Can a Vaccine Cure the World’s Deadliest Cancer?
Plain English with Derek Thompson7 Mars

Can a Vaccine Cure the World’s Deadliest Cancer?

Cancer is not a singular disease but a category of hundreds, even thousands, of rare diseases with different molecular signatures and genetic roots. Cancer scientists are looking for a thousand perfect keys to pick a thousand stubborn locks. Today's episode is about the hardest lock of them all: pancreatic cancer. Cancer’s power lives in its camouflage. The immune system is often compared to a military search and destroy operation, with our T cells serving as the expert snipers, hunting down antigens and taking them out. But cancer kills so many of us because it looks so much like us. Pancreatic cancer is so deadly in part because it's expert at hiding itself from the immune system. Now, here’s the good news. This might be the brightest moment for progress in pancreatic cancer research in decades—and possibly ever. In the past few years, scientists have developed new drugs that target the key gene mutation responsible for out of control cell growth. Recently, a team of scientists at Oregon Health and Science University claimed to have developed a blood test that is 85 percent accurate at early-stage detection of pancreatic cancer, which is absolutely critical given how advanced the cancer is by the time it’s typically caught. And last month, a research center at Memorial Sloan Kettering published a truly extraordinary paper. Using mRNA technology similar to the COVID vaccines, a team of scientists designed a personalized therapy to buff up the immune systems of people with pancreatic cancer. Patients who responded to the treatment saw results that boggle the mind: 75 percent were cancer-free three years after their initial treatment. Not just alive, which would be its own minor miracle. But cancer-free. The mRNA vaccine, administered within a regimen of standard drugs, stood up to the deadliest cancer of them all and won. Today’s guest is the head of that research center, the surgical oncologist Vinod Balachandran. The concept of a personalized cancer vaccine is still unproven at scale. But if it works, the potential is enormous. But again: Cancer does not exist, as a singular disease. Cancer is a category of rare diseases, many of which are exquisitely specific to the molecular mosaic of the patient. Cancers are personal. Perhaps in a few years, our cures for cancers will be equally personalized. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Vinod Balachandran Producer: Devon Baroldi Links: Cancer Vaccine paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08508-4 P.S. Derek wrote a new book! It’s called 'Abundance,' and it’s about an optimistic vision for politics, science, and technology that gets America building again. Buy it here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Abundance/Ezra-Klein/9781668023488 Plus: If you live in Seattle, Atlanta, or the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, Derek is coming your way in March! See him live at book events in your city. Tickets here: The Abundance Book Tour Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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One Big Question For: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta

One Big Question For: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta

They’re the six largest tech companies in the world. What’s the most interesting thing about each of them? Shira Ovide, author of the On Tech newsletter from The New York Times, joins Derek to talk about why Norway is a snapshot of Tesla’s future, why Microsoft is so underrated, and why Apple stands alone among the tech giants in more ways than one. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Shira Ovide Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1 Feb 202242min

Should We Cancel Student Debt?

Should We Cancel Student Debt?

Americans owe $1.7 trillion in student loans, and some Democrats think the time has come to cancel this burden. Derek shares 10 big student-loan facts that shape the debate. Then Jordan Weissmann of Slate joins the podcast to talk about the proposal to cancel student debt, the best arguments for and against it, the modern history of student loans, and their economic and psychological burden. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Jordan Weissmann Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Jan 202237min

Crypto Crashing, Pandemic Stocks Plunging: The Story Behind January’s Crazy Stock Market

Crypto Crashing, Pandemic Stocks Plunging: The Story Behind January’s Crazy Stock Market

Morgan Housel, the bestselling author of ‘The Psychology of Money’ and a partner at Collaborative Fund, is back to talk Bitcoin, Peloton, tech stocks, financial media myths, the psychology of stock market corrections, and the long view of investing. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Morgan Housel Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Jan 202244min

2022 Is Off to a Terrible Start for Democrats

2022 Is Off to a Terrible Start for Democrats

Legendary journalist James Fallows joins to discuss the filibuster wars, Democrats’ Voting Rights Act, the political outlook for Joe Biden and the Democrats, and the media’s negativity bias (as exemplified, one might argue, in the headline to this very episode). Host: Derek Thompson Guest: James Fallows Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Jan 202241min

The Biggest Losers of the Streaming Wars: ESPN, Movie Theaters, Peacock, and More

The Biggest Losers of the Streaming Wars: ESPN, Movie Theaters, Peacock, and More

Do movie theaters have a future? What should Disney do with ESPN? And is anybody watching Peacock? Derek’s favorite entertainment-media analyst Rich Greenfield joins the pod to talk about the future of TV, movies, and live sports. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Rich Greenfield  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Jan 202249min

Everybody Was Wrong About Inflation

Everybody Was Wrong About Inflation

Okay, almost everybody. The Biden administration was wrong. Many critics of the Biden administration were also wrong. The Federal Reserve was wrong. Investors were wrong. Banks were wrong. And Bitcoin investors weren't exactly right, either. How did everybody miss the most important economic story of the year? Derek breaks down the highest inflation rate in 40 years and welcomes back his economic roundtable guests, the finance podcasters Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson.  Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Michael Batnick & Ben Carlson  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Jan 202243min

Omicron: Feelings vs. Facts

Omicron: Feelings vs. Facts

Derek talks about the rise of the "Vaxxed and Done" movement before reviewing the latest omicron data with John Burn-Murdoch, data superstar at the Financial Times. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: John Burn-Murdoch  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Jan 202236min

The Biggest Inventions of the 2020s: Cancer Vaccines, Flying Cars, Space Travel, and More

The Biggest Inventions of the 2020s: Cancer Vaccines, Flying Cars, Space Travel, and More

Let’s kick off the new year with a bit of techno-optimism! After a miserable start to this decade, we can still have a Roaring Twenties. In this episode, ‘Plain English’ presents a tour of the frontier of science and technology with Derek’s favorite innovation writer, the economist Eli Dourado. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Eli Dourado Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Jan 202254min

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