Science Denialism: Some resources

The term “War on Science” comes from multiple sources, one being Chris Mooney’s book “The Republican War on Science” (see below) and another, the made up “War on Christmas,” a term attributed to Bill O’Really. Throw in a little “Culture War” rhetoric and I think we have a good basis for the origin of the term. The term “War on X” has been in used for decades if not longer, when some large perhaps organized group of people or institutions takes up the task of shutting down some thing or another. It does not mean an actual war with generals and troops and bullets, but the metaphor “war” is still quite apt because there are generals and troops and bullets, just metaphorical ones.

Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to provide a list of current or recent books and other resources pertaining to the war on science. Where I’ve reviewed a book here, I provide a link to that review. There are also some helpful web sites and podcasts listed below. The listing of resources is divided up by “front” or “battle ground” where appropriate, keeping with the “War on Science” metaphor.

The War on Science, General

Books:

Podcasts:

Blog posts:

Creationism

Books:

Podcasts:

  • Skeptically Speaking #138 - what happens when a bedrock scientific theory goes up for debate in the contentious realm of politics? We’ll speak to Dr. Eugenie Scott, Executive Director, and Steven Newton, Programs and Policy Director, at the National Center for Science Education, about evolution as a political issue. And anthropologist and blogger Greg Laden analyzes the fallout from the so-called “climategate” emails.

  • NCSE: Genie Scott and Greg Laden on Atheists Talk #68

Blogs and Blog Posts:

Climate Science

Books:

Podcasts:

Blog posts and Web sites:

Anti-Vax and related health woo

Books:

Podcasts:

  • Skeptically Speaking #82 - Dr. David Gorski, surgical oncologist and Managing Editor of Science-Based Medicine, about the science and the suspicion of vaccinations

  • Skeptically Speaking #113 - Science Based Medicine And The Media: Dr. Steven Novella, academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine, Executive Editor of the website Science-Based Medicine, and a senior fellow and Director of Science-Based Medicine at the James Randi Educational Foundation and Maria Walters, on the Grassroots Skepticism Workshop at SkepchickCon.

  • Skeptically Speaking #115 - blogger Scicurious discusses the fact and fiction of mobile phones, and medical physicist Dr. Marc MacKenzie, discusses the science of microwave radiation.

  • Skeptically Speaking #184 - Your Baby’s Best Shot: Allison Hagood and Stacy Herlihy, to talk about their book Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines are Safe and Save Lives. And we’re joined by Skepchick.org founder Rebecca Watson, to talk about pseudoscience that’s targeted and marketed specifically at women

Web sites or blog posts:

Categories

More like this

And let's not forget the grandfather of the modern woo-scolding era, Carl Sagan and his wonderful The Demon-Haunted World.

By Rick Wayne (not verified) on 07 Nov 2012 #permalink

The excellent 'Merchants of Doubt' by Oreskes and Conway exposes several key figures and their funding, covering topics such as global warming, the link between cigarettes and cancer, the ozone, and other topics where there are two clear sides fighting over regulations.

I'll add these suggestions to the list shortly.

F: Not sure what I'm looking at there.