The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

Jay Bhattacharya: 'I Sued the Biden Administration for COVID Censorship'

Jun 5, 2024

Jay Bhattacharya, co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, discusses his lawsuit against the Biden administration for COVID censorship. He reflects on the politicization of the NIH, loss of trust in public health, Biden vs. Trump on COVID response, and the importance of restoring trust in public health.

49:11

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Jay Bhattacharya

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Quick takeaways

Legal battle against Biden administration for alleged censorship of COVID viewpoints on social media.

Importance of engaging diverse voices, respecting differing opinions, and rebuilding trust in public health communication.

Deep dives

Government Collusion with Social Media

The podcast episode delves into the lawsuit involving the Biden administration and social media companies, alleging illegal collusion to suppress certain viewpoints and content. The Supreme Court decision in this case could impact the government's ability to influence platforms like Twitter and Facebook to ban legal speech.

Intro

2min

Government Censorship and Free Speech on Social Media

16min

Analysis of Government Grants Impact on Research and Academic Career Development

2min

Exploring Centralization in Research Fields and Censorship During the Pandemic

2min

Challenges to Public Health Trust during COVID-19 Pandemic

17min

Discussing Transparency, Scientific Process, and Infection Fatality Rate Estimates

3min

Reflections on Facing Censorship and Political Identity in Public Discourse

3min

Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Importance of Patient Autonomy in Health Decisions

4min

Today's guest is Jay Bhattacharya, a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration and one of the plaintiffs in Murthy v. Missouri, the Supreme Court case charging that the Biden administration and other parts of the federal government illegally colluded "with social media companies to suppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content." A decision in that case is imminent, and a victory for Bhattacharya's side would make it impossible for the government to pressure X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and other platforms to ban or squelch legal speech. A professor of medicine at Stanford University and a Ph.D. economist, Bhattacharya talks about his experience being blacklisted online because of his criticisms of lockdowns and other COVID policies, the ways in which both Donald Trump and Joe Biden fumbled their responses to the pandemic, and what the public health establishment must do to regain the trust and confidence of the American public.

00:00— Introduction
01:12— Murthy vs. Missouri
17:05— Politicization of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
20:45— Loss of trust in public health
25:45— Biden vs. Trump on COVID
27:49— What Bhattacharya got wrong
29:35— COVID-19 vaccines mistakes
34:53— RFK Jr. and other vaccine skeptics
39:44— What would Bhattacharya revise?
42:17— How Bhattacharya's politics changed
44:20— How do we restore trust in public health?

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