It depends on which "science" we're even talking about Should science stay out of politics—or is science inherently political? When is advocacy appropriate for scientists, and is it even possible to separate the two? These questions have been debated for years in the world of
Yesterday I joined one of my friends (and mentor!) Dr. Jeremy Faust on his show The Doctor's Lounge – we chatted about health communication, my new NEJM article on the need to integrate communications training into medical and graduate schools, and why health communication is so challenging right now.
Our new NEJM piece on the need for formal training for informal communication I made my very first “science communication” post on March 10, 2020. I was trying to understand what was really going on with COVID, and at the time the best public data was a crowd-sourced google sheet.
Welcome to installment #2 of That’s a Great Question. Every month or so, I’ll highlight a thoughtful reader question that reflects a common concern or confusion—and answer it in depth here. Have a question you’d like considered? Comment below or email me at kristen@youcanknowthings.com.
Yesterday marks 6 months since the start of sweeping cuts to America’s health and science infrastructure. Changes have come so quickly (and confusingly) in the midst of an already chaotic news cycle, it has been hard to keep up with the scope of the shifts that are taking place.
An updated hierarchy of evidence for the age of memes, rumors, and AI hallucinations I’ve been dissecting science rumors and flawed studies for five years now, and there is one communication challenge that I have run into over and over again. For any given scientific claim or study, it&
A version of this article originally appeared on Your Local Epidemiologist. Like “misinformation” and “disinformation,” the phrase “doing your own research” has become deeply polarizing. To some, it’s a call to think critically about health information and do their due diligence before making health decisions. To others—especially in
Robert F Kennedy Jr. has fired the entire panel that oversees vaccine recommendations in the US and replaced them with his own picks, including prominent vaccine skeptics. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, RFK Jr. announced his decision to fire all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory
Last month I wrote an article about shame and why criticizing "anti-vaxxers" backfires, and I got some great comments and feedback from you. Some of the questions were so thoughtful, they deserve an in depth response, so I've decided to try out something new. Instead of
Last week the government released the "The MAHA report," a lengthy document that attempted to explain the rise of chronic disease in children. Yesterday, it was discovered that some of the studies cited in the report simply do not exist. The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report suggests
This week, a new proposal for COVID vaccines was announced that—if implemented—will likely mean many healthcare workers like me will no longer have access to COVID shots. Two new FDA appointees announced the change via an opinion article in the New England Journal of Medicine: COVID boosters will
If you talk to people about why they lost trust in public health, there is one topic that comes up over and over again: mandates. For many during the pandemic, the choice wasn’t simply get a COVID vaccine or risk getting sick, it was get a COVID vaccine or
This is post 3 of 4 looking back at the public health communication around the COVID vaccines and why trust in vaccines was damaged. Catch up on the first two posts: misinformation versus miscommunication and expectation management. Shame doesn’t work, but has become widely adopted as a response to
This is post 2 of 4 in this series looking back at the public health communication around the Covid-19 vaccines, why trust was lost, and where communication broke down. The goal is not to point fingers or lay blame, but rather get a view from outside our bubble to see
Last week, I wrote about the importance of empathy, listening, and trying to genuinely understand those who distrust public health instead of automatically dismissing or fact-checking them. To continue in this vein, I am resharing a series I wrote last year (originally published on my Health (Mis)communication column for
Last week I hopped on the train down to NYC to attend one of the most unusual and enjoyable events I have ever attended in my academic career. A comedian, podcast host, and epidemiologist walked into a bar, and they dished out some tough love to the public health community.
There is a growing, concerning movement undermining one of the most well established scientific theories there is: germ theory, the idea that germs – like viruses and bacteria – cause disease. But it's subtle. Outright denial of germ theory is still a fringe idea: very few deny that viruses and
A poll in 2023 revealed roughly one in three Americans believe that "COVID-19 vaccines have caused thousands of sudden deaths in otherwise healthy people" is probably or definitely true. This is one of the major rumors that spread fear of COVID vaccines, with some health departments now forbidden
USAID has been essentially shut down. USAID is a federal organization that provides international humanitarian assistance like clean water, food, and medicines to impoverished parts of the world. It accounts for less than 1% of the US budget and its purpose extends beyond charity – USAID's humanitarian work is
long COVID
Earlier this month, we shared the story of Dr. Jeff Yau, a neuroscientist who solved the mystery of his long COVID. A few months after his first and only COVID infection, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which means his immune system was
It has been a week of chaos in the world of health and science, to put it mildly. Multiple executive orders have shut down the day-to-day functions of US health agencies, causing confusion, fear, and for many Americans, the question of whether their next paycheck will arrive. While some pauses
logical fallacies
The appeal to nature fallacy is not a viable healthcare strategy This article was originally published on Your Local Epidemiologist. RFK Jr.’s hearing for Health and Human Secretary of the United States is soon. A recent poll showed that 40% of Americans view him positively. Despite the myriad fringe
long COVID
When Jeff Yau started having strange symptoms after his COVID-19 infection – numbness, tingling, and shaking – he experienced what thousands of others with long COVID have found: answers were hard to find, and treatments weren’t working. But Dr. Jeff Yau was in a unique position: he’s a neuroscientist who
This is a problem. NPR reported yesterday that the Louisiana Department of Health has told staff "advertising or otherwise promoting" influenza, mpox, and COVID vaccines is no longer allowed. Promoting and increasing access to vaccinations is one of the central functions of health departments across the country. According