American Inquisition: The FDA's Persecution of Wilhelm Reich, Jonathan Turley's 1980 feature in Reason magazine, argues that the FDA's campaign against Reich's orgone theories, including a court ordered destruction of his materials, exposed a gap in First Amendment protection for scientific investigation, drawing an explicit comparison to the Inquisition's treatment of Galileo. Reason is a libertarian magazine of opinion and analysis rather than a peer reviewed journal, and the piece argues a civil liberties position rather than assessing Reich's scientific claims themselves. Cite it for this documented civil liberties argument about the FDA's actions; an assessment of orgone theory itself needs a dedicated scientific source.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier2
Jonathan Turley's 1980 feature in Reason magazine, the middle tier reflecting a libertarian magazine of opinion and analysis rather than a peer reviewed journal, arguing a civil liberties position rather than assessing Reich's scientific claims themselves. Cite it for this documented civil liberties argument about the FDA's actions; an assessment of orgone theory itself needs a dedicated scientific source. NotesA Reason magazine feature on the FDA's prosecution of Wilhelm Reich; magazine journalism, not scholarly analysis.
Citation
AuthorJonathan Turley
PublisherReason
Publication Year1980
This entry's own URL carries the date: reason.com/1980/01/01/american-inquisition-the-fdas/ URLhttps://reason.com/1980/01/01/american-inquisition-the-fdas/
Source Typemagazine feature
Claims Backed By This Source (11 claims)
This source backs 11 claims across the atlas. As facts: 9 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 critiqued Here. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
- Historical Figures, 2 claims: 1 critiqued Here, 1 general references.
- Articles, 1 claims: 1 well-attested.
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