Caption: Skeptic Check: Playing Doctor, Credit: Seth Shostak
Image by: Seth Shostak 
Skeptic Check: Playing Doctor 

Skeptic Check: Playing Doctor

From: Big Picture Science
Length: 00:54:01

How to sort through the fire hose of health and nutrition advice and the story of Bernarr Macfadden, the eccentric who kicked off America's fitness craze. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

A new herbal supplements is on the shelf, and it claims to improve memory. Should you take it? It’s not easy to sort through the firehose of health and nutrition advice that comes at us daily. Find out how to get healthy about health advice, plus hear the story of Bernarr Macfadden, the eccentric who kicked off America’s fitness craze; he believed that eating less was good for you, but he didn’t believe germ theory.

Plus, our Hollywood skeptic spills his guts and other entrails for a phony class for nurses and Phil Plait gives us the latest lapse in critically-thinking brains.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it.

Guests:

Broadcast History

first aired 5/25/09

Additional Credits

Seth Shostak - Host and Producer
Molly Bentley - CoHost and Executive Producer
Gary Niederhoff - Assistant Producer
Barbara Vance - Production Assistant

Related Website

http://radio.seti.org