502 Conversations - Science, Skepticism, Pseudoscience, Philosophy, and more.

Carlos Orsi is an award-winning journalist with more than thirty years of experience in science writing. He is a director and cofounder of IQC, a Brazilian NGO dedicated to promoting science-based public policies, critical thinking, and scientific skepticism. Carlos is the chief editor of Revista Questão de Ciência, and his writing has also appeared in The Skeptical Inquirer and The Skeptic (UK). His new book is “What Science Says About Astrology.” A video version of this conversation is available at https://youtu.be/sOg-AAoDFqM or at briankerby.com © 2026 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.

Dr. William Matthew London is professor emeritus, Cal State LA, Department of Public Health. He is the editor of Center for Inquiry’s Quackwatch e-newsletter Consumer Health Digest, is content curator for Quackwatch's HHS Watch pages and is the online Consumer Health columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. Dr. London is also a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. This episode is also available as a video here https://youtu.be/-7owi4DzspU© 2026 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Links: quackwatch.org

Dr. Joe is director of the McGill Office for Science and Society, which aims to separate sense from nonsense. Dr. Joe holds a PhD in chemistry and is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of love to the science of aging. © 2026 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video version of this podcast is available at https://youtu.be/FjYdbTelmtA or at briankerby.com

A rebuttal, of sorts, to episode 134 of The Body of Evidence, "Medical Cannabis: Where Are We?".Dr. Labos is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology. He writes for the Montreal Gazette, makes regular appearances on CBC radio and TV, and is host of The Body of Evidence podcast, where he takes a skeptical eye at health claims and looks at the body of evidence on a varietyof health topics. He is a Course Lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology,Biostatistics and Occupational Health. He is also the author of the book: Does Coffee Cause Cancer and Eight More Myths About the Food We Eat. © 2026 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video version of this video is available at https://youtu.be/H2KuLpC_W48 or at briankerby.comBody of Evidence medical cannabis episodehttps://bodyofevidence.ca/134-medical-cannabis-where-are-we Dr. Labos’ article on cannabis and driving: https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-the-risks-of-mixing-driving-and-cannabisSelected sources:Di Ciano, P., Rajji, T. K., Hong, L. E., Zhao, S. Y. F., Byrne, P., Elzohairy, Y., Brubacher, J. R., McGrath, M. J., Brands, B., Chen, S., Wang, W., Hasan, O. S. M., Wickens, C. M., Kaduri, P., & Foll, B. L. (2024). Cannabis and Driving in Older Adults. JAMA, 7(1), e2352233. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.52233Han, B. H., Brennan, J. J., Orozco, M. A., Moore, A. A., & Castillo, E. M. (2023). Trends in Emergency Department Visits Associated With Cannabis Use Among Older Adults in California, 2005–2019. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71(4), 1267–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18180Hughes, A. R., Grusing, S., Lin, A., Hendrickson, R. G., Sheridan, D. C., Marshall, R., & Horowitz, B. Z. (2022). Trends in intentional abuse and misuse ingestions in school-aged children and adolescents reported to US poison centers from 2000-2020. Clinical Toxicology, 61(1), 64–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650.2022.2120818Jeffers, A. M., Glantz, S., Byers, A. L., & Keyhani, S. (2024). Association of cannabis use with cardiovascular outcomes among US adults. Journal of the American Heart Association, 13(5), e030178. https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.123.030178Jefsen, O. H., Erlangsen, A., Nordentoft, M., & Hjorthøj, C. (2023). Cannabis use disorder and subsequent risk of psychotic and nonpsychotic unipolar depression and bipolar disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(8), 803. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.1256Kamel, I., Mahmoud, A. K., Twayana, A. R., Younes, A. M., Horn, B., & Dietzius, H. (2025). Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Risks Associated With Cannabis Use: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. JACC Advances, 101698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.101698Myran, D. T., Gaudreault, A., Pugliese, M., Dujovny, M., & Tanuseputro, P. (2023). Cannabis-Involved traffic injury emergency department visits after cannabis legalization and commercialization. JAMA, 6(9), e2331551. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.31551Pierce, A. (2023, January 9). Cannabis-Related Emergency Department Visits Among Older Adults on the Rise. https://health.ucsd.edu/news/press-releases/2023-01-09-cannabis-related-emergency-department-visits-among-older-adults-on-the-rise/Pravosud, V. (2025). Cannabis use among older adults. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10173Stall, N. M., Shi, S., Malikov, K., Wang, S., Rochon, P. A., Hillmer, M. P., & Zipursky, J. S. (2024). Edible cannabis legalization and cannabis poisonings in older adults. JAMA Internal Medicine, 184(7), 840. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.1331Toce, M. S., Monuteaux, M. C., Fishman, M. D., & Hudgins, J. D. (2025). Emergency department visits for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome among adolescents. JAMA Network Open, 8(7), e2520492. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.20492 

Timothy Redmond, PhD teaches high school history, government, and critical thinking and is an adjunct professor at Daemen College. He is a Jackson Center fellow, the recipient of the 2019 Toby Ticktin Back Award for excellence in Holocaust education, and an associate director of the Human Rights Academy. He is the author of Political Tribalism in America: How Hyper-Partisanship Dumbs Down Democracy and How to Fix It. Dr. Redmond also has a monthly newspaper column, “The Examined Life,” which appears in the East Aurora Advertiser.© 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video of this conversations is available at https://youtu.be/nmb5aOpim34

Dr. Crouch, or Dr. Dad as he is known online, is a psychologist, former meditation teacher, and author. He has published research in peer-reviewed academic journals, written therapy workbooks for children, and is the author of the Beyond Belief book series, which teaches children critical thinking skills using fun paranormal mysteries. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video version of this show is available atRaisingaskepticalkid.comInventing the randomized trial and the 1835 trial of homeopathy https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1676327/00:00 Intro and bio 01:56 How did Dr. Dad, raising a skeptical kid.com, andBeyond Belief come about? 02:56 Some definitions: What is skepticism, and what is critical thinking? 07:41 S.M.A.R.T skills 08:45 Response to: children are too young for criticalthinking, leave it to their parents and don’t ruin childhood. 10:55 What does research say about children and criticalthinking? 12:10 How to instigate critical thinking skills in children  13:28 Using spooky things and urban legends to teach critical thinking 16:43 Children teaching CT to adults 17:37 “Science itself isn’t enough to teach criticalthinking skills” - scientists that go astray, MDs that become homeopaths or acupuncturists 20:54 Homeopathy explained 24:54 A test of homeopathy 26:36 Using critical thinking to evaluate authority  29:35 Using paranormal shows to instill critical thinking 36:52 Critical thinking field trips 40:32 Beyond Belief books series for kids 42:27 Critical thinking for seniors… 46:10 Meditation and critical thinking 50:31 Dr. Crouch’s therapy workbooks for children, educationabout emotions and regulation of emotions  51:28 Wrapup and outro

Dr. Joe Pierre is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco; and the Unit Chief of the Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital Adult Inpatient Unit. He has extensive clinical experience working with individuals with psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and those with “dual diagnosis.”Dr. Pierre has authored over 100 papers, abstracts, and book chapters and has been featured in numerous articles; media interviews, and the award-winning documentary Behind the Curve.© 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. A video version of this show is available at https://youtu.be/YhlDchaF-G4

A video version of this show is available at ⁠⁠https://youtu.be/jNo6479P3C4Stuart Vyse is a behavioral scientist, teacher, and writer, with a PhD in psychology. He is an expert on superstition and irrational behavior, and has been quoted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Vyse has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR’s Science Friday. Dr. Vyse is the author of several books, including Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association; Superstition: A Very Short Introduction; and, The Uses of Delusion: Why It’s Not Always Rational to be Rational.He is a contributing editor for Skeptical Inquirer magazine with his “Behavior & Belief” column, and has also written for the Observer, Medium, The Atlantic, The Good Men Project, Tablet, and Time.Dr. Vyse is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Further resources:stuartvyse.comfacilitatedcommunication.orghttps://www.youtube.com/@fcisnotscienceStuart Vyse “The Telepathy Tapes” article: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-telepathy-tapes-a-dangerous-cornucopia-of-pseudoscience/Prisoners of Silence PBS Frontline 1993 https://ia902900.us.archive.org/33/items/PrisonersofSilence/Frontline.S11E17.Prisoners.of.Silence.1993.VHSRip.AAC2.0.x264-rattera.mp4Project Alpha: https://skepticalinquirer.org/1983/07/the-project-alpha-experiment-part-1-the-first-two-years/https://skepticalinquirer.org/1983/10/the-project-alpha-experiment-part-2-beyond-the-laboratory/N-Rays “The story of N-rays, which fooled many respectable scientists, has been used ever since as a cautionary tale of how easy it is to deceive oneself into seeing something that is not really there.” https://www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/200708/history.cfmand https://www.wired.com/2014/09/fantastically-wrong-n-rays/

A video version of this conversation is available at https://youtu.be/uJ-ufcTJQnYBernie Garrett, PhD, is a professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Nursing with over 35 years of experience in both critical care nursing and nursing education in the UK and Canada. He holds a PhD in information science, and has a number of specialist clinical and educational qualifications. Bernie Garrett has authored several science and clinical textbooks; chapters in edited books; and numerous research papers. His work is underpinned by a passion for health science and technology, and he holds provincial and national awards for his work in furthering nurse education. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.References:“An act establishing a board of registry in naturopathy.” n.d. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2016/Chapter400.Atwood, Kimball C. and Massachusetts Medical Society. 2001. “Naturopathy: A Monograph.” https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2021/07/12132253/opposition.pdf.Garrett, Bernard M., and Roger L. Cutting. 2017. “Magical Beliefs and Discriminating Science From Pseudoscience in Undergraduate Professional Students.” Heliyon 3 (11): e00433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00433.Garrett, Bernie, Sue Murphy, Shahin Jamal, Maura MacPhee, Jillian Reardon, Winson Cheung, Emilie Mallia, and Cathryn Jackson. 2018. “Internet Health scams—Developing a Taxonomy and Risk‐of‐deception Assessment Tool.” Health & Social Care in the Community 27 (1): 226–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12643.Garrett, Bernie, Timothy Caulfield, Blake Murdoch, Matt Brignall, Atul Kumar Kapur, Susan Murphy, Erin Nelson, et al. 2021. “A Taxonomy of Risk‐associated Alternative Health Practices: A Delphi Study.” Health & Social Care in the Community 30 (3): 1163–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13386.Risk of Deception Tool https://news.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/RoD-tool.pdfRosa L, Rosa E, Sarner L, Barrett S. A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch. JAMA. 1998;279(13):1005–1010. doi:10.1001/jama.279.13.1005https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/187390“VHA Directive 1137- VA Provision of Complementary-Integrative Health.” n.d. https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/professional-resources/clinician-tools/cih.asp.

Katharine Beals has a PhD in linguistics, is adjunct assistant at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and is an adjunct professor at both the Drexel University and Temple University schools of education. Dr. Beals specializes in language and literacy acquisition in autism, language technologies for autistic individuals, educational challenges for students with autism, evidence based instruction, and the problems with FC as an intervention in autism. © 2025 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Video version available at https://youtu.be/nldpkNllFDE Sources: D’Souza, K. (2022). A movement rises to change the teaching of reading. EdSource. https://edsource.org/2022/a-movement-rises-to-change-the-teaching-of-reading/675989 Travers, J., & Ayres, K. (2015). A critique of presuming competence of learners with autism or other developmental disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilitites, 50(4), 371–387. Travers, J. (2020). Rapid prompting method is not consistent with evidence-based reading instruction for students with autism. Perspectives on Language, Winter 2020. https://tinyurl.com/4up9y7nd

Cholesterol denialism Dr. Christopher Labos is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology. He spends most of his time doing things for which he does not get paid, like research, teaching, podcasting, and speaking with me. He writes for the Montreal Gazette, makes regular appearances on CBC radio and TV, and is co-host of The Body of Evidence podcast, where he and Jonathan Jarry take a skeptical eye at health claims and look at the body of evidence on a variety of health topics. He is also the author of the book: Does Coffee Cause Cancer and Eight More Myths About the Food We Eat. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Video version available at https://youtu.be/JUJKfcEWiqY Links to topics/papers mentioned in the show: Cholesterol denialism https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/cholesterol-denialism-pseudoscience-2024a100083z Endurance exercise https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/too-much-good-thing-can-endurance-exercise-be-harmful-2024a1000fhx and https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0870255124000799?via%3Dihub Multivitamins, cocoa extract and dementia https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996926 and https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981780 https://www.mdedge.com/cardiology/article/270665/arrhythmias-ep/skip-potassium-after-cardiac-surgery Intermittent fasting https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/1000544 Sodium vs. potassium for BP https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/999805 Internal mammary ligation for angina RCT https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJM195905282602204 Chelation therapy https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/medical/study-gets-heart-controversial-chelation-therapy

Dr. Offit is a pediatrician; a professor of both pediatrics and vaccinology; director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology and is a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee and has published hundreds of papers in medical and scientific journals. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Video version here https://youtu.be/83vqu3_BbRw 00:00 Intro 00:24 Welcome and bio 02:02 Background for topics 05:35 RFK Jr.: conspiracy theorist 10:37 RFK Jr. "no vaccine has ever been beneficial" BS; and the real truth about vaccine successes 15:36 The potential fallout of having an anti-vaccination activist as head of HHS 18:11 Chronic disease vs. infectious disease 19:00 Dr. Oz for CMS? 20:36 Weldon for CDC? 22:57 Makary for FDA? 26:17 Instilling trust by admitting mistakes 27:26 Yet another RFK Jr. conspiracy theory 28:48 Bhattacharya for NIH? 31:16 COVID revisionism and lab leak BS 37:39 Politicizing science - contrarians over credibility 39:39 Nuanced messaging 40:46 Learning as you go, and the overall system at work 44:03 Ending on a positive note (for some…)

Adrienne is a skeptical activist, and serves as a board member for the nonprofit organization About Time. Additionally, she holds positions as a board member, presenter, and educational consultant for the Tourette OCD Alberta Network. Adrienne actively contributes as an editor for Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia; reports for The Skeptic Zone podcast; writes for Skeptical Inquirer magazine in the US and Australia’s The Skeptic Magazine; and co-chairs the Western Canadian Reason Conference (WeCanReason), which is held annually each May in Calgary, Canada. Her website is zonegiggler.ca Video version available at https://youtu.be/GLmyzbIbe0M © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Thumbnail credit: Skeptical Inquirer

Dr. Katharine Beals has a PhD in linguistics, is lecturer at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and an adjunct professor at both the Drexel University and Temple University schools of education. She is the author of numerous books and articles on language, literacy, math instruction, and problems with current practices in K–12 classrooms. She recently authored the article “Should schools dedicate time to grit and growth mindset”. Video version available at https://youtu.be/QG-zOOrXfjM © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.

This episode may be viewed as a video here: https://youtu.be/9t_wwXRo4j0 Welcome! As I mentioned in the 502 Conversations Brain Training episode with Dr. Indre Viskontas, I did a prior show on brain supplements. The show is The Dr. Dennis Show, which I co-host. I thought it might be a good idea to excerpt the brain supplement segment and make it available on 502 Conversations. Enjoy! © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited. Links to reports mentioned in this show: MEMORY SUPPLEMENTS Clarifying FDA and FTC Roles Could Strengthen Oversight and Enhance Consumer Awareness https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-17-416.pdf The Real Deal on Brain Health Supplements: GCBH Recommendations on Vitamins, Minerals, and Other Dietary Supplements https://tinyurl.com/m5cru57j New Report Pans Supplements for Brain Health: AARP collaborative council finds little value — but lots of expense — in would-be memory boosters https://tinyurl.com/y4btb3w6 Summer 2021 update to AARP’s Supplement survey:https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/global-council-on-brain-health/supplements/    

This episode may be viewed as a video here https://youtu.be/YIkCs1XCPWo Dr. Viskontas has a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and a masters of music in voice performance. She is currently an associate professor of psychology at the University of San Francisco where she directs the creative brain lab; and she has a cross appointment at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she applies neuroscience to musical training. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.

This episode may be viewed as a video here https://youtu.be/7FuWSjf2YEQ Dr. Joe Schwarcz is Director of the McGill 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 and is fondly referred to as Dr. Joe. He hosts "The Dr. Joe Show" on Montreal's CJAD radio; writes the newspaper column The Right Chemistry for the Montreal Gazette; and has authored the best-selling books such as Radar, Hula Hoops and Playful Pigs; An Apple a Day; and Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules. His newest is book, Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex: Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life. Dr. Joe is also an amateur magician and often spices up his presentations with a little magic, and like most magicians he has a pronounced disdain for pseudoscience and charlatans, from psychics to so called alternative health practitioners. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.

This episode may be seen as a video here: https://youtu.be/-8n9ZVV9M5E Dr. Paul Offit is a pediatrician; a professor of both pediatrics and vaccinology; and he is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotoTeq, and is a member of the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Committee. He has published hundreds of papers in medical and scientific journals, speaks at both professional and public conferences, and is the author of 13 books. His newest book is Tell Me When It’s Over: An Insider’s Guide to Deciphering Covid Myths and Navigating Our Post-Pandemic World. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.

A video version is available at https://youtu.be/_VdNPIoajSc David Samson, PhD., is an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Toronto, and Director of the Sleep and Human Evolution Lab. He is the author of “Our Tribal Future: How to channel our foundational human instincts into a force for good”. His research directly addresses the central anthropological question of human uniqueness. In other words, the question he asks is what is it about our species that has made us the most successful animal on the planet? He’s comparatively worked with human and non-human primates around the globe to better understand the behavioral, physiological, and cognitive suite of traits that likely played a crucial role in our advance. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission, is prohibited.

This episode may be viewed as a video here https://youtu.be/wGlswKJMHTU Anthony Magnabosco is from San Antonio, Texas and is a founder and the current Executive Director of the nonprofit Street Epistemology International (SEI). SEI is an educational organization committed to addressing dysfunction in public and private discourse by encouraging rationality through civil conversation. SEI's goal is to provide people with the resources needed to develop, practice, and promote Street Epistemology, an approach that helps people critically reflect on the quality of their reasoning so as to update the confidence they have in their conclusions. © 2024 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited. Links: streetepistemology.com navigatingbeliefs.com linktr.ee/magnabosco Anthony's Youtube Channel

This episode may also be viewed here. Remember when we were young and chocolate was good for us? And red wine too, the more the better? Dr. Christopher Labos is here once again to set the record straight. He talks more about his book - plot and character development; the French Paradox; Mendelian randomization; this year in Cardiology, and more! A cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology, he spends most of his time doing things for which he does not get paid, like research, teaching, and podcasting. Occasionally, he finds time to practice as a cardiologist so he can pay his rent. He realizes that half of his research findings will be disproved in five years: he just doesn't know which half. He writes for the Montreal Gazette, and makes regular appearances on CBC radio and TV. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode is also available as a video here: https://youtu.be/o7Jc2OKpa5o Dr. Wilson is a molecular biologist and science communicator. Dr. Wilson got his Bachelor's degree in molecular biology and biotechnology from Clarion University and his PhD in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University. After getting his PhD he began working for Eurofins as a process analytical scientist, and is currently working on gene therapies. In his spare time he produces and hosts Debunk the Funk, his YouTube channel dedicated to debunking vaccine and COVID-related misinformation. https://www.youtube.com/c/DebunktheFunkwithDrWilson © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode may be viewed as a video here: https://youtu.be/gPuAxnoBaIA Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. The recipient of several teaching awards, he has taught philosophy at Colgate University, Boston University, Tufts Experimental College, Simmons College, and Harvard Extension School. Formerly Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, he has also served as a policy advisor to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. He is the author of several books, including How to Talk to A Science Denier; The Scientific Attitude; The Art of Good and Evil; and Post Truth. His latest book is On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode may be seen as a video here https://youtu.be/NK6QxIdhueQ Dr. Young is a Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware where she studies the content, audience, and effects of nontraditional political information. She has published over sixty academic articles and book chapters on the content, psychology, and effects of political information, satire, and misinformation. She is a Research Fellow with the University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication and is a recipient of the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. Young's 2020 TED Talk explaining how our psychology shapes our politics, and how media exploit these relationships, has been viewed almost two million times. She publishes extensively in the popular press with essays and Op-eds in outlets including Vox.com, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She has appeared on CNN, PBS Newshour, ABC News, NPR, and various national and international podcasts. Her popular University of Delaware course "Propaganda and Persuasion" was released by Wondrium’s The Great Courses in 2023. Her book Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the U.S. examines satire and outrage as the logical extensions of the respective psychological profiles of liberals and conservatives, and her new book is Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive our Appetite for Misinformation. Dr. Young is also an improvisational comedian, performing regularly with the improv comedy troupe, ComedySportz Philadelphia, and she has worked with Flackcheck.org to debunk inaccurate political claims through satire and parody. She grew up in New Hampshire and graduated from the University of New Hampshirebefore moving to Philadelphia to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. She has been a professor at the University of Delaware since 2006. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode is also available as a video here: https://youtu.be/hK9DaPsYgNA Writer, folklorist, and research fellow, and paranormal investigator Benjamin Radford discusses a history of Halloween; urban legends including organ theft and bad clowns; investigating ghosts and the paranormal; and more, much more! Benjamin 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. His research work has included psychics; ghosts and haunted houses; exorcisms; miracles; Bigfoot; stigmata; lake monsters; UFO sightings; reincarnation; crop circles; and many other topics. He is perhaps best known for solving the mysteries of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost, the Hispanic vampire el Choo-PAH-CAB-RAH, and his book Bad Clowns, the first to fully examine the evil clown phenomenon. He has written thousands of articles on a wide variety of topics, including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy and is the author of 13 books including: America the Fearful; Tracking the Choo-Pah-Cab-Rah; Bad Clowns; Scientific Paranormal Investigation; Media Mythmakers; Big if True; The Martians Have Landed - A History of Media Driven Panic, co-authored with Robert Bartholomew; and Investigating Ghosts - The Scientific Search for Spirits.

This episode may also be viewed as a video here https://youtu.be/A564BmrXTAo Andy Norman has a PhD in Philosophy from Northwestern University and is the award-winning author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. andynorman.org His research illuminates the evolutionary origins of human reasoning, the norms that make dialogue fruitful, and the workings of the mind’s immune system. He champions the emerging science of mental immunity as the antidote to disinformation, propaganda, hate, and division. His work has appeared in Scientific American, Psychology Today, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, and The Humanist and he directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the founder of CIRCE, the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode may also be viewed as a video here: 502 Conversations with Dr. Christopher Labos. Dr. Christopher Labos is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology, and the author of the new book "Does Coffee Cause Cancer? and Eight More Myths About the Food We Eat" at doescoffeecausecancer.com He writes for the Montreal Gazette, and makes regular appearances on CBC radio and TV. He is also the co-host of The Body of Evidence podcast, where he and Jonathan Jarry take a skeptical eye at health claims and look at the body of evidence on a variety of health topics. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode may also be viewed as a video here, or at 502conversations.com Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is the author of several books, including How to Talk to A Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason; The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience; The Art of Good and Evil; and Post Truth. Lee McIntyre’s popular essays have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Nature, Newsweek, Scientific American, and numerous other venues. He has appeared on CNN International; PBS, NPR; the BBC—and has spoken at the United Nations, NASA, and the Vatican, and his work has been translated into seventeen languages. His newest book, soon to be released in August, is On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited. Thumbnail photo credit Rick Bern

This episode may be viewed as a video here 502 Conversations with Melanie Trecek-King. Melanie Trecek-King is the creator of ThinkingIsPower.com, an online resource that provides critical thinking education to the general public. She is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College, where she teaches a general-education science course designed to equip students with critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills.  An active speaker and consultant, Melanie loves to share her "teach skills, not facts" approach with other science educators, and help schools and organizations meet their goals through better thinking. She is also the Education Director for the Mental Immunity Project and CIRCE (Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative), which aim to advance and apply the science of mental immunity to inoculate minds against misinformation. © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

This episode may be viewed as a video at 502 Conversations. Todd Stiefel is founder and president of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation and he is also president of Heretical Reason Productions and the founder and chair of the ScienceSaves campaign. He is an activist and philanthropist, and has gifted over $8.7 million to charitable causes. When not raising funds and advocating for the principles he is passionate about, Todd executive produces independent movies such as the documentary "Shot in the Arm". © 2023 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited.

A conversation with Dr. Naomi Oreskes, professor of the History of Science, and author of Why Trust Science, and Merchants of Doubt. This episode may be viewed as a video here. Dr. Oreskes is a world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, as well as a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action. She is the Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science; and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University.  Dr. Oreskes is the author or co-author of 10 books, including Why Trust Science?; The Collapse of Western Civilization; Discerning Experts; and of course the best selling book Merchants of Doubt, co-authored with Erik Conway, which has been translated into nine languages and was made into a documentary film of the same name.  She is also author or co-author of over 150 articles, essays and opinion pieces, some of which have appeared in leading newspapers around the globe, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and the Times (of London). Her numerous awards and prizes include the 2019 Geological Society of America Mary C. Rabbitt Award; the British Academy Medal 2019; and the 2016 Stephen Schneider Award for outstanding Climate Science Communication, to name just a few.  She is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In 2018 she was named a Guggenheim Fellow for her upcoming book with Erik Conway, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market, which will be published by Bloomsbury Press in February 2023.

This episode may be viewed as a video here Dr. Paul Offit on 502 Conversations Dr. Paul Offit reappears on 502 Conversations for a Covid vaccine update, including a discussion of the bivalent booster. He also speaks about the flu 2022; a potential RSV vaccine; tips for budding writers; and more.  © 2022 Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited. Dr. Paul Offit is a pediatrician, and a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology. Dr. Offit is co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotoTeq, and is a member of VRPAC, the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Committee. He has published hundreds of papers in medical and scientific journals, and is author of 12 books including Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong; Bad Advice: Why Celebrities, Politicians and Activists Aren’t Your Best Source of Health Information;  Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine;Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes to Far; and his newest book is You Bet Your Life: From Blood Transfusions to Mass Vaccinations, the Long and Risky History of Medical Innovation.

When his daughter was diagnosed with anorexia, Craig Good got an up close look at how important it is to have a healthy relationship with your food. As the author of Relax and Enjoy Your Food, he’s put on his science communicator hat to untangle the myths that keep us anxious and less healthy than we could be.  Craig Good spent thirty one years at Pixar (and Lucasfilm before that) where he worked on movises such as Toy Story; A Bug’s Life; Finding Nemo; and Cars; among dozens of others. He is now an Assistant Professor at the California College of the Arts. As someone with wide ranging interests that include food and science, he’s guest hosted and written for the Skeptoid podcast, and has been a guest on the SGU. This episode may be viewed as a video here.

Dr. Paul Offit discusses his book "Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far". Brian Kerby and Dr. Offit talk about current studies regarding Vitamin D; mammographies; stents; supplements; and more.  This episode may be viewed here. Paul A. Offit, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology. The co-inventor of RotoTeq, a rotavirus vaccine, Dr. Offit is credited with saving hundreds of lives worldwide every day, and approximately 60 of those saved are here in the U.S.He is the author of several books including Do You Believe in Magic? Vitamins, Supplements, and all Things Natural: A Look Behind the Curtain; Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong; several books on vaccines such as The Cutter Incident: How America’s First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis; and Deadly Choices: How the Anti-vaccination Movement Threatens Us All; and his newest book is Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes to Far. Thumbnail Credit: Book cover used with permission of the author.

Joe Uscinski, PhD, is a Political Scientist at the University of Miami. He studies public opinion and mass media, with a focus on conspiracy theories and related misinformation.  He received his bachelor's degree from Plymouth State University, his Master's from University of New Hampshire, and his Doctorate from University of Arizona. His research has appeared in Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and Critical Review among other scholarly outlets. He has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, The  Guardian, Newsweek, Politico, VOX, The New York Times and more. He is the author of Conspiracy Theories: A Primer; The Peoples News: Media, Politics, and the Demands of Capitalism; is coauthor of American Conspiracy Theories; and editor of Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them. © 2021 502 Conversations and Dedham TV. Unauthorized duplication, for any reason, without permission is prohibited. This episode is also available as a video here https://youtu.be/-lZvhNQzIMc

Rob Palmer, aka The Well Known Skeptic.  Rob is a former spacecraft designer, aerospace project engineer, programmer, and software engineer. An erstwhile believer in biorhythms, ancient aliens, ESP and all kinds of pseudoscientific nonsense, he is now the eponymous author of the Skeptical Inquirer column "The Well Known Skeptic", in which he writes book reviews, conducts interviews with skeptics and public figures, and investigates such topics as psychics and psychic fraud, and the purported sonic attacks on U.S. diplomats. This conversation may be viewed here as well. Rob's Skeptical Inquirer column: https://skepticalinquirer.org/categor... Rob Palmer Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TWKSkeptic Psychic Fraud presentation by Rob Palmer to NYC Skeptics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o5Ul...Rob Palmer's article: Belief In Psychics: What's The Harm And Who's To Blame?:  https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusi... Bob Nygaard Wikipedia page:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Nyg... Susan Gerbic's column with articles on Mediums: https://skepticalinquirer.org/authors...

This episode may also be viewed as a video here: 502 Conversations with Medical Sociologist Robert Bartholomew Robert Bartholomew is co-author of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria. In this conversation, he speaks about Havana Syndrome and its symptoms; mass psychogenic illness (MPI) and its symptoms; historical examples and documentation of MPI; causes; the purported weaponry suggested for Havana Syndrome; the FBI and CIA investigations; the journalistic embarrassment of Scott Pelley and 60 Minutes; and more. Robert Bartholomew is medical sociologist, writer, journalist, and human rights advocate. Well-known for his books on social panics and outbreaks of mass hysteria throughout history, he has examined cases ranging from demonically possessed nuns during the Middle Ages to the Salem witch-hunts of 1692, to contemporary episodes involving twitching schoolgirls in LeRoy, New York, to the students at a Massachusetts school who hiccupped for a year.  An Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, he has has written 17 books including: Hoaxes, Myths & Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking; Outbreak! The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior (with Hilary Evans), and Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria (with Professor Robert Baloh). He is the author of more than sixty scholarly publications; has been featured in a National Geographic series on modern myths; and has appeared on The History and Discovery Channels.  A Fellow with the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, he holds a Ph.D. in sociology from James Cook University in Australia, a Masters in American Sociology from the State University of New York at Albany, and a Masters in Australian Sociology from The Flinders University of South Australia. 

CAUTION: This episode contains descriptions of gay conversion therapy that are equivalent to mental and physical abuse.   A discussion with psychology professor Sheldon W. Helms regarding Gay Conversation Therapy, its various iterations,  the fallacy of the concept, the brutality of its implementation, and the failure of the government to intervene in a meaningful way. This episode may also be viewed here. Sheldon W. Helms is professor of psychology at Ohlone College in Fremont, CA. Sheldon is also an activist and advocate for science and critical thinking, and gives public science talks on a variety of topics related to those interests.  "As a psychology professor, I have a vested interest in encouraging people to think more critically about the world around them. This is particularly true in regard to human interaction. Many of us spend our lives floundering about, trying to figure out what makes people tick (and what makes us tick), doing only a mediocre job at it. Only by studying the social sciences do we have even the slightest chance of acquiring such knowledge."

Topics discussed include intuition vs. critical thinking; how he chooses a topic; science journalism vs science communication; what constitutes a legitimate disagreement between scientists; and much more. Jonathan Jarry is a science communicator with the McGill Office for Science and Society, dedicated to separating sense from nonsense on the scientific stage. He is a biological scientist, with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology, and he brings his experience in cancer research, human genetics, rehabilitation research, and forensic biology to the work he does for the public.   From January 2021.  This episode may also be viewed here.

Brian Deer's 2020 book "The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines" chronicles Deer's exposition of the MMR/autism fraud that Andrew Wakefield perpetrated.  In this comprehensive Q&A,  Brian Deer talks about red flags he noticed right away;  exposing the multiple layers of the fraud; how the case series passed review and was published in the Lancet; the media falling for the hoax; the vulnerability of parents with severely challenged children; and much more.  This episode may be view on youtube here. "The Doctor Who Fooled the World" was an Amazon best seller and received the Gold Award in the 2021 Independent Book Publisher Awards and the 2021 Eric Hoffer award for nonfiction.   Brian Deer is a veteran British investigative journalist for the Sunday Times of London, best known for his investigations into the drug industry, medicine, and social issues. He has twice been named the UK’s specialist reporter of the year, has received the annual Healthwatch Award; was the 2009 Susan B Meister lecturer in child health policy at the University of Michigan; the 2012 Distinguished Lecturer in Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse; was made Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by York St. John University in 2016; has written six articles for the BMJ; and produced a documentary for British PBS Channel 4.

Where are we now? Boosters; Omicron; Sars-Cov2 drift; science communication; possibilities of a Covid-19 supervax; pig hearts; and more. This episode may be viewed on youtube here. Paul A. Offit, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology. Dr. Offit is co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotoTeq, and is a member of VRPAC, the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Committee.

Recorded at CSICON 2019. Dr. Natalia Pasternak earned a bachelor degree in Biology from Institute of Biosciences of the University of São Paulo and a PhD and two postdoctoral fellowships in Microbiology, in the field of Bacterial Genetics at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.   She is a founding partner and president of “A Question of Science” Institute, the first Brazilian nonprofit for the promotion of skepticism and rational thinking, and publisher of the magazine Question of Science. Natalia Pasternak is co-author of the book "Neuro-Mythbusters, Vol II" and author of the book Everyday Science. She is also the founder of the initiative "Scientists Explain", which offers lectures, classes, and workshops for schools, universities, museums and research institutes; and she ran the Brazilian chapter of the international science communication festival Pint of Science from 2016-19. In this conversation we discuss so called alternative medicine in Brazil; Dr.s and Homeopathy (WHAT!?); irrational use of public funds to pay for ineffective treatments; the limits of regulatory agencies; Quack cancer cure folly in Brazil; the success of the Brazilian genetically edited Brown bean; the importance of good science communication; and more. This episode may also be viewed here. [email protected]

Paul A. Offit M.D. is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases; Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; and Professor of Vaccinology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is a Board Member of Every Child by Two and is a founding member of the Autism Science Foundation.  He is an expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology. The co-inventor of RotoTeq, a rotavirus vaccine, Dr. Offit is credited with saving hundreds of lives every day. He has appeared on The Colbert Report, CBS This Morning, The Daily Show with John Stewart, 60 Minutes, Inside Edition, the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and Democracy Now, among others.  He is the author of hundreds of publications, and 10 books, including:  Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine;  Do You Believe in Magic: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine; Pandora’sLab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong; several books on vaccines; and Bad Advice: or, Why Celebrities, Politicians, and Activists Aren’t Your Best Source of Health Information. This episode may also be viewed on youtube.

A discussion about belief and knowledge; "knowledge of" versus "knowledge debt"; expertise and authority; deduction vs. induction vs. intuition vs. revelation; and more. I should point out that when relating my previous conversation about knowledge with Dr. James Alcock, in addition to the comment about content and the degree of conviction, Dr. Alcock did speak of Plato's justified, true, belief rubric.   Massimo Pigliucci PhD., (patreon.com/PlatoFootnotes) has a doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara, a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from UConn, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee.  He is currently the K. D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of NY.   He has published in the New York Times, Philosophy Now, and The Philosopher’s Magazine, among others. He has 142 technical papers in science and philosophy, and is the author or editor of 10 technical and public outreach books including:  Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk; and How to be a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern Life. He has several free downloads available on such topics as philosophy, science, and skepticism at platofootnote.wordpress.com  This episode may also be viewed at youtube.com.

Comedian, writer, producer, actor, monologist, voracious reader, atheist, and Center for Inquiry board of director Julia Sweeney. Some of Julia’s TV credits include Brooklyn Nine- Nine, Fraiser, Family Guy, Mad About You, and of course her multi-season stint as a cast member on SNL. She has appeared in films such as Pulp Fiction, Vegas Vacation, and Stuart Little. Julia is also a playwright and has created several one person shows, among them God Said Ha;  Letting Go of God, which chronicles her personal journey from Catholicism to atheism;  and Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider. This episode may also be viewed on youtube.

Described as “the cream of the crop” of entertainers, Banachek is the world’s leading Mentalist. His talents are so incredible that he is the only mentalist ever to fool scientists into believing he possessed “Psychic powers”, only to later reveal he was fooling them. He’s astounded audiences around the world, and has been featured on CNN Live, NBC’s Today Show, Inside Edition, ABC’s Nightline, the BBC, and numerous network TV specials, as well as in print in the New York Times, USA Today, Scientific American, and countless other publications. Banachek is also a professional skeptic, is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and has overseen several James Randi Educational Foundation challenges. This episode may be viewed on youtube.

Brian Kerby Q&A's with Consulting Occultist and author Mark Edward. Mark discusses his book "Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium", his work on the Psychic Friends Network, being named a "Psychic Superstar", and the "World's Greatest Psychic" and more...much more. Mark Edward has been involved in skeptic activism since circa 1989, and was on the editorial board of Skeptic Magazine. He spent almost 10 years embedded with psychics of all types, all the while collecting information and doing research for his book "Psychic Blues."  This episode may also be viewed on youtube.

Dr. James Alcock has a PhD in psychology and teaches at York University in Toronto. His research interests are focused on belief and in particular, on why people believe in things that have no scientific basis. A noted critic of parapsychology, he is a fellow of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and also on the editorial board. He has received CSI’s highest award, the In Praise of Reason award. He is also a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association. This episode may also be viewed on youtube.

A Q&A with Dr. Harriet Hall of skepdoc.info regarding acupuncture, statistics, quackery, chiropractors, homeopathy, naturopathy and more.  Dr. Hall is a retired family physician and former Air Force flight surgeon. She writes about medicine, so-called complementary and alternative medicine, science, quackery, and critical thinking.  She is an editor and one of the five MD founders of the Science-Based Medicine blog. She writes the SkepDoc column in Skeptic magazine, is a contributing editor to Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer,  and a medical advisor and author of articles on the Quackwatch website. Dr. Hall is the author of Women Aren't Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon and co-author of the textbook Consumer Health: a Guide to Intelligent Decisions. This episode may also be viewed on youtube.

A conversation about how we are fooled, belief, why and how we believe; shut eyes and cold readers; cognitive psychology; making sense of the world; magic, mentalism, and trickery; and more, with: Ray Hyman, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Oregon; James Alcock, Professor Of Psychology, Glendon College, York University; and James The Amazing Randi, Magician and Escape Artist, Demystifier of the Pseudoscientific. This episode may also be viewed on youtube.