Every once in a while I listen to a program on Spain’s Radio Nacional called Asuntos Propios (roughly translates as “one’s own affairs” or “one’s own business”). It’s a sort of afternoon, tongue-in-cheek, smart journalism/ talk show. Yesterday they did an awesome segment in which they had an actor on, pretending to be a scumbag, quack doctor.
It startled me a little because the guy was clearly a charlatan. Although the host, Toni Garrido, wasn’t simply agreeing with him like an infomercial host (or Oprah) would, the fact that the guy was even on the show struck me as uncharacteristic of what I’d come to expect from Asuntos Propios. A miracle diet that works by using a drug named Ciclafenol to “take the nutrients out of food,” followed by another, Termolidina that, “increases body temperature.” “Dr. Padrós,” claimed these were the keys to his miracle diet.
Eventually, after squaring off with an angry caller, a biologist who couldn’t believe what he was hearing on public radio, Dr. Padrós was revealed to be a very different kind of fraud, an actor. Apparently, from time to time, they bring someone on pretending to be a huge snake oil quackmonster and have him spew nonsense until someone calls in to challenge the bullshit, at which time they reveal the gag and congratulate the caller. (At one point the “doctor” and Toni had a suppressed giggle fit, which, at the first listen, I took for the doctor himself having some sort of breakdown after Toni issued some light but persistent challenges to his claims.)
The idea here is to get people to question more what they hear in the media, a sort of exercise in skepticism, like the false entries on Snopes.com. I think this little improv theatre game is a great way of promoting critical thinking. (Plus it was goddamn funny.) Unfortunately, there are tons of people out there making money, manipulating consumers with a kind of nonsense similar to “Dr. Padrós.” From, lipi-whatever to ridiculous “exercise” devices. Development and promotion of critical thinking is crucial to arming individuals against this kind of predatory exploitation of free society and satire is a fun and potent method.
The biologist caller’s response upon discovering the whole thing was a farce? “Cuanto me alegro!” I’m so glad!
Have a listen to it if you can understand Spanish.
