The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for protecting the health of the American people. But over the past year, it has taken several steps that critics say undermine that very objective. In today’s episode of Science Quickly, we take a close look at the man at the center of those actions—Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—who’s spent several years sowing confusion over vaccines and propping up fringe health theories. His beliefs, some critics say, echo “soft eugenics.” SciAm senior editor Dan Vergano, Ars Technica senior health reporter Beth Mole and historian Robert Johnston join host Kendra Pierre-Louis to unpack RFK, Jr.’s ideology and its repercussions on Americans’ health.

Recommended Reading:

<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-year-of-rfk-jr-has-changed-american-science/">How a year of RFK, Jr., has changed American science</a>

<a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/04/rfk-jr-s-anti-vaccine-stance-is-rooted-in-a-disbelief-in-germ-theory/">“RFK Jr. rejects cornerstone of health science: Germ theory,” by Beth Mole, in Ars Technica. Published online April 30, 2025</a>

E-mail us at <a href="mailto:sciencequickly@sciam.com">sciencequickly@sciam.com</a> if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/?utm_source=promotion&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may24-marketing2024_subscribetext&utm_term=LP_subscribe_v1_s1_podcast">subscribe</a> to Scientific American and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/account/email-preferences/?utm_source=promotion&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may24-marketing2024_signuptext&utm_term=LP_signup_v1_s1_podcast">sign up</a> for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.
Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

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