The Republican War on Science Chris Mooney Wednesday, October 19, 2005 8:00pm, Ramo Auditorium, Caltech This event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required.

Biography

Science has never been more crucial to deciding the political issues facing the country. Yet science and scientists have less influence with the federal government than at any time since the Eisenhower administration. In the White House and Congress today, findings are reported in a politicized manner; spun or distorted to fit the speaker's agenda; or, when they're too inconvenient, ignored entirely. On a broad array of issues-stem cell research, climate change, missile defense, abstinence education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others-the Bush administration's positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus.

Chris Mooney ties together the disparate strands of the attack on science into a compelling and frightening account of our government's increasing unwillingness to distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven pseudoscience.

Chris Mooney is Washington correspondent for Seed magazine and a senior correspondent for the American Prospect. He focuses on issues at the intersection of science and politics, with recent publications in the Columbia Journalism Review, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Wired, Mother Jones, Salon, and Slate, among others. Mr. Mooney's first book, entitled The Republican War on Science, was released in September 2005 with Basic Books.

For more information about Chris Mooney, go to his website: http://www.chriscmooney.com/.