How They Made Us Doubt Everything

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How They Made Us Doubt Everything: 4. Tobacco in the dock

4. Tobacco in the dock

BBC Radio 4 - How They Made Us Doubt Everything, 4. Tobacco in the dock

As the evidence against tobacco mounts, the court suits mount up. Tobacco keeps winning.

'Due to favourable scientific testimony, no plaintiff has ever collected a penny from a tobacco company in lawsuits , even though 117 such cases have been brought’. The plan works.

As the evidence against tobacco mounts, the court suits keep coming. Tobacco keeps winning. 
‘Due to favourable scientific testimony, no plaintiff has ever collected a penny from any tobacco company in lawsuits even though 117 such cases have been brought’. An internal memo from tobacco company R J Reynolds reveals a motive behind their funding of research. In this episode the battle is taken to the court room as we hear how a land mark trial toppled tobacco. 

From climate change to smoking and cancer, this is the story of how doubt has been manufactured. This 10 part series explores how powerful interests and sharp PR managers engineered doubt about the connection between smoking and cancer and how similar tactics were later used by some to make us doubt climate change.   
With the help of once-secret internal memos, we take you behind boardroom doors where such strategies were drawn up and explore how the narrative changed on one of the most important stories of our time - and how the marketing of doubt has undermined our willingness to believe almost everything. 

Presenter: Peter Pomerantsev
Producer: Phoebe Keane

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

From smoking and cancer to climate change, this is the story of how to manufacture doubt.

How some of the world's most powerful interests made us doubt the connection between smoking and cancer, and then how the same tactics were used to make us doubt climate change.

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How They Made Us Doubt Everything

4. Tobacco in the dock

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