2 chapters across the catalog
Adam Curry shares a conversation with a Nigerian man who claimed COVID-19 had little impact in his country because people were not afraid of it. They discuss the "nocebo effect," where fear itself can manifest physical illness. The segment also mentions recent bomb threats at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the nomination of a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
The segment defines the "nocebo effect"— the dark counterpart to the placebo effect—where negative expectations cause real physical symptoms. Examples include patients in clinical trials dropping out due to side effects they were merely warned about, and men developing erectile dysfunction after being told a drug might cause it. Ted Kapchuk of Harvard University suggests that the ritual of medical care and the trust in a caregiver are more influential than the medicine itself.
