SIO510: Digging Into the Science of the Placebo Effect

Popular media will tell you that placebos, inert inactive substances taken as if they’re medication, can work miracles. …Placebos don’t “work”. But what does that even mean? And if that’s true, why would we include a placebo group in a study? Is there anything remotely like a “true”’placebo effect, where belief in a medication could influence the body? Jenessa walks us through scientific study design, statistical artifacts, and one study that shows maybe just maybe there’s a little something like an actual placebo “effect”… but it’s still not magic! Tune in to hear how on earth that could be possible. Nolan, T.A., Price, D.D., Caudle, R., Murphy, N.P., & Neubert, J.K. (2012). Placebo-induced analgesia in an operant pain model in rats . Pain, 153, 2009-2016. Brissonnet, J. (2015). Placebo, are you there? Science Based Medicine. Studeman, D. (2007). But I regress… The Hardball Times. McCambridge, J., de Bruin, M., & Witton, J. (2012). The effect of demand characteristics on research participant behaviours in non-laboratory settings: A systematic review. PLoS One, 7. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here !

You can listen to SIO510: Digging Into the Science of the Placebo Effect online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

SIO510: Digging Into the Science of the Placebo Effect is an episode from Serious Inquiries Only by Thomas Smith.

This episode is 56:16 long.

This episode was published on Apr 12, 2026.

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