When I had done the calculations and written the article documenting that our prescription drugs are the leading cause of death, ahead of heart disease and cancer, and that psychiatric drugs are the third leading cause of death, I submitted it to Mad in America and Brownstone.
Both institutions accepted the article the same day – a Saturday – and published it three days later.
Compare this with publishing in medical journals. It would have taken me years because of hostile peer reviews and editors who were worried about possible lawsuits, losing drug company advertising, losing reprint sales to drug companies, etc.
Furthermore, traditional medical journals would not have allowed my article to be published in two different journals and they would have hidden it behind a paywall unless I paid a huge fee for open access.
I have explained previously why some of us prefer to avoid publishing in traditional medical journals and why we badly need our new Journal of the Academy of Public Health, launched 5 Feb 2025.