QED rewatch: Much Ado About Nothing: Why is Science Obsessed with the Placebo Effect? (2023)

In 2001, the New England Journal published ‘Is the Placebo Powerless?’, a systematic review which found that the supposedly powerful effect of placebo administration could not be distinguished from bias. Two decades later, the ‘powerful placebo’ remains the darling of scientists and science communicators, who continue to extoll its amazing benefits with breathless excitement. What is it about the placebo effect which so entrances doctors and researchers? Why does it invite such sloppy methodological thinking? And what can placebo effect researchers learn from parapsychologists?

Featuring Professor Chris French, Aaron Rabinowitz, Mike Hall, and Catherine de Jong with chair Rick Owen.

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