November 8, 2020 — Even chaos is a business opportunity. So it seems that the market for calm is booming – both as a state of mind and a popular health app. This week the company behind the health app named Calm seized an opportunity. They sponsored those jarring election news alerts on CNN that were delivering the precise […]
May 29, 2020 — Hope and fear. These are powerful, related motivators readily available during the coronavirus pandemic. The motivations are not always clear, but many people are shoveling out claims about “game changers” for dealing with the virus that haunts us. Some of these supposed game changers turn out to be disastrous duds. So caution about coronahype is […]
April 4, 2020 — Lies are convenient when the truth is unpleasant. Right now, we’re faced with a number of unpleasant truths, so lies are popping up like springtime flowers. The virus that’s plaguing us will “miraculously” disappear, says a politician. “Stock up on these nine healthy foods to boost your immune system,” says CNBC. Unfortunately, both of those […]
April 13, 2019 — Beware. Gendered generalizations will almost always get you into trouble. But they surround us. And in the Washington Post, Monica Hesse points out Twitter founder Jack Dorsey can utter meaningless drivel about what to eat and it’s a “biohack.” However, from a female opportunist – say, Gwyneth Paltrow – it’s simply whacky. Hack or whack? […]
December 30, 2018 — The expectations are high. We are seeing some tantalizing research on the potential benefits of intermittent fasting. But as yet, we’re not seeing much in the way of definitive data on its effectiveness for delivering objective clinical outcomes. In fact, the latest controlled clinical trial paints the picture of a rather mundane miracle. In a […]
December 8, 2018 — The award for the most annoying obesity story of the week goes to the Flinders University communications office. They win for issuing a press release to hype some genuinely interesting research. But the angle they chose made a joke of the research, spawning headlines about a new gene to cure obesity. Their headline: Gene that lets […]
