In brief: Author of “Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick” and Feministing Editor-in-Chief Maya Dusenbery is on to explain why she, other chronic illness and disability justice advocates, public figures, and even a Nobel-winning geneticist have signed open letters imploring Netflix to pull an incredibly misleading (at best) series on people with chronic illnesses. I watched all seven episodes so Maya and I could talk about how the producers failed the participants who were promised things the ‘documentary’ didn’t deliver. Five of the seven participants have written about the experience and I encourage listeners to read those as well and let Netflix know how you feel about ableist content going out to hundreds of millions of people — a boost to the ableism that prevents research from being funded and treatments being found for the largely autoimmune disorders highlighted by the ‘documentary.’

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Easy download/stream:

Enhanced audio: Ethics in Documentaries: @Netflix’s Stigmatizing #Afflicted Series w/ @MayaDusenbery — #KatieSpeakShow Ep147 9/29/2018

Links to on-air references:

Audre Lorde self-care quote via Know Your IX: “Dealing with Activist Burn-Out and Self-Care”

Interviews…

“AN OPEN LETTER ACCUSES NETFLIX’S ‘AFFLICTED’ OF ABANDONING ETHICS AND SCIENCE: The new documentary series promised compassion for sufferers of poorly understood chronic illnesses. Instead, it peddled the tired narrative that their suffering is ‘all in their heads.’” by Maya Dusenbery at The Pacific Standard

“Open Letter to Netflix Regarding the “Afflicted” Docuseries” via Medium

SIGN: To: Netflix Executives: Ted Sarandos, Lisa Nishimura, Brandon Riegg, and Vernā Myers: Remove “Afflicted” Docuseries from Netflix Now via #MeAction

“It’s Not All in Your Head: New Book Sheds Light on ‘Bad Medicine and Lazy Science’ Harming Women” by Katie Klabusich at Rewire.News

“Wiccans Keep the Faith With a Religion Under Wraps” at The New York Times

“This New Documentary on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a Must-See—and Not for the Reason You Think” via Vogue

Follow my guests…

Maya Dusenbery: Twitter; website

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