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    Michael Hiltzik: Sorry, Joe Rogan: Scientists should never 'debate' anti-vaccine quacks. Here's why

    by Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times Jun 23, 2023 6 minutes
    Joe Rogan attends the UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-in at American Airlines Center on July 29, 2022, in Dallas.

    Given that we live in a world in which almost everything, including presidential politics, takes on the trappings of cheap entertainment, it's no wonder that the purveyors of anti-vaccine and anti-science claptrap are demanding that legitimate experts validate their positions through the spectacle of public debates.

    The experts are right to say no.

    The most recent example of this demand erupted recently, after webcaster Joe Rogan, an enthusiastic promoter of COVID-19 conspiracy-mongers, anti-vaxxers and other sources of pseudoscientific hogwash, hosted anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his program for three hours.

    When vaccine expert Peter Hotez tweeted a link to a thorough critique of Kennedy's lies and misrepresentations by Vice.com, Rogan challenged Hotez to participate in a public debate with Kennedy.

    Hotez refused, though he offered to engage Rogan — whose show he had appeared on before — one on one, a context in which Hotez was prepared to address Rogan's misconceptions serially. Rogan

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