My general impression about PhDs voicing opinions in a different field than the one they have expertise in is that they are able to apply a veneer of eloquence and complexity to the uninformed nonsense they spout, whereas celebrities are more transparently stupid. I'm not sure which is worse. In any case, if you want a good idea of the state of the art, you should know better than to listen to either group at all. You have to listen to top academics in the relevant field, and hope they agree (because unfortunately, unless you become an expert yourself, you're not qualified to figure which top academics are right, if they happen to differ).