Adventures in the broadcast jungle - explaining science to the public - Editorial

I've been doing some radio shows lately. No big deal. I've done them before. But one recent experience was, I think, symbolic of too much of what's gone wrong with the broadcast media - and much else - today.

The ostensible topic of these interviews is the latest anthology of SKEPTICAL INQUIRER articles. The book is Encounters with the Paranormal: Science, Knowledge, and Belief, and it was published in April by Prometheus Books (see New Books, this issue, page 53). Forty-five authors, including the late Carl Sagan, Martin Gardner, two Nobel laureates, and a host of other distinguished figures in science and skepticism, contributed to the book. But my name is on the cover as Editor, so I get the calls.

One request came from a radio station in a major American city. I'll not be more specific. The producer who called seemed normal, and a date and time was set.

I knew I was in trouble before the show even started. After they call they put you on hold for a few minutes until time for your segment, and you can hear the show in progress. It had "Madness" in the title, and that wasn't a misnomer. The three hosts - two men and a woman - were shock-jocks. Their stock in trade, apparently, is insults. The atmosphere is drunken college party (Animal House variety). I heard the three of them mocking and laughing maniacally about actor Christopher Reeve's paralysis. Then the lead host began referring repeatedly to some woman (a previous guest?) as a whore. Then they asked a caller his drink preference of the morning (it was 9:05 a.m., and they didn't mean nonalcoholic). All this is accompanied with great whooping and hollering. Not a good sign.

With no intro or civilities, the host then opened with just the challenging, "Ken Frazier, editor of Encounters with the Paranormal do you believe in the paranormal?" As you might realize, without any context or explanation, that's a tough question to start with. I tried to say that we urge that belief be based on evidence. He would have none of it. He interrupted me. I tried again. "You're avoiding the question!"

I tried to give the book's subtitle - my original preference for the title and reflective of our emphasis on science. He countered that he knew the subtitle and asked if I knew the subtitle on a Miller beer bottle.

What little he let me say he didn't like. To one attempted answer he sneered, "Are you wearing a dress?" (I think this is another way of asking "What planet are you from?" but I'm not sure.) The one substantive question in our brief encounter was "Why has there been such a rise in Satanic ritual abuse cases?" When I tried to answer that such reports are frequently exaggerated, both men jumped on me and said they themselves had seen these altars and ritual murder scenes with decapitated babies, and so on. They made it plain they considered me a fool for having any doubts.

The whole thing ended abruptly. They asked the usual, "Have you found anything that's real?" I decided to answer facetiously that the unanswered mystery that puzzles me most is what happens to the socks I put in the dryer. They cut me off.

Now don't worry about me. I've been in this business for years. I know the score. But the experience is emblematic of the cultural state in which people who care about science - indeed who care about any important issues - must frequently work.

But I'm a natural optimist. A few days later I was on another radio show. This one was on a nationwide network of 55 stations. The host was pleasant, asked good questions, allowed me to make my points and complete my thoughts, seemed genuinely interested in science, and even laughed at some of my stories. (The one above wasn't among them). Our segment was supposed to last 30 minutes, but halfway into it he asked if I could stay 15 minutes longer. This one went well. So, yes, it can be a jungle out there, explaining science to the public. The good news is you're not always eaten.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group