This week, Science for the People is looking at medical advances that are blurring the lines between life and death. They’re joined by physician and researcher Dr. David Casarett, to talk about his book Shocked: Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead. They also talk to Michael Kruse, founder of Bad Science Watch, about the history and application of CPR.
*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.
In the wake of Chris Christie and Rand Paul pandering to the anti-vaccine crowd using bankrupt personal liberty rhetoric (coherent libertarian ideology requires one to admit that externalities* exist), Sarah Despres, former Congressional staffer, connects Congress’ abdication of leadership on the vital health initiative of vaccinations for political expediency to the current revival of measles as something parents have to fear:
Few legislators were prepared to stand up for science…As for the others, the antivaccine evidence presented might have been shaky, but the science is complicated. And most members of Congress — on the committee and off — did not feel comfortable opposing the advocates and parents armed with heartbreaking stories of children whose autism seemed to come on just after they received their routine immunizations.
–Sarah Despres in Politico Magazine
*The economic version of the basic concept parents not named Ron Paul teach their children that their actions affect other people and that you are responsible for the effects of those actions.
This Science for the People is exploring the intersection of science, society, and sex with the origin story of the birth control pill. They speak to author Jonathan Eig about his book The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution. Writer Rose Eveleth also returns to talk about the history and design of the vaginal speculum.
*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.
This week, Science for the People gets a gripping first person account of the challenges involved in mental health diagnosis and treatment. They spend the hour with Dr. Christine Montross, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, and the Director of Counseling Resources at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, to talk about her book Falling Into the Fire: A Psychiatrist’s Encounters with the Mind in Crisis.
*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.
The Finch and Pea 