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Antivaccine nonsense Humor Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Sadly, The Onion gets this one right

Want to know how Jenny McCarthy, J.B. Handley, other anti-vaccine advocates, creationists, quacks, 9/11 Truthers, and cranks and pseudoscientists of all stripes manage to be heard when they have no science, evidence, reason, logic, or facts on their side? Sadly, The Onion knows: Oh, No! It’s Making Well-Reasoned Arguments Backed With Facts! Run! At first, […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Entertainment/culture Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking Television

Combatting the Oprah Effect

I don’t much like Oprah Winfrey. I know, I know, it’s a huge surprise to anyone who reads this blog, but there you go. Over the last four years, I’ve had numerous reasons to be unhappy with her, mainly because, as savvy a media celebrity and businesswoman as she is, she has about as close […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Entertainment/culture Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking Television

Oprah and Jenny need your–yes, your!–help!

A reader informs me of a plaintive, heartfelt request from Oprah for help in developing the television show of her new protege Jenny McCarthy: You’ve seen it all over the news…Jenny McCarthy, one of America’s funniest and coolest moms and Harpo is giving her, her own show. Here is where YOU come in. What would […]

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Announcements Skepticism/critical thinking

Fast approaching: The 111th Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle

Time marches on, flies, or does whatever it is that time does, and, before I know it, two weeks have passed, and you know what that means. That’s right, the next meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle is only three days away. This time around it’s going to be hosted at Action Skeptics. Blog-specific instructions for […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Another acupuncture study misinterpreted

I have to hand it to acupuncture mavens. They are persistent. Despite numerous studies failing to find any evidence that acupuncture is anything more than an elaborate placebo whose effects, such as they are, derive from nonspecifice mechanisms having nothing to do with meridians, qi, or “unblocking” qi. Moreover, consistent with the contention that acupuncture […]