When you hear the word “placebo”, you might think “sugar pill” or “fake medicine”. When a new drug is tested in clinical trials, it has to outperform the placebo. What you may not know is that this is extremely hard to do! Not because the drugs do nothing, but because our brain, under the right circumstances, for the right people, can do some pretty amazing things. So, that’s the topic of our podcast today. What is the mysterious power of the placebo effect? How does it work? Is this something we can actively tap in our own lives? And what are its limits? My guest is Erik Vance, a science journalist and author of the book, Suggestible You.
