Many people turn to the internet for medical advice. But there’s a lot of misinformation out there. To help you think through the fog, over the next two weeks we’re bringing you two conversations about health, medicine, evidence and trust in the digital age. In the first episode, we diagnose the problem: how online influencers and AI diagnoses are turning people away from evidence-based advice.

Guests and hosts:

• Deborah Cohen, author of “Bad Influence”
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Wellness trends
• Healthcare technology
• Artificial intelligence

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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A rare disease spreading on a cruise ship triggered memories of covid-19. But while people worried about hantavirus cases reaching their shores, a much larger outbreak of Ebola took hold in central Africa. The two outbreaks have come in the wake of a series of worrying developments for international public health agencies: America has left the World Health Organisation and the country has also gutted its spending on international aid. How should pathogenic threats be handled in this post-aid era?

Guests and hosts:

• Slavea Chankova, The Economist’s health-care correspondent
• Nicole Tischler of Fundación Ciencia & Vida, Chile
• Tom Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch
• Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Andes hantavirus
• Bundibugyo Ebolavirus
• Pandemic preparedness

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.

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Not long ago, AI models struggled with basic arithmetic. Now, they’re solving complex mathematical conjectures. But researchers want to go further. They think AI could help them organise the mathematical literature into a common language—thereby finding connections between hitherto-disparate fields and, perhaps, even making completely new discoveries in one of the most fundamental areas of human inquiry.

Guests and hosts:

• Anjani Trivedi, The Economist’s global business correspondent
• Terence Tao of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Patrick Shafto of America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Maryna Viazovska of L'École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Mathematics
• Large language models
• Autoformalisation

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.

For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.