2024
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Flu vs COVID: Stark Disparity in Vaccination and Deaths
Published in Medscape, May 2, 2024
Another COVID Booster Versus Your Annual Flu Shot
Email from Peter M. Sandman to freelance medical writer Sara Novak, April 23, 2024
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What Goes Into an Expert’s Expert Judgment Other Than That Expert’s Expertise (with COVID examples)
Panel presentation (via Zoom) at a conference on “COVID and the Academy: What Have We Learned?” Heterodox Academy Research Symposium, Stanford, California, February 23, 2024
Link to the offsite video of the presentation on YouTube (with a machine transcript) (31 min.)
Link launches an on-site audio file of the presentation (44MB, 31 min.)
Link launches an on-site file with the presentation PowerPoint slides (95kB) 
Link to my much more extensive “notes” for the longer presentation I couldn’t give March 11 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
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Email from Peter M. Sandman to freelance medical writer Lisa Rapaport, February 2, 2024
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Risk=Hazard+Outrage: Some Risk Communication Basics (and some COVID comments) – 2024 Edition
Class presented via Zoom to Prof. Michael Osterholm’s course on “Emerging Infectious Diseases: Current Issues, Policies and Controversies,” University of Minnesota School of Public Health, February 5, 2024
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Why I Hope the COVID Pandemic Isn’t Over
Posted on MedPage Today as a “Second Opinion,” January 24, 2024
July 22 New column
Posted: July 22, 2024
May 6 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 21 New video, audio, PowerPoint, and text files
February 25 New video, audio, PowerPoint, and text files
Link to the offsite Zoom file on Vimeo (66 min.)
Link launches an on-site audio file of the presentation (92MB, 66 min.)
Link launches an onsite file with the PowerPoint slides (229 kB)
Link to an on-site file with a machine transcript of the presentation (60kB)
Link launches an on-site audio file (71MB, 81min.) of the Q&A following the presentation
January 28 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
2023
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Let’s Stop Insulting Each Other as ‘Anti-Science’
Published in Bloomberg, October 22, 2023
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Public Health Lost the Public’s Trust, Especially on the Right – and Blames “Anti-Science”
Composite of two emails from Peter M. Sandman to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Faye Flam, October 10 and October 12, 2023
Iowa Lecture: Hazard versus Outrage; Managing Controversy; Two Kinds of Reputation Management; Public Health’s Noble Lies
Class presented via Zoom to Prof. Joanna Krajewski’s online course on “Risk Communication,” University of Iowa, April 25, 2023
May 2 New video and audio file
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Looking Back: Tracing How I Got to My Approach to Risk Communication
Interview via Zoom with Margaret Harvie and Lewis Michaelson, April 27, 2023
October 23 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 4 New video and audio file
2022
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Risk and Crisis Communications
Note: Link launches an MP3 audio file (73MB, 52 min.)Interview with Peter M. Sandman, via Zoom audio, by Eric Holdeman, December 9, 2022
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Ron DeSantis Vaccine Complaint Exploits Public Health Gaffes
Published in Bloomberg, December 17, 2022
Reassess How Public Health Oversold COVID Vaccination – But Not the DeSantis Way
Two emails from Peter M. Sandman to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Faye Flam, December 15, 2022
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Interview with Peter M. Sandman, via Zoom audio, by Olivia Truban, December 1, 2022
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(This is the original full-length version.)
COMMENTARY: Navigating COVID language traps
) (95 kB) (This is an abridged version, with some minor editorial changes. It is also posted on the website of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.)
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Sharing Dilemmas about Monkeypox Containment
Rejected by the New York Times, July 25, 2022
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Major US cities report new monkeypox cases
Published in CIDRAP News, June 3, 2022
Avoiding Stigmatization Shouldn’t Be the Top Priority in Monkeypox Risk Communication
Two emails from Peter M. Sandman to Stephanie Soucheray of CIDRAP News, June 2 and June 3, 2022
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Why the WHO took two years to say COVID is airborne
Published in Nature (vol. 604, pp. 26-31) and posted on the Nature website, April 6, 2022
Email from Peter M. Sandman to journalist Dyani Lewis, August 5, 2021
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Risk = Hazard + Outrage: Some Risk Communication Basics (and some COVID comments)
Class presented via Zoom to Prof. Michael Osterholm’s course on “Emerging Infectious Diseases: Current Issues, Policies and Controversies,” University of Minnesota School of Public Health, March 21, 2022.
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Risk = Hazard + Outrage: Three Paradigms of (Radiation) Risk Communication
Webinar presented via Zoom to the "Web Symposium on Risk Communication in Radiation Disaster," Fukushima Medical University, February 7, 2022 (presentation prerecorded on December 16, 2021)
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Two Messaging Suggestions: “Let’s Enjoy the Lull” and “We’re Not All in the Same Pandemic”
Amalgam of two emails from Peter M. Sandman to Vox politics reporter Li Zhou, February 7, 2022
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Posted on the Daily Mail website, February 7, 2022, with a February 8 update
Wearing an Unnecessary Mask Outdoors Isn’t a Big Deal Even If You’re President
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Daily Mail editor Wills Robinson, February 7, 2022
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Risk = Hazard + Outrage: Three Paradigms of (Wildfire) Risk Communication
Webinar presented via Zoom, hosted by the European Forest Institute, November 15, 2021
Link launches an on-site audio file (98 MB, 1 hr. 11 min.)Link opens the webinar slide set on this site (2.6 MB, 21 slides)January 25 New audio file
8 Things U.S. Pandemic Communicators Still Get Wrong
Presentation via Zoom to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, January 11, 2022
January 18 New video and audio files with slides
Pesticide Outrage Management (two parts)
Webinar presented via Zoom to the Region One Pesticide Inspector Regional Training (PIRT) program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, February 23, 2021
Link to the off-site Zoom Part 1 file on Vimeo (57 min.)
Link to the off-site Zoom Part 2 file on Vimeo (65 min.)
Link launches the Part 1 on-site audio file (79.6 MB, 57 min.)
Link launches the Part 2 on-site audio file (92 MB, 65 min.)
Link is to an on-site file with the PowerPoint slides for both partsJanuary 16 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
CDC leader faces precarious political moment
by Nathaniel Weixel, posted on The Hill website, January 10, 2022
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Nathaniel Weixel, healthcare reporter for The Hill, January 10, 2022
2021
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COMMENTARY: 8 things US pandemic communicators still get wrong
(on-site:) COMMENTARY: 8 things US pandemic communicators still get wrong
(CIDRAP site)Posted on the website of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, December 10, 2021
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Excerpts from: “Watching the COVID Booster Sausage Being Made”
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“Even-Though Risk Communication”: Mandatory COVID Vaccination: Postscript
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“Even-Though Risk Communication”: Mandatory COVID Vaccination
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Cut Slack for Employees’ Excessive COVID Fears (or Vaccination Fears)
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Bloomberg Opinion science columnist Faye Flam, September 30, 2021
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Confidence, complacency, and convenience: part two
Posted on her blog, "The Turnstone," September 12, 2021
COVID Vaccination and Cognitive Dissonance
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Melanie Newfield and posted as a comment on her blog post, September 12, 2021
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Analysis: White House dominance of pandemic message might feed political divides
Posted on the CNN website, July 30, 2021
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Maggie Fox, July 20, 2021
Public Health Agencies and Professionals Don’t Want to Talk Much about COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
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Since the CDC’s mid-May guidance on wearing masks, we’re no longer all in this together
Posted on the STAT News website, July 16, 2021
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Three Paradigms of Risk Communication – and a critique of COVID-19 Crisis Communication
Webinar presented via Zoom, then posted on YouTube, hosted by the Institute for Risk and Uncertainty, University of Liverpool, July 7, 2021
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‘Covid Zero’ Risks Being ‘Covid Limbo’ Amid Slow Vaccine UptakePosted on Bloomberg News, June 3, 2021
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As it fights a pandemic, CDC wages a second battle to win back trust
Posted on the CNN website, May 21, 2021
CDC’s Reputation Takes Another Hit When Walensky Says Vaccinated People Can Take Off Their Masks
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Maggie Fox, May 20, 2021
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by Peter M. Sandman and Jody Lanard
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Posted on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) website and broadcast on the ABC television program “7:30,” May 5, 2021
Also: Link to the offsite text file with a transcript of the segment
May 4 New audio file and Peter M. Sandman in the News
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Posted on the WHYY (Philadelphia) website, April 30, 2021 (as both a podcast and a print article) and broadcast on National Public Radio
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COVID-19 Vaccine Blood Clots: Secrecy versus Pause versus Informed Consent
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Resuscitating CDC’s Reputation
Excerpts from emails among Peter M. Sandman, Jody Lanard, and Maggie Fox of CNN, January 18 – March 16, 2021
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Reopening as Covid-19 Fades Is Not a Science
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, March 24, 2021
Amalgam of two emails from Peter M. Sandman to Faye Flam, March 22, 2021
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Audio interview with Peter M. Sandman by Jad Sleiman, March 8, 2021
Public Health Messaging that Aims to Persuade the Audience at the Expense of Truth
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Jad Sleiman, March 2, 2021
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Interview with Peter M. Sandman by Faye Flam, March 3, 2021
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Can the arrival of new coronavirus variants scare Americans into better pandemic behavior?
Posted on the CNN website, January 30, 2021
Any Chance of Getting Anybody to Take the New COVID-19 Variants Seriously?
Seven points sent to CNN reporter Maggie Fox, January 29, 2021
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One-Dose Two-Dose Vaccine Risk Communication: Another Impossible Thing to Believe Before Breakfast
December 10 New Web-Available article by Peter M. Sandman
December 4 New columns
October 22 Column addition
October 17 New column
October 8 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
September 30 New column
September 22 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
August 1 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
July 23 New column
July 21 New Web-Available article by Peter M. Sandman
July 9 New video and audio file with slides
June 7 New video, audio, files and Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 25 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 16 New column
May 8 New video file and Peter M. Sandman in the News
April 24 New column
April 2 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 28 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 23 New audio files (and an email text)
March 14 New audio files
February 1 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
January 22 New audio file
January 22 New column
2020
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Posted on the Business Insider website, December 28, 2020
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COVID-19 Vaccination Messaging
(Note: This link launches an MP3 audio file on this site.) -
To End the Pandemic, the COVID-19 Vaccine Must Clear One Final Obstacle
Posted on the Inverse website, December 23, 2020
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See also this short (one-page) backstory about my efforts to get the word out on the FDA’s vaccine delay.
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COVID-19 from Frozen Fish: Fascinoma or Serious Risk?
Posted on this site in English, and on Weibo and WeChat in Mandarin, October 22, 2020
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Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo: A Plague on Both Their Houses – or Not?
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Posted on the Washington Post website, September 28, 2020
The CDC’s Massive Loss of Credibility Is Partly Because of the Spokespeople It Used
Email from Jody Lanard to Washington Post reporter Lena H. Sun, September 25, 2020
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The company of the dead: part three
Posted on The Turnstone (Melanie Newfield’s blog), August 16, 2020
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COMMENTARY: Public health’s share of the blame: US COVID-19 risk communication failures
Posted on the website of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, August 24, 2020
[Note: This is a much-changed revision of “Public Health’s Single Biggest COVID-19 Risk Communication Failure,” a website column posted on August 4.]
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Outdoor Masking Isn’t Always Needed
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, August 19, 2020
Pro-Mask Advocacy When Even COVID-19 Is Polarized
Email (with small edits) from Peter M. Sandman to Bloomberg News reporter Faye Flam, August 15, 2020
Public Health’s Single Biggest COVID-19 Risk Communication Failure
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The U.S. Can Control Covid Without a Second Lockdown
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, July 30, 2020
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Interview with Peter M. Sandman by Faye Flam, July 23, 2020
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What to make of Trump’s “new tone” at the Covid-19 briefings
Posted on the Vox website, July 22, 2020
My Fantasy: What if President Trump Unexpectedly Did Excellent COVID-19 Risk Communication
Email exchange between Peter M. Sandman and Dylan Scott, July 21, 2020
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The muddled public message on coronavirus isn’t just confusing. It’s harmful
Posted on the CNN website, July 16, 2020
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Ivana Kottasová, July 13, 2020
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Interview with Chris Martenson of Peak Prosperity, podcast posted July 7, 2020
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Why So Much COVID-19 Crisis Communication Has Failed: An Expert Explains
Email responses by Peter M. Sandman to questions posed by Eric Lebowitz of Critical Mention, posted verbatim as a Critical Mention “eBook,” July 1, 2020
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COVID-19 Risk Communication Q&A
Email “interview” of Peter M. Sandman by Alan Crawford of the Public Affairs Council, May 31, 2020
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Scientists caught between pandemic and protests
Posted on the Axios website, June 10, 2020
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Bryan Walsh, June 9, 2020
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Public Health Professionals Should Be Saying THIS about the Public’s COVID-19 Risk Choices
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May 23 New column
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How We Can Get the Next Phase of the Coronavirus Right
Published in The New York Times, May 14, 2020
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We Can’t Wait Until It’s Safe to Lift Lockdowns
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, May 11, 2020
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Why People Feel Misinformed, Confused, and Terrified About the Pandemic
Posted on the Nautilus website, May 7, 2020
Outrage Management: The Next Stage in COVID-19 Pandemic Risk Communication
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Robert Bazell, May 2, 2020
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Effective COVID-19 Crisis Communication
Posted on the website of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, May 6, 2020
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Post-Virus Reopening Is More About Ethics than Science
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, April 14, 2020
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Bloomberg News reporter Faye Flam, April 13, 2020
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CDC’s Public Communication about COVID-19: Maybe Going Silent Is an Improvement
Responses by Peter M. Sandman to emailed questions from John Tozzi of Bloomberg News, April 7, 2020
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How to Talk to Patients About COVID-19
Posted on ENTtoday, April 8, 2020
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Carefree Amid a Contagion: How to Talk to Covid-19 Skeptics
Posted on the Undark website, March 24, 2020
Pandemic Apathy, Denial, Skepticism, and Ideology
Email exchange between Teresa Carr and Peter M. Sandman, March 23, 2020
Strange COVID-19 Bedfellows: Gnawing Anxiety and Under-Reaction
Telling the Public Hard Truths about COVID-19: Advice to a Public Health Agency Director
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It's dangerous for governments to claim the coronavirus outbreak is under control
Posted on the Quartz website, February 26, 2020
Four COVID-19 Emails to Four Journalists
- “Allaying Panic Is Not a Key Goal of COVID-19 Risk Communication Right Now” (to Ed Cara of Gizmodo, February 25)
- “How Should Anxious Doctors Talk to Anxious Patients about COVID-19; The Risk of Overreacting” (to Kate Johnson of Medscape Medical News, February 25)
- “Comparing COVID-19 to Seasonal Flu; Transitioning from Containment to Mitigation; the Powers of Local Public Health Officials” (to Nicoletta Lanese of Live Science, February 26)
- “Determination, Not Cheerleading: A Reaction to President Trump's February 26 COVID-19 News Conference” (to Sarah Owermohle of POLITICO, February 27)
Past Time to Tell the Public: “It Will Probably Go Pandemic, and We Should All Prepare Now”
(Also posted on Ian Mackay’s “Virology Down Under” blog, February 22, 2020)
Coronavirus Complacency Arrives Ahead of Schedule
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, February 11, 2020
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A Wide-Ranging Interview on the Coronavirus Pandemic-To-Be
(Note: This link goes to the listing and description of this interview on this site.)
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Wuhan Coronavirus: Some Lessons from SARS, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Ebola, etc.
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Coronavirus – Crisis Management, Risk Communications & Practical Advice for Key Executives
Posted on the Hennes Communications blog, February 2, 2020
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Tell People Now that We Probably Can’t Stop the Coronavirus Pandemic that’s Probably Coming
Email from Peter M. Sandman to Bruce Hennes, February 2, 2020
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Published in the National Post, January 30, 2020
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Email from Peter M. Sandman to Sharon Kirkey, January 29, 2020
December 29 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
December 29 New audio file
December 28 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
December 28 New audio file
December 20 New columns
October 24 New Web-Available Article by Peter M. Sandman
October 5 New column
September 29 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
September 24 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
August 25 New Web-Available Article by Peter M. Sandman
August 20 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
August 4 New column
July 31 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
July 31 New audio file
July 23 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
July 17 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
July 11 New interview: audio and video files and transcript
July 1 New article
June 18 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
June 11 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
June 8 New column
June 7 Postscript to the May 23 column
May 16 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 14 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 9 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 7 New article
April 15 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
April 13 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
April 13 New column
April 13 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 24 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 20 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 11 New column
March 9 New column
March 7 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 7 New Spanish translation
February 29 New column
February 28 New Peter M. Sandman in the News (Jody Lanard, actually)
February 27 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
February 22 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
February 17 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
February 17 New audio file
February 10 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
February 6 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
February 4 New column
Risk Communication about Containment – 2019 Novel Coronavirus
February 4 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
January 31 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
2019
When Residents Say ’No‘ to Aerial Mosquito Spraying
Posted on the Undark Magazine website, October 25, 2019
Mosquito Spraying versus Eastern Equine Encephalitis: Two Small Risks Compete for Public Outrage
When It’s Okay for Health Officials to Panic, and When It’s Not
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, October 6, 2019
Interview with Peter Sandman by Faye Flam, September 24, 2019
Dishonest E-Cig Warnings and the Ethics of Health Scares
Two emails from Peter M. Sandman to Faye Flam, September 11 and September 13, 2019
Are E-Cigs a Crisis? It’s Risky to Call Them ‘Unsafe’
Posted on the Bloomberg Opinion website, June 3, 2019
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Interview with Peter Sandman by Faye Flam, May 28, 2019
January 15 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
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Managing Stakeholder Outrage: A Mutual Gains Approach
Posted at www.MessageMaps.org
Managing Stakeholder Outrage: A Mutual Gains Approach
Reposted here with permission from Rusty Cawley
October 31 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
October 12 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
June 5 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
2018
Extremely high, polarized outrage and the Kavanaugh nomination
Oppression damages self-esteem: the greed-outrage-ego triangle
Risk perception and water fluoridation support and opposition in Australia
Published in Journal of Public Health Dentistry, vol. 70, 2010, pp. 58–66
Why Do Risk Communication When Nobody’s Endangered and Nobody’s Upset (Yet)?
Why We're Still So Unprepared for Flu and Other Crises
Posted on Bloomberg View, February 1, 2018
December 21 New comment
November 18 New comment
November 13 New comment
October 19 New column
October 3 New comment
October 3 New comment
July 14 New comment
June 27 Newly posted Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 25 New column
May 11 New comment
May 11 New comment
May 3 New comment
April 19 New column
February 6 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
January 13 New comment
2017
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Interview with Peter M. Sandman by Jean Scandlyn of the University of Colorado Denver, September 25, 2017.
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Flu vaccination dishonesty, 2017 edition – and why am I posting so little these days?
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Could It Happen Here? Talking about Somebody Else’s Accident
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Mothers-in-law, profitability and wool’s social licence AWI-style
Posted on Sheep Central, May 19, 2017
AWI’s mother-in-law approach on animal rights’ wool criticism “accepted”
Posted on Sheep Central, May 22, 2017
May 18, 2017 email query from Terry Sim of Sheep Central and my May 19 response
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Why do outrage management when you can coerce or deceive people instead?
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Can Donald Trump Learn Anything From Businesses That Have Been Under Fire?
Posted (briefly) on Forbes, March 5, 2017
President Trump’s Russia Problem: Can Outrage Management Help?
Amalgam of two emails in response to a query from Ken Silverstein, March 4 and 5, 2017
December 6 New audio file
October 5 New comment
September 9 New column
May 28 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
May 3 New column
March 28 New comment
March 12 New comment
March 7 New column
March 7 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
February 12 New comment
Earlier What's New listings
December 29 New column
December 22 New audio file
December 20 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
December 12 New audio file
August 30 New column and abridged version
August 13 New Web-Available article by Peter M. Sandman
June 5 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
April 11 New Peter M. Sandman in the News
March 30 New video and audio with slides
Link launches an on-site audio file (55.6MB, 56 min.)
Link launches an onsite file with the PowerPoint slides (229 kB)
