Working out what might be going wrong inside your gut can involve invasive tests. What if you could swallow a pill to monitor your health instead? Engineers are developing miniaturised, ingestible electronics to diagnose, monitor—and even treat—medical conditions. In the future, these electronics could even be made entirely from food.

Guests and hosts:

• Giovanni Traverso of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• David Adam, a journalist for The Economist
• Reza Ghodssi of the University of Maryland
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Medical technology
• Targeted drug delivery

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.

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There’s a lot of medical misinformation online. How do you know who, or what, to trust? To help you think through the fog, we’re bringing you two conversations on health, medicine, evidence and trust in the digital age. In this second episode, we discuss how scientists build consensus and what that can teach the rest of us about navigating an era of confusing, social-media-driven health advice.

Guests and hosts:

• Helen Pearson, author of “Beyond Belief” and a senior editor at Nature
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Evidence-based medicine
• Clinical trials
• Artificial intelligence

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.

For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Many people turn to the internet for medical advice. But there’s a lot of misinformation out there. To help you think through the fog, over the next two weeks we’re bringing you two conversations about health, medicine, evidence and trust in the digital age. In the first episode, we diagnose the problem: how online influencers and AI diagnoses are turning people away from evidence-based advice.

Guests and hosts:

• Deborah Cohen, author of “Bad Influence”
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Wellness trends
• Healthcare technology
• Artificial intelligence

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.

For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.