The Prism Podcast: Recent Episodes
Grant Ritchey and Clay Jones
The Prism: blog and podcast hosted by Grant Ritchey and Clay Jones. On this podcast we explore science based medicine, critical thinking, and science communication.
Brennen McKenzie DVM joins us to discuss his new book "Placebos for Pets?: The Truth About Alternative Medicine in Animals."
We also have a conversation about how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected veterinary practices, pets, and pet owners in these unprecedented times.
Randi is a medical writer, and serves at Yale University as a Writer in Residence at the medical school and lecturer in the English Department. She is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Randihas worked as a medical writer for the London bureau of The Associated Press and was the London bureau chief of Physicians’ Weekly. Randi focuses on the interplay between medicine and society. In other words, how cultural attitudes influence medical treatment, public health and research; and vice versa, how research and treatment influence societal perceptions of health and disease. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Parents, More, among other newspapers and magazines.
Randi earned a B.S. from The University of Pennsylvania where she studied the history and sociology of science; an M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; an M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine, and an M.P.H. from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Also, Clay and Grant discuss Grant's recent Science Based Medicine article about fluoride and IQ.
Dr. Jonathan Howard, neurologist and psychiatrist, talks about his book Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes: A Case-Based Guide to Critical Thinking in Medicine.
Dr. Nathan Lents discusses his book Human Errors: A Panorama of Our Glitches, from Pointless Bones to Broken Genes about how evolution did just enough to get each generation to the next round of life. Lots of weird things happened along the way.
Also, Clay and Grant discuss their secret trip to Skull Island. Shhhhh.
We survived 100 episodes! We get the band back together, with Jason, Clay, and Grant reminiscing and also talking about tongue ties.
Thank you to Mitzi and our other 6 listeners for sticking with us through all these years!
Dr. Paul Duncan McGarrity chats with Clay and Grant about archeology, comedy, and science education.
Paul began performing stand up in 2009 and since then has been combining his day-job as a Senior Archaeologist with Museum of London Archaeology with his growing popularity on the UK comedy circuit. He has supported Hal Cruttenden on tour, appeared on The Big Dig on BBC4, he has been a main cast member in the hugely successful ‘Knightmare Live’ stage show and in 2011 he reached the final of the prestigious Amused Moose Laugh Off. He has also performed at QED, Edinburgh Fringe, and other locations.
Getting ready for Episode 100!!
Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris is a bestselling author, and medical historian with a doctorate from the University of Oxford. Her debut book, The Butchering Art, won the 2018 PEN/E.O. Wilson Award for Literary Science. She is the creator of the popular blog, The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice, as well as the host of the YouTube series, Under the Knife. She has written for a variety of publications, including Scientific America, The Guardian, The Lancet, and New Scientist. Her next book will be on the birth of plastic surgery told through the incredible story of Harold Gillies, the pioneering surgeon who first united art & medicine to address the horrific injures that resulted from World War I.
Also, Grant is going to QED to hopefully pick up the Ockham Award that is rightfully The Prism's, rock climbing with Buck Mulligan, and Clay's sister-in-law has a narrow escape.
Dr. John Byrne joins Clay and Grant to discuss stem cell therapy. What are stem cells, what are the legitimate uses for stem cells in medicine, and what about all these "Stem Cell Clinics" that are popping up, claiming to cure anything and everything?
John Byrne is a doctor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics in private practice in Michigan and is the creator of the Skeptical Medicine website and blog (www.skepticalmedicine.com).
In this very special episode of the Prism Podcast, we present a "live" panel discussion, recorded at the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism.
Joining Grant and Clay on the panel are Lydia Finch, Jonathan Jarry, and Michael Marshall. We discuss the state of skepticism currently, how it differs in the UK and Canada, and suggestions for future work.
On the Prism Podcast and in Science Based Medicine, we tend to give chiropractors a hard time. While a lot of this is justified, is there a place in science based health care. Mark Croucher DC thinks so, and has endeavored to bring solid evidence based care to the chiropractic profession.
Dr. Mark Croucher is the founder and clinic director of The Spine Center of Williamsburg. He is a member of the North American Spine Society. NASSis a global multidisciplinary medical society that utilizes education, research and advocacy to foster the highest-quality, ethical, value- and evidence-based spine care for patients.
Dr. Croucher received his undergraduate training in biology at the State University of New York at Oswego. His Doctor of Chiropractic degree is from New York Chiropractic College. Dr. Croucher is licensed to practice chiropractic by the Virginia Board of Medicine. He is an active member of both the Virginia Chiropractic Association and the American Chiropractic Association.
Joe Schwarcz is Director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. He is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of love to the science of aging. Dr. Joe has received numerous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public and is the only non-American ever to win the American Chemical Society’s prestigious Grady-Stack Award for demystifying chemistry. He hosts "The Dr. Joe Show" on Montreal's CJAD and has appeared hundreds of times on The Discovery Channel, CTV, CBC, TV Ontario and Global Television. He is also an amateur conjurer and often spices up his presentations with a little magic. Dr. Joe also writes a newspaper column entitled “The Right Chemistry” and has authored a number of books including best-sellers, Radar, Hula Hoops and Playful Pigs, The Genie in the Bottle, The Right Chemistry, An Apple a Day, Is That a Fact?, and Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules. Dr. Joe was awarded the 2010 Montreal Medal, the Canadian Chemical Institute’s premier prize recognizing lifetime contributions to chemistry in Canada. In 2015 he was named winner of the Balles Prize for critical thinking by the US based Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in recognition of his 2014 book, Is That A Fact?
In this episode, Clay and Grant discuss SciCom in general, and Joe's new book "A Feast of Science" in particular.
Also, Clay's SBM article about pediatricians dismissing vaccine hesitant families, and a plug for NECSS.
Dr. David Anderson discussed pseudoarcheology with Clay and Grant, including Atlantis, who built the pyramids, and more. Is racism at the root of these beliefs?
Also: NECSS announcement, SBM article coming out. Clay and Grant are pissed off at dentists who claim to treat Tourette Syndrome with a dental appliance.
Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience, but moonlights as a comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He tutors and lectures at Cardiff University. He is also the author of The Idiot Brain as well as the soon-to-be-released The Happy Brain.
NECSS Announcement
Neil deGrasse Tyson grinds Clay's Gears
Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirerscience magazine and a Research Fellow with the non-profit educational organization the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has written over a thousand articles on a wide variety of topics, including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy. He is author of nine books and innumerable magazine articles.
Radford is one of the world’s few science-based paranormal investigators, and has done first-hand research into mysterious phenomena in sixteen countries on four continents including psychics, ghosts and haunted houses; exorcisms, miracles, Bigfoot, stigmata, lake monsters, UFO sightings, reincarnation, and crop circles, and many other topics. He is perhaps best known for solving the mysteries of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost in 2007, and the Hispanic vampire el chupacabra in 2010. Radford has appeared on Good Morning America, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Learning Channel, CBC, BBC, CNN, and other networks with three letters. He also served as a consultant for the MTV series The Big Urban Myth Show and an episode of the CBS crime drama CSI. Radford has appeared in many publications including the Wall Street Journal, Wired, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Time, Outside, and Ladies’ Home Journal, and quoted by Parade columnist (and world’s smartest person) Marilyn vos Savant, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, biologist Richard Dawkins, and others.
Maria Konnikova is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, The Confidence Game, winner of the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, an Anthony and Agatha Award finalist. She is a contributing writer for The New Yorker and is currently working on a book about poker and the balance of skill and luck in life, The Biggest Bluff, to be published in 2019. Maria's writing has been featured in Best American Science and Nature Writing and has been translated into over twenty languages. Maria is also the host of the podcast The Grift from Panoply Media, a show that explores con artists and the lives they ruin. She graduated from Harvard University and received her PhD in psychology from Columbia University.
Gleb is a historian of science working at the intersection of history, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. He researches emotions, decision-making, meaning and purpose, agency and conformism, community, youth, social control, fun and leisure, and civic engagement in historical context. His publications have appeared in academic peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes in the United States, England, France, Germany, and Russia.
Gleb is one of the leaders of the team of academics who created the Pro-Truth Pledge, and also is the author of The Truth Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide.
Dr. Steven Salzberg is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University. From 2005-2011 he was the Horvitz Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Before joining UMD, he was at The Institute for Genomic Research, where he sequenced the genomes of many bacteria, including those used in the 2001 anthrax attacks. At TIGR he was part of the Human Genome Project and the co-founder of the influenza virus sequencing project (which is when he first learned of the anti-vaccine movement). His research group develops software for DNA sequence analysis, and their (free) software is used by scientific laboratories around the globe. He did his B.A. and M.S. at Yale University, and his Ph.D. at Harvard University, and has published over 250 scientific papers. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@stevensalzberg1), or just subscribe to his alternate blog, http://genome.fieldofscience.com.
Scott Krugman MD joins Clay and Grant to discuss SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and SUIDs (Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths).
Scott Krugman, MD, MS, FAAP, is chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center. Dr. Krugman graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. After residency, he joined the pediatric faculty at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center and became chairman of the department in 2002. Dr. Krugman completed a master's degree in epidemiology in 2005.
Dr. Krugman founded MedStar Franklin Square's Child Protection Team, which evaluates over 250 children at the hospital each year, in 2000 with the aid of a VOCA grant. Dr. Krugman is also a member of the Child Abuse Medical Professionals (CHAMP) faculty, the Baltimore County Child Fatality Review Team, the Baltimore County Child Protection Review Panel, the State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, the board of The Family Tree, and is chair emeritus of the Child Maltreatment Committee of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Krugman was named the 2015 Pediatrician of the Year by the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MDAAP).
Scott Krugman, MD, was named a 2016 "Top Docs" by Baltimore Magazine for pediatrics.
Kevin Klatt and Katherine Pett join us to discuss all things nutrition. Katherine reviews the White Paper she co-wrote discussing the Seven Countries Study, then we all dive in and take the movie "What The Health" to task for its slanted (and false) science, its fearmongering, and its inappropriate framing of a complex subject.
Grant and Clay sit down with Dr. Jens Foell to discuss Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. What is it, how is it used, and how is it misused in the lay public and in alt-med?
Jens studied psychology at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and got his PhD in neuropsychology from Heidelberg University, Germany. His PhD work involved finding out how phantom limbs work in the brain, and how effects of phantom limb pain therapy can be measured using neuroimaging. He is currently located at Florida State University, where he studies the components of psychopathy and other topics related to brain and behavior. In addition, he co-founded Real Scientists DE, the German-language variant of the popular Real Scientists Twitter account, which makes the work and lives of scientists accessible to a large online audience.
Dr. Stephen Hupp joins Clay and Grant to talk about some of the myths surrounding child development- from believing that vaccines cause autism to the Scared Straight Program to whether letting a baby "cry it out" is psychologically damaging.
Stephen Hupp, winner of a Teaching Recognition Award in 2011, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at SIUE. He obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Louisiana State University. Dr. Hupp completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (Munroe-Meyer Institute) where he provided clinical services for children and adolescents.
Dr. Hupp is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Behavioral Health Consultant for the St. Clair County Head Start program. He commonly presents research at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and his general interests include the assessment, treatment, and prevention of behavioral and emotional problems in children. Interests also include parenting, social-emotional development, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, dissemination of evidence-based practices, and the promotion of skeptical thinking about pseudoscience. Dr. Hupp co-authored a book with Dr. Jeremy Jewell entitled Great Myths of Child Development (2015).
Dr. Hupp teaches courses in child development, applied behavior analysis, clinical child psychology, prevention programs, and field study.
Grant and guest co-host Vance Crowe chat with JP Sears, creator of the hilarious and popular Ultra Spiritual YouTube and author of a new book How to be Ultra Spiritual: 12 1/2 Steps to Spiritual Superiority.
JP's Bio (from his website):
"
I’m an emotional healing coach, international teacher, world traveler, and curious student of life. My work is intended to empower people to empower themselves to live more meaningful lives.
I run a very busy one-on-one client practice (most sessions are via skype) where I’m fortunate enough to work with people everyday on healing their hearts, resolving self-sabotage, and stepping into their true power.
I also lead retreats around the world on different healing and personal empowerment themes for like minded and like hearted people to come together and learn, grow, and heal.
I also make videos. I’m very active on my YouTube channel, where I regularly release videos to help people help themselves. I also make comedy videos known as my 'Ultra Spiritual' series. Aside from the entertainment value of these humorous videos, they also carry important underlying messages (at least I think so, but I’m biased because they’re my videos).
And if the formal credential side of things is important to you, I hold certification as a Holistic Coach Advanced Practitioner through the Holistic Coaching Institute in Columbus, OH. I also served as a faculty member for the C.H.E.K. Institute from 2006-2013. Most importantly, I have red hair, blue eyes, a caring heart, and a warped sense of humor."
Enjoy!
Melbourne, Australia based magician and physician Dr. Vyom Sharma is in the Prism Studio for a fascinating discussion about the intersection of skepticism and magic. Dr. Sharma is a Family Medicine physician who has won numerous awards in the magic realm, including (with his troupe Gentlemen of Deceit) appearances on Australia's Got Talent, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Check him out on YouTube, Facebook, and on Twitter (@drvyom)
On this episode of The Prism, Clay and Grant sit down and have a chat with Myles Power.
Myles Power runs the educational YouTube channel powerm1985. He is originally from a small town in the North East of England called Middlesbrough, but has spent a large potion of his adult life living in Manchester. He is a chemist by trade who is is currently working in industry, but what little free time he has he spends sharing his love of science through home experiments, visiting sites of scientific interest, and angry rants at pseudoscience proponents. He has many years of experience working in a research lab, which has given him the skills he needs to research and debunk various psuedoscience theories. Some of the theories he has discussed on his YouTube channel includes AIDS denialists, 911 truthers, the anti-vaccination movement and homeopathy to name a few. He also is one of the founding members of the podcast The League of Nerds, which he co-hosts with James Gurney.
Dr. Indre Viskontas is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of San Francisco and Professor of Sciences and Humanities at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she is pioneering the application of neuroscience to musical training. Professor Viskontas received her Bachelor of Science degree with a Specialist in Psychology and a minor in French Literature at Trinity College in the University of Toronto. She also holds a Masters of Music degree in vocal performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She completed her PhD in cognitive neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied the neural basis of memory and reasoning. Her post-doctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco explored the paradoxical facilitation of creativity in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She began her musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Music and sang in her first professional opera production when she was eleven.
She is the host of the Inquiring Minds Podcast as well as her latest project, Cadence Podcast.
Leslie Waghorn is the mother of a very active preschooler and a fiercely independent toddler. She has worked in public health and digital media strategy for nearly a decade, having previously worked in media and politics. Previously based in Washington, DC, she's now based in Ottawa, Canada. Leslie holds an MA in health communication from George Mason University and has an honors BA with a double major in Political Science and History from Carleton University. By day she's a freelance health communication professional and by night she’s the founder and editor-in-chief of TheScientificParent.org.
Byron Whyte MD, FAAP joins Clay and Grant to discuss the issue of race in the practice of medicine. Why are minorities still significantly under-represented in medicine and dentistry? Does racism exist in the medical school selection process?
The discussion of race can be uncomfortable, but it's a conversation that needs to be held.
Clay also discusses his SBM article about acupuncture for colic in infants.
Dr Whyte is a practicing pediatrician in Urgent Care in Virginia. He obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees at Howard University and his pediatric residency at Dartmouth. Follow Byron on Twitter: @UrbaneDoc4Kids
Clay's SBM article: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-for-infant-colic-part-2-acupuncture-boogaloo/
Dr. Jennifer Raff chats with Clay and Grant about Genetics, Evolution, the peopling of the Americas, and other interesting topics. We also get into the genetic basis of race, and how this construct can be used and abused.
Jennifer Raff is an Assistant Professor of Physical Anthropology at the University of Kansas, and director and Principal Investigator of the KU Laboratory of Human Population Genomics. She has a dual Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Anthropology from Indiana University, and has completed postdoctoral work at the University of Utah, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and the University of Texas. Jennifer's research focuses on the molecular genetics of evolution through the analysis of genomes from ancient and contemporary human populations, with a special emphasis on the initial colonization and subsequent population history of the American continents. In addition to her academic work, she is extensively involved in science literacy outreach efforts through social media, public talks, and writing for her blog, the Huffington Post, and the Social Evolution Forum.
violentmetaphors.com
@jenniferraff
Vance Crowe sits down for a chat with Clay and Grant about Science Communication, dispelling myths about Monsanto, bridging the gap between skepticism and other areas in science and culture, and how to honor our tribalism while respectfully engaging communities unlike our own.
Vance Crowe is the Director of Millennial Engagement at Monsanto in Saint Louis, Missouri. Vance is a former Communications Strategist for the World Bank Group, a returned U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer stationed in Kenya, a former communications coordinator at a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate in Northern California and was a deckhand on an eco-tourism ship that traveled in the Western Hemisphere. Vance holds an undergraduate degree in communications from Marquette University and a Master's Degree in Cross-Cultural Negotiations from the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy.
Connect with Vance on twitter @VanceCrowe
Dr. Carol Tavris's work as a writer, teacher, and lecturer has been devoted to educating the public about psychological science. Her book with Elliot Aronson, "Mistakes Were Made (But Not by ME): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts" (updated, revised edition, Mariner Books, 2015), applies cognitive dissonance theory to a wide variety of topics, including politics, conflicts of interest, memory (everyday and "recovered"), the criminal justice system, police interrogation, the daycare sex-abuse epidemic, family quarrels, international conflicts, and business.
She has spoken to students, psychologists, mediators, lawyers, judges, physicians, business executives, and general audiences on, among other topics, self-justification; science and pseudoscience in psychology; gender and sexuality; critical thinking; and anger. In the legal arena, Dr. Tavris has given many addresses and workshops to attorneys and judges on the difference between testimony based on good psychological science and that based on pseudoscience and subjective clinical opinion.
Dr. Tavris is a Charter Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Her honors and awards include the 2014 Media Achievement Award from SPSP; an honorary doctorate from Simmons college in 2013; the Distinguished Media Contribution Award from the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology (for The Mismeasure of Woman), the Heritage Publications Award from Division 35 of the American Psychological Association (for The Mismeasure of Woman), the “Movers and Shakers” Award from Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, the Distinguished Contribution to Women’s Health Award from the APA Conference on Women’s Health, and an award from the Center for Inquiry, Independent Investigations Group, for contributions to skepticism and science.
Also, follow up on Dr. Paul Offit's interview.
Get well wishes for Harriet Hall. Get well soon Harriet!
Dr. Paul Offit chats with Clay and Grant about the "opioid epidemic", vaccines, the post-Trump political landscape and what it means for science and medicine, a sneak peak at the new book he's writing, and much more.
Paul A. Offit, MD is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a recipient of many awards including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of Maryland Medical School, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Disease Society of America, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Offit has published more than 160 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus-specific immune responses and vaccine safety. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC; for this achievement Dr. Offit received the Luigi Mastroianni and William Osler Awards from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Charles Mérieux Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases; and was honored by Bill and Melinda Gates during the launch of their Foundation’s Living Proof Project for global health. In 2009, Dr. Offit received the President’s Certificate for Outstanding Service from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2011, Dr. Offit received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Biologics Industry Organization (BIO), the David E. Rogers Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges, the Odyssey Award from the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2012, Dr. Offit received the Distinguished Medical Achievement Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Drexel Medicine Prize in Translational Medicine fro the Drexel University College of Medicine. In 2013, Dr. Offit received the Maxwell Finland award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the Innovators in Health Award from the Group Health Foundation. In 2015, Dr. Offit won the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2016, Dr. Offit won the Franklin Founder Award from the city of Philadelphia, The Porter Prize from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Business Journal, and the Jonathan E. Rhoads Medal for Distinguished Service to Medicine from the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Offit was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation and the Foundation for Vaccine Research. He is also the author of six medical narratives: The Cutter Incident: How America’s First Polio Vaccine Led to Today’s Growing Vaccine Crisis (Yale University Press, 2005), Vaccinated: One Man’s Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest Diseases (HarperCollins, 2007), for which he won an award from the American Medical Writers Association, Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure (Columbia University Press, 2008), Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All (Basic Books, 2011), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews and Booklist as one of the best non-fiction books of the year, Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine (HarperCollins, 2013), which won the Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking from the Center for Skeptical Inquiry and was selected by National Public Radio as one of the best books of 2013, and Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine (Basic Books, 2015), selected by the New York Times Book Review as an “Editor’s Choice” book in April 2015. Dr. Offit has also written Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong (National Geographic Press/Random House, publication date April 2017) and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Science and Health: A Memoir (manuscript in preparation).
Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and a Research Fellow with the non-profit educational organization the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has written over a thousand articles on a wide variety of topics, including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy.
He is author of eight books: Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking (with sociologist Robert E. Bartholomew); Media Mythmakers: How Journalists, Activists, and Advertisers Mislead Us, examining the ways in which deception is used in various media to influence decision making and public policy; Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World’s Most Elusive Creatures (with Joe Nickell), a scientific examination of lake monsters around the world; Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries; Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore and The Martians Have Landed! A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes (with Bob Bartholomew, 2011); Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment; and his novel The Merchant of Dust.
He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of New Mexico and completed a masters degree in education from the University of Buffalo. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the American Folklore Society, the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club and the American College of Forensic Examiners International, among other organizations.
Radford is a regular columnist for LiveScience.com, Discovery News, Skeptical Inquirer magazine, and the Skeptical Briefs newsletter. Radford created Playing Gods: The Board Game of Divine Domination, the world’s first satirical board game of religious warfare. He has also made two short films: Clicker Clatter (2007), and Sirens (2009).
Radford is one of the world’s few science-based paranormal investigators, and has done first-hand research into mysterious phenomena in sixteen countries on four continents including psychics, ghosts and haunted houses; exorcisms, miracles, Bigfoot, stigmata, lake monsters, UFO sightings, reincarnation, and crop circles, and many other topics. He is perhaps best known for solving the mysteries of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost in 2007, and the Hispanic vampire el chupacabra in 2010.
Radford has appeared on Good Morning America, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Learning Channel, CBC, BBC, CNN, and other networks with three letters. He also served as a consultant for the MTV series The Big Urban Myth Show and an episode of the CBS crime drama CSI. Radford has appeared in many publications including the Wall Street Journal, Wired, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Time, Outside, and Ladies’ Home Journal, and quoted by Parade columnist (and world’s smartest person) Marilyn vos Savant, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, biologist Richard Dawkins, and others.
Dr. John Snyder joins Clay and Grant to talk about Dr. Bob Sears, pediatrician who is the author of the so-called alternate vaccine schedule. Dr. Sears has gotten himself in a bit of trouble after being accused of practicing beneath the standard of care in California.
John Snyder, MD, FAAP, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine, and a practicing pediatrician at Amherst Pediatrics in Amherst, Massachusetts. Previously, he was Medical Director of the teaching clinic at Baystate Children’s Hospital, and before that he was Chief of the Section of General Pediatrics and Medical Director of Pediatric Ambulatory Care at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. Since 1994, Dr Snyder has been active in pediatric resident and medical student education with a particular interest in evidence-based pediatrics. His main area of interest is medical myth and the ways in which parents utilize information in making medical decisions for their children. One area of focus has been the vaccine myth, and he lectures frequently on this subject in both academic and community settings. His other activities have included: contributor to the Gotham Skeptic blog, member of the New York City Skeptics’ board of advisors, and expert for BeWell.com (“A New Social Network on Health Founded by America’s Top Doctors”).
Dr Snyder graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, completing his residency training in pediatrics at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is board certified in pediatrics, and is a Fellow of The American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Snyder has no ties to industry, and no conflicts of interest regarding any of his writings.
Clay also discusses his recent Science Based Medicine post about homeopathic teething remedies and their contamination.
Timothy Caulfield is our guest, and we chat about celebrity culture as it pertains to science information, Clay's horrible taste in music, and other random topics.
Timothy Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. He has been the Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta since 1993. Over the past several years he has been involved in a variety of interdisciplinary research endeavours that have allowed him to publish over 300 articles and book chapters. He is a Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation and the Principal Investigator for a number of large interdisciplinary projects that explore the ethical, legal and health policy issues associated with a range of topics, including stem cell research, genetics, patient safety, the prevention of chronic disease, obesity policy, the commercialization of research, complementary and alternative medicine and access to health care. Professor Caulfield is and has been involved with a number of national and international policy and research ethics committees, including: Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee; Genome Canada’s Science Advisory Committee; the Ethics and Public Policy Committee for International Society for Stem Cell Research; and the Federal Panel on Research Ethics. He has won numerous academic awards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He writes frequently for the popular press on a range of health and science policy issues and is the author of The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012) and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash (Penguin 2015).
Our longest podcast yet examines the academic world of Trigger Warnings and Safe Spaces. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Larry Rodgers and and Prism alum Dr. Alan Levinovitz about what Trigger Warnings are, and how universities and professors are dealing with the changing climate surrounding them.
Also, we chat with Dr. Saul Hymes about the current status of the Zika virus outbreak.
Larry Rodgers is Executive Dean, Division of Arts and Science, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and professor of English at OSU.Dean Rodgers received his PhD in English with a minor in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1989). He also holds a BA in English from the University of Oklahoma (1982) and an MA in English from the University of Iowa (1984).
Prior to joining OSU, he served on the faculty of Kansas State University for nineteen years. He was head of English from 1995-2002 and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2002-2008.He is a well-known scholar of multicultural and regional American literature. He has written and edited half a dozen books and numerous articles on twentieth-century American writers as wide ranging as William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, Edna Ferber and Booth Tarkington. His most recent book is America’s Folklorist: Benjamin A. Botkin and American Culture (Oklahoma, 2010). Much of his research has centered around the connection between culture and place, and he’s been especially interested in the ways that American geography defines American identity, especially as writers and artists imagine the importance of place in the context of their work. Alan Levinovitz is assistant professor of religion at James Madison University. His academic work focuses on classical Chinese thought, the philosophy of play, and the intersection of religion and medicine. As an undergraduate he studied philosophy and religion at Stanford, and he received his PhD in religion and literature from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Alan’s writing has appeared in Slate, Wired, The LA Review of Books, The Believer, and The Millions, as well as academic journals.
Alan was on episode 44 of The Prism Podcast, where we discussed his book The Gluten Lie.
As a board-certified pediatric infectious disease physician, Saul Hymes has experience in all matters relating to infections and their treatment and prevention in children. He has particular expertise, and his research activities center around: antibiotic resistance and the appropriate use of antimicrobials (antibiotic stewardship) in both humans and in animal agriculture; tick-borne infections; and the role of social media in the dissemination of health information, particularly around Lyme disease, vaccines, and antibiotics.
In this episode, Clay and Grant sit down with renowned Climate Scientist Michael Mann to discuss his new book The Madhouse Effect. Our conversation covers not only the book, but how do we engage with those with differing viewpoints? How do we find common ground?
Dr. Michael E. Mann received his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Applied Math from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. degree in Physics from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Geology & Geophysics from Yale University.
Dr. Mann was a Lead Author on the Observed Climate Variability and Change chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report in 2001 and was organizing committee chair for the National Academy of Sciences Frontiers of Science in 2003. He has received a number of honors and awards including NOAA's outstanding publication award in 2002 and selection by Scientific American as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002. He contributed, with other IPCC authors, to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union in 2012 and was awarded the National Conservation Achievement Award for science by the National Wildlife Federation in 2013. He made Bloomberg News' list of fifty most influential people in 2013. In 2014, he was named Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and received the Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a co-founder and avid contributor to the award-winning science website RealClimate.org.
Dr. Mann is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, and has published three books including Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines, and most recently, The Madhouse Effect with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles.
In this episode, Clay has his worldview shattered.
Bronwen Dickey is the author of Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon (Alfred A. Knopf, 2016) and a contributing editor at The Oxford American. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek,Outside, Slate, Garden & Gun, Best American Travel Writing, The San Francisco Chronicle, Southern Living, Sport Diver, World Hum, and The Independent Weekly, among other publications. In 2009, she was awarded a first-place Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award and a MacDowell Colony residency grant. She lives in North Carolina.
Also, This Week in Science Based Medicine with Dr. Harriet Hall.
And last, we grovel for your Ockham Award votes. www.skeptic.com.uk Vote for us, please!!
Dr. Amy Tuteur is an obstetrician gynecologist. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1979 and her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 1984. Dr. Tuteur is a former clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. She left the practice of medicine to raise her four children. Her book, Push Back: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting (HarperCollins) is available for purchase.
In this episode, Clay and Grant discuss "Natural Parenting" with Dr. Tuteur, including attachment parenting, breastfeeding, "natural" childbirth, and much more.
Also, we feature Dr. David Gorski in our This Week in Science Based Medicine segment, where we have a discourse on the differences between Science Based Medicine and Evidence Based Medicine.
In this episode, Clay and Grant discuss Science Based Pharmacy with Scott Gavura (see bio below). Also, This Week in Science Based Medicine featuring Jann Bellamy, the Word of the Day, and more.
Scott Gavura, BScPhm, MBA, RPh, is passionate about improving the way drugs are used. A pharmacist by background, Scott works in the Ontario cancer system, managing and optimizing the use of very expensive cancer therapies. He has a professional interest is improving the cost-effective use of drugs at the population level. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Toronto, and has completed a Accredited Canadian Hospital Pharmacy Residency Program. His professional background includes pharmacy work in community and hospital settings. Scott has also held senior roles with government and professional associations, in roles focused primarily on evaluating new drugs, which is where his personal interest in critical appraisal and pharmacoeconomics was stoked. Scott is a registered pharmacist in Ontario.
Due to his frustration with the pharmacy profession’s growing embrace of pseudoscientific products and practices, and inspired by the work of the Science-Based Medicine team, Scott started the Science-Based Pharmacy blog in 2009 to scrutinize pharmacy practices, and to begin a discussion within the profession about its obligations as a health profession.
Steven Tave is the Acting Director, Office of Dietary Supplement Programs at FDA. On this episode, Clay, Grant, and Jason discuss DSHEA, how the FDA regulates supplements and other non-prescription products, and the challenges it faces.
Deborah Berebichez is a physicist, TV host and data scientist. She is the first Mexican woman to graduate with a physics Ph.D. from Stanford University. Dr. Berebichez is the co-host of Discovery Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science TV show (2012 – present) where she uses her physics background to explain the science behind extraordinary engineering feats. She also appears as an expert on the Travel Chanel, NOVA, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and numerous international media outlets.
Dr. Berebichez’ is currently the Chief Data Scientist at Metis in NY. At Metis she leads the creation and growth of exceptional data science training opportunities. Her responsibilities include ensuring the excellence of Metis’ data science bootcamps, corporate training, professional development as well as online programs. She is an active contributor to the national data science ecosystem through frequent public speaking and presentations on panels at data science conferences.
Her work in science education and outreach has been recognized by the WSJ, Oprah, Dr. Oz, TED, DLD, WIRED, Ciudad de las Ideas and others. Her passion is to empower young people to learn science and to improve the state of STEM education in the world. She is a John C. Whitehead Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association, a winner of the Society of SHPE's STAR Award and a recipient for Top Latina Tech Blogger by the Association of Latinos in Social Media LATISM.
Dr. Berebichez completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Columbia University's Applied Math and Physics Department and at NYU's Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences where she carried out research in the area of acoustic waves. She invented a highly effective technique in the field of wireless communications whereby a cell phone user can communicate with a desired target user in a location far away.
Michael Marshall is the Project Director of the Good Thinking Society and the Vice President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society. He regularly speaks with proponents of pseudoscience for the Be Reasonable podcast. His work has seen him organising international homeopathy protests, going undercover to investigate psychics and alternative medicine, and co-founding the popular QED conference. He has written for the Guardian, The Times and New Statesman.
John Horgan, Science Journalist, created quite a stir at NECSS and on the Scientific American blog with his talk and post titled: Dear "Skeptics," Bash Homeopathy and Bigfoot Less, Mammograms and War More. In it, he accused the skeptical community of being too "tribal" and not as critical of themselves as they are of the pseudoscience they bash.
JOHN HORGAN is a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. A former senior writer at Scientific American (1986-1997), he has also written for The New York Times, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Slate and other publications around the world. He writes the "Cross-check" blog for Scientific American and contributes to "Science Faction" on Bloggingheads.tv . He tweets under the tag @horganism (twitter.com/Horganism).
Science Based Nutrition. With all the fads and changing trends out there, what are we to believe about what we should and shouldn't eat? Clay and Grant sit down with Katherine to discuss the current state of nutrition and how the consumer can separate truth from fiction.
Katherine (aka@SmarfDoc) is a graduate student in Nutrition Biochemistry and Epidemiology; her vision is to provide high-quality nutrition science news, opinions, and interactive content for readers and provide a place for nutrition professionals and students to contribute.
On many websites, nutrition science is filtered through the lens of a particular diet outlook or "way of eating" philosophy. At Nutrition Wonk, she covers the science and its context, not promote a specific diet. She welcomes all science lovers and those with a genuine curiosity about their diet.
http://www.thenutritionwonk.com/
Brennen McKenzie, MA, VMD is a 2001 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and he works as a small animal veterinarian in private practice in California. He has a special interest in promoting science-based veterinary medicine and is currently President-Elect of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medical Association. He has published articles on evidence-based medicine in veterinary science journals, and he also writes about both science-based and “alternative” veterinary medicine as the SkeptVet.
Prior to becoming a veterinarian, Dr. McKenzie completed a Master’s Degree in animal behavior, studying captive chimpanzees and working as a specialist in environmental enrichment for captive primates.
Also, Dr. Clay Jones is introduced as the new co-host of the Prism!
Dr. Alan Mead, head honcho of The Dental Hacks podcast, joins Grant and Jason to discuss the concept of "The Death of Expertise" as outlined in an excellent article in The Federalist by Tom Nichols.
Link: http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/17/the-death-of-expertise/
On a sad note, Jason makes his announcement that he is leaving the Prism.
A continuation from our last show, in which Colin discusses the Conspira-Sea Cruise he attended, focusing on his interactions with and interview of Dr. Andrew Wakefield.
On this episode of The Prism, Grant and Clay Jones chat with Colin McRoberts about his voyage on the Conspira-Sea cruise.
Colin is a lawyer and a consultant who specializes in negotiation and communication. He helps clients in dozens of countries around the world negotiate deals, and in his spare time studies how people develop and communicate about irrational ideas.
Enjoy!
www.prismpodcast.com
@prismpodcast
Dr. Jones and Dr. Cattaneo discuss the pros and cons of the practice of dismissing families who don't adhere to the recommended vaccination schedule.
Today, the Prism has a conversation with Christina Stephens, AKA AmputeeOT.
She is an amputee, cyborg, creator of prosthetic leg made out of LEGO, occupational therapist, HoH/Deaf, Guinness Book World Record holder, living in St. Louis.
Chuck Collis teaches high school science in the Clayton, Missouri school district and has an innovative approach to introducing critical thinking into his curriculum. This podcast will appeal to educators, parents of school aged children, and anyone interested in rational thought.
Yvette d’Entremont is your SciBabe (formerly Science Babe). She’s always looked at the alternative medicine and pseudoscience movements with a skeptical eye. When Vani Hari, a.k.a. the Food Babe, took a swipe at her Pumpkin Spice Lattes? It was a call to arms.
You just don’t mess with a native Bostonian’s PSL.
The site was launched on facebook and Yvette has been surprised and happy with the site’s early success. The formula of busting pseudoscience with a combination of real science and humor is pure Yvette (and her trusty sidekick, Science Dog).
Yvette holds a B.A. in theatre, a B.S. in chemistry, and an MSc in forensic science with a concentration in biological criminalistics. She currently runs SciBabe full time and resides in Southern California.
Today's guest is Psychology Professor Sheldon Helms. In this episode, Sheldon discusses woo in psychology, his participation in Operation Bumblebee, his fantastic new podcast "ShelShocked", and much much more!
Sheldon Helms is a tenured professor of psychology at Ohlone College, where he has taught a variety of psychology courses for over 15 years. In addition to his teaching duties, Sheldon also serves as faculty adviser to the Ohlone Psychology Club through which he runs a successful speaker series that hosts top-name scientists and skeptics from around the country.Sheldon extends his efforts to educate the public by serving as Vice President of the Bay Area Skeptics, and by giving public science talks for various groups around the Bay Area. He is also a regular contributor to the James Randi Educational Foundation's website, and hosts the popular weekly skeptical podcast, "ShelShocked," which is available on iTunes or Stitcher.
"A scientist in a scientifically illiterate nation at a time when we need science the most."
On this episode of The Prism, we have a conversation with Kevin Folta, who has been under immense scrutiny by anti-GMO activists for an alleged (but unsubstantiated) unethical conflict of interest relationship with Monsanto. He has been the object of many Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and has been the victim of many an internet witch hunt. Despite this, he has stood tall, hiding nothing, and taking his detractors head on, believing that in the end, truth and science will win out.
Dr. Kevin Folta (from the GMO Answers website):
Kevin Folta is a professor in and chairman of the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He got his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998, and he has worked at University of Wisconsin before settling in at University of Florida. Dr. Folta researches the functional genomics of small fruit crops, the plant transformation, the genetic basis of flavors, and studies at photomorphogenesis and flowering. He has also written many publications and edited books, most recently was the 2011 Genetics, Genomics, and Breeding of Berries. Dr. Folta received the NSF CAREER Award, an HHMI Mentoring Award and was recognized as "University of Florida Foundation Research Professor" in 2010.
Lydia Segebrecht discusses her upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness, the psyhological effects and brainwashing techniques endemic within the Witness worldview, how and why she left the religion, and the recent news about systemic child abuse cases which were denied and covered up by the Watchtower organization.
Jann J. Bellamy is a Florida attorney and lives in Tallahassee. She is a former law clerk to a federal judge, Florida Assistant Attorney General and long-time partner in a Tallahassee law firm, where she practiced mainly in the civil litigation area.
Jann became interested in so-called “complementary and alternative” medicine (CAM) when the Florida Legislature tried to establish a chiropractic school within Florida State University in 2005. She joined others in leading opposition to the school, and this “done deal,” which was strongly opposed by the University faculty, was undone by the university system Board of Governors. During this process, Jann became intrigued that scientifically implausible and unproven healthcare claims could be presented as fact to the public, even to the point of being codified into law, and she left the active practice of law in 2006 to form a non-profit to educate Floridians about “alternative” healthcare claims.
Since then, Jann has been a relentless educator and activist. She is one of the founders and Board members of the Society for Science-Based Medicine, dedicated to providing accurate information about CAM and advocating for state and federal laws that incorporate a science-based standard for all health care practitioners. She is also a founding member of the Institute for Science in Medicine. She runs Oppose Naturopathic Licensing!, which tracks attempts by naturopaths to become state licensed health care providers and provides information on why naturopaths should not be licensed. Finally, she gives talks on CAM to medical students, hospital medical staff, the Center for Inquiry-Tallahassee chapter, and more. She has written for Health News Florida, and has blogged regularly for SBM since 2010.
Latasha Wright received her Ph.D. from NYU Langone Medical Center in cell and molecular biology. She went on to continue her scientific training at Johns Hopkins University and Weill Cornell Medical Center. She has co-authored numerous publications and presented her work at international and national conferences. She is an experienced grant writer. She received her training in development at the Park Avenue Armory under the direction of the Manager of Institutional Giving. The BioBus enables her to share her love of science with a new generation of potential scientists. The BioBus creates a setting that fosters innovation and creativity. Students are encouraged to ask questions, formulate hypotheses, and design experiments. Everyday that she spends teaching students about science in this transformative environment helps her remember that science is fun. She loves sharing the journey of discovery with students of all ages.
Randy Olson is a scientist-turned-filmmaker who earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and became a tenured professor of marine biology at the University of New Hampshire before changing careers by moving to Hollywood and entering film school at the University of Southern California.
He has written three books dealing with improving communication skills for scientists (and everyone else):
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Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style, 2009 (Island Press)
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Connection: Hollywood Storytelling meets Critical Thinking, co-written with Dorie Barton and Brian Palermo, 2013 (Prairie Starfish Productions).
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Houston, We Have A Narrative: Why Science Needs Story, To be released September 2015 (University of Chicago Press)
In this episode of The Prism, Randy discussed the role of narrative in science, and how his "And, But, Therefore" template can be useful for communicators of all stripes.
Britt Marie Hermes was a naturopathic physician in the US for three years before becoming disillusioned with the profession. Realizing that Naturopathy was primarily an ideology based system rather than science based one, Britt made the difficult decision to leave her career. Hoping to help educate others as to the "inner workings" of Naturopathy, Britt started a blog called Naturopathic Diaries (www.naturopathicdiaries.com).
Alan Levinovitz is an assistant professor of Chinese philosophy and religion at James Madison University and author of The Gluten Lie: And Other Myths About What You Eat.
Also, the winner of the Prism Podcast - Carbon Dating caption contest is announced!
Kyle Sanders is the creator of the wonderful skeptical and science based comic strip Carbon Dating (www.carboncomic.com). He shares how he gets his material for his strip, AND he has agreed to partner with The Prism in a cartoon captioning contest!
In this episode of The Prism, Dr. Julie Frantsve-Hawley returns to co-host as we discuss recent fluoride literature and what it means.
Grant and Jason interview Dr. Tom Nabors about advanced techniques for the diagnosis of periodontal disease, the connection between oral health and systemic health, the Word of the Day, and much more!
Montana clinical research dentist and practitioner, Dr. Jane Gillette is a nationally recognized leader in primary oral disease prevention, health disparities and evidence-based dentistry. Dr. Gillette has a unique and diverse background, which includes leadership and work experience in a variety of practice settings including the Federal Dental Service, Community Health Center’s, private practice and the academic/research setting. She currently serves in a leadership capacity with many health organizations including the American Dental Association (ADA), the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA), the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) funded practice-based research network NW PRECEDENT. Dr. Gillette is one of the nation’s leading advocates for reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes via the production and utilization of high quality scientific evidence and works closely with the ADA’s Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry. For the past 5 years she has served on the ADA’s Evidence-Based Dentistry Champions Conference coordinating committee and lectured and taught course work at this conference as well. Dr. Gillette is a reviewer of scientific evidence for the ADA’s evidence-based dentistry website (EBD.ADA.org), an editor for The Journal of Evidence-Based Dental Practice and lectures nationally on topics related to evidence-based dentistry and research translation. Within her state dental association of Montana, Dr. Gillette has served or currently serves on the Montana Dental Association (MDA) Board of Trustees (6 years), the MDA Council on Government Affairs (6 years), is the MDA Chair for the Council on Public Health and Planning (3 years), serves as an ADA House of Delegates Alternate Delegate (6 years) and is the creator and director of the infant oral health program Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (AbCd) MT program (3 years).
Prism regular Dr. Clay Jones comes on to discuss some issues teens face with insufficient sleep and what the American Academy of Pediatrics wants to do about it.
Harriet Hall MD, also known as The SkepDoc, is a retired family physician who writes about pseudoscience and questionable medical practices. She received her BA and MD from the University of Washington, did her internship in the Air Force (the second female ever to do so), and was the first female graduate of the Air Force family practice residency at Eglin Air Force Base. During a long career as an Air Force physician, she held various positions from flight surgeon to DBMS (Director of Base Medical Services) and did everything from delivering babies to taking the controls of a B-52. She retired with the rank of Colonel.
She is a founder and regular contributor to the Science Based Medicine blog, writes at her own Skepdoc.com site, and has authored or contributed to several books.
r. Evonne Kaplan-Liss is a Clinical Associate Professor in Program in Public Health, Preventive Medicine, and Pediatrics, at Stony Brook Medicine and affiliated faculty in Stony Brook’s School of Journalism. Dr. Kaplan-Liss is the Director of the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Health Communications where she combines a strong interest and background in medicine and journalism. She is an active member on the steering committee of Stony Brook’s Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and speaks nationally on their behalf.
In this episode of The Prism, Jason and Grant talk with award winning author and illustrator Daniel Loxton.
In this episode of the Prism, Dr. Nareg Apelian discusses a model of dental (and medical) care that focuses on an equal sharing of power in the conversation. This non-paternalistic approach involves the patient their own care and takes the whole of the patient's circumstances, desires, and other social factors into account when deciding the best approach to care.
We are thrilled to interview James "The Amazing" Randi on this episode of The Prism! Magician, Debunker, Skeptic, and one of the founders and leaders of the skepticism movement as we know it today, Randi is a hero to many, including us. In this interview, we discuss The Amazing Meeting (TAM), the new direction the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is taking, and whether his beard has magical powers. Enjoy!!
In this episode, we interview Dr. Ginger Campbell, host of the popular Brain Science Podcast. We discuss her show as well as her other podcast, Books and Ideas. Brain plasticity, the role of exercise on brain health and function, and other fascinating topics are covered in this episode.
Called by some "The Bill Nye of Australia," Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki (Dr. Karl to his devotees) is a whirlwind of science knowledge and entertainment. Join us on an amazing, fun, and wild ride with Dr. Karl!
Triclosan has been in the news lately and has been banned in some products in Minnesota. In question are some studies that suggest that the anti-bacterial agent may have negative health effects such as acting as endocrine disruptor, possible carcinogenic activity, and creating resistant strains of bacteria. Are these claims justified? If you are using a triclosan-containing product, should you be concerned. In this Quickie, Jason and Grant review the current status of triclosan and offer their opinions.
In this episode of The Prism, Jason and Grant chat with Mr. Paul Ingraham, former massage therapist and woo apostate. His Wikipedia-esque website Save Yourself (soon to become PainScience.com) has a wealth of information about aches, pains, and injuries.
Dr. Eugenie Scott, former Director of the National Center for Science Education, talks to Grant and Julie.
Dr. Alan Mead sits in with Jason and Grant. Anti-fluoride nonsense. NCCAM nonsense. Beer misinformation nonsense.
Julie Frantsve-Hawley from the American Dental Association Center for Evidence Based Dentistry is our guest today.