Strange things have been happening to science in the US. An executive order is freezing research, a website with once scientific information now looks kinda like it's advertising a reality show … even milkshakes have been caught in the fray. Milkshakes! On top of this, research projects studying everything from vaccine hesitancy to Covid-19 to climate change have been cut. The Trump administration says that a big reason for the cuts is to stop government waste and boost the economy. Today on the show: What is going on with science in the US right now, and will these cuts ultimately help the economy? To find out, we talk to Nature reporter Max Kozlov, virologist Dr. Seema Lakdawala and economist Professor Andrew Fieldhouse.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsWarKeepsRaging

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) A Science Milkshake Up

(08:04) Research on the Chopping Block

(12:15) How the NIH Justifies Cuts

(15:11) 25 million lives on the line

(16:48) When Nerds Fight Back

(24:46) ‘Dangerous’ Gain-of-Function Research Frozen

(27:27 ) Does Science Boost the Economy?

(36:05) Losing a Science Superpower?

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact Checking by Sam Lemonick. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, So Wiley and Bobby Lord. Thanks to Maya Golden-Krasner, Deputy Director at the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity – who you heard at the beginning of the show, saying this is just a daily stream of nightmare news, and also thank you Dr Shaye Wolf. Special thanks to Lindsey Cherner and Whitney Potter.

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