Scott Atlas: Restoring Trust After COVID

Correction on the slide at 46:21, "NIH sent directly or indirectly over $2M to Wuhan labs for dangerous coronavirus research during a period when that research was forbidden in the United States"
About the lecture
Science, academia, and public health are now in crisis, exposed during the pandemic as a fundamental lack of critical thinking, an overt blockage of the free exchange of ideas on campus, and a disappearance of our moral and ethical compass, so pervasive that we have rightfully lost trust in most of our institutions and leaders, trust that is essential to the function of any diverse, heterogeneous society. And today, the free exchange of ideas, the essential to finding truth, fundamental to any democracy and truly free society, is under threat. This presentation reviews what was known since the early days of the pandemic, the results of the failed management under two administrations, and the lessons learned to prevent this from happening again.
About the speaker
Scott W. Atlas, MD is the Robert Wesson Senior Fellow in health policy at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He investigates the impact of government and the private sector on access, quality, and pricing in health care, trends in health care innovation, and key economic and civil liberties issues related to health policies. He is a frequent policy advisor to policymakers in the United States and other countries. He has served as senior advisor for health policy to several candidates for President, members of the US Congress, and health agencies. From August through November, 2020, he served as Special Advisor to the President and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Before his policy appointment at Hoover Institution, he was Professor and Chief of Neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center for 14 years and in academic medicine for 25 years. Dr. Atlas is the author of more than 100 peer‐reviewed scientific publications, 200 policy pieces, and numerous books, including “A Plague Upon Our House: My Fight at the Trump White House to Stop COVID from Destroying America” (Post Hill Press), "In Excellent Health: Setting the Record Straight On America’s Health Care" (Hoover Press), and "Restoring Quality Health Care: A Six‐Point Plan for Comprehensive Reform at Lower Cost" (Hoover Press). He is also the editor of "Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spine", the leading textbook in the field, now in its 5th edition.
Dr. Atlas has received many awards from leading institutions and societies in recognition of his leadership in policy and medicine, including the 2022 Encounter Prize for Advancing American Ideals, explained as follows: “Standing up to injustice and facing down the madding crowd of conformity requires enormous patience, equilibrium, insight, and courage-the most important virtue, Aristotle observed, because without it none of the other virtues can flourish. The Encounter Prize for Advancing American Ideals pays tribute to individuals who effectively embody this rare combination of virtues in their lives and work;” the 2021 Freedom Leadership Award, Hillsdale College’s highest honor, “in recognition of his dedication to individual freedom and the free society,” the 2021 Conservative Partnership Institute Freedom Fighter of the Year Award, CPI’s highest honor, "bestowed upon an individual for their courage and dedication to truth and liberty" and the 2011 Alumni Achievement Award, the highest career achievement honor for a distinguished alumnus from the University of Illinois in Urbana‐Champaign. In the private sector, Atlas is a frequent advisor to start‐up entrepreneurs and companies in life sciences and medical technology. He received his MD degree from the University of Chicago School of Medicine.
This event was moderated by Todd Zwyicki, VSCTP fall 2023.