In this interview, Dr. Stephen Mawdsley takes a look back at the early 1950s when gamma globulin was being tested for the prevention of polio. He explains how successful publicity ultimately compromised the integrity of the clinical trial. Dr. Stephen Mawdsley is Wellcome Trust Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland and specializes in the history of American race, medicine, and health. Full article (open access): www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.170232