The Placebo Effect

The Placebo Effect

From Citation Needed by Citation Needed Media

March 25, 2026 · 41 min · Season 1 · Episode 467

About this episode

This episode discusses the concept of the placebo effect and its implications in medicine.

A placebo ( / p l ə ˈ s iː b oʊ / pluh-SEE-boh ) is a medicine or treatment intended to appear genuine to its recipient, but which has no pharmaceutical effect. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline ), sham surgery , [ 3 ] and other procedures. [ 4 ]

Topics covered

  • placebo effect
  • medicine
  • treatment

Keywords

  • placebo
  • inert tablets
  • sham surgery

More episodes of Citation Needed

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Citation Needed podcast page.