Gwyneth Paltrow’s medical woo gets demolished

Gwyneth Paltrow’s goop site (“Elevated Essentials for Life”) has been promoting pseudoscience and quack remedies for years, but somehow she manages to shake off criticism, like Trump or Deepak Chopra. Most notorious was her $66 “jade vagina egg“, which, inserted into that orifice, was claimed to do these things: harnesses the power of energy work, crystal […]

NPR descends deeper into woo; ineffectually discusses panpsychism

UPDATE: Some of the numinous-o-philia might be explained, as reader Michael noted in the comments, by Gleiser’s possession of two Templeton grants worth a total of $3,7 million. __________ The Republicans are calling for National Public Radio (NPR) to be de-funded because of its liberal bent. Well, perhaps it has one, but—with the exception of […]

Four flat-Earthers write in

After my post on the persistence of flat-Earthism in the U.S. (“Flat Earthers are still with us!“)—a form of delusion apparently connected with religion, anti-Semitism, and other conspiracy theories—I got several comments from what seem to be genuine flat-Earthers. Now there’s no telling if these people’s beliefs are genuine or they’re just trolling (I suspect […]

Gwyneth pushes more expensive woo

A while back, Gwyneth Paltrow, who is among the world’s most disliked celebrities for her hauteur and insouciance, was selling jade “eggs” on her Goop website to insert into women’s vaginas. Unfortunately, the porous stone could cause infections, and doctors strongly warned against this practice. Now she’s back with another quack remedy. Unlike the jade […]

Dr. Bronner’s soap labels vs. defenders of chiropractic

When I got the latest attempted comment defending chiropractic “medicine” on my website, I had a déjà vu moment, as if I’d seen that kind of language before. And then I remembered—it was on a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap! I don’t know how many people use this wonderful liquid soap, which comes in varieties like […]

More chiropractic shenanigans

I don’t think I’ve ever been so besieged by newbie commenters as I have by chiropractors and their acolytes over the last several days. After I posted a few times on that form of quackery (here, here, here, and here), I’ve had chiropractors, students in chiropractic school, and even chiropactors’ wives try to comment on this site […]

How spinal manipulation could cause a stroke

After my denunciation by chiropractors and their advocates over the last few days—opprobrium that I welcome—Reader Pliny the in Between, whose website is The Far Corner Cafe, put together a series of drawings showing how spinal manipulation, such as that practiced by chiropractors, could produce a stroke. This, for instance, is what a real doctor, Orac, thinks […]

Three advocates of chiropractic write in

I have to say that I’ve gotten more pushback from readers on chiropractic “medicine” than I expected, especially given that there’s no good scientific evidence for its efficacy. If it’s benefited you, ask yourself whether you might have gotten better without treatment (this often happens), or whether some more qualified or experienced person, such as a […]

Two celebrities start a book club and choose a “proof of heaven” book

One might expect Kim Kardashian (but perhaps not Chrissy Teigen, whom I thought was smart) to read a book like this, but when these people with their millions of followers decide to start a book club, that means that their followers will read what the celebrities recommend. How sad, then, that, as Mashable reports, these […]

Your resource: the definitive collection of vaccines-don’t-cause autism papers

Peter Hotez is co-editor-in-chief of the journal PLOS NTD (Neglected Tropical Diseases), is an expert in vaccination. Here are his qualifications: Prof. Peter Hotez MD PhD is professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, where is also Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics, and Dean of the […]