
Prove It! Elizabeth Finkel's Scientific Guide for the Post-Truth Era
About this episode
If a stiff dose of medical misinformation is what you're after, look no further than the White House right now. And, on social media and in online forums, countless conspiracy theories reign supreme. In this "post-truth" era, has science lost its authority, or have we lost sight of what scientific proof actually involves? From debates over the origins of our species to conspiracies surrounding the origins of COVID19, Dr Elizabeth Finkel goes where others fear to tread to lift the lid on how science works. Join her with Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell at this event hosted by the Royal Society of Victoria and Black Inc Books.
Speaker
Dr Elizabeth FinkelScience journalist, biologist, author, former editor of popular science magazine CosmosAuthor of Prove it: A scientific guide to the post-truth era (Black Inc Books, 2025), The Genome Generation (2011), Stem Cells: Controversy at the Frontier of Science (2005).
Get every episode summarized
Each time Big Ideas publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Big Ideas

Feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem with Natasha Mitchell and guests on travels...
Big Ideas

Are kid's books too moralistic, worthy, or 'woke'? Andy Griffiths, Hilary Rogers...
Big Ideas

Inside the life of Elizabeth II with royal biographer Robert Hardman
Big Ideas

Tech activist Cory Doctorow says the internet's been enshittified. So is it too...
Big Ideas