Ralph talks to the former head of OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, about how corporations pay scientists to do studies that deceive the public, chronicled in his book, “The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception.” Plus, David and Steve talk with Ralph about the coronavirus and the Democratic primary.
Dr. David Michaels is an epidemiologist and professor at George Washington University School of Public Health. He wasAssistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health under President Barack Obama. Under President Bill Clinton, he was Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health charged with protecting workers, residents and the environment around US nuclear weapons facilities. Dr. Michaels has won many awards for his science advocacy and has authored The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception.
“There are now journals that are run by these mercenary scientists who do their own peer review… You cannot trust the science that’s paid for by an industry that needs those results to protect itself… We need to have a new structure of research. Producers of those materials need to pay for the research…but they shouldn’t control the research. We need a system where they put the money in, but the government or some sort of different body decides which scientists are going to get the money, what the methods are and what the results mean.”
Dr. David Michaels, author of The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception
“Sixty to seventy percent of the pharmaceuticals are coming from China and India…We don’t produce antibiotics anymore in the US, how about that for a national security threat? If China is overcome and semi-closed down, because of the coronavirus what’s that going to do to the supply chain of drugs to the United States. So, I think we’re going to go back to self-reliance. I think we’ll get some good arguments as to why a country like ours should not outsource critical components, critical products and jeopardize the supply chain as the coronavirus is doing. It’s not going to be the last virus.”
Ralph Nader
Lying About Science