{"podcast":{"title":"Normal Curves: Sexy Science, Serious Statistics","slug":"normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156","podcast_index_feed_id":7212156,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/normal-curves","website_url":"https://www.normalcurves.com/","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/3nh-QbnGiyC0kG4tQRWb4fTYyDh5wonK_KZjqlkFNSY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hYmEw/YmE3N2JmMDhmNjli/YTg2MjhlOTQ0OGU4/Yzg2OC5wbmc.jpg","author":"Regina Nuzzo","episode_count":38,"summary":"Normal Curves is a podcast about sexy science & serious statistics. Ever try to make sense of a scientific study and the numbers behind it? Listen in to a lively conversation between two stats-savvy friends who break it all down with humor and clarity. Professors Regina Nuzzo of Gallaudet University and Kristin Sainani of Stanford University discuss academic papers journal club-style — except with more fun, less jargon, and some irreverent, PG-13 content sprinkled in. Join Kristin and Regina as they dissect the data, challenge the claims, and arm you with tools to assess scientific studies on your own.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-30T00:19:09.554623+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156"},"episode":{"title":"Cancer Blood Tests Part 2: The clinical trial","slug":"cancer-blood-tests-part-2-the-clinical-trial","published_at":"2026-06-29T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156/cancer-blood-tests-part-2-the-clinical-trial","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156","url":"https://www.normalcurves.com/cancer-blood-tests-part-2-the-clinical-trial/","audio_url":"https://op3.dev/e/media.transistor.fm/2163a838/ad6eca71.mp3","summary":"How do you decide whether a clinical trial “worked”? In Part 2 of our Galleri series, we examine the landmark randomized trial of a blood test designed to detect more than 50 cancers. We explore why different outcome measures led to dramatically different headlines, discuss primary versus secondary outcomes, pre-registration, hierarchical testing, and post hoc analyses, and explain why mortality remains the outcome everyone is waiting for. Along the way, we uncover a statistical mystery involving dozens of missing cancers and discover how a little arithmetic can sometimes reveal more than a press release. Statistical topics cancer screening exploratory analyses hierarchical testing missing data multiple testing outcome measures post hoc analyses pre-registration primary and secondary outcomes randomized clinical trials screening tests Methodologic Morals “When the simple numbers don't add up, pay attention. The arithmetic may be trying to tell you something.” “The first question should not be, did it work? It should be, what counts as success?” References Giridhar KV, et al. Safety and performance results from PATHFINDER 2, a registrational study of a multi-cancer early detection test in an intended-use population . Presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. May 2026. Hubbell E, Clarke CA, Aravanis AM, Berg CD. Modeled Reductions in Late-stage Cancer with a Multi-Cancer Early Detection Test. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev . 2021;30(3):460-468. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-1134 Neal RD, Johnson P, Clarke CA, et al. Cell-Free DNA-Based Multi-Cancer Early Detection Test in an Asymptomatic Screening Population (NHS-Galleri): Design of a Pragmatic, Prospective Randomised Controlled Trial. Cancers (Basel) . 2022;14(19):4818. Publishe…","meta_description":"How do you decide whether a clinical trial “worked”? In Part 2 of our Galleri series, we examine the landmark randomized trial of a blood test designed to…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3473,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156/episodes/cancer-blood-tests-part-2-the-clinical-trial/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156/cancer-blood-tests-part-2-the-clinical-trial.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}