671. Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer’s Disease?

One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen Dubner speaks with the scientist and the journalist who blew the whistle. SOURCES: Charles Piller , investigative journalist for Science, author of Doctored . Matthew Schrag , associate professor of neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. RESOURCES: Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's , by Charles Piller (2025). " The brain makes a lot of waste. Now scientists think they know where it goes ," by Jon Hamilton (NPR, 2024). " The history of Alzheimer’s disease ," by Lisa Kiani and Richard Hodson (Nature, 2024). EXTRAS: " Can Marty Makary Fix the F.D.A.? " by Freakonomics Radio (2026). " Are You Ready for the Elder Swell? " by Freakonomics Radio (2025). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can listen to 671. Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer’s Disease? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

671. Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer’s Disease? is an episode from Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher.

This episode is 01:01:18 long.

This episode was published on Apr 17, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Freakonomics Radio when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.