Professor Robert Proctor specializes in 20th century science, technology, and medicine, especially the history of controversy in those fields, and projects on scientific rhetoric, the cultural production of ignorance (agnotology), and the history of expert witnessing. He also does work on human origins–including changing notions of the oldest tools, art and fire; changing body imagery, the history of molecular anthropology, changing archaeological techniques and images of “humaness,” etc. the history of global creationism and of Evo Devo, catastrophic geology, global climate change and environmental policy.

Some of his earlier books include RACIAL HYGIENE: MEDICINE UNDER THE NAZIS; CANCER WARS: HOW POLITICS SHAPES WHAT WE KNOW AND DON’T KNOW ABOUT CANCER; and VALUE-FREE SCIENCE? PURITY AND POWER IN MODERN KNOWLEDGE. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he was a senior scholar in residence at the U.S. Holocaust Research Institute.

This interview was originally broadcast on February 15, 2012.

Articles referred to or pertinent to this interview:

Big Tobacco is killing the planet with plastics. No smokescreen should be allowed to hide that https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/may/26/big-tobacco-is-killing-the-planet-with-plastics-no-smokescreen-should-hide-that-acc

Humans used tobacco 12,300 years ago, new discovery suggests https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58884119

Smoking linked to faster cognitive decline in men http://latimes.com/business/la-fi-tobacco-20120126,0,6096911.story