Episode #1077

News Items

        Swindler's List

        Tax Fraud

        Questions and Emails

        I’ve been a follower of your podcast since the very early days. I really admire what you do and how you increase scientific awareness. My views have always been scientific but your show has really help stir me into a positive direction. I try to be as skeptical as I can with things, I often listen to things I don’t agree with (Matt Walsh, Alex Jones etc) to get an idea of what they are saying then try to use my skeptical skills to figure out the truth which is often in the middle. However, I do feel very must alone. Most of my friends are either left or right wing and I never discuss politics or complex issues with them as I value their friendship over who voted for who. I checked for local skeptical groups but there isn’t any near me and I’d have to travel some way which isn’t really convient. A thought struck me that I could start my own group? Nothing big, just a place people can go to discuss things. How would I go about doing that and I guess more important, how much work is that? I can’t imagine how much time and energy you all put into things you do but I don’t think I’d have time to do this as a full time thing? Matt UK, Could you do an update on the status of glyphosate/Roundup safety? I recall you were previously mostly positive to it and skeptical to the claims of its dangers. I was therefore surprised by [this episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxVXvFOPIyQ) of Veritasium (which I generally consider to be trustworthy), repeating both the carcinogenicity claims and the claims about Monsanto’s seed practices (which you have to some level defended as well, if I remember correctly). Perhaps most importantly, they claim (with some evidence) that the most important paper showing glyphosate safety was ghost-written by Monsanto employees I expected you to react to the episode, but then forgot about it. However, now I have listened to [this episode](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-science-historian-tackles-ghostwriting-in/id73329284?i=1000747165290) of Science Friday, which repeats the claim that the Williams, Kroes & Munro paper has been ghost-written by Monsanto. It would be nice to have your opinion on the current status. Best regards, Michal Kaut

        Science or Fiction

        Skeptical Quote of the Week.

        ‘Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.’ ROGER LEWIN, Ph.D., British anthropologist and science writer (co-wrote 3 books with Richard Leakey)