For posting on the CPB ombudsman site In his piece on The Infinite Mind, Mr. Bode refers to his responsibilities as Ombudsman to monitor “fairness, accuracy and balance.” He also notes that “the guardians of public media..... must own up to their mistakes quickly and completely.” I would hope so. As one of the individuals focused on in his story, I'm surprised that he didn't contact me before he wrote it. Had he done so he would have been able to live up to his own standards of “fairness, accuracy and balance.”

Specifically:
(1) as to whether I did or did not disclose my “payments from pharmaceutical companies” to the show's producer, Mr. Bode neglected to note that in 2005 I stepped down as the regular host and was replaced by a psychiatrist with no ties to industry; this change was made precisely because Mr. Lichtenstein knew of my pharmaceutical company ties and was concerned about the perception of a conflict of interest, an issue which was beginning to come to the forefront at that time. All of this is a matter of public record, easily accessible to Mr. Bode.

(2) The Infinite Mind was not an NPR program; it was independently produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media. Furthermore, NPR did not cancel it; it had run out of money and gone out of production before this controversy arose.

(3) Mr. Bode’s speculation that my role as a host of The Infinite Mind may have “enabled Dr. Goodwin to inflate his lecture fees” indicates that Mr. Bode does not understand the tight regulation of speaking fees from drug companies. The honoraria are standard across the industry. As to his speculation that my Infinite Mind identity might attract an audience, my lecture audiences were psychiatrists specializing in the treatment of bipolar disorder who wanted my insights so that they might be better equipped to treat this very complex and devastating disorder. Mr. Bode noted that “Dr. Goodwin is distinguished in his field. A specialist in bipolar disease….” His own words explain why my colleagues wanted to hear from me.

I trust that Mr Bode wants the record set straight, given the principals and standards he outlined for the public media.

Frederick K Goodwin MD