Boston Book Festival 2019

Confidence in science has declined in recent years, largely owing to the internet and social media. Naomi Oreskes, in Why Trust Science?, offers both a history and a defense of science. She asserts that although the rigorous vetting process is imperfect, it is a remarkably reliable way to know whether a particular scientific claim is trustworthy. On the other side of the equation, the limits of psychiatrists’ scientific claims are the subject of Anne Harrington’s Mind Fixers. She recounts psychiatric researchers’ efforts to find and treat the biological roots of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. Her view is that the record has often been disappointing, with claims having less to do with scientific breakthrough and more to do with industry profit-mongering and consumerism. Come join a timely discussion with two distinguished historians of science moderated by Carey B. Goldberg, host of WBUR’s CommonHealth.