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The VPZD Show

Drs. Vinay Prasad & Zubin Damania
The VPZD Show
Latest episode

43 episodes

  • The VPZD Show

    Affirmative Action, AI Medical Recording, AI Doomers

    2026-09-26 | 1h 13 mins.
    Easy topics for easy times 🤭 Originally streamed ⁠⁠⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠⁠⁠! (#42)

    Using Beethoven's Archduke Trio as a lens for why AI-generated art still falls short of true creative risk-taking

    Whether AI companies calling for regulation are protecting the public or protecting their own competitive lead

    The "Chernobyl of AI" idea, and skepticism toward vague doomsday percentage predictions

    Burnout across the AI industry, and a personal parallel to burning out in medicine before starting ZDoggMD

    Why doctors, unlike coders, are resistant to AI encroaching on their work

    A court ruling on whether the raw audio of an AI-assisted medical visit is discoverable in a malpractice suit, and a comparison to body cam data

    The DOJ's civil rights division investigation into UCSF and other med schools over affirmative action compliance post-SFFA v. Harvard

    Whether standardized test scores, grit, or adversity best predict who becomes a good doctor, and the weak evidence behind racial concordance studies

    A broader reflection on how identity and tribalism shape reactions to contested topics, using the Israel-Palestine debate and the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran episode as examples

    Institutional neutrality, the NIH funding fight involving Russ Vought, and why one-sided political stances put universities at risk

    Addressing a live comment about their COVID-era track record and clarifying actual positions

    Closing thoughts and sign-off

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠More on Vinay.⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠More on Zubin.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
  • The VPZD Show

    Macklemore, Confidence Intervals, LG Spying

    2026-09-19 | 1h 10 mins.
    Exploring the issues of the day, (Mackle)more or less 🤭 Originally streamed ⁠⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠⁠! (#42)

    Topics covered: the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran controversy over political statements at concerts; land acknowledgments and performative activism; T-Rex body temperature research using tooth enamel isotopes; amateur archaeology and human evolution theories; the fluoride-in-water debate, weighing dental benefits against IQ concerns; a University awards ceremony disrupted by political chanting; Jonathan Haidt's three great untruths and campus culture; why Middle East politics resist typical activist framing; Wall Street Journal's editorial inconsistency on FDA drug decisions; statistics deep dive on p-values, split alpha, and confidence interval interpretation; new ACGME resident work-hour rules and their unintended consequences; administrative burden as the real driver of resident burnout; Angela Duckworth's concept of grit, examined through the lens of descriptive versus prescriptive reasoning; ambition, cortisol, and the psychology of never feeling successful; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as a surprisingly good stage production; a JAMA study on pilots, flight attendants, and radiation-induced cancer; skepticism toward routine dental X-rays; hot tub-associated lung disease and questionable AI-generated medical advice; cold plunge trends and the lack of supporting data; why subtle political art works better than explicit statements; the controversy over AI assistance in solving a famous unsolved math problem; concerns about LG smart TVs recording audio and network data; and closing thoughts on 90s hip-hop versus the explicitness of modern rap.

    ⁠⁠⁠Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast.⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast.⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠More on Vinay.⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠More on Zubin.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
  • The VPZD Show

    Pancreatic Cancer Drug, USPSTF, Tylenol-Autism

    2026-09-11 | 1h 42 mins.
    We're trying to become better listeners, SO PREPARE FOR SOME SHOUTING 🤭 Originally streamed ⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠! (#41)

    We cover the new pancreatic cancer drug daraxonrasib and its rash side effect, survival benefit, and cost; what makes pancreatic cancer especially deadly; Vinay’s clinical background across hematology and oncology; how mechanistically cancer actually kills; the challenge of finding good podcast guests and why authenticity matters more than plugging a product; vaccine mandates and the difference between individual versus population-level benefit; the USPSTF’s recent upheaval and the challenge of evidence-based guidelines on contested topics like depression screening, mammograms, and prostate cancer screening; observational versus randomized evidence, with examples spanning flu vaccines, shingles vaccines and dementia, and Tylenol in pregnancy and autism; the OpenAI Navier-Stokes controversy and AI’s role in mathematics; AI in medicine and a JAMA perspective piece on AI replacing physicians; statins, coronary calcium scores, and personal decision-making around cardiovascular risk; weight stigma in medical training and the complexity of obesity; alternative medicine, longevity influencers, and Vinay’s evolving views on certainty; the ethics and mechanics of prediction markets and biotech stock betting; and reflections on active listening and communication style on the show.

    ⁠⁠Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast.⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast.⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠More on Vinay.⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠More on Zubin.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
  • The VPZD Show

    Fauci's Diary, Vinay's FDA Experience, Jason Arday (Recorded LIVE)

    2026-09-10 | 2h 8 mins.
    Yeah it's been over a year but you can't keep a couple of handsome brown guys apart forever 😎 A BRAND NEW VPZD EPISODE, originally streamed LIVE on YouTube! (#40)

    ⁠Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast.⁠

    ⁠Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast.⁠

    ⁠More on Vinay.⁠

    ⁠More on Zubin.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
  • The VPZD Show

    Ivy Leagues, Vaccine Science, Politics & Stuff

    2025-04-23 | 1h
    We're back, just cuz we had dinner and felt like a live nightcap. Enjoy!

    Watch the originally live YouTube video here.

    Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app.

    Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast.

    Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast.

    More on Vinay.

    More on Zubin.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About The VPZD Show
Two doctors, one podcast, Alt-Middle as heck. Featuring Dr. Vinay Prasad (host of Plenary Session) and Dr. Zubin Damania (host of The ZDoggMD Show).
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