Humanism Now | Secular Ethics, Curiosity and Compassionate Change 70. Science, Trust, and the History of Quacks with Jenny Lange
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"Science is not objective. It is subjective. And I think having conversations about it is very important."
Dr Jenny Lange is a neuroscientist specialising in uncovering the mechanisms of rare neurological disorders. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London. Outside the lab, Dr Lange is a public speaker and writer on medical history, the intersection of science and literature, and scientific ethics.
Things we discuss
- The history of quackery and why charlatans follow the same playbook
- Research abuses that have legitimately fueled mistrust in science
- How to practice healthy, proportional skepticism and spot the difference between real and pseudoscience
References:
- William J. A. Bailey and Radithor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._A._Bailey
- The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: https://www.history.com/articles/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6493208-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks
- Andrew Wakefield and the discredited MMR-autism study: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield
- Paolo Macchiarini trachea implant scandal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Macchiarini
- Greenwich Skeptics in the Pub: https://www.meetup.com/greenwich-skeptics-in-the-pub/
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Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation.