Unbiased Science Podcast

Andrea C. Love, Ph.D. and Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP

Unbiased Science Podcast is a project by Vital Statistics Consulting and Unbiased Science Institute founded in 2020 by immunologist Andrea C. Love and public health scientist Jessica B. Steier. Andrea C. Love left the podcast in early 2024. Neurobiologist Dr. Sarah Scheinman joined Jessica B. Steier as a co-host shortly following Love's departure.

The stated goal of the podcast is "...to dispel misinformation and misconceptions across an array of science and public health topics (e.g., vaccines, GMOs, fad diets, supplements)." The Podcast also shares infographics on Instagram and Facebook about numerous scientific topics including Covid-19, vaccines, medicine, GMO technology, pesticides, agriculture, and nutrition. The website describes the podcast as, "a trusted source of no nonsense, just science for people around the globe."

Paid Partnerships and Advertising Content

The Unbiased Science Podcast often shares advertising content through paid partnerships with sponsors including the brands Yes! Apples, a produce distributor, Welly, an over the counter medicine and supplement company, Know MSG (Ajinomoto Group), and Bobbie Labs, the research arm of infant formula company Bobbie. Steier is listed as an advisor to Bobbie Labs. The Podcast has also shared paid partnership content from Tampax,3M and Proctor & Gamble.

The Podcast has received criticism for their sponsored posts, and responded to it on their social media. "At least a dozen times a day, we are told that we should rename our page, "Biased Science" by folks who feel we are only telling "one side of the story."...There will always be total transparency. If we are receiving money for the creation of content, we will label our posts accordingly." The Federal Trade Commission writes of compliance with advertising, "If you endorse a product through social media, your endorsement message should make it obvious when you have a relationship (“material connection”) with the brand. A “material connection” to the brand includes a personal, family, or employment relationship or a financial relationship – such as the brand paying you or giving you free or discounted products or services."

Collaborators and Funders

The Podcast team created a vaccine eligibility calculator in 2023 through a partnership with COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project (CVEEP), an organization funded by Pfizer, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis. CVEEP is led by the nonprofits Alliance for Aging Research, Healthy Women, and National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc., groups that are largely funded by and partnered with the pharmaceutical industry. The Podcast has partnered with CVEEP for sponsored ads promoting antiviral drugs like Paxlovid and Tamiflu, and vaccines for Covid19 and influenza.

Funding for the Podcast's nonprofit parent organization, Unbiased Science Institute has come through grants from The Moderna Charitable Foundation and CSL Seqirus.

Influence of funding and resulting bias is well-documented. Fabbri et. al. wrote in the American Journal of Public Health in 2018 that, "Bias in the research agenda can produce results that support only certain policy responses to tackle pressing public health problems, which in turn affect the population’s health."

Defense of Pesticides, Chemical Products and Food Additives

The Podcast has described the herbicide glyphosate as "safe for use," declared the polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE in Teflon to be "non-toxic to humans" called the Environmental Working Group Dirty Dozen list of produce with the most and least pesticide residues "a fear-based marketing ploy" claim GMOs are "safe" "nutritious" and "beneficial to consumers, producers and the environment" and call hydrogenated oil "a safe dietary fat."

The Podcast recorded two episodes on organic food and farming in December 2022 and January 2023 where they discuss organic pesticides and claim they are more harmful than synthetic pesticides used in chemical farming, and that they are not subject to the same testing or regulations as synthetic. Some of the pesticides they highlight, like nicotine sulfate and rotenone, are not allowed to be used on USDA certified organic farms. The United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticides allowed in the USDA National Organic Program.

Andrea C. Love has defended aspartame as "safe," said in an interview that she has "at least one diet soda a day," and the Podcast has posted on Instagram that "Aspartame does not post a health risk to humans, cancer or otherwise, especially at levels we would consume." She and Steier have been openly critical of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's ranking of the chemical as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" in 2023.

Jessica B. Steier has made Unbiased Science Podcast a paid promotional partner with global food company Know MSG (Ajinomoto Group).

Industry Speaking Engagements

Unbiased Science co-hosts Andrea C. Love and Jessica B. Steier were keynote speakers at the 2023 CropLife America Annual Meeting in September, 2023. The title of their talk was, "Susceptibility to Misinformation About the Agricultural Industry: Lessons from Unbiased Science" in which they described "patterns observed among members of the public who fall prey to misinformation related to agriculture and food science, including gaps in science literacy, logical fallacies, and chemophobia." They discussed "...several tactics and methods utilized in their science communication efforts in order to overcome these biases...and...provide a framework for how scientists, organizations, and media outlets can work together to proactively dispel common misconceptions related to agricultural science and improve health literacy."

Steier and Love spoke at the Flavor & Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) 2023 Fall Symposium presented by the Consumer Product Companies Committee. The event was sponsored by food and beverage manufacturers Pepsico and The Coca-Cola Company.

Podcast Staff

• Executive Producer Montana Mullins
• Scientific Communications Specialist Ilze Abersone
• Senior Editor Ben Siegal

Articles and Resources

• Andrea C. Love
• Jessica B. Steier
• Vital Statistics Consulting
• Unbiased Science Institute
• 3M
• Pfizer
• Proctor & Gamble
• American Lyme Disease Foundation
• We Love GMOs and Vaccines
• Genetic Literacy Project