Season 11 • Episode 870

870 - The Origins, Impacts, and Challenges of Misinformation

Mar 17, 2025

16:26

Episode Description

About this episode:

A new report on misinformation and disinformation from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine is helping to define what misinformation is and how it starts and how to combat it. In this episode: a conversation about the findings, and how to get away from misinformation as a name-calling contest.

Guest:

Vish Viswanath is the Lee Kum Kee Professor of Health Communication at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and chaired the blue ribbon panel examining misinformation about science.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.

Show links and related content:

Science Misinformation, Its Origins and Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies Examined in New Report; Multisector Action Needed to Increase Visibility of, Access to High-Quality Science Information—National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The Anatomy of Deception: Conspiracy Theories, Distrust, and Public Health In America—Public Health On Call (October 2024)

Transcript information:

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