Football, Tobacco and Oil, Narratives of Deceit

What do concussions, cigarettes and climate have in common? A common narrative. When tobacco companies started facing public scrutiny about the link between cancer and smoking, the industry launched a campaign questioning the scientific evidence. One executive famously wrote, “Doubt is our product.” New evidence shows ExxonMobil and other companies used the same playbook to confuse the public about the link between burning fossil fuels and rising temperatures and seas. Confronted with new evidence linking repeated head trauma and brain disease, the NFL is now going down a similar path. Some of the arguments are strikingly similar—the science is unclear, more research is needed, the industry is doing everything it can to solve the problem and protect people. 

Join us for a conversation with experts involved in some of the most compelling tobacco, oil and football narratives of our times.