January 9th, 2011 → 12:17 pm @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
This weekend, NPR’s On the Media included a segment on my book, The Panic Virus, which will officially go on sale on Tuesday (although people who pre-ordered off of Amazon have reported already receiving their copies).
You can listen to the segment below — or, if you want to have your very own copy to hold own forever, you can download it from the show’s website.
Post Categories: Media alerts
Tags: NPR, On the Media, radio
E stamas
13 years ago
We enjoyed your nhpr interview, I think it was on the media repeat today. I have not read your book yet ,so maybe there is something about the need for more science education and scientific analysis by journalists so that they can evaluate info better. just today NPR also had a short item about whooping cough symptoms but they never said anything about why it is becoming more common to have no immunity to this disease. A typical case of too little research and too brief or simplistic reporting of scientific facts. You’re raising awareness of some extremely important issues in journalism today.
Keep up the good work
emma stamas
Twyla
13 years ago
E stamas, KPBS and the Watchdog Institute at San Diego State U have spent the last four months investigating this epidemic and two of the reporters, Joanne Faryon and Kevin Crowe, discuss some of their findings here: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/dec/10/whooping-cough-has-sickened-thousands-vaccine-work/
They found that many of the people coming down with pertussis had been immunized, but that apparently the disease has changed and the vaccine is not as effective as it used to be.
Rebecca
13 years ago
I think the important thing is to not stop questioning- as one notable scientist put it.
I find it interesting that this NPR vaccine discussion included the names of Jenny McCarthy and Oprah but did not make any mention of the a very large non-profit organization tackling concerns around vaccine safety and informing the public…the National Vaccine Information Center. NVIC.org.
Why is that? Surely you must be familiar with their work from doing research for your book- and they’ve been around since the early 1980’s, long before Wakefield’s1998 report.
It is very hard for us to determine what causes what and certainly a case can be made for anything by presenting only the facts that will support the hypothesis. Not the best science, though, is it?