Deb Cohen
Broadcaster and writer | Senior visiting fellow, LSE | Escapee medic | Former health correspondent, BBC Newsnight | Science editor, ITV News | Investigations editor, BMJ | Scouse
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- I've finally been published in Nature...sort of! Amazing review of my book "Bad Influence". "Her deeply reported, compelling analysis lays bare how social-media influencers, apps, algorithms and the rest of the digital ecosystem are transforming our health" www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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- The rise of the commodified self...my op ed in @newscientist.com Health tech, apps, diagnostics, online clinics, influencers- all competing for authority, and figuring out how to monetise it. There is a whole parallel system powered by consumer health www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
- Well I wasn’t expecting that… went out for a few bevvies and ended up signing a book I didn’t even know had been published...
- Thrilled my book Bad Influence featured by Stylist. This "fascinating" & "terrifying dive into 21st century healthcare should be mandatory reading". Showing how social media leads to "dark corners" "Read this book & become instantly better informed, self-aware & outraged"
- Amid fierce criticism, I spoke to critics & triallists about the puberty blocker trial, putting methodological & ethical concerns to researchers & Hilary Cass for @bmj.com. They describe clinical context, challenge criticism & say studies are necessary. (open access) www.bmj.com/content/391/...
- In 2019 I got leaked US UK trade deal docs that suggested there would be drug price rises. I reported on the docs for BBC Newsnight. There was outcry from certain sectors & a certain ex leader of the opposition took up the case. Interesting to see this has actually come to pass
- Reposted by Deb Cohenwww.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Multi cancer detection tests Till we've better evidence definitely more hype than hope in my view Good show @debscohen.bsky.social
- I'm never quite sure how much of the nice stuff people say about my book, Bad Influence, I should share. But these are the first two reviews in and they're from people I really admire. So I thought I'd indulge myself a bit...
- I am thrilled to share that Bad Influence has been selected by @waterstones.bsky.social for an exclusive pre-order promotion Get 25% off when you order this week using code OCTOBER25. waterstones.com/book/bad-influ… #WPreorder (Apols for music...couldn't resist)
- In the words of one prof of evidence synthesis: "This is going to be great - exposing the snake oil pushers of the modern age. With modern technology and a global market at their fingertips, they have never been more dangerous to our health."
- You can tell I'm not in sales and marketing...my mate just DM'd me "where's the preorder link you, nobhead?" So here is it: amzn.eu/d/hRYd9fI
- New book klaxon: I finally piss EVERYONE off! What happens when you put health on platforms geared for shopping, PR & entertainment? What's medicine and what's marketing? And what impact is it having on health? (In public health lingo -it's commercial meets digital determinants of health)
- Chris Whitty bringing a huge amount of scepticism and sense to 'misinformation' debate. He's not focusing on individuals but the behaviour of the likes tobacco, fossil fuel and drug companies @lshtm.bsky.social
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- The UK’s flagship health research programme promises breakthroughs, but beneath an NHS branded facade, critics are asking who really benefits from this vast database, heavily backed by industry and government. @mgtmccartney.bsky.social and I investigate www.bmj.com/content/390/...
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- Anyone know where Anfield is?!
- Self promo klaxon....Delighted to be signed up to the Specialist Speakers Bureau...want to know more about communicating complexity, controversy and evidence. Hit me up! specialistspeakers.com/?p=16769
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- My and @mgtmccartney.bsky.social critical look at Zoe for both Unherd and The BMJ has sure had legs.... Great to see our work being cited in today's Economist economist.com/britain/2025...
- Great talking to academics at LSE about how researchers can work with journalists to hold health systems, companies, policy makers etc to account. Research + investigative journalism can drive change in policy & practice. But how you do it in a rapidly changing media landscape?
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- Had a few DMs from people sharing experiences of false positives with unnecessary & anxiety inducing clinical cascade. Asymptomatic people having ECGs leading to A&E attendances; nervous weeks off work to explore incidentalomas. But we tend to hear the stories about how this test saved my life
- Spotify's Daniel Ek's latest tech is Neko Health. Its full body scans a "health check for your future self". Tech enthusiasts are applying mechanistic thinking to complexities of the body. But it's not so simple. @mgtmccartney.bsky.social and and me for @unherd.com unherd.com/2025/01/the-...
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- Spotify's Daniel Ek's latest tech is Neko Health. Its full body scans a "health check for your future self". Tech enthusiasts are applying mechanistic thinking to complexities of the body. But it's not so simple. @mgtmccartney.bsky.social and and me for @unherd.com unherd.com/2025/01/the-...
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- My first for the BBC for a while. I look at key methodological & ethical considerations about NHS puberty blocker trial for children w gender dysphoria. Is there equipoise? Will a placebo arm be feasible? It’s one of the most challenging clinical issues imaginable www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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