BROADCASTS.com

b'(repeat) The scientific method is tried and true. It has led us to a reliable understanding of things from basic physics to biomedicine.\\xa0So yes, we can rely on the scientific method.\\xa0The fallible humans behind the research, not so much.\\xa0And politicians?\\xa0Don\\u2019t get us started.\\xa0Remember when one brought a snowball to the Senate floor to \\u201cprove\\u201d that global warming was a hoax?\\xa0Oy vey.\\nWe talk to authors about new books that seem to cast a skeptical eye on the scientific method\\u2026 but that are really throwing shade on the ambitious labcoat-draped humans who heat the beakers and publish the papers \\u2026 as well as the pinstriped politicians who twist science to win votes.\\nFind out why the hyper-competitive pursuit of results that are \\u201camazing\\u201d and \\u201cincredible\\u201d is undermining medical science \\u2026 how a scientific breakthrough can turn into a societal scourge (heroin as miracle cure) \\u2026 and what happens when civil servants play the role of citizen scientists on CSPAN.\\nGuests:\\n\\n\\nRichard Harris\\xa0-\\xa0NPR science correspondent, author of\\xa0Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions.\\xa0\\n\\n\\nPaul Offit\\xa0-\\xa0Professor of pediatrics, attending physician, Division of Infectious Diseases, Children\\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia, author of\\xa0Pandora\\u2019s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong.\\n\\n\\n\\nDave Levitan\\xa0-\\xa0Science journalist, author of\\xa0Not a Scientist; How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent and Utterly Mangle Science.\\xa0\\xa0\\n\\n\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'