I will be speaking at Fullerton College in Anaheim, California, on Friday March 23 and Saturday March 24. The topic will be Media Literacy, Science, Ghost Hunters, and Bigfoot. 

Join Discovery News writer/investigator Benjamin Radford for a presentation about the media, science literacy—and Bigfoot. The news media is a powerful influence on society, and understanding how journalism works can help us avoid being misled. News and science stories in particular can be hard to interpret but have important implications for our lives.

The talk will also include a discussion of how the media treats “paranormal” and unexplained mysteries such as ghost, Bigfoot, and UFOs. What does the wild success of “reality” TV shows like Ghost Hunters and Finding Bigfoot say about the level of critical thinking and scientific literacy in America? Do they have any influence on the public’s belief, or is it all harmless entertainment?

Come find out!

The talks will be at 10 AM, location TBA. Check my Facebook page for more details.

Benjamin Radford is a deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and a Research Fellow with the non-profit educational organization the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has written hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics, including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and science literacy.

His six books include Media Mythmakers: How Journalists, Activists, and Advertisers Mislead Us; Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries; and The Martians Have Landed! A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes. Radford is a regular columnist for LiveScience.com, Discovery News, and Skeptical Inquirer magazine, and has appeared on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Learning Channel, CBC, CBS, BBC, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair.