Placebos play a crucial role in clinical trials. Without placebos, it’s hard to test medicines effectively, but clinical trials have never been the only home for placebos. We know that people who believe they’re  receiving a medical treatment will often get better anyway, and there are examples across the past several centuries of people trying to turn this into its own genuine medical treatment.

The appeal has broadened recently, and placebos are being openly diagnosed by General Practitioners. The latest issue of COSMOS explores the rise in interest, and Editor Ian Connellan joins John Stanley to discuss.

Download this podcast here