Podcast Series: Here's Your Friendly Neighborhood Mythbuster

No one can deny that science communication is of great social importance, and yet, as astonishing as it may sound, there is hardly any credible data on how all the messages we are bombarded with every day about our health and well-being in specific and science in general alter our understanding and perception of crucial issues related to our body as well as our environment.

Public discourse about health is many times led by people who are themselves unaware of the potential consequences (or benefits) of their commentary. While there are some examples of public discourse on scientific issues making a positive difference (like how celebrities' cancer treatments spark interest and eventual awareness), often it leads to strong misconceptions, fake assumptions and even plain fear mongering.

This is largely why a podcast such as this one becomes a great go-to place for some entertaining fact-checking. 'Science Vs', as the name suggests, looks at all sorts of trends, fads and fancy stuff that floats around in the public domain on science and dissects it to separate fact from fiction. The show is run by the podcast company Gimlet Media and a new season began in September.

I especially recommend two recent episodes: one on the alternative milk movement that has gained so much currency in recent years and the other on whether veganism is really better for our bodies and the environment. Of course, as you can imagine, both topics have strong supporters and detractors and any discussion about the best kind of milk or the benefits of veganism, especially on social media, ends up in deeply polarized debates. (It's partly why the podcasts are also so lively.)

The podcast producers recommend some older episodes on abortion, essential oils and guns (yes, their range of subjects is pretty vast) among others, and those episodes might be worth checking out too. In any case, as far as science communication goes, every effort counts.