The deep distrust between public health and the Make America Healthy Again movement may seem impossible to heal. But the podcast “Why Should I Trust You?” is trying to do just that by facilitating conversation between people who often view each others as enemies.
Brinda Adhikari and Tom W. Johnson launched “Why Should I Trust You?” in 2025. Since then, they’ve hosted big names from MAHA, the Trump administration, the anti-vaccine movement, and traditional health. They also bring on everyday Americans trying to keep their families healthy while navigating a confusing information ecosystem. “Everyone, when they come on the show, no matter what their quote unquote, expertise, they’re all equals. Everyone gets time to speak,” Adhikari said.
On this episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” I spoke with Adhikari and Johnson about their show’s goals and the criticism they’ve received from public health and MAHA alike.
“We got a lot of, ‘hey, you’re platforming this person.’ And the funny thing is we get it from both sides,” Johnson said. “Sometimes it’s MAHA saying, ‘Hey, you’re platforming this public health person.’ And others in public health sometimes say, ‘Hey, you’re platforming the supporter of MAHA or this leader of MAHA.’ We don’t think of it that way. We look at this as an opportunity to bring sides together and to talk.”
In addition to listening to the interview, you can read Tom and Brinda’s First Opinion essay about their goals for “Why Should I Trust You?” on STAT as well as Craig Spencer’s piece about his time at the Children’s Health Defense Conference.
Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday.
