Charles Piller

I mentioned earlier that, for example, the University of Minnesota was charged with examining the possible corruption of this important study in Alzheimer's research.

Because the university was very slow in doing their work, this study remained on the record influencing thinking for many years longer than it needed to be.

What I would say and what I have been writing about in my book,

is the importance for these scientific institutions to up their games, to do better at investigating, correcting, and enforcing the importance of accuracy and truthfulness in the scientific record.

And I say this because I have great faith that these institutions have the ability to do better and reform themselves, but

We as citizens and consumers of science and journalists and everyone, we have standing to insist that they do better.

Now, this is different from insisting that we defund them or cause them to be redirected into, in my opinion, sometimes incorrect areas.

I don't subscribe to the idea that the way to correct these institutions is to completely, in a way,

challenge everything about them and destroy them in a way that I think to some degree that effort has been made by people in Washington of late.

But what I do believe is that we should not stand for laziness and inconsistent enforcement of rules and an unwillingness to challenge conventional wisdom in ways that is vital to improving the scientific record.

Well, unfortunately, John, I can't talk about that because all of my investigations are under wraps until I'm much farther along in the process.

But stay tuned.

We're going to have some stuff in the magazine pretty soon that I think will be of interest to your listeners.

The best place is really to go to my website, charlespiller.com.

And up there, you can read more about my book, Doctored.

And you can also see links to my stories in Science Magazine, the New York Times, and in other locations.

And I think if you're interested in any aspect of my work, that's a terrific starting point.

Well, for me, it means you have to be a little obsessive and you have to be deeply concerned about doing something beneficial for the human condition.

That's where, for me, it's central to my identity.

But I have to say that I also feel that for me to explore my passion most effectively is that I...