The normals | Episode 3

The normals | Episode 3

From Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

April 21, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the current experiences of normal human subjects in research and the impact of the normals project on oversight and safety.

The final of a three-part limited Science Podcast series that looks at the history of normal human subjects in research In episode two, we heard what happened to the normals program after church volunteers came to the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center—and were surprisingly happy despite going through sometimes-painful procedures. In the decades to follow, the program got bigger as government funding expanded and started to recruit more broadly, stepping away from specific religious groups toward recruiting from colleges, universities, and unions. In this episode, we hear about how normal human subjects experience research today and the ways the normals project influenced oversight and safety for these sometimes vulnerable people. All episodes in this series Appearing in this episode: Laura Stark, history professor at the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University Jill Fisher, professor of social medicine in the Center for Bioethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kaviya Manoharan, lecturer and clinical research program manager in the Centre for Clinical Pharmacology, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre…

People in this episode

Host: Sarah Crespi

Guests: Laura Stark, Jill Fisher, Kaviya Manoharan

Topics covered

  • normal human subjects
  • research history
  • vulnerable populations
  • oversight and safety
  • government funding

Keywords

  • normal human subjects
  • research ethics
  • clinical trials
  • government funding
  • vulnerable populations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vanderbilt University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Science

Books & works: The Normals: A People’s History of Modern America in Five Human Experiments, Adverse Events: Race, Inequality

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