Podcast · Tech & Science

The VPZD Show

by Drs. Vinay Prasad & Zubin Damania · English · Tech & Science

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).

New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 1 hr 34 min
Latest: 9 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

Nobel Prize Snubs, AI Medicine, Brain Death, SSRIs

AI gave Zubin hair in our thumbnail...we truly are at End Times 😁 It's VPZD Ep. 45, originally streamed LIVE on YouTube. Chronological topic list Shout out to Dentalica, the Metallica cover band of dentists Follow up on the failed execution and whether healthcare professionals should take part in executions Firing squad and livestreamed executions as a case for the state owning its violence Childhood abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, and whether crime is a medical problem or a moral one A bilingual doctor barred from speaking Spanish to her patient after failing a hospital proficiency test…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E44 · 4 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 35 min
Lethal Injection Ethics, Meditation Dangers, GRAIL Cancer Screening
Should we be medicalizing state-sanctioned executions? Is meditation actually safe? Do liquid biopsies save lives? EASY QUESTIONS ONE AND ALL 😂 Originally streamed ⁠⁠⁠⁠LIVE on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠! (#44) In this episode, we talked liquid biopsies for multi-cancer screening, the evidence behind recent blood test trials, and the risks of false positives and overdiagnosis. We dove into meditation’s possible benefits and harms, including anxiety, dissociation, and psychosis, as well as concerns about using it as a productivity tool. Finally, we hit physician involvement in state executions and the ethics…
30 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 14 min
Affirmative Action, AI Medical Recording, AI Doomers
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…
E42 · 19 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
Macklemore, Confidence Intervals, LG Spying
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…
E41 · 11 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 42 min
Pancreatic Cancer Drug, USPSTF, Tylenol-Autism
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…
10 Sep 2026 · 2 hr 8 min
Fauci's Diary, Vinay's FDA Experience, Jason Arday (Recorded LIVE)
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
23 Apr 2025 · 1 hr
Ivy Leagues, Vaccine Science, Politics & Stuff
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
S1 · E38 · 14 Nov 2024 · 1 hr 25 min
Trump Transition, Reproductive Rights, Vaccine Truth
Another live episode, we touch on a BUNCH of stuff, including Trump's transition, possible FDA appointments, RFK Jr., letters we've gotten about reproductive rights, was Harris or her team afraid to have her go on Rogan, a deep dive into COVID infection fatality rate and what to do about vaccines, and MUCH more. Watch the video version here. Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together. More on Vinay. More on Zubin. Learn more about your ad…
S1 · E37 · 9 Nov 2024 · 1 hr 38 min
Why Trump Won & What It Means For Healthcare
Regardless of your political leanings, this live podcast WILL traumatize you 😻. Election reactions, media polarization, what this might mean for healthcare and WAY more than you cared to hear about Peyronie’s disease 🍆🤓. Watch the video version here. Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together. More on Vinay. More on Zubin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 · E36 · 30 Oct 2024 · 1 hr 42 min
Rogan & Trump, Dumb Medical Practices, A VPZD Book Club?
In this episode we discuss Joe Rogan/Trump Interview insights, the ‘science’ of polling, irrational COVID policies, erosion of trust in the medical establishment, the dangers of public health dogma, Trump Derangement Syndrome™️, reflections on the US political system, Zubin’s TikTok verification drama, what creates successful social media reach, TikTok’s cringey docs, the impact of shame on medical practice and education, Rogan’s fixation on physical fitness, why Yoga kicks ass, Vinay’s literary review of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series, and Zubin’s personal experience with psychedelics…
S1 · E35 · 4 Oct 2024 · 1 hr 4 min
Public Health Sex Party Hypocrisy
Former New York public health official Jay Varma's hypocritical sex parties during COVID, why we refuse to talk to most reporters, VP’s take on the new schizophrenia drug, the 10 year anniversary of VP’s PARADIGM-HF heart failure drug trial smackdown, how much an MD/PhD with 100 years of training makes when they finally finish school, Marty’s new book, a Stanford and Emory conference where VP is speaking on public health controversies, and much more! Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible…
S1 · E34 · 16 Sep 2024 · 52 min
Blind Spots (w/Dr. Marty Makary)
Marty's in tha' house to rap about his new book, out Sept. 17th! Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health. Video version here. Subscribe to The VPZD Show on your favorite podcast app. Check out VP's Substack Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts as well as Sensible Medicine. Here's all our previous episodes together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 · E33 · 22 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 7 min
Biden’s Drug Pricing, Fake Health News, Marty’s Book
The three horseman of the apocalypse are BACK! We talk Marty’s new book, CVS as a PBM and the effect on independent community pharmacies, Biden’s medicare drug price negotiations, media health reporting biases, COVID and testing rules, Paxlovid efficacy, the media and lab leak theory, garbage research and health equity, lab leak vs. wet market, medical education is broken and what to do about it, why the med school curriculum is crap, how to fix medical conferences, why debate in medicine is now taboo, ABMS and medical board exam monopoly, culture of obedience in medicine, and more! Here's a…
S1 · E32 · 29 Apr 2024 · 1 hr 35 min
Losing ZDadd, MOC is Dumb, Medical Masking
The most epic medical bromance in history is BACK and we've brought our A-game 🔥 Video version here. Topics covered: 00:00 Intro, WE'RE BACK! 4:02 Zubin's Dad's Passing 30:00 Physician Maintenance of Certification (MOC) 48:18 Chat GPT and Medicine 52:24 Letting DOJ Know About MOC Monopoly 54:04 Colon Cancer Screening 1:04:30 Whole Body MRI Scans 1:12:24 GI Jokes 1:13:57 Masking In Hospitals 1:23:07 Doctors' Attire and Behavior (Professionalism) 1:27:21 What's Up With Braces? 👉 Ain't The Way To Die, including resources on end-of-life planning. 👉 Link to let DOJ know about MOC. 👉 Previous…
S1 · E31 · 16 Feb 2023 · 1 hr 18 min
CDC Masking Comments, Prior Auths, Paxlovid Data
Famous docs who can’t process evidence, prior authorization in healthcare and care variation, private equity and gray areas in medicine, the decline of academic medical centers, indoctrination in education, does Paxlovid actually work in populations that matter and the biases of observational trials, fake twitter medical experts, why hospital maintenance workers have more common sense than healthcare leadership, Cochrane mask review, CDC director masking comments and ivermectin, politics in science and why politicians simply can’t be honest, and more! Video here. Subscribe to "The VPZD Show"…
S1 · E30 · 11 Jan 2023 · 1 hr 32 min
Sudden Deaths, Damar Hamlin, FDA Bivalent Fail
We were both victims of the "tripledemic" and now have Long Cold but we're BACK! In Episode 30 we dive into the recent focus on sudden deaths and cardiac arrest in athletes such as Damar Hamlin and whether vaccine causation can be attributed as many online "experts" insist, Vinay's new myocarditis paper, FDA withholding Moderna human data from advisory committee members during bivalent EUA approval, do medications really "expire" and much more! Video: https://youtu.be/DOQF2JNZug4 Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible…
S1 · E29 · 17 Nov 2022 · 1 hr 37 min
The Misinformation Police Strike Out (& More)
The boys are back in town 🔥. We talk about the future of social media, Elon Musk's Twitter, misinformation policing failures, metabolic health, being your authentic self and more. Here's VP's Sensible Medicine article we referenced. Topics & Timecodes 00:00 Verbal & non-verbal communication, listening & presence 02:43 The future of social media, Zuckerberg, Elon's authenticity, Twitter & the blue checkmark disaster 10:49 Z's alleged 30-millionaire status, calculating net worth, the importance of supporting content & creators you care about 14:54 Sensible Medicine & VP's Misinformation Police…
S1 · E28 · 15 Oct 2022 · 1 hr 37 min
Colonoscopy, Ladapo & Science Mag, UMN White Coat Oath
ZD visits VP studios for a broad discussion about colonoscopy, Florida's surgeon general Ladapo and Science magazine, the new oath taken by UMN medical students during their White Coat ceremony, and MUCH more. The only thing missing is VP's signature black leather jacket 🔥 Watch VP's breakdown of the NordICC colo trial here, here, and here. Read UMN's white coat oath and learn more about Ladapo and the Science magazine editorial here. Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session"…
S1 · E27 · 7 Oct 2022 · 1 hr 18 min
NYU Professor Fired, COVID Personality Changes, College Mask Madness
We discuss firing of the NYU professor who's class was too hard, the problems with screening for medical school admission, Dr. Glauckomflecken's maskless Twitter selfie thing and the nature of virtue signaling, why JEDI aren't woke enough according to Scientific American (cuz eugenics of course), a recent study on personality changes due to the pandemic, CRAZY liberal arts college masking policies, and much more! Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast. Dr. Damania's…
S1 · E26 · 24 Sep 2022 · 1 hr 19 min
Bivalent Boosters, Healthcare Masking, Sensible Medicine
VP and ZD celebrate the return of in-person conferences, lament the challenges of continued mandatory masking in healthcare settings, and talk about better ways to get at truth (yeah, I'm kinda phoning in the summary of this dope discussion this time, just listen already 😂 #quietquitting) Video: https://youtu.be/B7V1RelMXwA Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast. Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast. More on Vinay. More on Zubin. Learn more about your ad choices.…
S1 · E25 · 6 Sep 2022 · 1 hr 13 min
Omicron Boosters 4 ALL, CO2 Meter Madness
A Labor Day Special! CDC recommends bivalent Omicron-specific boosters for everyone, the madness of the CO2 meter crowd, journalism's challenges, mean attending physician comments, the evolution of language, and more! Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. 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
S1 · E24 · 28 Aug 2022 · 1 hr 57 min
Canceled Public Health Doc, AAP Fails, Dr. Oz
The saga of Dr. Leana Wen, omicron-specific boosters for the fall, low uptake for vaccinating kids <5 years old, is the American Academy of Pediatrics a broken and failed organization (read Vinay's article on Sensible Medicine here), Novak Djokovic and US vaccine mandates, inauthenticity and Dr. Oz, student loan forgiveness, the Thailand kids vaccine study and much more! Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast. Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast. More on Vinay. More…
S1 · E23 · 22 Jul 2022 · 1 hr 25 min
Trust Issues, Sensible Medicine, Ideologic Possession
How can you determine who is trustworthy when it comes to medical information? Our new project "Sensible Medicine," untangling the complexities of health care reform, angry doctor Covidian tweets with magical thinking and religiosity, the dangers of over-testing and over-treatment with regards to routine blood work, Haidt’s 3 Great Untruths and cognitive distortions, pandemic response effect on true progressives, the consequences of ideological possession, how Vinay reviews the trustworthiness of sources, the difficulties of “debunking”, the monkeypox situation, and much more! Video:…
S1 · E22 · 7 Jul 2022 · 1 hr 56 min
Omicron Booster Science, Policy Ethics, Tribalism
We deep dive into how our tribal divisions influence interpretations of science, ethics, and policy (topic list below). Here's the Offit interview I mentioned. Topic List Omicron-specific boosters Data on severe disease prevention and booster rationale The challenges of case-control data for kids' vaccination Evidence-based morality, ethical and practical considerations around vaccine mandates Ethical and practical considerations around cooking pizza at home Does repeated COVID infection harm you Law vs. science and second order effects of legal decisions Tribal division and taking joy in…
S1 · E21 · 12 Jun 2022 · 1 hr 34 min
The Death Throes Of Covidian Culture (& Some Cancer Stuff 4 Tha' Clicks)
Stanford medical school commencement ceremony, boosters for 5-11 year olds, Cat COVID, the end of pre-departure screening, VP's Oncology video drama, Twitter addiction and "second selfing," is continual feedback a good thing, San Francisco DA gets recalled, new immunotherapy for colorectal cancer, the importance of palliative care in oncology, and much more! Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast. Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast. More on Vinay. More on Zubin.…
S1 · E20 · 3 Jun 2022 · 1 hr 34 min
Guns, Vaccines, & Monkeys
We dive into the riddle of gun violence in America, violence against healthcare professionals, public health officials and closing schools, will we need an annual COVID shot and how would we study that, the emergence of monkeypox, and the Depp/Heard trial. Video: https://youtu.be/9i8cD4j4sQE Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/vpzd Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here: sensiblemed.substack.com/ Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast: vinayakkprasad.com/plenarysession Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast:…
S1 · E19 · 19 May 2022 · 1 hr 39 min
Less Is More Medicine (w/Dr. Rita Redberg)
We talk with Dr. Rita Redberg (professor of medicine & cardiologist at UCSF) about how very often less is more when it comes to medical care. We cover cancer screening (PSA, mammograms, blood testing, colonoscopy, CT screening for lung cancer), the utility or lack thereof of genetic testing, medical devices, statins, hypertension guidelines and treatment, and much more. And here's my prior interview with Dr. Redberg. Video: zdoggmd.com/less-is-more Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's…
S1 · E18 · 7 May 2022 · 2 hr 1 min
Supreme Court Abortion Decision & Crazy COVID Stuff
CDC data collection, hepatitis in kids, Johnson & Johnson vaccine limited use, more on physician "influencers," the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court leaked draft decision, surprise medical billing, a nutty Twitter COVID story, seroprevalence of COVID in children, the White House Correspondents Dinner, annual COVID shots, Omicron's mortality, the "Pfizer documents" and more! Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary Session" podcast. Dr. Damania's "ZDoggMD Show" podcast. More on Vinay. More on…
S1 · E17 · 29 Apr 2022 · 1 hr 37 min
Moderna For Kids, Physician-Influencers, Stanford Nurses Strike
Elon Musk buys Twitter and what that may mean, group mind and the threat of nuclear holocaust, the conundrum of "physician influencers" on social media, Moderna's push to get EUA for it's vaccine in kids younger than 5, the Stanford nurses go on strike, challenges in academic medicine, should people in healthcare forge their OWN path, and much more! The Dr. Risa Hoshino substack piece: https://sarahburwick.substack.com/p/who-is-risa-hoshino. Subscribe to "The VPZD Show" on your favorite podcast app. Check out our new Substack collaboration, "Sensible Medicine" here. Dr. Prasad's "Plenary…
S1 · E16 · 15 Apr 2022 · 1 hr 26 min
China Lockdowns, Teen Mental Health, Audience Capture
We dive DEEP into all the things in this rare in-person video episode of The VPZD Show. And VP's lookin' pretty fly for a brown guy in that black jacket 🔥 We talk Elon Musk & Twitter, Bill Maher & medical humility, CNN's Dr. Leana Wen and her recent 360, China lockdowns, declines in teen mental health, kids cloth masking, booster science, Dr. Ashish Jha, the nature of audience capture, the value of authenticity, imposter syndrome, and much more. As promised, here's our first in-person interview from 2020; you can find all our episodes here. Full transcript and video:…

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).

The VPZD Show is a English tech & science podcast from Drs. Vinay Prasad & Zubin Damania. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Drs. Vinay Prasad & Zubin Damania
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 1 hr 34 min
Latest episode: 9 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1596335407

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