Low calorie, no calorie and so sweet. Artificial sweeteners just seem too good to be true. Is there a catch? We dig into two big questions: Do artificial sweeteners cause cancer, and are they making us fat? We talk to Prof. John Glendinning, Prof. Susie Swithers, Dr. Kieron Rooney, and PhD student Jotham Suez about the latest research. Plus we do a fun experiment with PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman from Reply All!  Also, please sign up for our brand spanking new newsletter! We’ll share science that’s been blowing our minds, plus great content like the most amazing calculation from an academic of how much bigger 323 African Elephants are than nuclear waste. Head to: https://gimletmedia.com/newsletter/

Credits: This episode has been produced by Ben Kuebrich, Heather Rogers, Shruti Ravindran and Wendy Zukerman.Kaitlyn Sawrey is our senior producer. We’re edited by Annie-Rose Strasser. Production assistance by Stevie Lane. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Original music and mixing by Bobby Lord. Extra thanks to Dr. Mary Pat Gallagher, Peter Bresnan, Euromonitor International and ubiome.

Selected References:

• Prof. Susie Swithers’s study on artificial sweeteners and feeding behavior in rats
• A 2015 systematic review of the relationship between artificial sweetener consumption and cancer in humans
• Jotham Suez’s study on artificial sweeteners and the gut microbiome