About this Conversation
This is Part 2 of a two-part TEDMED Conversation with investigative journalist Katherine Eban. In this companion episode, host Jay Walker and Eban move from foundational questions about trust to the real-world consequences of its erosion.
Drawing on her reporting, Eban examines how breakdowns in oversight, transparency, and accountability take shape in practice—shaping global clinical trials, regulatory systems, and the safety of medicines. The conversation reveals how institutions designed to protect can falter under pressure, and what those failures mean for patients, practitioners, and public trust.
Together, they consider what it takes to restore credibility once it has been compromised—and whether today’s systems are equipped to do so.
About Katherine Eban
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About Katherine
Katherine Eban is an award-winning investigative journalist known for her in-depth reporting on complex topics. She is a contributor to Fortune magazine and has been recognized as an Andrew Carnegie fellow. Her work has covered a wide range of subjects, from pharmaceutical counterfeiting to gun trafficking and CIA interrogation techniques. Katherine is the author of two highly-regarded books that expose serious issues within the pharmaceutical industry. Her 2019 book, Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom, became a New York Times bestseller. Based on a decade of research, the book reveals widespread fraud and unsafe conditions in overseas factories that produce most of the world’s generic drugs. Her first book, Dangerous Doses: A True Story of Cops, Counterfeiters and the Contamination of America’s Drug Supply, was named one of the Best Books of 2005 by Kirkus Reviews. Her journalism has earned international acclaim and numerous awards, and she is widely respected for her dedication to uncovering hidden truths and holding powerful institutions accountable.
About Jay Walker
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Active in the field of medicine since 2012, Jay Walker serves as Chairman TEDMED, the health and medicine edition of the world-famous TED conference. A serial entrepreneur, Jay has founded three companies that have gone from launch to 50 million customers each. Jay is the world’s 10th most patented living inventor, with more than 750 issued U.S. patents in technology-related fields. He is also Chairman of Upside, a travel and technology company that serves the unmanaged business traveler. A passionate student and practitioner of imagination, Jay founded and curates the Library of the History of Human Imagination, which Wired magazine called “the most amazing private library in the world.’
