The Anti-Vaccine Movement

2025-09-25 · 49 min · 9 entities

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mentioned Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Documentary concept

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evidence rules-v5
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discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Documentary concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Documentary

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hosted by NPR company

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mentioned History website

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discusses History website

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mentioned Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver book

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author of Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver

Episode description as stored

The alleged link between vaccines and autism is back in the news this week, being regularly speculated on by both President Trump and Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The claim has been repeatedly disproven: there is no evidence that vaccines and autism are related. But the myth is powerful. In this episode: the roots of the modern anti-vaccine movement, and of the fears that still fuel it – from a botched polio vaccine, to the discredited autism study, to today. This episode originally published in February 2025. Guests: Paul Offit , director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Elena Conis , historian of medicine and public health and a professor in journalism and history at the University of California, Berkeley Arthur Allen , senior correspondent for nonprofit KFF Health News and author of Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy