Rhetoric isn't just a political tool, it’s the infrastructure of everything we read, share, and believe online. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we sit down with Dr. Loren Gaudet, Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria, whose research spans the rhetoric of health and medicine, science, and technology.
We explore how meaning gets made in digital spaces: how health and wellness content gets framed, why so much of what we consume online is persuasion dressed as information, and what it looks like to apply rigorous rhetorical thinking to the chaos of the internet. Loren also walks us through her research on health awareness campaigns, and why preparedness rhetoric is worth paying closer attention to.
If you've ever wondered why certain health claims spread and others don't, or why online discourse about science feels so broken, this episode offers a framework for making sense of it.
Topics: rhetoric, health communication, digital literacy, science communication, online persuasion, health and wellness online, media and medicine, internet and belief, academic research
