Richard Harris and Mary Roach: Is Sloppy Science Killing Us?

Richard Harris says that American taxpayers spend more than $30 billion every year to fund biomedical research and that half of all the studies funded cannot be replicated. He says this biomedical research, anchored in a system that often rewards wrong behaviors, is needlessly slowing the search for new treatments and cures. To get and keep a job in research or in academia, Harris says, scientists need to publish results rather than get the right answers. It’s simply too easy for these scientists to use bad ingredients, poor experimental designs or improper methods in analyzing their results. Join us for a startling discussion on how sloppy science has dangerous consequences for all of us.

Harris is one of the nation’s most celebrated science journalists, covering science, medicine and the environment. Now in his 30th year at NPR, his latest research concerns medical science, or the lack thereof.