Book · 2025 · Health & Fitness
Doctored
Fraud, Arrogance and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimers
Why people recommend it
Doctored by Charles Piller investigates fraud, arrogance, and tragedy within the scientific and medical quest to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. On the podcast Freakonomics Radio, host Stephen Dubner discussed and recommended the book during an episode titled 671. Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer’s Disease?, which was released on April 17, 2026. Toward the end of the episode, Dubner explicitly recommended Charles Piller's work to the listeners while addressing the stagnant progress in Alzheimer's research. He stated the full title of the book for the audience, identifying it as Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's. The mention served to direct listeners toward a deeper, investigative look into the institutional failures, controversies, and complex challenges that have hindered meaningful medical breakthroughs in treating the devastating neurodegenerative disease over the course of decades of scientific research.
Who recommended it
- Stephen Dubner Recommended
Stephen Dubner — 2 mentions
“The full title of Piller's book is Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's.”
“The book that Charles Piller wrote is called Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's.”
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“My name is Charles Piller. I am an investigative journalist with Science Magazine and author of the book Doctored.”
“This is detailed in my book and also in the article that I wrote about it. And it was, I think, not that surprising in a way.”