Hold Me Back Podcast: Battling Misinformation, with Guest Dr. Alex Lickerman, M.D.

In this two-part episode, Ash and Aidan discuss the biggest threat to Gen-Z: the erosion of critical thinking due to the digital world. They debate what’s been called an “epidemic of cognitive contagion” with no end in sight. The boys explore the three biggest culprits to this epidemic: Motivated Reasoning, Tribalism, and the rampant spread of Misinformation. In Part 1, they welcome Alex Lickerman, M.D. – a renowned physician and author – to discuss why healthcare is particularly vulnerable to misinformation and what Gen Z can do to separate fact from fiction in a world of unlimited and unfiltered content. All in this week’s episode of Hold Me Back. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Show Notes
• Hold Me Back Summary

Battling Misinformation, with Guest Dr. Alex Lickerman, M.D.

In this two-part episode, Ash and Aidan discuss the biggest threat to Gen-Z: the erosion of critical thinking due to the digital world. They debate what’s been called an “epidemic of cognitive contagion” with no end in sight. The boys explore the three biggest culprits to this epidemic: Motivated Reasoning, Tribalism, and the rampant spread of Misinformation. In Part 1 they welcome Alex Lickerman, M.D., a renowned physician and author, to discuss why healthcare is particularly vulnerable to misinformation and what Gen Z can do to separate fact from fiction in a world of unlimited and unfiltered content. This episode covers everything from healthcare to social media. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What are Motivated Reasoning and Tribalism?
• Why is Alex good at getting people unstuck?
• How do you separate good studies from bad studies?
• Why is there so much misinformation out there?
• What chance does the average citizen have to remain unbiased?
• Why do credible people link to noncredible sources?
• How do we know what works and what doesn’t?
• Why is there controversy around vaccines?

Who was more convincing: Aidan or Ash? Vote at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy the show! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• Intro to Battling Misinformation
• [0:25] Welcome to Hold Me Back
• [0:30] Meet Aidan (Gen Z) & Ash (Gen X)
• [0:47] Boomers
• [0:57] Where did the topic of misinformation come from?
• [1:09] Internet
• [1:33] COVID-19
• [1:50] Cancel Culture
• [2:33] Data
• [2:39] “Why we believe alternative facts“
• [2:59] Fake News, Healthcare, Financial Fraud
• [3:38] What are Motivated Reasoning and Tribalism?
• [4:02] Confirmation Bias
• [4:22] Social Psychology, Clinical Psychology
• [4:37] Who is Dr. Alex Lickerman, M.D.?
• Interview with Dr. Alex Lickerman, M.D.
• [5:44] The University of Chicago
• [6:01] ImagineMD
• [6:11] The Ten Worlds: The New Psychology of Happiness by Alex Lickerman, M.D. and Ash ElDifrawi, Psy.D.
• [6:19] The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self by Alex Lickerman, M.D.
• [6:39] How did Ash and Alex meet?
• [7:11] Medical School (Med School)
• [7:23] Anxiety
• [8:47] House
• [8:51] Why is Alex good at getting people unstuck?
• [9:56] What is different about the way he approaches things?
• [11:38] Why is there so much misinformation out there?
• [12:00] Social Media
• [12:40] Has misinformation made it hard for Alex as a doctor?
• [13:27] Alternative Medicine
• [13:45] Pandora’s Box
• [13:52] How does Alex get patients to change their mind?
• [15:14] Why do credible people link to noncredible sources?
• [15:58] Facebook
• [16:55] How do you separate good studies from bad studies?
• [17:07] Hydroxychloroquine
• [18:50] Ending Medical Reversal: Improving Outcomes, Saving Lives by Vinayak K. Prasad, MD, MPH and Adam S. Cifu, MD
• [20:21] How are we supposed to trust certain findings at all?
• [22:00] What is the effectiveness of Vitamin C?
• [22:13] FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
• [22:27] Zinc Gluconate
• [22:47] Podcast
• [23:44] How do you treat claims of XX% better?
• [24:23] COVID-19 Vaccines
• [26:24] Aspirin
• [27:00] Media
• [27:12] What’s going on with Gluten?
• [27:30] Celiac Disease
• [28:27] How do people know if they should actually go gluten-free?
• [29:05] Creatine, Veganism
• [29:16] Why doesn’t Alex want to talk about weight loss?
• [29:58] What problems does he have with Alternative Medicine?
• [31:43] Placebo Effect
• [31:53] Chiropractors
• [32:48] Saline
• [32:56] Is Functional Medicine the same thing as Alternative Medicine?
• [34:01] Alzheimer’s
• [34:28] Are Functional Medicine doctors taking shortcuts or intentionally deceiving people?
• [36:32] What does Alex think about the arguments against vaccines?
• [37:08] Why is there controversy around vaccines?
• [37:21] Cognitive Bias
• [37:33] Autism
• [38:28] How do we create the right dialogue around vaccines?
• [38:42] Scientific Method
• [39:45] ImagineMD Blog
• [40:50] Anthony Fauci
• [41:45] Antibiotics for Pneumonia
• [42:01] Technology (Tech)
• [43:14] What chance does the average citizen have to remain unbiased?
• [43:32] Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• [45:42] Intuition
• [46:11] Why would the FDA approve a drug that does not work?
• [46:19] CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• [46:31] How do we know what works and what doesn’t?
• [47:13] YouTube
• [47:32] Physics
• [49:21] Richard Feynman
• [50:06] Is misinformation a threat to hold back Gen Z?
• [52:21] Thank you, Alex!
• Research: Misinformation
• [53:08] “The spread of true and false news online“
• [53:40] “False news spreads faster than truth online thanks to human nature“
• [55:18] Is fake news also spread by those who believe it’s real?
• [56:11] “You can’t handle the truth!“
• [56:22] “Does Telling Stories Really Make You 22 Times More Memorable?“
• [56:35] “Facts and stories: Great stories undermine strong facts“
• [57:51] Influencers
• [57:58] Wikipedia
• [59:01] TikTok
• [59:42] Locke & Hobbes
• You convinced me
• [1:00:12] What did Aidan convince Ash of?
• [1:01:42] What did Ash convince Aidan of?
• [1:03:45] Thank you for listening! Follow Hold Me Back on HoldMeBack.com
• [1:03:52] Who was more convincing: Aidan or Ash? Vote below

Thank you for listening to Hold Me Back. To hear more episodes, follow Hold Me Back at HoldMeBack.com.

WHAT IS HOLD ME BACK?

Gen X and Gen Z live together, but we occupy different worlds. As the generational gap widens and conventional wisdom on parenting and education fails, is it even possible to understand one another? In this unique son-and-father podcast, Aidan & Ash ElDifrawi hash out a new contract between generations, forcing them to violate comfort zones on today’s most charged topics: social media and screen time, bullying and loneliness, inequality and privilege, sex and drugs, education and etiquette, even politics, religion, and sports. All to uncover a path toward greater harmony and a hopeful future for the next generation.