Skeptic's Guide to Health, Medicine, and the Media

What happens to billions of neurons when the gelatinous brain slams into the side of the hard skull? While the media has focused some attention on high-profile cases of concussion and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, learn how selective reporting can lull us into believing an issue has been adequately addressed when that is far from the truth.

Is prescription drug "X" a wonder drug or a disastrous failure? It can be almost impossible to answer that question based on what's presented in the press. Using two drugs as case studies, you'll learn how to better understand and evaluate the media description of prescription drugs, and why institutional changes regarding data availability can make all the difference.

By examining our changing perceptions of marijuana's safety and usefulness, you'll learn how different stakeholders can affect media coverage, drive social change, and influence legislation. Given that the medical use of cannabis in the United States has not been driven by well-designed scientific studies, how can we best interpret news reports addressing its efficacy and safety?

The media focus on weight loss comes as no surprise. With two of every three Americans being overweight, we certainly need sound nutrition and weight-loss advice based on solid science. But is that what we're getting? Learn how to read beneath the hyperbole-filled headlines to determine if an article's content is really salient to your own health.

Millions of Americans every year turn to alternative-medicine approaches that have never been rigorously studied or have even been disproven. Learn why fish oil supplements are a $1.2-billion industry, despite research that shows no health benefit from their use, and why individuals continue to turn to stem cell "infusions" despite sometimes dire consequences.

While mentally ill individuals are more likely to become victims of crime than to be violent perpetrators, their depiction in TV and film has skewed our perceptions of the risk they pose to society. The Associated Press has recently encouraged journalists to cover these issues more fairly and accurately. But as you'll discover by looking at related news articles, we still have a long way to go.

You'd never believe people who told you they lived off air only, never eating. Yet one "Breatharian" couple received widespread media coverage on the internet, broadcast sites, and in print. Why are we so gullible? Learn how to think like a skeptic when reading news in any medium, remembering that while internet "clickbait" races continue to be faster and faster, real science is slow and steady.

While toxins are around us all the time and require a nuanced, sophisticated approach to understand, short and memorable headlines sell. Follow the fascinating media coverage of baby-food toxins and the new water system in Flint, MI, to discover the reasons for conflicting headlines and stories. Who got it right? And who got it so very wrong?

Learn why accurate reporting on the relationships between coffee, wine, and cardiovascular health requires an understanding of real clinical endpoints as well as a desire to clearly explain the complicated answer to a seemingly simple question: Is this good for me or bad for me? With its ups and downs and missteps, the history of reporting on these topics is fascinating.