Opinion: Our podcast ‘Why Should I Trust You?’ connects MAHA and public health. Here’s what we’ve learned

STAT January 26, 2026
Tom W. Johnson, Brinda Adhikari

Disengagement doesn’t weaken mistrust — it deepens it

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s allies at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upended the childhood vaccine schedule, public health leaders reacted with alarm, warning that the change would sow confusion, undermine trust in vaccines, and put children at risk.

For many in public health, this moment felt like the final straw, proof that the Make America Healthy Again movement is dangerous, unserious, and must be fought head-on or ignored altogether. That instinct is understandable. It is also wrong.

Last year, we launched the podcast “Why Should I Trust You?” We’re both veteran journalists, and we work alongside a virologist and a skin cancer surgeon to understand the breakdown in trust...

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