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ProPublica
Investigative reporter for ProPublica; former staff writer for Sports Illustrated and author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance
PROFILE
David Epstein
Guest
FROM David Epstein
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
If medical treatments don’t work, why do doctors keep using them? Doctors still prescribe certain drugs and medical treatments, despite evidence saying they shouldn’t. An investigation explains why the medical establishment is sometimes wedded to outdated thinking.
To the Point
Did WADA intentionally sabotage Russian doping probe? On the eve of the Summer Olympics in Rio, Russia claims 270 of its athletes have been cleared for competition. For the man who helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping, that's a source of frustration. Jack Robertson, former investigator for the World Anti-Doping Agency, says WADA repeatedly thwarted his efforts to clean up the Games. He was interviewed extensively by David Epstein of the investigative news group ProPublica .
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
DEA Drug War The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has had its ups and downs over the last several decades. David Epstein of ProPublica takes us behind the scenes of the drug war in Mexico with a dangerous cartel. That cartel is the Arellano Felix Organization, or AFO. We discuss how the major players in the cartel rose to prominence and how the DEA took down the AFO in 2005.
To the Point
Star Athletes: Good Genes or Good Training? Are great athletes born with it? When it comes to professional athletes -- a Michael Jordan or a Serena Williams -- most of us assume they are born with a rare talent. That, yes, they train really hard. But there's something innate that separates them from you and me. David Epstein set out to find out if that's true scientifically. He's a correspondent for Sports Illustrated and author of the new book, The Sports Gene : Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.
To the Point
Runner Must Undergo Gender Testing Last night in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, an 18-year-old runner from a South African village received a gold medal for the 800-meter dash. But today, doctors are looking at test results to determine if Caster Semenya has too many male characteristics to compete as a woman. Some of Semenya's competitors say they can tell she's not really a woman just by looking. In most cases that's probably true, but medical experts say that for one percent of the population it's just not that easy. David Epstein is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated .
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To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.