The Anatomy of Deception, Sara E. Gorman
The Anatomy of Deception, Sara E. Gorman
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The Anatomy of Deception
Conspiracy Theories, Distrust, and Public Health in America

Author: Sara E. Gorman

Narrator: Jennifer Walden

Unabridged: 10 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/03/2024


Synopsis

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, trust in the healthcare system seems to be at an all-time low. Conspiracy theories are now mainstream, and distrust of government health agencies is common among private citizens. Yet many of those same individuals still profess trust in their doctors. What, then, is driving the general mistrust in medicine, and how can the public's faith be restored?

The Anatomy of Deception investigates the cause behind this seeming uptick in distrust by tracing the unexpected connection between medical mistrust and the move toward far right ideology in the United States. Drawing on personal qualitative research and interviews, health writer and expert Sara Gorman challenges traditional concepts of medical mistrust and argues that the loss of institutional trust in American health care signals a larger breakdown in democracy as a whole. In six short chapters, Gorman advances the idea of medical mistrust not as a byproduct of personal or historical abuses but as a direct result of bias, miscommunication, and lack of access that has slowly eroded trust in the public health system over time. She argues that we can build back trust in medicine through investments in health equity as a first step towards healing the schisms present in modern American society.

About Sara E. Gorman

Sara E. Gorman is a public health and behavioral science expert and has written extensively about global health, science communication, psychology, and mental health, among other topics. Dr. Gorman's work has appeared in or been covered by TIME, the New Yorker, Science, Psychology Today, the Atlantic, the BBC, and NPR. She is also cofounder and CEO of Critica, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving public acceptance of science, counteracting misinformation about science and health, and increasing the use of scientific evidence in public policymaking.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Natalie on January 05, 2026

The public is stupid and people want to bring up the syphilis experiment and pretend they're something special because they know about it. Well guess what- EVERYONE knows about it.......more