Listen: Robert Califf on how drugs get approved, plus the nascent revolution in obesity

What keeps the FDA commissioner up at night? How will Ozempic change the world? And what’s behind WeightWatchers’ pivot?

We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf joins to discuss his first year on the job, the future of drug approvals, and how Duke basketball will do without Coach K. Then STAT’s Elaine Chen explains how powerful new weight loss medicines are reshaping medicine, the drug industry, and the society at large. We also discuss the latest news in the life sciences, including the results of a new Alzheimer’s disease study and a potential breakthrough in cardiovascular medicine.

For more on what we cover, here’s more from Califf; here’s the story on new weight loss medicines; here’s the news on Merck’s cholesterol drug; here’s where you can find episodes of Color Code; and here’s where you can subscribe to the First Opinion Podcast.

Be sure to sign up on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And if you have any feedback for us — topics to cover, guests to invite, vocal tics to cease — you can email [email protected].