Podcast appearances and mentions of Vinayak K Prasad

Today, Debbie Weil brings Dr. Sam Harrington, her physician husband, back on the show to wrap up the year 2020. After 8 months of reclusive living with COVID as a backdrop, they sit down together to reflect on some of the highs and lows, for themselves and for the country, and to forecast what lies ahead. First, the vaccine: how will it be distributed, to whom, and in what order? Is this the right order? How should we value human lives? Can the new Biden Administration improve the messaging around COVID and thus slow the continuing spread of the disease? When will life return to normal - or will it ever?Sam talks about several books he’s read recently (links below) and they share some of the favorite TV programs they've binge watched. (The complete list is below.) They talk about mini-socializing outdoors, the old-fashioned Pen Pal club they’ve started with their six grandchildren (ages three to ten), the slowing down of time, and the opportunity to reminisce about their past travels during the long, cold, dark winter evenings in Maine. They end with an update on Sam’s beard (big news) and a few predictions for 2021. The podcast will be back in January after a holiday break. Mentioned in this episode or useful:Malignant: How Bad Policy and Bad Evidence Harm People with Cancer by Vinayak K. Prasad (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020)Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live by Nicholas A. Christakis MD PhD (Little, Brown Spark, 2020)Without Resources, Vaccine Rollout Could 'Fall at the Last Hurdle,' Journalist Warns (NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Dec. 17, 2020)Keith Raniere, Leader of Nxivm Sex Cult, Is Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison (New York Times, Nov. 27, 2020)Let's Get Liminal by Chip Conley (Wisdom Well, Nov. 1, 2019)Chip Conley: Building Empires, Tackling Cancer and Surfing the Liminal | The Tim Ferris Show, June 20 2019Solo Stove a potential sponsor for the podcast? PHOTO: Sam, minus beard, caught in the act of smiling. Previous episodes featuring host Debbie and her husband Sam:S2-EP24: Debbie & Sam on the Gap Year For Everyone, Silver Linings, and Not Should'ingS2-EP18: Debbie & Sam on the New Normal, Quarantines, Immunity Passports, and Masks & GlovesS2-EP12: Debbie & Sam on the Coronavirus, Magical Thinking, and AgingS1-EP10: On Debbie & Sam's Bucket List: Living in FranceS1-EP2: Debbie & Sam on How They Decided to Take a Gap Year at Age 62 TV programs Debbie & Sam watched (March - Dec. 2020)The “Un’s” (they loved all of these):UnorthodoxUnbelievableUnforgottenUndoing Debbie & Sam also loved:SuccessionShtiselOzarkNormal PeopleLittle Fires EverywhereGentleman JackOccupiedThe Vow (about NXIVM)Seduced (about NXIVM)Emily in Paris (Debbie)Call the MidwifeThe Crown (new season)Mystery Road (set in Australia)BelgraviaRoom 2806: The Accusation (about Dominique Strauss-Kahn)This Is Us (Debbie was obsessed; Sam refused to watch after 1st season) More programs they watched:Chicago SevenQueens GambitHomeland (final season)Le Chalet (in French; scary)Deutschland 83FaudaGold DiggerBosch (Season 6)Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy RichBabylon BerlinRevenge (Debbie liked more than Sam did)RodhamGreyhound (new Tom Hanks movie)Perry MasonThe Baby-Sitters ClubDoctor FosterSilent Witness (a few episodes)The Social Dilemma (movie)Criminal (didn't finish)Flesh and BloodHillbilly Elegy (film)Mank (film about Herman Mankiewicz)The Life Ahead (new Sophia Loren film)Self Made Note from DebbieI hope you enjoyed this podcast. Would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than sixty seconds, and it really makes a difference in attracting new listeners and upcoming guests. I might read your review on my next episode!Sign up for occasional updates and get my free writing guide at http://eepurl.com/qGTPConnect with me:Twitter: @debbieweilInstagram: @debbieweilFacebook: @debbieweilLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/debbieweilEmail: thegapyearpodcast@gmail.com- Debbie THIS PODCAST IS LOOKING FOR A SPONSORIf you are interested in reaching a smart and thoughtful audience of midlife, and older, listeners, contact Debbie Weil. Our Media PartnersNext For MeEncore.orgMEA Support this podcast:Leave a review on iTunes: it will help us find a sponsor! If you are interested, contact Debbie WeilSubscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify Credits:Host: Debbie WeilProducer: Far Out MediaPodcast websiteMusic: Lakeside Path by Duck Lake

Our guest is Vinayak K. Prasad, hematologist-oncologist. He was an associate professor of medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine and in the summer of 2020 moved to the University of California San Francisco. He is a prolific researcher with a particular interest in the quality of medical evidence and trial design. He is also author of 2 best-selling books: Ending Medical Reversal (2015) co-authored with Dr. Adam Cifu and Malignant: How Bad Evidence and Bad Policy Harm People With Cancer, released earlier this year. We have a broad ranging conversation about the tenor of medical discourse today and about his main ideas regarding the quality of medical evidence. GUEST: Vinay Prasad: https://twitter.com/VPrasadMDMPH (Twitter), http://www.vinayakkprasad.com/ (Website), and http://www.vinayakkprasad.com/plenarysession (Podcast) LINKS: Note: The Accad and Koka Report participates in the Amazon Affiliate program and may earn a small commission from purchases completed from links on the website, Prasad, V et al. "A Decade of Reversal: An Analysis of 146 Contradicted Medical Practices." https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(13)00405-9/fulltext (Open Access) in Mayo Clinic Proceedings with accompanying https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/cms/10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.05.012/attachment/04889f73-3b55-4db2-b542-37ef77294d54/mmc3.mp4 (video) of Dr. Prasad Vinay Prasad and Adam Cifu. Ending Medical Reversal. Amazon https://amzn.to/3dOztkN (link). Vinay Prasad. Malignant. Amazon https://amzn.to/3ojnNLx (link). WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/EjvHufziYLU (Watch the episode) on our YouTube channel SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/accadandkoka (Make a small donation) on our Patreon page on and join our discussion group or receive a free book. Support this podcast

Our guest is Dr. Vinayak K. Prasad, a practicing hematologist-oncologist and internal medicine physician based in San Francisco. He joins us to discuss his important new book, "Malignant: How Bad Policy and Bad Evidence Harm People with Cancer." This work explains how hype, money, and bias can -- and often do -- mislead the public into thinking that many worthless or unproven cancer treatments are effective. As noted by Dr. David P. Steensma, who's with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Harvard Medical School: "Oncology drug development is full of hype and spin, which raises false hopes, confuses patients, and wastes money. Prasad incisively dissects crummy evidence and systematic abuses, including the pernicious effects of financial conflicts and academic self-promotion, and proposes sensible steps to improve development of new therapies for cancer."

Interview with Vinayak K. Prasad, author of Malignant: How Bad Policy and Bad Evidence Harm People with Cancer An essential listen for anyone involved in cancer R&D. Vinay is one of the more interesting voices on Twitter (@VPrasadMDMPH), and the book presents a wonderful exploration of what's right with oncology R&D and what's wrong. The interview reveals how positively he sees the opportunity to refocus on what matters to oncologists, and more importantly, to patients. The book is published in late April 2020, so I'd recommend a pre-order to ensure you get it on the day of release. From the book's website (http://www.vinayakkprasad.com/books) Each week, people read about new and exciting cancer drugs. Some of these drugs are truly transformative, offering major improvements in how long patients live or how they feel—but what is often missing from the popular narrative is that, far too often, these new drugs have marginal or minimal benefits. Some are even harmful. In Malignant, hematologist-oncologist Dr. Vinayak K. Prasad writes about the many sobering examples of how patients are too often failed by cancer policy and by how oncology is practiced. Throughout this work, Prasad illuminates deceptive practices which: • promote novel cancer therapies long before credible data are available to support such treatment • exaggerate the potential benefits of new therapies, many of which cost thousands and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars Prasad then critiques the financial conflicts of interest that pervade the oncology field, the pharmaceutical industry, and the US Food and Drug administration. This is a book about how the actions of human beings—our policies, our standards of evidence, and our drug regulation—incentivize the pursuit of marginal or unproven therapies at lofty and unsustainable prices. Prasad takes us through how cancer trials are conducted, how drugs come to market, and how pricing decisions are made, asking how we can ensure that more cancer drugs deliver both greater benefit and a lower price. Ultimately, Prasad says, • more cancer clinical trials should measure outcomes that actually matter to people with cancer; • patients on those trials should look more like actual global citizens; • we need drug regulators to raise, not perpetually lower, the bar for approval; and • we need unbiased patient advocates and experts. This well-written, opinionated, and engaging book explains what we can do differently to make serious and sustained progress against cancer—and how we can avoid repeating the policy and practice mistakes of the past.