Steven Novella

I think I entertained various career ideas. When I was growing up I thought about being a lawyer for a while and then by the time I went to college, I knew I wanted to go into a science background and I did premed in undergraduate school. So certainly by then I had decided that that’s probably what I wanted to do. So I would probably say in my late teens is when I really decided to go into medicine.

I am ultimately responsible for the content and prepping it and I do all the post production which I know, as you know is a lot of work. So you know, it's a good 20, 30 hours a week that I put into putting out this podcast, it is almost like having a second job. And, you know, it’s a labor of love.

A book written by Steve Novella and his Skeptics' Guide co-hosts about scientific skepticism was published in October 2018. The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake was reviewed by Publishers Weekly, which said: "In plain English and cogent prose, Novella makes skepticism seem mighty, necessary, and accessible all at once... Empowering and illuminating, this thinker’s paradise is an antidote to spreading anti-scientific sentiments. Readers will return to its ideas again and again." The subsections of the book, Neuropsycholological Humility, Metacognition, Science and Pseudoscience and Iconic Cautionary Tales from History, break the topic into conceptional chunks that are easy for readers with a wide range of backgrounds to digest.

In late 2017, Novella and his brothers began producing a science-fiction review show, Alpha Quadrant Six, which is archived on Facebook and YouTube. In the initial installments, the first season of the CBS All Access TV series Star Trek: Discovery was reviewed each week by live streaming the review show over Facebook immediately following each original episode's release.

United States District Judge Robin Rosenberg ordered the case closed on September 30, 2015, and found in judgement for Novella. Tobinick was unable to show that Novella had profited from his blog post or that it was in any way an advertisement. The case document concludes with "it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant Dr. Steven Novella M.D.'s Motion [...] is GRANTED. All pending motions are DENIED AS MOOT, all deadlines are TERMINATED, and the Clerk of the Court is directed to CLOSE THE CASE". In 2017, a final appeal affirmed the district court's opinion.

Bill Nye the Science Guy, Skeptics Guide to the Universe cast, and George Hrab, April 10, 2015 at F.I.T Haft Auditorium New York City

On June 9, 2014, Edward Tobinick filed a civil action in Florida Southern District Court naming Novella, Yale University, Society for Science-Based Medicine, Inc. and SGU Productions, LLC as defendants. The main allegations of the action are that "in violation of the Lanham Act, Novella has and continues to publish a false advertisement disparaging Plaintiffs entitled 'Enbrel for Stroke and Alzheimer's', ('the 'Advertisement') and implying that the INR plaintiffs' use of etanercept is ineffective and useless;" and "The Advertisement is extremely inflammatory and defamatory in nature as it contains multiple false and misleading statements of fact regarding Plaintiffs." "The Advertisement" referred to in the action is an entry for the Science-Based Medicine blog that Novella wrote and posted on May 8, 2013.

On July 14, 2014, Novella's attorney, Marc Randazza, filed an "Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary and Preliminary Injunctive Relief". The filing states that Tobinick is "highly unlikely to prevail in this matter . . . as Defendant's statements range from provably true to opinion," that a preliminary injunction "would impose an unlawful prior restraint of speech," and that "an injunction would result in far more harm to Defendants and the public than Plaintiffs' claimed injury." Novella posted a response to the lawsuit on Science-Based Medicine in which he said, "In my opinion he [Tobinick] is using legal thuggery in an attempt to intimidate me and silence my free speech because he finds its content inconvenient".

In 2011, Novella was appointed Senior Fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation, and Director of their Science-Based medicine project.

In January 2010, Novella was elected as a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

In 2009, Novella was the board chairman when the Institute for Science in Medicine was founded.

In 2008, Novella was one of the first 200 to sign the Project Steve petition, a tongue-in-cheek parody of the list of "scientists that doubt evolution" produced by creationists.

In 2008, he filmed a pilot for a television series called The Skeptologists along with Brian Dunning, Yau-Man Chan, Mark Edward, Michael Shermer, Phil Plait, and Kirsten Sanford. The series has not been picked up by any network.

In 2007, Novella started a blog, Neurologica, "your daily fix of neuroscience, skepticism and critical thinking", for which he writes three articles per week on a wide range of subjects generally related to science or skepticism. He is the executive editor of the blog Science-Based Medicine for which he is also a regular contributor, and he is a medical advisor to Quackwatch.

In May 2005, Novella started The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU) podcast with his friends Perry DeAngelis and Evan Bernstein, and his brothers Bob and Jay. DeAngelis remained with the show until his death in August, 2007. In July 2006, Rebecca Watson joined the podcast as a regular, staying through December, 2014. Cara Santa Maria joined the cast in July, 2015.

In 1996 Novella, his brother Bob, and Perry DeAngelis founded The Connecticut Skeptical Society.

As Evan Bernstein tells it, "One night sometime in late 1995, Perry was over [at] Steve's condo, casually flipping through a copy of SI (Skeptical Inquirer). He was reading through the list of local groups, and commented to Steve: 'There's no local skeptics group in Connecticut. We should start one.'"

Novella received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1991, did a year of residency in internal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital/Washington Hospital Center, completed his residency in neurology at Yale–New Haven Hospital in 1995, and was board certified in neurology in 1998.

Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement. He is also a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and GWUP.