Stand Up! with Pete Dominick 1544 Matt Kaplan + News & Clips
Feb 27, 2026
Matt Kaplan, science correspondent and author of I Told You So, explains why many brilliant researchers were sidelined. He tells stories from Galileo to mRNA pioneers. The conversation covers pandemic-era research pressures, paleontology’s clues about past climates, and how politics and ethics shape scientific careers.
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Scientific Dissent Is A Historical Pattern
- Scientific dissent and suppression are longstanding, not just modern social media phenomena.
- Matt Kaplan traced examples from pandemic-era immunology to Victorian and earlier scientists to show patterns repeating over centuries.
Washington Chose Inoculation To Save His Army
- George Washington defied Continental Congress and inoculated troops against smallpox to save his army.
- Washington followed physician William Shippen's advice and accepted ~1% inoculation mortality to avoid far larger battlefield losses.
Requiring Scientists To Be Media Savvy Backfires
- Expecting scientists to also be diplomats and media stars harms science.
- Kaplan argues brilliance alone should suffice and forcing media-savvy skills sidelines important ideas from less charismatic researchers.
