Episode 87: Does Tylenol cause autism?

Episode 87: Does Tylenol cause autism?

Author: Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie October 14, 2025 Duration: 1:06:43
Science Fictions
ScienceTechnology

You requested; we delivered. Lots of Science Fictions listeners have asked us to take a look into Donald Trump and RFK, Jr.’s recent claims about Tylenol (that is, paracetamol or acetaminophen—all the same thing). Does it cause autism?

It turns out there’s more to this than you might’ve thought—regardless of all the recent hype, a lot of very reputable scientists take the idea seriously. But should they? In this emergency podcast, we go through all the relevant studies.

The Science Fictions podcast is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. In the ad this week we mentioned “The Death Rays that Guard Life”, an article from Issue 20 of the magazine about far-UVC light and how—with a lot more research—it might be the next big thing for reducing the spread of germs in hospitals and classrooms. Find that and many other articles and podcasts at worksinprogress.co.

Show notes

* The FDA’s September 2025 announcement on Tylenol and autism

* The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care announcement the same day

* “The phrase ‘no evidence’ is a read flag for bad science communication”, by Scott Alexander

* 2003 theoretical paper with speculation about paracetamol and neurodevelopmental disorders

* 2013 sibling control study in the International Journal of Epidemiology

* “Ecological” study in Environmental Health from 2013 about circumcision rates, paracetamol, and autism

* 2015 Danish seven-year follow-up study

* 2019 cord blood study in JAMA Psychiatry

* 2021 “consensus statement” on paracetamol and neurodevelopment

* 2025 Japanese sibling-control study

* 2024 very large Swedish sibling-control study

* Study that sparked the current debate: the “Navigation Guide” review from Environmental Health

* Description of what “Navigation Guide” is

* STAT News on the evidence for a paracetamol-autism link; and on the controversy about the Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health

* White House statement defending the existence of the link

* BMJ article summing up the controversy

Credits

The Science Fictions podcast is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

Every week, Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie pull apart the biggest arguments and most confusing claims making headlines. Science Fictions isn't just about celebrating breakthroughs; it's a necessary dive into the messy, contested, and often surprising realities of how science actually works. You'll hear them unpack heated debates, examine questionable studies, and explore why even solid research can sometimes lead to public confusion. This podcast serves as a guide through the noise, separating compelling evidence from overblown narratives. Each episode feels like a conversation with two deeply informed friends who aren't afraid to ask tough questions, offering clarity on topics that matter. For anyone curious about the stories behind the science headlines, this is an essential listen. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that goes beyond the press release, grounded in a genuine fascination with how we know what we know.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Official website RSS
spotify
Science Fictions
Podcast Episodes
Episode 99.5: Candidate genes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:09
Here’s another one for the annals of “entire scientific field becomes totally misguided for decades”. How could it have been possible that so many scientists fell for the idea of candidate genes—that there were individua…
Episode 99: Power posing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:01
For a while in the early-to-mid 2010s, the most prominent psychology research in the world was on power posing. Harvard’s Amy Cuddy did a TED talk that reached tens of millions; her exhortation to “fake it til you make i…
Paid-only episode 28: Tourette's syndrome [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:21
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comHave you seen the award-winning film I Swear, about a Scottish man with Tourette’s? (The less said about what happened at the c…
Episode 98: Dark oxygen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:38
In 2024, researchers claimed to find something mysterious at the bottom of the ocean. It was “dark oxygen”—oxygen produced where there’s no chance of photosynthesis. So what could possibly be producing it?Natural batteri…
Episode 97: The 2D:4D digit ratio [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:23
The last few episodes have been pretty heavy. So here’s… well, here’s the 2D:4D ratio. Does the difference in length between your index finger and your ring finger reveal a huge amount about your personality (and much mo…
Paid-only episode 27: Antidepressants [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:06
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comAnd now… following last week’s episode on ECT, here’s part two of our double episode on depression treatments. This time we’re…
Episode 96: Electroconvulsive therapy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:25
Open up some scientific papers, and you’ll hear electroconvulsive therapy described as the most effective treatment for depression (especially very severe depression). But open up others, and you’ll see it described as c…
Episode 95: Critical thinking [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:00
This episode is dedicated to Justin Eldridge.We like to think that, in often hamfisted ways, we’re applying critical thinking on this show. But what even is “critical thinking”? Can you measure it? Can you teach it to ki…
Episode 94: Medical marijuana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:58
Here’s another episode that revists a topic we’ve covered before. A while back, we did an episode on the downsides of cannabis (for example, the risk of psychosis). But of course, a lot of people claim there are medical…
Paid-only episode 26: Microplastics redux [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:47
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comIt’s rare that we return to a topic, but it’s also nice to have been right. In 2024 we did an episode on microplastics, and cas…

12345...10»