Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Is superfood a scientific term … or a marketing one? Do supplements that claim to reduce inflammation actually reduce anything (other than your bank account)? What’s the deal with “red light therapy”? Everyday life is full of interesting science—and pseudoscience—from maraschino cherries and frizzy hair to duct tape, pickle juice, and dental implants.
Bestselling author Dr. Joe Schwarcz returns to discuss his latest book, Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex: Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life. Schwarcz has spent his career separating sense from nonsense; now, his new collection of bite-size pop science essays takes on several burning questions about the science of everyday life.
Dr. Joe Schwarcz is director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. Well-known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of food to the connection between the body and the mind, Professor Schwarcz is also the author of several bestselling books and a frequent guest on The Discovery Channel, CTV, CBC, TV Ontario, and more. He has received numerous awards, including being the first non-American to win the American Chemical Society’s prestigious Grady-Stack Award. He was also awarded the 2015 Balles Prize for Critical Thinking by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Is superfood a scientific term … or a marketing one? Do supplements that claim to reduce inflammation actually reduce anything (other than your bank account)? What’s the deal with “red light therapy”? Everyday life is full of interesting science—and pseudoscience—from maraschino cherries and frizzy hair to duct tape, pickle juice, and dental implants.
Bestselling author Dr. Joe Schwarcz returns to discuss his latest book, Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex: Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life. Schwarcz has spent his career separating sense from nonsense; now, his new collection of bite-size pop science essays takes on several burning questions about the science of everyday life.
Dr. Joe Schwarcz is director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. Well-known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of food to the connection between the body and the mind, Professor Schwarcz is also the author of several bestselling books and a frequent guest on The Discovery Channel, CTV, CBC, TV Ontario, and more. He has received numerous awards, including being the first non-American to win the American Chemical Society’s prestigious Grady-Stack Award. He was also awarded the 2015 Balles Prize for Critical Thinking by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
