In-Depth Interview: Part 2 with Journalist Peter Byrne on His Investigative Series, “Busted”

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Science writer and investigative journalist Peter Byrne returns for the final of our 2-part series, exposing false claims of a breast cancer epidemic here in Marin County, California.In this episode, Byrne breaks down the the serious deficiencies of the California Cancer Registry, source of the data that produced inaccurate epidemiological studies of breast cancer in Marin. The Registry was set up by Dr. Ken Kizer in the 1980’s, and Kizer regained control of the $29 million contract to manage it a few years ago.

Emails released to Byrne under open government laws show that Kizer and his team were very concerned about Byrne’s investigation, which used the Registry’s own internal audits to demonstrate how data are incorrectly coded and that errors are almost never found and corrected.

Byrne was a guest on our show last year, and your humble host invested in the crowdfunding for his investigation, culminating in the publication of an 11-part series of reports in the scrappy Point Reyes Light, entitled “Busted: Breast Cancer, Money and the Media”. You can read the articles here.