Science News: Pharma Corruption, Dangers of Antidepressants, And More

In this 30-minute podcast, Peter Simons reports on the latest scientific articles in psychiatry. The goal is to provide more detail than is usually found in conventional research news and to help listeners understand how to interpret the findings.

Articles covered in this podcast include:

• How the mental health app Cerebral is facing accusations of dangerous and unethical practices;
• How Biogen withdrew its European application for failed Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab;
• How pharma company Cassava was the subject of a New York Times exposé on its Alzheimer’s research and outcome data;
• How social media influencers are the new pharma marketers;
• Researchers document how psychiatric textbooks and reviews endorsed the chemical imbalance myth;
• A study finding that antidepressants don’t improve quality of life;
• A study on antidepressants’ dangerous effects on the fetus if taken during pregnancy;
• A paper explaining the difference between antidepressant withdrawal and relapse;
• A paper on the dangers of benzodiazepine withdrawal;
• A study finding that a sense of meaningfulness in life protects against mental distress; and
• A paper by Joanna Moncrieff on the ties between the commodified mental health system and neoliberal capitalism.