S5E10: What We Learned, What We Got Wrong, and What Comes Next



In this season finale, Matt and Hailey reflect on what they learned, and are still wrestling with, after working through Part I of Causal Inference: What If. They discuss how revisiting familiar concepts can reveal new layers of nuance, why the current enthusiasm for target trial emulation shouldn’t be mistaken for a shortcut to causal inference, and the importance of recognizing when the available data or scientific question simply doesn’t support a target trial. The conversation turns to the growing role of AI in epidemiologic analysis and the risks of being able to generate sophisticated analyses without fully understanding what is happening behind the scenes. They also preview the discussion about advanced methods awaiting them in Season 6. And because no season finale would be complete without settling the truly important questions, they finish by deciding which epidemiologic biases best correspond to Friends characters, ice cream flavors, decades, Muppets, and statistical software.