States of Fear: Science or Politics?

At one time, both the pseudoscientific geocentric notion of the universe (that
the Earth lies at the center of the solar system) and eugenics (the racial
theory to 'purify' the human race) were widely accepted by leaders in science,
politics, journalism, and business.

Such theories were pushed by powerful interest groups that possessed highly
politicized agendas driving government policies and public opinion, until
ultimately both theories were disproved. Is environmental debate today,
including global warming, bio-technology, and other issues, based on science or
politics? Are popular accounts of such issues rooted in science or phantom
risks? Are government policies focusing on the trivial while ignoring the real,
and in the process wasting limited resources, crippling human innovation to
address true dangers, and inviting tyranny?

In discussing not just environmental issues but the increasing politicization of
science itself, best-selling author Michael Crichton examines the intersection
of media, politics, and science, inspiring viewers to challenge old assumptions
and to search beneath the surface of issues as they seek to discover the truth.

In addition, scientists Bruce Ames (U.C. Berkeley), Sallie Baliunas (Harvard
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), William Gray (Colorado State U.), and
Oregon State Climatologist George Taylor show how scientific debates have been
politicized by appealing to the fears of an uninformed public.