Category: Announcements

Fairy Tale Science and Placebo Medicine

In May, 2012, I spoke at the 6th World Skeptics Congress in Berlin on “Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fairy Tale Science and Placebo Medicine.” My talk is now available as a YouTube video.

/ September 8, 2012

Brief Announcement: Video of Panel on Alternative Medicine

Last month at JREF’s The Amaz!ng Meeting in Las Vegas, 3 SBM bloggers along with Rachael Dunlop of Australia participated in a panel on “The  Truth About Alternative Medicine.” The video is now available on Youtube. It’s a chance for readers to see Steven Novella, David Gorski and Harriet Hall and hear them speak instead of just reading what they write.

/ August 24, 2012

Brief Announcement

My book Women Aren’t Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon  is now available as a Kindle file for $3.99. If you don’t have a Kindle device, there is a free download so you can play Kindle files on your computer or iPad. Some readers may remember my mentioning it on SBM 4 years ago in the context of an article...

/ August 1, 2012

Announcement: New Edition of Consumer Health

For decades Consumer Health: A Guide to Intelligent Decisions was the only textbook available for college classes on the subject, and it is still the best: the most comprehensive and the most reliable. It was first published in 1976, and it has clearly had staying power. An updated 9th edition has just been released. The authors have changed over the years: this...

/ May 11, 2012

Brief Announcement: World Skeptics Congress

The 6th World Skeptics Congress will be held on May 18-20 in Berlin, Germany. Topics will include: Why do people turn to pseudoscience for help? What makes alternative medicine so attractive – and how can we find out what really works? Why is it so difficult for us to deal with risk and uncertainty in a rational way? Can we teach children to...

/ April 2, 2012

Podcast Interlude

I’m traveling this week, checking out pharmacy practice internationally, and looking for signs of science-based medicine. Instead of a post, here are the links to two podcasts I recently recorded that will be of interest to SBM readers. Sit back, press play, and enjoy. Point of Inquiry: Dispensing Skepticism I recently spoke with Karen Stollznow for the Point of Inquiry podcast. This...

/ January 19, 2012

SBM at TAM9

Many of the SBM blogger are at The Amazing Meeting 9 this week – or TAM9 From Outer Space, as it is whimsically called. The JREF, who sponsors TAM, is a big supporter of our efforts at SBM and, in fact, as of this year co-sponsors this blog along with the New England Skeptical Society (both non-profits). This year, as with the...

/ July 13, 2011

Kudos to Steven Novella

It has just been announced, in the July/August issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, that our own Steven Novella has been awarded the 2010 Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking. It will be formally presented at the CSIcon conference in New Orleans on October 28, 2011. The Prize is a $1500 award given to the author of the published work or body of work that...

/ June 21, 2011

SBM at TAM9

This year The Amazing Meeting 9 (designated TAM9 From Outer Space) will be held in Las Vegas from July 14-17. If you have not registered, do it fast – this year the conference will likely sell out. Among the many incredible speakers and events at TAM9 there will be a Science-Based Medicine workshop and an SBM panel discussion. The prominence of SBM...

/ May 25, 2011

Watch Steve Novella on The Dr. Oz Show on Tuesday!

UPDATE 4/27/2011: Here’s the online video of Dr. Novella’s appearance on The Dr. Oz Show: Controversial Medicine: Alternative Health, Part 1 Controversial Medicine: Alternative Health, Part 2 Controversial Medicine: Alternative Health, Part 3 I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want you all to tune in to The Dr. Oz Show on Tuesday, April 26. Either that, or DVR it. Why...

/ April 22, 2011