Bret Weinstein: Truth, Science, and Censorship in the Time of a Pandemic | Lex Fridman Podcast #194

The following is a conversation with Bret Weinstein, evolutionary biologist, author, co-host of the Dark Horse Podcast, and as he says, reluctant radical. Even though we've never met or spoken before this, we both felt like we've been friends for a long time. I don't agree on everything with Bret, but I'm sure as hell happy he exists in this weird and wonderful world of ours. Quick mention of our sponsors, Jordan Harbinger Show, ExpressVPN, Magic Spoon, and Four Sigmatic. Check them out in the description to support this podcast. As a side note, let me say a few words about COVID-19 and about science broadly. I think science is beautiful and powerful. It is the striving of the human mind to understand and to solve the problems of the world. But as an institution, it is susceptible to the flaws of human nature, to fear, to greed, power, and ego. 2020 is a story of all of these that has both scientific triumph and tragedy. We needed great leaders and we didn't get them. What we needed is leaders who communicate in an honest, transparent, and authentic way about the uncertainty of what we know and the large-scale scientific efforts to reduce that uncertainty and to develop solutions. I believe there are several candidates for solutions that could have all saved hundreds of billions of dollars and lessened or eliminated the suffering of millions of people. Let me mention five of the categories of solutions: masks, at-home testing, anonymized contact tracing, antiviral drugs, and vaccines. Within each of these categories, institutional leaders should have constantly asked and answered publicly, honestly, the following three questions. One, what data do we have on the solution and what studies are we running to get more and better data? Two, given the current data and uncertainty, how effective and how safe is the solution? Three, what is the timeline and cost involved with mass manufacture and distribution of the solution? In the service of these questions, no voices should have been silenced, no ideas left off the table. Open data, open science, open, honest scientific communication and debate was the way, not censorship. There are a lot of ideas out there that are bad, wrong, dangerous. But the moment we have the hubris to say we know which ideas those are is the moment we lose our ability to find the truth, to find solutions, the very things that make science beautiful and powerful in the face of all the dangers that threaten the well-being and the existence of humans on Earth. This conversation with Bret is less about the ideas we talk about. We agree on some, disagree on others. It is much more about the very freedom to talk, to think, to share ideas. This freedom is our only hope. Bret should never have been censored. I asked Bret to do this podcast to show solidarity and to show that I have hope for science and for humanity. This is the Lex Fridman Podcast, and here's my conversation with Bret Weinstein. What to you is beautiful about the study of biology? The science, the engineering, the philosophy of it.