Quillette Podcast Covering the Culture Wars
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Aug 29, 2026 Benjamin Ryan, an American journalist and science writer, recounts reporting on HIV/AIDS, monkeypox, public health, and gender medicine. He discusses controversial messaging around PrEP and monkeypox, ideological pressure in science and journalism, and his investigation into Jason Arday’s disputed memoir and academic career. The conversation also explores Cambridge’s institutional failures, media silos, and the challenge of scrutinizing powerful public figures.
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Jason Arday’s Memoir Echoed Television Plotlines
- Benjamin Ryan found that Jason Arday’s memoir borrowed scenes and language from Spartacus, Rocky, Tommy, and Australian soap operas.
- Arday’s changing dates, comas, epilepsy story, and heroic mother resembled recurring television plotlines.
Science Can Have Ideological Blind Spots
- Covering HIV research taught Benjamin Ryan that scientific communities can suppress inconvenient findings through questions they avoid and claims they repeat.
- He faced pressure not to antagonize activists after reporting that PrEP reduced condom use and changed sexual behavior.
Monkeypox Reporting Challenged Misleading Messaging
- During the 2022 monkeypox outbreak, Benjamin Ryan used British surveillance data to show transmission remained overwhelmingly concentrated among gay men.
- He argued that officials should plainly recommend fewer partners and avoiding sex parties instead of saying only that anyone could get monkeypox.