Craig Spencer MD MPH

Remember Andrew Wakefield?
Here he is with his friend RFK Jr. in 2020.

Wakefield is the guy behind the fraudulent, retracted MMR–autism study. He lost his medical license for subjecting autistic children to unnecessary invasive procedures.

Now, with Kennedy in power, he’s getting a second act.

How emotions affect health care coverage decisions Where logic and reason fail us, emotion takes over — including in choosing health care coverage.

Sharing my latest article, published today in @statnews.com First Opinion

My co-author and I both lost our jobs and health insurance with #USAID this summer. Navigating the ACA marketplace taught us what millions face, & why behavioral & emotional science matters in healthcare access.
#HealthPolicy

Grateful to @gabbystern.bsky.social for joining us today to share insights about communication as a key infrastructure to support global health in a conversation moderated by @craigspencer.bsky.social

📣 Attention Brown University Community!

Join us on tomorrow @12PM for our Public Health in Practice Seminar.

@craigspencer.bsky.social will host @gabbystern.bsky.social for a conversation on health communication as essential infrastructure for global health

More: events.brown.edu/event/public...

I'm a physician who went to the anti-vaccine movement's biggest gathering. More of my colleagues should too A pro-vaccine physician went to the anti-vaccine movement's biggest gathering. He warns that public health must learn what it's up against.

Professor @craigspencer.bsky.social attended the Children’s Health Defense conference last weekend in Austin, Texas. Follow the link to read his sobering report on a movement he says is "exceptionally organized, disciplined, and determined."⤵️

Thank you for reading and sharing Geoff

I’m a physician who went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. More of my colleagues should too A pro-vaccine physician went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. He warns that public health must learn what it’s up against.

This write-up of the CHD conference by @craigspencer.bsky.social really lands for me. As someone who has spent some time in these same spaces, I think he's done a good job explaining what's going on:

www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...

I’m a physician who went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. More of my colleagues should too A pro-vaccine physician went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. He warns that public health must learn what it’s up against.

I'm a very pro-vaccine physician.

Last weekend, I went to the biggest gathering of anti-vaxxers.

More of my public health colleagues should've been there.

I explain why for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...

I’m a physician who went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. More of my colleagues should too A pro-vaccine physician went to the anti-vaccine movement’s biggest gathering. He warns that public health must learn what it’s up against.

Thoughtful piece here, in which @craigspencer.bsky.social shows he is not afraid to share a room with people with whom he disagrees.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/c...

YouTube video by PowerfulJRE Joe Rogan Experience #2408 - Bret Weinstein

And yes THAT Children's Health Defense

Also, to preempt the inevitable 'you shouldn't platform these people!' hand-waving, Bret Weinstein was on Rogan the same day he spoke with us

You may disagree with them (I certainly do!) but these folks already have a MASSIVE platform
youtu.be/gXbsq5nVmT0?...

Live from Children's Health Defense Part 1 of 3: A Conversation w Dr. Bret Weinstein, Dr. Pierre Kory and Dr. Craig Spencer Podcast Episode · Why Should I Trust You? · 11/09/2025 · 1h 16m

I was at the Children's Health Defense conference last weekend.

While there I sat down with Bret Weinstein, Pierre Kory, and @drmarkreports.bsky.social for a wide-ranging and respectful conversation.

We didn't agree on everything. But we need more of this.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

Election Day Special: Public Health Needs to Get Off the Mat & Join the Political Fight. A Conversation w Dr. Craig Spencer

🎙️ Public Health Needs to Get Off the Mat—Why It’s Time to Step Into the Political Fight

I joined the Why Should I Trust You? podcast for an 🇺🇸🗳️ Election Day special to talk about something we in public health often shy away from: politics.

Listen here:
open.spotify.com/episode/4Wvw...

Raising the Standard for Emergency Medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa Emergency conditions are responsible for half of all deaths globally, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries,1 where emergency medical systems remain severely underresourced. De...

Proud to coauthor this with my amazing friend and colleague, Dr. Tsion Firew.

All over Africa, quick fixes can save lives, but real progress in emergency care needs full systems—training, diagnostics, and sustainable funding.

Available at @jamanetworkopen.com.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

If you’ve read the book recently, you’d know that the topic of conversation at last night’s White House ‘Gatsby Party’ was probably very similar to what Fitzgerald wrote in 1925.

When Public Health Forgot How to Fight History shows that public health has never advanced by standing above politics—it’s advanced by wading into it.

I wrote about the long-standing tension between medicine and public health, and how history shows that for public health to be impactful, it must be MORE political, not less.

Imagine a lot of folks will disagree with this. Would love to hear your thoughts.

open.substack.com/pub/craigasp...

A thoughtful response to presidential malpractice. Revisiting following Trump’s recent reiteration.

When sycophancy and bias meet medicine Biased, eager-to-please models threaten health research replicability and trust.

In this wonderful new piece @amitchandramd.bsky.social & Luke Shors dive into how eager-to-please models and hidden bias are eroding trust in health research and care.

If you’re worried about how AI, medicine and accountability intersect — this one’s essential!

arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

The FDA Was Built in Outrage This is the story of Wiley’s Poison Squad, Sinclair’s Jungle, and the scandals that forced reform—and why we don't want to return to the bad old days.

The history of the FDA is fascinating and frightening.

I wrote a post on what we covered today in my Historical Determinants of Public Health class.

Read it if you’re interested in why Coca Cola exists, how we used to give kids cocaine and morphine, and the like.
open.substack.com/pub/craigasp...

Public Health Professor Warns Trump’s ‘Eugenics’ Policy Echoes Nazism Eminent ER doctor says Trump’s shutdown push defies the law.

An eminent ER doctor says Trump’s shutdown talk mirrors “eugenics.”

@craigspencer.bsky.social
#medsky

From Quarantine Islands to QR Codes: How Public Health Has Managed Mobility in Outbreaks The politics of borders, bodies, and the enduring illusion of control

I teach a class on the history of public health. After every class, I write a summary of what we discuss. Thought I'd start sharing some of those reflections.

Here's the first on the long history of quarantine, confinement, and travel restrictions.

craigaspencer.substack.com/p/from-quara...

Eugenics, Statistics, and AI: From Past to Present Dr. Craig Spencer (Brown University SPH) looks back at the history of eugenics in medicine to explore how lessons from the past can teach us about ...

I'm delighted to host @craigspencer.bsky.social at the University of Connecticut next week for a conversation about "Eugenics, Statistics, and AI: From Past to Present."
October 7th, 12:30pm. Join us if you're in northeastern CT!
events.uconn.edu/human-rights...

“.. The President even said his recommendations were ‘based on what I feel.’ It was reckless guidance from a man with no medical training, delivered from the nation’s most powerful podium.”

@craigspencer.bsky.social
time.com/7319680/crai...

Trump Is Breaking Americans’ Trust in Doctors "The President riffed on claims so easily disproven that they bordered on absurd," writes Dr. Craig Spencer.

After yesterday’s rambling press conference on acetaminophen and autism, I wrote for TIME about the disastrous medical guidance offered by the president and why this was even worse than the ‘inject bleach’ press conference during Covid

OpEd and accompanying video interview👇
time.com/7319680/crai...

Autism, vaccines and paracetamol –how Trump and RFK created a policy from conspiracy As Donald Trump uses the platform of the presidency to promote unproven ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism without giving new evidence, Alex Hannaford looks at the rise of Robert F Kennedy Jr’s...

“This is the worst ‘health’ press conference I maybe have ever seen. And I watched every one during Covid.” — @craigspencer.bsky.social

After RFK Jr & Trump claimed #Tylenol in pregnancy and #vaccines raise autism risk without evidence, doctors warn the MAHA agenda is eroding public health.

More ⤵️

A gaggle of older men all nodding when the President tells pregnant women they ‘just gotta tough it out’ and ‘endure the pain’.

The Trump Administration Will Automate Health Inequities By gatekeeping health data, the AI Action Plan risks hardwiring bias into the future of American medicine.

Doctor @craigspencer.bsky.social‬ argues that the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan amounts to one of its most consequential health policies, with an approach to data and research that risks hardwiring bias into American medicine. www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

An emergency room doctor describes what the changes at the CDC could mean for public health The Trump Administration has made significant changes to the departments in charge of public health. Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency medicine physician who teaches public health policy at Brown University, discusses the impact he expects on the health o...

LISTEN: Professor @craigspencer.bsky.social joined @npr.org to discuss the recent upheaval at the CDC.⤵️

"Right now, whether you're Democrats, Republicans, left, right, whatever it is, we have an agency where it's really hard to trust the recommendations that are coming out."

CDC officials who resigned in protest describe embrace of anti-science, anti-vaccine ideology under RFK Jr. - The Boston Globe The three former CDC officials described an abandonment of science in favor of anti-vaccine, anti-science ideology under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As three top CDC officials resigned last week, Professor @craigspencer.bsky.social says there is no compensating for the vast experience lost: “We are dramatically less able to respond."