When asked whether they shape public opinion or reflect it, journalists working for national news media tend to affect wide-eyed innocence, insisting that they simply report the facts and that […]
Latest articles
Liz Wager: Getting irrational about denture cleaner
I’ve recently caught myself acting irrationally about denture cleaning tablets. Let me explain. I’ve decided to have my teeth straightened. This involves wearing a brace (but as it’s a high-tech […]
Richard Smith: A bad case of health
I’ve been puzzling for years over how to define health without making much progress, but I thought I might take a step forward by listening to a discussion on the […]
MSF doctor Caroline Forwood on kala azar in India
The music is loud tonight, layers of competing sounds, horns and wind instruments, a screeching female voice on a tannoy system then a man with a better trained voice, car […]
Richard Smith: What do you do these days?
About twice a week somebody asks me: “What exactly do you do these days?” Many doctors knew me as the editor of the BMJ, and they have a vague memory […]
Stephen Ginn: Xmas manifesto
It’s easy to assume that things are as they’ve always been. This of course is not the case and recently I discovered that the rate of economic growth during the […]
Joe Jacob: Working for MSF in Kashmir
My name is Joseph Jacob and I am a trainee radiologist at Kings College Hospital, London. In early 2009, I was given the opportunity through a sabbatical, to return to […]
BMJ/MSF Christmas appeal: Philip du Cros on his work as a TB programme implementer
My name is Philipp du Cros and I am a doctor working as a tuberculosis (TB) programme implementer for Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) UK. What does that mean? My work […]
Julian Sheather: How much gold in the genetic glister?
I have just been to a breakfast conversation on genetics and health care. I am not at my best early on, but as the LSE had assembled an impressive list […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Apres Ski and A&E
Heading for the slopes? Sunshine, blue skies and an exhilarating holiday. Cant wait! You don’t need any gloomy doom sayer spoiling your excitement. But, as you board your flight, look […]