2025 Ockham Awards: The Best & Worst of Skepticism

Okay, you might want to sit down for this; the last 12 months, in case you missed them, has seen my very first Rusty Razor nominee, Donald J. Trump, returned to the White House, and this time he brought my last nominee, who was last year's winner, Elon Musk along with him to launch an all out war on science. And so it is that, as I sit down to draw up my nominations for the Ockham Awards 2025, I find my thoughts almost entirely dominated by my friends and foes accross the Pond. Here, for your consideration, are my choices...

The Award for Skeptical Activism is presented to an individual or organisation who has done outstanding work to promote critical thinking within the last 12 months. Winners are chosen based on the impact that they have had, the reach that they have achieved and their relevance this year. Last year the award went to Dr Flint Dibble for venturing into the lion’s den and facing off against pseudojournalist Graham Hancock in the far from neutral arena of the Joe Rogan Experience, and in previous years the award has gone to Knowledge Fight (2023), BBC’s Disinformation Unit (2022), Dr Elizabeth Bik (2021), Dr Natália Pasternak (2020), and Michael Marshall (2018).

This year, Dr Lee McIntyre, my 2025 nominee, published On Disinformation, a little red book that not only charts how our old adversary science denial has evolved into full-blown reality denial, but also lays out strategic battle plans for the fight back. It’s the fourth volume in a decade-long research project into the science denialism which has taken him from the ivory towers of academia to the murky depths of a flat earth conference. And to cap it all, he was generous enough join us at a special Skeptics in the Pub event on his last day in Cambridge to deliver a rallying cry, which he asked us not to share any media from for at least 48 hours, before boarding a flight back to Trump’s America. I have not heard from him since.

Honourable mentions go to McIntyre’s good friends, philosopher Dr Andy Norman and psychologist Prof Sander van der Linden for their academic endeavours at CIRCE and the Mental Immunity Project to strengthen our psychological defences against disinformation, and to fellow psychologist Dr Stuart Vyse for calling out their excesses. Also, to paediatrician and research scientist Dr Peter Hotez for continuing to warn against The Deadly Rise of Anti-science. And a special shout out to medical consultant Dr Chris Smith whose science communication as the Naked Scientist from right here in Cambridge is under threat from budget cuts.

The Rusty Razor is presented to an individual or organisation who has been the most prominent promoter of unscientific ideas in the last 12 months. Recipients are chosen based on level of pseudoscience, the reach they’ve achieved, the harm they’ve done and their relevance this year. Last year the award went to Elon Musk for his extremification of x.com, with pseudoscience promoting BBC Dragon Steven Bartlett a close runner-up, and in previous years the award has gone to Dr Aseem Malhotra (2023), the Global Warming Policy Foundation (2022), Dr Mike Yeadon (2021), Dr Didier Raoult (2020), Andrew Wakefield (2018), and Gwyneth Paltrow (2017).

This year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., my 2025 nominee, was rewarded for his long and ignominious history of denialism and disinformation by being appointed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. From promoting the baseless claim that vaccines cause autism, to publicly questioning the safety of fluoridated water and Wi-Fi radiation, RFK Jr. has continued to promote his fringe and false theories from his entirely unearned position as his country’s highest authority on health. He has also led the devastating attack on the very agencies he oversees including the FDA and the CDC. The damage done will take generations to undo, and if Jr has his way we may not even have antidepressents to get us there.

Dishonourable mentions go to many of RFK Jr’s colleagues, including quack SCAM promoter Dr Mehmet Oz, pandemic denialist Dr Jay Bhattacharya, climate and DEI defunder Russell Vought, and tariff idealogue Peter Navarro (as well as his only reference Ron Vara). Further condemnation falls upon Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, Niall Ferguson, Peter Boghossian and others who saw what was going on and threw their full support behind Lawrence Krauss’s bogus claim that the real War on Science is coming from the left. Oh, and a final mention for the QED committee for platforming Sabine Hossenfelder at last year’s conference.

Make your official nominations by completing the official nomination form before official nominations close on October 10th. Winners, chosen by the editorial board of The Skeptic, will be announced at the final QED conference on October 25th.