# Sports and Clinical Trials: The 1927 Yankees, 15 Tarzans, and Modern Athletes

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-interim-7211889/sports-and-clinical-trials-the-1927-yankees-15-tarzans-and-modern-athletes
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-interim-7211889/sports-and-clinical-trials-the-1927-yankees-15-tarzans-and-modern-athletes.md
Podcast: [In the Interim...](https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-interim-7211889)
Published: 2026-05-11T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/5f062158
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/5f062158/37b3f5fc.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/in-the-interim-7211889/episodes/sports-and-clinical-trials-the-1927-yankees-15-tarzans-and-modern-athletes
Duration seconds: 3076

## Resource

In this episode of "In the Interim…", Dr. Scott Berry examines the analytical challenges of comparing performance across eras in both sports and clinical research. Drawing from statistically robust family debates and published research, Scott details how overlapping competitors—such as athletes who played with both Babe Ruth, played with the next generation, who played with … all the way to playing with Aaron Judge—enable the estimation of temporal effects and allow for objective comparisons between generations. He translates this approach directly into platform clinical trials, demonstrating how overlapping trial arms or shared control groups make it possible to quantify and adjust for time trends. Scott distinguishes between observable, model-based comparisons and subjective judgments, rigorously addressing limitations such as interactions between treatments and era, and emphasizing the foundational importance of empirical overlap over speculative claims. Key Highlights Deconstruction of time-machine thought experiments: analyzing how teams like the 1927 Yankees or athletes such as Johnny Weissmuller and Jesse Owens compare to present-day counterparts using statistical benchmarks. Technical explanation of connecting eras empirically through players or trial arms who span multiple time periods, thereby supporting quantitative estimation of temporal shifts. Detailed account of linear and hierarchical modeling strategies, with covariate adjustment for player age, period effects, and evolving population composition across baseball, hockey, and golf data. Translation of these statistical constructs to adaptive and platform clinical trials, exemplified by I-SPY 2, where overlapping treatment and control arms permit rigorous assessment of evolving treatment effects over a t…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/in-the-interim-7211889/episodes/sports-and-clinical-trials-the-1927-yankees-15-tarzans-and-modern-athletes/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-interim-7211889/sports-and-clinical-trials-the-1927-yankees-15-tarzans-and-modern-athletes.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.