David Michaels

Harvard Book Store and the Union of Concerned Scientists welcome DR. DAVID MICHAELS—celebrated author and former Assistant Secretary for Labor of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—for a discussion of his book, The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception. He will be joined in conversation by author and Harvard Law professor LAWRENCE LESSIG.

About The Triumph of Doubt

America is a country of everyday crises—big, long-spanning problems that persist, mostly unregulated, despite their toll on the country's health and vitality. And for every case of government inaction on one of these issues, there is a set of familiar, doubtful refrains: The science is unclear. The data is inconclusive. Regulation is unjustified. It's a slippery slope.

Is it?

The Triumph of Doubt traces the ascendance of science-for-hire in American life and government, from its origins in the tobacco industry in the 1950s to its current manifestations across government, public policy, and even professional sports. Well-heeled American corporations have long had a financial stake in undermining scientific consensus and manufacturing uncertainty; in The Triumph of Doubt, former Obama and Clinton official David Michaels details how bad science becomes public policy—and where it's happening today.

Amid fraught conversations of "alternative facts" and "truth decay," The Triumph of Doubt wields its unprecedented access to shine a light on the machinations and scope of manipulated science in American society. It is an urgent, revelatory work, one that promises to reorient conversations around science and the public good for the foreseeable future.

Praise for The Triumph of Doubt

"David Michaels is that rare combination: the fearless expert. He not only knows where the bodies are buried, he knows who buried them. The Triumph of Doubt and its predecessor, Doubt Is Their Product, are timely, readable, and essential guides for anyone seeking to understand how the corruption of science is damaging the health of everyone from football players and factory workers to soda drinkers and truck drivers—in short, anyone with a pulse." —Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Toms River

"No one has done more to expose the deep corruption in American safety regulation that harms us all—and especially our kids. After spending seven years as America's chief safety regulator, David Michaels offers a beautifully crafted argument for how much more we need to do. Required—if frightening—reading for anyone who cares about a clean and safe environment for America and the world." —Lawrence Lessig, author of Fidelity and Constraint

"Few people have done more to document disinformation about science than David Michaels. His new book is an important addition to the growing literature on doubt, disinformation, and deception." —Naomi Oreskes, author of Merchants of Doubt