Ben is a working medical doctor, with postgraduate qualifications in philosophy and a background in popular writing. Effortlessly witty, embarrassingly attractive, if you twist his arm he will talk about science, especially scare stories, medicalisation of everyday life, nutritionism, alternative therapies, cosmetics adverts, regulation of research, and drug company bullshit (my medical student course). He has appeared on lots of radio and TV programs and is available for cruises, weddings, and barmitzvahs, although it’s more likely you will invite him to chat at your school/university/cafe scientifique for no money. And quite right too.

Email:
tips@badscience.net

Agent:
Pat Kavanagh (Literary)
Rosemary Scoular/Sophie Laurimore/Jo Forshaw (TV/Radio)
www.pfd.co.uk
020 7344 1000

Mail:
Dr Ben Goldacre
Bad Science
Life Science
The Guardian
119 Farringdon Road
London EC1R

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Just one thing: I’m very happy to come and do stuff for free, although badscience is just a hobby, and I give dozens of talks like that every year, but I’ve just been doing my tax, and it turns out I’m such a phenomenal loser that I lost over £3,000 last year from giving talks, because I don’t ever manage to fill out those little expenses forms and post them off, because I’m too busy giving more talks for free, in the mess of my life. So I will happily come and give a talk - I consider these things a public duty - but - and you can tell I’m slightly pissed about this right now - only if you will promise to just give me my train fare, when I arrive, with no mucking about, or else I go to the pub instead. Seriously, if I have to find an envelope, fill out a form, find your address, write it on the envelope, find a stamp, find the right taxi receipts in the pockets of whatever jacket I was wearing that day, and then the train tickets, and then post them, all to get back the £80 or so that I paid to come to you, then experience demonstrates that I will simply lose thousands, and I already don’t do the things that make money, like readers health advice in glossy mags, so this is becoming a surprisingly serious personal problem. Until some fool decides to give a secretary to a man who looks 14 years old, that’s the deal. I’m genuinely sorry if your administrative systems can’t manage it. And while you’re here, recently some people have invited me to do one talk and then grandly informed me that I am doing two. That’s kind, but I’ve already got quite a lot on, and there’s a lot more that I’d like to do, which I’m very excited about, so with the best will in the world an hour is probably enough. Seriously, I love giving talks, but I cannot organise receipts, and I just wish it didn’t cost me so much money.