There is no doubt science is currently suffering from a credibility crisis. Gary Smith's book Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science (Oxford UP, 2023) argues that, ironically, science's credibility is being undermined by tools created by scientists themselves. Scientific disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories are rife because ... Show More
Today
Samantha Barbas, "Hate Speech: The Legal and Cultural History of an American Dilemma" (U California Press, 2026)
The United States has no hate speech laws; hate speech is generally considered to be free speech under the First Amendment. In Hate Speech: The Legal and Cultural History of an American Dilemma (U California Press, 2026), acclaimed legal historian Samantha Barbas chronicles the c ... Show More
35m 22s
Sep 13
Jennifer Hoewe, "Enjoyment Is Breaking News: How We Became Less Informed and More Divided (and How to Fix It)" (MIT Press, 2026)
Why we crave enjoyment from news, how our news use divides us, and what we can do to create better news and more informed citizens. TikTok. Short-form reels. Late-night TV monologues. Podcasts. The way news is delivered has changed dramatically and so has the way we consume it. N ... Show More
54m 14s
Sep 12
Debarati Sanyal, "Arts of the Border: Fugitive Bodies at Europe’s Edges" (Fordham, 2025)
Arts of the Border: Fugitive Bodies at Europe’s Edges (Fordham, 2025) investigates the consequences of unfolding catastrophes across the world and the displacement they continue to produce. Through recent narratives and media representations of the refugee “crisis” at Europe’s ed ... Show More
42m 19s
Sep 2021
The psychology of science denial, doubt and disbelief, with Gale Sinatra, PhD, and Barbara Hofer, PhD
On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideological lines. What are the psychological forces that lead people to disbelieve scientific consensus? Is science denial worse than it’s e ... Show More
36m 52s
Nov 2020
436: Stuart Ritchie | The Science Fictions Undermining Facts
Stuart Ritchie (@StuartJRitchie) is a lecturer in the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s College London and author of Intelligence: All That Matters and Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth. What We Disc ... Show More
1h 10m
Nov 2023
Navigating online misinformation and improving science communication, with David R. Grimes
In this episode, we're joined by science writer and author of 'The Irrational Ape — Why We Fall for Disinformation, Conspiracy Theories, and Propaganda', David Robert Grimes, for a discussion about science communication and the unrelenting rise of misinformation on social media. ... Show More
49m 11s
Oct 2025
How science got here, and where next
As anti-science leaves research reeling, does evidence-based policy in a scientific society have much of a future? Michael Mann, Naomi Oreskes, Angie Rasmussen and Deb Houry discuss some of the sources and motivations that perhaps belie the current state of scientific affairs. Pr ... Show More
31m 30s
Jul 2021
191. Michael Gordin on the Fringe of Where Science Meets Pseudoscience
<p>Everyone has heard of the term "pseudoscience", typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Many would be able to agree on a list of things that fall under its umbrella — astrology, phrenology, UFOlogy, creationi ... Show More
1h 31m
Oct 2021
Research Bias: Sort It Out, Science
<p>There’s a sticky issue scientists have to deal with – science is carried out by humans. We humans have flaws (and how) and they can end up in our work. Fortunately, science is waking up to research bias. In the meantime, here’s what to look out for.</p><p> </p> Learn more abou ... Show More
53m 2s