Huberman Lab · 2026-08-31 · Andrew Huberman (host), Joe Liemandt

How to Accelerate Learning & Improve Education | Joe Liemandt

35 claims checked against research: 5 contradicted 1 contradicted online 2 overstated 17 supported 5 corroborated online 5 unverified

Overstated

0:08:46 Andrew Huberman (host)overstatedhigh

Approximately 115 million adults in the United States currently have prediabetes.

"Right now, about 115 million adults in the US have prediabetes." (said at 0:08:46)

Nationally representative surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and recent literature review articles establish that prediabetes affects approximately 96 to 98 million adults in the United States (roughly 1 in 3 US adults, or 38% of the adult population), rather than 115 million.

contradicts: Diagnosis and Management of Prediabetes: A Review. (JAMA 2023) · cited 467x in the literature
"Prediabetes, an intermediate stage between normal glucose regulation and diabetes, affects 1 in 3 adults in the US and approximately 720 million individuals worldwide." (abstract, importance, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Pathobiology of Prediabetes: Understanding and Interrupting Progressive Dysglycemia and As… (Diabetes 2025) · cited 12x in the literature
"Prediabetes affects ∼98 million adults in the U.S.; worldwide, more than 541 million adults have IGT and 319 million adults have IFG." (abstract, background, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

2:00:01 Joe Liemandtoverstatedhigh

The average American public school spends $20,000 per student per year.

"The average public school spends $20,000 per kid per year." (said at 2:00:01)

The claim overstates national average per-pupil spending in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools. While expenditures have grown substantially in real terms over recent decades and some high-spending states or urban districts exceed $20,000 per pupil, national benchmarks from public education finance datasets show that average current expenditures per student in the United States typically range between $13,000 and $16,000 per year (and total expenditures including capital outlays around $16,000 to $18,000), rather than a $20,000 national average.

context: School Finance: Fifty Years of Expansion (The Future of Children 1997) · cited 10x in the literature
"Since 1949-50, per-pupil expenditures in public elementary and secondary schools have more than quadrupled, even after adjusting for inflation." (abstract, passage verified)
openalex full study (doi)
context: The Segregation of Opportunity: Social and Financial Resources in the Educational Contexts… (Demography 2019) · cited 58x in the literature
"Combining multiple publicly available data sources for most school districts in the United States, we document levels and gaps in school district financial resources-total per-pupil expenditures-and social resources-local rates of adult educational attainment, family structure, and adult unemployment-available to the average public school student at a variety of income levels over time." (abstract, passage verified)
openalex full study (doi)

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.