Episode One Hundred And Twenty-One – Women, Media And Science – Interview With Ben Radford

Are women easily fooled by ideal images promoted by the media? Does reporting on science findings contribute to girls feeling social pressure to conform to beauty and gender-stereotyped expectations? Should we trust media reportage of scientific papers, particularly those that concern women?

After reading Ben Radford’s articles on the Discovery website about a teenager protesting airbrushing in fashion magazines, gendered marketing in advertising and common (but mistaken) beliefs about the number of teen births, I found I had some questions on whether media and science work well together to inform the public – and just how skeptical we should be.

Benjamin Radford is the deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and a Research Fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He’s the author of hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy.

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