Skeptic Check: The Me in Measles

Big Picture Science

Science, Technology

4.5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2016

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Wondering whether to vaccinate your children? The decision can feel like a shot in the dark if you don’t know how to evaluate risk. Find out why all of us succumb to the reasoning pitfalls of cognitive and omission bias, whether we’re saying no to vaccines or getting a tan on the beach. Plus, an infectious disease expert on why it may take a dangerous resurgence of preventable diseases – measles, whooping cough, polio – to remind us that vaccines save lives. Also, a quaint but real vaccine fear: that the 18th century smallpox vaccine, made from cowpox, could turn you into a cow! It’s our monthly look at critical thinking … but don’t take our word for it! Guests: Paul Offit – Infectious disease specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City Adam Korbitz – Lawyer specializing in space law Andrew Maynard – Professor of environmental health science, director, Risk Science Center, University of Michigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:44.9	know about startups new tech regulations and more listen to Tech Crunch
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0:54.3	That's Tech Crunch Daily Crunch,
0:56.6	wherever you get your podcasts.
0:58.6	In the year 2000, Me was declared eradicated in the United States, but now the
1:07.0	highly infectious diseases back, making some children miserably ill, both here and around
1:12.4	the world.
1:13.0	We know how to prevent this disease, yet there are parents who say that the best way to protect their children is not to vaccinate.
1:20.0	Now some doctors say that it may take a deadly resurgence in infectious disease to make clear that vaccines save lives.
1:28.0	But saying yes to a shot in the arm, that means understanding relative risk.
1:32.0	And it turns out that we're not very good at that.
	...

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