When we began The Free Press, back in the censorious early days of this decade, there were plenty of reasonable things people were simply forbidden from saying. Perhaps that was never truer than during Covid.
As we’ve learned more about the origins of the pandemic and about the harm caused by public health authorities who refused to allow dissent, plenty of people want to memory-hole that time—and the role they played in shutting down reasonable debate. But we can’t forget it.
That’s because—and allow me to be immodest for a moment—The Free Press put together an extraordinary group of expert contributors who broke with the going consensus. These people put their reputations and their careers on the line to ask questions that needed to be asked.
Now they are getting a chance to put their ideas into practice.
This week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that Dr. Vinay Prasad is going to head up its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. That means Prasad, a Free Press contributor, will be in charge of (among other things) overseeing America’s vaccines. (Here’s where you can find his work for us, including his op-ed on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)
Prasad’s boss is another Free Press contributor, FDA chief Dr. Marty Makary, one of our first writers. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a recent Honestly guest and the new head of the National Institutes of Health, has likewise been published several times in these pages. And the nominee for surgeon general of the United States is Dr. Casey Means, whose essay for us, “I’m a Doctor. You Shouldn’t Always Trust Us,” was one of the most-read pieces we published last year. (You can also listen to her on Honestly discussing the obesity crisis.)
We’re going to continue covering this administration without fear or favor. (ICYMI: Please read Gabe Kaminsky’s story from this week on how MAGA lobbyists are getting rich in the still-undrained swamp.) In Trump World, the smart money is on the bet that these scientists and doctors will be stymied. But in a Washington full of charlatans and hucksters, they are a rare breed: serious people.
Now let’s get to some of my favorite Free Press stories from this week.