--- title: "Lex Fridman Defends Andrew Huberman Amid Scandal" description: "In the wake of some jarring allegations against Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, podcaster Lex Fridman is coming to his defense. " date: "2024-03-27" modified: "2024-03-27" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/lex-fridman-defends-andrew-huberman" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "andrew huberman" - "lex fridman" - "podcasts" - "the digest" --- # Lex Fridman Defends Andrew Huberman Amid Scandal ![In the wake of some jarring allegations against Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, podcaster Lex Fridman is coming to his defense. ]() *\Image: Chance Yeh for Hubspot via Getty / Futurism\* ## Hit Squad In the wake of some jarring allegations against Stanford neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman, his brother-in-microphones Lex Fridman is coming to his defense. "It's heartbreaking to see a hit-piece written about my friend Andrew Huberman," Fridman, an MIT AI researcher who has [appeared on Huberman's show]() and [vice versa](), said in a post on X-formerly-Twitter. "I know him very well, and can definitively say that he is a great human being, scientist, and educator." The "hit-piece" in question was [published earlier this week by *New York Magazine*]() and focuses on interviews with Huberman's colleagues, friends, and ex-partners — many of whom have had [strange experiences]() with him involving sudden disappearances and manipulative behavior. While such acts aren't necessarily an indictment on the average person, these allegations — which the neuroscientist denied in part through a representative and otherwise excused as private — do illustrate a wide gap between the health-conscious and warm-hearted person he presents himself as on "Huberman Lab," his popular podcast that currently boasts [millions of subscribers,]() and the acts he undertakes in his personal life. "Hit-piece attacks like this are simply trash click-bait journalism desperately clinging on to relevance," Fridman, whose background and bona fides have also been the subject of some [social media]() [head-scratching](), continued. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTBAxD6lt2g ## Fellow Travelers Then again, it's not exactly surprising that Fridman is defending Huberman. While neither has expressed any conspiratorial or bigoted beliefs, they both play host to enough fringe figures and topics that they've become staples of the so-called "Manosphere," the digital and spiritual home of today's toxic masculinity culture that's perhaps best defined by the likes of accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate or the increasingly-dazed podcaster Joe Rogan, who shares an expensive [green powder sponsor]() with Huberman. Fridman, for instance, had the right-wing Canadian psychologist and conspiracy theory poster boy [Jordan Peterson]() on his show a year ago, and Huberman has [regularly]() [boosted]() [peptides](), the unregulated chemicals hawked as next-generation nootropic supplements that are available for purchase due to legal research loopholes. Within that context, it's far from a shock that Fridman has rushed to Huberman's aid — though it's worth arguing that he could simply not say anything to avoid the liability of publicly aligning himself with someone accused of such egregious behavior. "Andrew should be celebrated. Period," the younger academic declared. "His podcast has helped millions of people (including me) lead healthier lives. Keep going brother!" **More on podcasts:** [*Joe Rogan's Idiotic New Theory: AIDS Is Caused by Poppers*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()