Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin is a psychiatrist of some import, as well as the host of the popular “Infinite Mind” radio program on National Public Radio (NPR). On his show he talks about drug companies, but what most people didn’t know is that he made at least $1.3 million giving them favorable publicity between 2000 and 2007. He is being investigated for this conflict of interest currently.

Goodwin, formerly the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, is the first public media personality (in a series of multiple doctors and researchers) to be investigated for having ties to drug makers. The investigation is led by Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa.

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the drug companies who have paid Dr. Goodwin off with a six-figure sum to speak about their drug Lamictal. In one instance Dr. Goodwin promoted the mood-stabilizing drug on his show, for which he was paid $2500. According to the results of the Congressional investigation, he made more than $329,000 in total promoting Lamictal.

NPR’s vice president Margaret Low Smith stated that the radio would remove “The Infinite Mind” broadcast from its satellite radio service starting next week, which is the earliest possible time. Ms. Smith claimed that NPR was not aware of Dr. Goodwin’s… sources of revenue; else it would not have broadcast his show.

The program has, over the course of a decade, won more than 60 journalism awards, and calls itself “public radio's most honored and listened to health and science program.”

The program's producer Bill Lichtenstein reinforced Smith’s stance in an interview. "The fact that he was out on the stump for pharmaceutical companies was not something we were aware of. It would have violated our agreements," he said.