Join the Jefferson Humanists’ book group, FROG (Freethinkers Reading Opportunity Group), for our April book, Trust Us, We’re Experts!: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future by Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber. (www.goodreads.com/book/show/438716.Trust_Us_We_re_Experts_).

The authors offer a chilling exposé on the manufacturing of “independent experts.” Public relations firms and corporations have seized upon a slick new way of getting you to buy what they have to sell: Let you hear it from a neutral “third party,” like a professor or a pediatrician or a soccer mom or a watchdog group. The problem is, these third parties are usually anything but neutral. They have been handpicked, cultivated, and meticulously packaged to make you believe what they have to say–preferably in an “objective” format like a news show or a letter to the editor. And in some cases, they have been paid handsomely for their “opinions.” (From the Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch)

After the meeting, we frequently adjourn to Teller’s, which is nearby at 20th and Youngfield, to continue the discussion over a beverage.

Email Helena Goldstein (hjdenver@gmail.com) with any questions.

“If you want to know how the world wags, and who’s wagging it, here’s your answer. Read, get mad, roll up your sleeves, and fight back. Rampton and Stauber have issued a wake-up call we can’t ignore.” ~ Bill Moyers, PBS

Next meetings (Dates are subject to change)

May 12 – The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism among the primates by Frans de Waal (www.goodreads.com/book/show/4487598-the-bonobo-and-the-atheist )

June 9 – Discussion Topic – Education in America – Do a reading of your choice and bring your thoughts to our group discussion of this topic.