Cremieux on FDA Reform, Fake Data, and the Columbia Admissions Hack

Send us Fan MailEpisode SummaryDrs. Anish Koka and Anthony DiGiorgio sit down with independent science writer Cremieux, the pseudonymous Substack author known for auditing primary data and calling out flawed research. The conversation ranges from FDA drug approval reform (Cremieux proposes a two-pathway system separating safety approval from insurer-facing efficacy approval), the divide between well-evidenced GLP-1s and unregulated peptides like BPC-157, and the HRT black-box warning controversy, to the Columbia and NYU admissions data leaks that made national news and implicated NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani. The back half digs into research methodology: why observational studies rarely replicate RCT findings, how Cremieux debunked a widely-cited Jonathan Haidt social media/cognition study, why the "administrator growth" chart doctors love to cite is likely exaggerated, and how publication bias correction methods work.Chapter Markers00:00 Introduction and guest background02:00 Why the pseudonym "Cremieux"03:11 How he got into primary data analysis and writing04:46 FDA drug approval reform — a two-pathway proposal05:57 The peptide market: GLP-1s vs. unproven peptides like BPC-15709:39 Should drug authority come from the FDA or "bubble up" from trusted voices?11:25 Regulatory capture and ideas for FDA reform16:10 HRT, the black box warning, and communicating risk to patients21:40 Decentralizing medical decision-making22:45 DEI in medicine and the Columbia/NYU admissions data leak34:28 Proving discrimination: causal inference standards for university admissions36:42 Busting myths from observational studies with multiverse analysis40:29 Debunking the Jonathan Haidt social media/cognition study46:46 Does the US healthcare system explain lower life expectancy?49:56 Is the administrator-to-physician growth chart accurate?54:22 How publication bias correction methods workCo-Host Handles@anish_koka and @drdigiorgioShow Handle@drsloungepodSubscribe LinksSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/44vw8eirsKKnjgNIrdDvrRApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-doctors-lounge/id1832097658YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDoctorsLoungePodMr. Jordan Lasker X Handle / SubstackX handle: https://x.com/cremieuxrecueilSubstack: https://substack.com/@cremieux🔗 Connect with the Hosts:• Dutch Rojas on X• Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio on X• Dr. Anish Koka on X• Dr. Dan Choi on X• Dr. Sanat Dixit on X