hey’ve thought of each other as enemies. They’re on opposite sides of a culture war. They believe drastically different things about vaccines.

But, earlier this year, they did the rarest of things: They had a civil discussion and found common ground.

Since April, leading public health experts from institutions like Yale and Brown have been meeting with grassroots members of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement, or MAHA, to build trust and bridge deep divides over health care.

The conversations are the brainchild of Brinda Adhikari, a journalist and former television producer who grew increasingly concerned about Americans’ mistrust of institutions after Donald Trump’s reelection.

“These are two groups that talk a lot about each other,” said Adhikari, who has worked for ABC News and executive produced the podcast and television show, “The Problem with Jon Stewart.” “I just don’t see a lot of spaces where they talk to each other or with each other.”

The conversations are captured on Adhikari’s weekly podcast, “Why Should I Trust You?”

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This episode was made possible by the support of Yakult and produced independently by Scientific American's board of editors.

Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. You’re listening to the weekly science news roundup. Let’s dive right in.

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As top US health officials turn against some mRNA vaccines, experts fear for the country’s preparedness for the next pandemic and worry that other vaccines will be targeted next.

Donald Trump’s administration recently canceled a $766m award to Moderna on the research and development of H5N1 bird flu vaccines, and officials have announced new restrictions and regulations for Covid mRNA vaccines – actions that signal a move away from the breakthrough technology.

These changes add to other vaccine-related shakeups at health agencies, including layoffs and resignations of top vaccine officials and the abrupt termination of HIV vaccine research.

On Monday, Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of health and human services, announced he was disbanding the independent advisory committee on vaccines for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).