Category: Politics and Regulation

NCCIH Logo defined

The NCCIH embraces the quackery that is “functional medicine”

The process of "integrating" quackery with medicine continues apace as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health embraces the quackery that is "functional medicine."

/ September 30, 2024
Joseph Ladapo

Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s assault on public health in Florida: Will it be coming to the federal government next year?

The Florida Department of Health, run by Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, just released guidance on COVID-19 vaccines based on antivax tropes. Is the federal government next?

/ September 16, 2024
Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.)

RFK Jr.’s MAHA manifesto: How not to “make America healthy again”

Shortly after endorsing Donald Trump for President, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed he and Trump will "make America healthy again." His proposals to do that range from semi-reasonable to outright quackery.

/ September 9, 2024
A scattered assortment of US dollar bills in various denominations, including $100, $50, and $20 notes, displaying portraits of historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Ulysses S. Grant. The bills overlap and cover the entire frame.

Hopkins Business School to Platform COVID-19 Contrarians at Health Policy Symposium

Drs. Jay Bhattacharya, Scott Atlas, and Marty Makary are also set to speak at Stanford next month

/ September 8, 2024
A historic illustration depicting an operation with medieval Islamic physicians. One patient lies on a table while three doctors dressed in traditional robes and turbans tend to him, one holding his wrist and the others examining and discussing the patient.

The Biopolitics of Quackademic Medicine in Iran

The problem of quackademic medicine in a place we in the US don't often consider.

/ August 27, 2024
Wuhan Institute of Virology, focus of "lab leak"

How conspiracy theories like COVID-19 “lab leak” harm science and public health

Ever since COVID-19 first emerged in 2020, evidence-free claims that it had arisen due to a "lab leak" have proliferated. A recent paper argues that this conspiracy theory has been very harmful to science. I argue that it's more than just lab leak that is harmful.

/ August 5, 2024
Donald Trump

Donald Trump bragged that “right-to-try” has saved thousands of lives. It hasn’t.

Former President Donald Trump bragged in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that "right-to-try" had saved "thousands of lives"? What's the real story? (Hint: Nowhere near that.)

/ July 22, 2024

Heritage Covid Commission Wants China Accountable… What About Trump?

The Heritage Foundation’s COVID-19 Commission Calls for Chinese “Accountability” for US Pandemic Damage

/ July 14, 2024

Did I Lie About My Conference Invitation? How Bad Faith Engagement Functions As A Distraction and Silencing Technique.

It's important to honestly and explicitly call out bad faith engagement for what it is and recognize how it functions as a common, but powerful rhetorical device.

/ June 25, 2024

The Decaf Wars

We can add decaffeinated (decaf) products to the list of things you probably shouldn’t worry about but someone wants to make you worry anyway. You may have read recently that some decaf coffee and tea brands have “chemicals” in them that may be a health risk. The real story, as you might imagine, is more complicated. The cause of the recent headlines...

/ June 19, 2024