Bad Advice

Or Why Celebrities, Politicians, and Activists Aren't Your Best Source of Health Information

By: Paul A. Offit MD

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Science doesn't speak for itself. Neck-deep in work that can be messy and confounding and naïve in the ways of public communication, scientists are often unable to package their insights into the neat narratives that the public requires. Enter celebrities, advocates, lobbyists, and the funders behind them, who take advantage of scientists' reluctance to provide easy answers, flooding the media with misleading or incorrect claims about health risks. Amid this onslaught of spurious information, Americans are more confused than ever about what's good for them and what isn't.

In Bad Advice, Paul A. Offit shares hard-earned wisdom on the dos and don'ts of battling misinformation. For the past 20 years, Offit has been on the front lines in the fight for sound science and public heath. Stepping into the media spotlight as few scientists have done - such as being one of the first to speak out against conspiracy theories linking vaccines to autism - he found himself in the crosshairs of powerful groups intent on promoting pseudoscience. Bad Advice discusses science and its adversaries: not just the manias stoked by slick charlatans and their miracle cures but also corrosive, dangerous ideologies such as Holocaust and climate-change denial.

©2018 Paul A. Offit (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The author's rare storytelling...leads to an entertaining and captivating read that is hard to put down." (Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH, Columbia University Medical Center)

Powerful Book, Fact Filled and Interesting

When my children were two years old and a baby, I took them to get their scheduled vaccines. Later that night, my normally placid son cried himself to exhaustion. This was in 1996 and anti-vaccine advocates were just becoming vocal in my area. The doctor said she would not use that vaccine anymore with my children. Instead, future doses of that particular vaccine would be given to my children using a new ‘not live’ vaccine. That was all it took for me to become an antivaxxer. The thought that I might have caused harm to my children obsessed me to the point that it was impossible for me to think reasonably about my vaccine decisions.

The scientific community did not help, in my opinion. All the talking I heard came from antivaxxers. From doctors? “Vaccines are safe. Do you want your child to die from a horrible disease? No? Then vaccinate.” I did not like being patronized at by the doctors. This made it very easy to fall in line with the people who looked like me, sounded like me, were parents like me, and said they cared about children.

This book has changed my mind. Offit is genuine, intelligent, clear spoken, and nicely intense in his desire to get his points across. Finally! An actual real human who admits that sometimes he makes mistakes and is not perfect, yet is educated and experienced in the subject he is talking about!

I learned a LOT from this book. Do you want your child to die from a horrible disease? No? Then don’t follow ANYONE blindly! Not me, not Offit, and not the antivaxxers. Do your research and use sources that have the studies to back it up! This book is an excellent starting point in that.

Important

Dr. Offit makes the case for rigorous science in this highly informative book.
What a shame that the case must even be made.
One can hope that his experience and wisdom will help many to decide between the truths discovered by science, and the claptrap hawked by unqualified politicians, celebrities and opportunists.
Excellent!

Content great

Reader mispronounced a few words (saying generic when the word was genetic) but overall good content and engaging. I would recommend this.

Important and Engaging

Offit is an amazing storyteller and really digs into the hows and whys of the antivax craze. In this book, he arms readers with information about the science and history of vaccines, as well as his own experiences speaking with a variety of personalities on the subject. Patrick Lawlor is the perfect narrator, delivering Offit's dry humor with ease. This book is funny, touching, horrifying, and over way too soon.

beautiful book

I loved it. It's a very important book, that everyone must read. science is the greatest thing invented by humans.

Enlightening

Found it to be very enlightening and educational. Highly informative. Would recommend to anyone interested in Autism research.

Still great!

I have read or listened to a few Offit books and I have loved each one.

great read!

Dr. Paul A. Offit is testing the theory that either A) he is misunderstood by the media and the public or B) he keeps putting his foot in his mouth during public speaking appearances... results inconclusive further studies are needed

kidding aside this was very good and I recommend it if you have read any of his other books!

Eye opening

Found the book because of dr Mike on YouTube. Found it very interesting and informative. Actually got me interested in learning more about vaccines and viruses.

Great book

A great account of the experiences in the field of science communication from one of the most important scientists in North America. Bad advice is great for scientists who wish to talk to the public, but also to anyone worried about the spread of fake news in the post truth era