OK. So I beat Jon Stewart to an interview with Michael Specter. If you're interested in considering how irrational thinking hinders scientific progress, you should listen to my 1:2:1 podcast with Specter along with Stewart's interview. Specter, a writer for The New Yorker magazine, has written a fascinating tome about how conspiracy theories about medicine and science are doing danger to our health. Mind you, the controversy around the miracle drug Vioxx would turn anyone into a Grassy Knoll alarmist, but the fears to sustain suspicions about vaccines, for instance, are just not reality based. Among others, Specter takes on the vitamin and dietary supplement regimes that many Americans faithfully adhere to. He's especially harsh on Dr. Andrew Weil, the guru of alternative medicine. Make the book a stocking stuffer or a gift for a beloved denialist. It's apt to spice up any holiday gathering!
