Kavin Senapathy
Speaking at CSICon 2018 in Las Vegas
Born
Occupation(s)Investigative journalist, author and science communicator
Children2[1]

Kavin Senapathy (pronounced "Cah-ven"): add proper phonetics using IPAc-en template  is an American freelance investigative journalist,[2] author, science communicator focusing on health, medicine, agriculture, food, parenting and their intersection.[3][4]

Senapathy has written for Forbes, Medium, Self, Slate, Skeptical Inquirer, and contributed to SciShow on YouTube.

Senapathy was featured in the 2017 documentary Science Moms, and is a co-founder of the non-profit, educational organization, SciMoms. Since 2018, she has co-hosted the Point of Inquiry podcast.[5]

Early life and education

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Senapathy was born in Washington, D.C. as the daughter of Indian immigrants.[1] Her father was a scientist, and she showed an early interest in science, but did not develop an interest in pseudoscience and skepticism in the domain of human health until she became a mother in 2011.[6]: 4:55  Senapathy studied English literature in college.[6]: ? 

Science communication

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From mom to Science Mom

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While dealing with the birth of her first child, Senapathy dealt with postpartum depression and OCD. She wanted to make sure her child would be healthy and safe, but was overwhelmed by contradictory information from well-meaning friends, family, books and especially the Internet on how to be a good parent. Senapathy found herself forced to separate fact from fiction on her own, and after some years decided to share her findings on evidence-based information and misinformation with other parents on the Grounded Parents blog.[7]

Senapathy's blogging evolved into her becoming a science writer and communicator; [6]: 4:55  she has contributed to a wide variety of magazines, including Forbes, Medium,[8] Self,[6]: 4:07  Slate, and Skeptical Inquirer.[9][10] (Give a sample of her topics here.) She has also contributed to SciShow, a series of science-related videos on YouTube.[6]

Senapathy was featured in the 2017 documentary film Science Moms which concerns evidence-based parenting,[11][3] According to Senapathy, the film's goal is to provide a counterpoint to wide-spread anti-science misinformation affecting parenting, including anti-GMO and anti-vaccine propaganda.[11] Senapathy said that for many moms, parenthood becomes a large part of their identity, and when that happens, "it is easy for purveyors of misinformation to exploit [them]."[12]

Following the release of Science Moms, Senapathy and the other featured women created a non-profit, educational organization named SciMoms, with the goal of continuing to promote evidence-based parenting and policy as presented in the film.[13][14]

Pro-GMO activism

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Senapathy has written, spoken, and participated in protests in favor of the regulated production and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In 2014, Senapathy co-founded March Against Myths about Modification (MAMyths), to counter the anti-GMO March Against Monsanto protests. She stated that the counter-protest was a "Monsanto-neutral march. We aren't pro- or anti-Monsanto at all. We're just trying to spark discussions about scientific myths, and to correct misinformation."[15]

In 2018, Senapathy wrote "Making Amends For Helping Take the 'Pro-GMO' Movement Too Far", where she... (Summarize the article.)[16] and in 2018 presented at QEDCon regarding the intersection of GMOs with social justice issues.[17][18]

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

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Senapathy was a speaker at CSICon, the annual conference of the CSI in 2016,[19] 2017,[20] and 2018.[21] Her presentation topics have included...[citation needed]

In April 2018, Senapathy began writing for Skeptical Inquirer, the journal of CSI, in an online column named Woo Watch.[10] Since October 2018, Senapathy has co-hosted Point of Inquiry, the podcast of CSI's parent organization, the Center for Inquiry.[5]

New section?

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In 2015, Senapathy was a finalist in the 7th Shorty Awards in the category Best in Science, alongside Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson.[22]

In April 2017, Senapathy was a speaker at the first March for Science in Madison, Wisconsin.[23]

Senapathy is a frequent critic of Vani Hari, who calls herself the "Food Babe". Together with Mark Aslip and Marc Draco (and a foreword by Kevin Folta), she co-authored the book Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari's Glass House (2015) to summarize their objections against the misconceptions and falsehoods they claim Hari is spreading, and how this endangers public health.[24][9]

Personal life

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Senapathy and her family currently live in Madison, Wisconsin.[1][4] She has two children.[1]

Books

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  • Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari's Glass House[25]
  • Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science (contributor)[26][22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Kavin Senapathy (16 February 2017). "I'm a Daughter of Immigrants and I'm Both Thankful and Ashamed of My Country". Medium. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  2. ^ Maarten Keulemans (22 February 2016). "Zika en het larvengif: hoe zit het nou echt?". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Kavin Senapathy profile". Forbes. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hoy, Anne Q. (26 April 2019). "SciLine expands scientific resources offered to U.S. journalists". Science. 364 (6438): 344–345. doi:10.1126/science.364.6438.344. S2CID 189603601. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Point Of Inquiry podcast announces new co-hosts Kavin Senapathy and James Underdown". CFI. Center for Inquiry. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Dobbins, Melissa Joy (1 May 2019). "Food, Pseudoscience & Science Moms – Kavin Senapathy" (podcast). Sound Bites. Episode 119. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  7. ^ Senapathy, Kavin. "Grounded Parents: Author: Kavin Senapathy". GroundedParents.com. Grounded Parents. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Kavin Senapathy Articles". Medium.com. Medium. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b Yasmin Tayag (6 November 2015). "Q&A | Kavin Senapathy on Science Shaming the Fear-Mongering Food Babe". Inverse. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Woo Watch". Skepticalinquirer.org. CFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  11. ^ a b Mamone, Trav. "Meet the Science Moms". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  12. ^ Gerbic, Susan. "An Interview with CSICon Speaker Kavin Senapathy". CFI. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  13. ^ Senapathy, Kavin (1 October 2018). "Mom Guilt and the Glyphosate Saga". Csicop.org. CFI. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019. ...that led to the Science Moms movie and later the SciMoms project.
  14. ^ "Homepage". SciMoms.com. SciMoms. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  15. ^ Jesse Hirsch (20 March 2016). "Why This Mom Is Taking On Monsanto Protesters". The Daily Good. Good Worldwide. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  16. ^ Senapathy, Kavin (29 December 2018). "Making Amends For Helping Take the "Pro-GMO" Movement Too Far". /biofortified.org. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Kavin Senapathy: Why GMO is a Social Justice Issue (2017)". Youtube.com. QEDCon.
  18. ^ "Video: Kavin Senapathy—Why GMO is a Social Justice Issue". Qedcon.org. QEDCon. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Armed with a Misinformation Radar: Interview with Kavin Senapathy". centerforinquiry.org. CFI. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  20. ^ "CSICon 2017 Schedule". Centerforinquiry.org/. CFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  21. ^ "CSICON 2018". Centerforinquiry.org. CFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  22. ^ a b "CFI speaker bios: Senapathy". Centerforinquiry.org. CFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  23. ^ "March for Science". March for Science. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  24. ^ Steven Savage (29 October 2015). "Taking On The Merchants Of Food Fear". Forbes. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  25. ^ Senapathy, Kavin; Aslip, Mark; Draco, Marc (2015). Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari's Glass House. Senapath Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-0692509814.
  26. ^ "Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science". mitpress.mit.edu. MIT Press. Retrieved 5 May 2019. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)

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