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2008 Articles


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Congressional Hearings on “Tough Love” Child Abuse
Spurred by STATS Maia Szalavitz's research, the House Education and Labor Committee held the second round of hearings last Thursday into the widespread abuse of children at residential treatment facilities.

Does The Washington Post Want You to Burn?
Trevor Butterworth, April 15, 2008
A one-source story makes for incendiary reporting on mattresses safety

Odds Ratios
Rebecca Goldin Ph.D, April 4, 2008
Possibly the most difficult concept to grasp when reporting research findings...

Dishonest or Stupid? Either Way, PBS' NOW is a Journalistic Disgrace
I love PBS, and have always felt that it’s a great source for independent and in-depth reporting, writes prize-winning mathematician Dr. Rebecca Goldin. That is, until I was recently interviewed for its show NOW...

Drugs, Dollars and Diagnosis
MSN Health and Fitness. Does diagnosing controversial conditions help patients—or are drug companies the only beneficiaries? STATS Maia Szalavitz investigates .

The 10 Deadliest Prescription Drugs
MSN Health and Fitness. They may be approved, but how safe are they? STATS Maia Szalavitz examines the evidence. March, 2008

The Truth About Painkillers
MSN Health and Fitness. STATS Maia Szalavitz looks at seven myths about the risks and dangers of opioid analgesics. March 2008

Time to Chill Out Over Drugs in the Water
STATSblog, Maia Szalavitz, March 11, 2008

Salon Plays Up Statistics on Accidental Addiction; Doctors at Fault
Huffington Post, March 7, 2008
No, says STATS Maia Szalavitz, Salon doesn't distinguish between addicts' overdoses and those caused by doctor or patient error.

Napping vs Sleeping
STATSblog, Rebecca Goldin Ph.D and Jenna Krall, March 5, 2008

Acupuncture and Fertility: The Media Screws Up
Rebecca Goldin Ph.D and Jenna Krall, March 3, 2008
Odds ratios can also be prickly...

Okay, Maybe One Woman and Several Editors are Math-Challenged
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, March 3, 2008

Pyrex, Soda Lime, Borosilicate, and the Environment
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 29, 2008

Does Pyrex “Explode” Because the Manufacturer Changed the Mix? CBS Chicago’s Epic Investigation Continues
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 28, 2008

What the Media Misses About Antidepressants
STATSblog, Maia Szalavitz, February 27, 2008

Pyrex-o-mania Continues on CBS Chicago
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 27, 2008

Local TV’s Never-Ending Scary Bedtime Story
Trevor Butterworth, February 20, 2008
Playing up the imagined risks from fire retardants in beds puts the public in real danger

Will Smoking Pot Really Make Your Gums Rot?
STATSblog, Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D and Jenna Krall, February 13, 2008

If You Vomit While Talking to a CBS Reporter Are You Allergic to CBS?
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 12, 2008

European Scientists Poo-Poo Baby Bottle Risk
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 11, 2008

Should You Be Worried About Toxic Baby Bottles?
Trevor Butterworth, February 9, 2008
Lots of scare stories, but independent European scientific assessments and new studies argue research showing risk is flawed. This news isn't making the media coverage.

Seven Rules for Reporting Polls and Research Results
Steve Ross, February 7, 2008
Award-winning journalist, technology writer, and journalism educator Steve Ross boils down the essential principles journalists should follow when reporting on science, polling and statistics.

Dept of Unworkable Solutions: Nasal Flushing
STATSblog, Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D and Jenna Krall, February 7, 2008

Mythbusting: Your iPod isn’t Weapon of Electromagnetic Disruption
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 5, 2008

And Yet Another Study Finds No Link Between Autism and the MMR Vaccine
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 5, 2008

Washington Post Finds Political Significance in “Statistically Insignificant” Job Losses
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 4, 2008

Conventional Wisdom Busting: Social Networking Not a Haven for Sex Predators
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 1, 2008

Unhappiness is a U-Shaped Curve
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, February 1, 2008

Germans are the Fattest Europeans
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, January 31, 2008

How to Tell a Good Scientist from a Bad Scientist
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, January 31, 2008

Should Fractions Be Scrapped?
STATSblog, Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D, January 31, 2008

Generation Google Suck at Using the Web
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, January 30, 2008

ABC’s Disgrace: Artistic Freedom Doesn’t Excuse Vaccination Scaremongering
STATSblog, Trevor Butterworth, January 29, 2008

New study on drug addiction exposes media’s misrepresentation of OxyContin “plague.”
Trevor Butterworth, January 25, 2008
The media, DEA, created a myth of widespread accidental addiction new data on drug addicts shows.

Coffee and Miscarriage: Jitters or Junk?
STATSblog, Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D, January 22, 2008

Antidepressants: Hiding Studies That Find No Result or Ignoring Poorly Designed Studies?
Trevor Butterworth, January 25, 2008

Keep Your Eyes on the Slope, and Stop Worrying About “Toxic” Ski Wax
STATSblog Trevor Butterworth, January 17, 2008

Truth in Drama: Which is Better at Covering Drug Addiction, HBO’s “The Wire” or The Baltimore Sun?
Maia Szalavitz, January 15, 2008
A newspaper exposes the damage from buprenorphine. But did it end up hurting addicts by misrepresenting the case for addiction medication and harm reduction?

The Worst Science Stories of 2007: STATS Dubious Data Awards
Trevor Butterworth, January 10, 2008
Sex, Drugs, Race and the Chemicapocalypse - we look back at some of the worst science and health stories of the past year.

“Leading” Scientific Experts for Vaccine-Mercury-Autism Connection Disqualified by Court for Lack of Expertise
STATSblog Trevor Butterworth, January 9, 2008

The National Journal Takes on the Lancet Iraq Casualty Figures
STATSblog Rebecca Goldin, Ph.d, January 8, 2008

The More Bad Data You See, The More Bad Data You’ll See
STATSblog Trevor Butterworth, January 2, 2008