Jocelyn Kaiser

Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Versus. We are busily working on new episodes for our next season, which kicks off in March. We've got some awesome episodes coming up on ADHD and squirting. But before the fun games and waterworks, we just really wanted to update you on what was going on with science in the US right now.

Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Versus. We are busily working on new episodes for our next season, which kicks off in March. We've got some awesome episodes coming up on ADHD and squirting. But before the fun games and waterworks, we just really wanted to update you on what was going on with science in the US right now.

So Trump has said that he's trying to cut government spending. And last year, the U.S. federal government deficit was $1.8 trillion. But still, scientists say that what is happening right now is unprecedented and insane. They're telling us that it's scary. One person told us that they've been crying every day.

So Trump has said that he's trying to cut government spending. And last year, the U.S. federal government deficit was $1.8 trillion. But still, scientists say that what is happening right now is unprecedented and insane. They're telling us that it's scary. One person told us that they've been crying every day.

And to be honest with you, while following this attack on science, I've been crying too.

And to be honest with you, while following this attack on science, I've been crying too.

This is Jocelyn Kaiser, a reporter for Science magazine. We talked about how in the past few weeks, thousands of federal websites have had information pulled from them. Thousands of people at agencies like the CDC, National Institutes of Health and the EPA have been fired. Clinical trials, really important clinical trials, have been halted.

This is Jocelyn Kaiser, a reporter for Science magazine. We talked about how in the past few weeks, thousands of federal websites have had information pulled from them. Thousands of people at agencies like the CDC, National Institutes of Health and the EPA have been fired. Clinical trials, really important clinical trials, have been halted.

Funding for research was stopped and then possibly restarted. There's just a lot of confusion. Jocelyn has been a journalist for over 30 years, and she told me that the changes she's seen since Trump became president are startling.

Funding for research was stopped and then possibly restarted. There's just a lot of confusion. Jocelyn has been a journalist for over 30 years, and she told me that the changes she's seen since Trump became president are startling.

Headlines are screaming that Trump is waging an assault on science that will make Americans dumber and sicker. So after the break, what is actually happening right now? And how bad is this? Welcome back today on the show, the Trump administration's so-called war on science.

Headlines are screaming that Trump is waging an assault on science that will make Americans dumber and sicker. So after the break, what is actually happening right now? And how bad is this? Welcome back today on the show, the Trump administration's so-called war on science.

I talked about what was happening with Max Kozlov, who's a science journalist at Nature, focusing on biomedical research and US policy. And Nature, if you don't know, is one of the most prestigious science journals in the world. Max and the team at Nature have been tracking what's been going on since Trump became president very closely.

I talked about what was happening with Max Kozlov, who's a science journalist at Nature, focusing on biomedical research and US policy. And Nature, if you don't know, is one of the most prestigious science journals in the world. Max and the team at Nature have been tracking what's been going on since Trump became president very closely.

Now, when describing basically what's happening to science in the US right now, I'm hearing academics use words like unprecedented, scary. How would you explain the current situation?

Now, when describing basically what's happening to science in the US right now, I'm hearing academics use words like unprecedented, scary. How would you explain the current situation?

And so let's talk about the government websites, because in some cases, entire web pages have been taken down. So what is going on?

And so let's talk about the government websites, because in some cases, entire web pages have been taken down. So what is going on?

Ironically, something liberal. What?

Ironically, something liberal. What?