Debunking Healthcare's Biggest Myths with Zach Weinberg and Derek Thompson
The Logan Bartlett Show
May 13, 2025
The host and guests argue that slashing NIH and NSF budgets to punish perceived institutional failures is a catastrophic error. They explain that government funding is essential for basic biological research—which cannot be patented—and that current budget cuts threaten the foundation of future medical breakthroughs, regardless of political grievances.
Key insight: The guests highlight that the NIH does not fund drug discovery, but rather the fundamental biology research that makes drug discovery possible; because biology cannot be patented, private markets will never fund this foundational work.
