenness, Greely also urges compassion for those in academia and government who feel they cannot safely speak out. “Some of the people who aren’t being as forthright as we’d like—it’s not personal cowardice,” he says. “They’re trying to protect their institutions, their labs, their students, their colleagues. And that’s something we need to understand, even as we push for change.”

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