in medicine 375 Words

Do you want Dr. Oz to appear on the SGU?

Cross-posted from Startled Disbelief.

Dr. Steven Novella, clinical academic neurologist at Yale, executive editor of the Science-Based Medicine blog, senior fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation, host of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, and all around badass, recently appeared on Dr. Oz’s daytime soap opera. You can find the segment, in three easy-to-swallow 5-minute segments, here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

If you want to read Dr. Novella’s take on the experience, you can do so here.

Surprisingly, the editing seemed very fair and Steve came out sounding eminently reasonable.

But the main problem with the show was unavoidable: Dr. Oz controlled the format, and Dr. Novella was only given brief periods in which he could respond to direct questions posed by the host. For example, I was annoyed that while Dr. Novella specifically called out that there is a large body of evidence that these therapies don’t work, Dr. Oz insisted on responding as if he’d said that there isn’t any evidence that the therapies do work.

And so, Dr. Novella has invited Dr. Oz to appear on the SGU to continue the discussion. Phil Plait put the call out on twitter, and is asking everyone who’s interested to encourage Dr. Oz to take some time to continue the dialogue.

Here is my contribution:

Dear Dr. Oz & team.

First off, many thanks for featuring Dr. Steven Novella on Tuesday’s episode. Unfortunately, the limitations of the format prevented a more free-form discussion on the merits of alternative medicine. Dr. Novella has invited Dr. Oz to appear on The Skeptics Guide to the Universe (http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=3184), the most popular Science Podcast on iTunes, and winner of best science podcast in the podcast awards two years running.

I’d really love to hear a longer discussion, where Drs. Oz and Novella can have more time to clearly express their ideas! I hope that Dr. Oz considers the benefit that he could have if he reached out to the skeptical community in such a manner.

Many thanks.

Gem Newman
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Do you have two minutes? Spend it encouraging Dr. Oz to continue the discussion on the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe. You can do so at http://www.doctoroz.com/contact.

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2 thoughts on “Do you want Dr. Oz to appear on the SGU?”

  1. I think that would be a great idea…. In the early SGU they did have a few tb’s as guests, And it’s something I think we need more of. If for nothing else than to see what the other side is saying and the arguments they are using.

    I find it very easy to slip into the false dichotomy of taking the wackiest of what the alt med. side is saying and using it as the norm, just b/c it’s the crazy things that stick in a persons head. Plus I like to surround myself with people and engage the media that hold the same view as I do, so all I tend to hear is the extreme. I had no idea that diet and exercise were considered part of alt med.

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