DarkHorse Podcast

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Why Darwin was Right: The 222nd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

In this 222nd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss evolution, and how we know that it is true. We discuss the different kinds of beliefs that people have—beliefs that attempt to reconcile with reality, vs beliefs that reconcile with social standing and comfort. If your beliefs put you on the outs with your friends, do you change your beliefs, or your friends? Are you willing to give up the cocktail party for reality? We also discuss research published in 2000 and funded by Fauci’s NIAID, which demonstrated that it was possible to make chimeric coronaviruses, swapping the spike protein from one to a different species entirely. Finally: sex-biased gene expression, in which genes are expressed differently in the two sexes, in anatomical systems as varied as brain, kidneys, and liver.
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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
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Mentioned in this episode:
Kennedy 2023. The Wuhan Cover-Up and the Terrifying Bio-Weapons Arms Race: https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510773981/the-wuhan-cover-up/
Kuo et al 2000. Retargeting of coronavirus by substitution of the spike glycoprotein ectodomain: crossing the host cell species barrier. Journal of virology, 74(3):1393-1406: https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/jvi.74.3.1393-1406.2000
Rodríguez-Montes et al 2023. Sex-biased gene expression across mammalian organ development and evolution. Science 382(6670), p.eadf1046: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf1046

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The Untold Story of Polio – Forrest Maready on DarkHorse Apr 20, 2024

Show notes

Forrest Maready is the author of “The Moth in the Iron Lung”, among other books. It tells a very different story of the Polio epidemic than the one you are likely familiar with, a story with radically different implications for health and medicine. Bret talks with Forest about his book and his interpretation of the evidence with an evolutionary bent to the conversation.
Buy the Moth in the Iron Lung: https://a.co/d/dvYehmh
Follow Forest on X: https://x.com/forrestmaready
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Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

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Babies Not on the Level: The 221st Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

One month free DarkHorse Locals: https://darkhorse.locals.com/support/promo/DARKHORSE1MONTH
In this 221st in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss men competing against women in women’s sport, and the new research that shows there’s no problem at all. We are in a world of science cosplay, full of science skin suits. Then: cancel culture and its mirror image: promotion culture. The promotion of zombies to positions of power is a weapon of the culture. Also, if wisdom is about delayed gratification, and the counter-intuitive, and being comfortable with uncertainty, then we are in a society of deeply unwise people, a society led by people with the minds of children—just like in The Twilight Zone. Finally: how cats and humans communicate with one another by narrowing our eyes at each other.
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Momentous: high-quality, science-backed, rigorously tested supplements. Go to livemomentous.com and use code DARKHORSE for 15% off.
Moink: Delicious grass-fed and grass-finished beef and lamb, pastured pork and chicken, and wild caught Alaskan salmon. Visit www.moinkbox.com/darkhorse to get a year’s worth of bacon free when you sign up.
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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
*****
Mentioned in this episode:
Hamilton et al 2024. Strength, power and aerobic capacity of transgender athletes: a cross-sectional study. British Journal of Sports Medicine: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/early/2024/04/10/bjsports-2023-108029.full.pdf
Hilton and Lundberg 2021. Transgender women in the female category of sport: perspectives on testosterone suppression and performance advantage. Sports Medicine, 51: 199-214: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40279-020-01389-3.pdf
Feynman’s Cargo Cult Science: https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm
Biden v Clifton Duncan: https://x.com/cliftonaduncan/status/1780532643051741657
Freddy Sayers at UnHerd: The Disinformation Industry: https://unherd.com/2024/04/inside-the-disinformation-industry/
Katherine Maher, new CEO of NPR, on the First Amendment: https://twitter.com/realchrisrufo/status/1780597079439446250
Humphrey et al 2020. The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication. Scientific Reports, 10(1): 16503: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73426-0

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Intellectual Stockholm Syndrome: The 220th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Apr 06, 2024

Show notes

Get 1 month free at the DarkHorse Locals channel: https://darkhorse.locals.com/support/promo/DARKHORSE1MONTH
In this 220th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss the modern Dark Age. Topics include informational advantage, entropy, and reason. We discuss whether all static rules are gameable, and whether adjusting your model to increase predictive power can help you evade the sophists. We also ask what people in North Korea actually think about their lives relative to the rest of the world, and how their situation is analogous to that of people who have been kidnapped, or to that of a populace that is convinced by authorities to do things that are against their interests. At what scales does Stockholm Syndrome apply? We also discuss confidence and humility, intellectual obstructionism, and the value of track records.
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*****
Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
Mentioned in this episode:
Excerpt from Chandler Burr’s book about Luca Turin, The Emperor of Scent: https://chandlerburr.com/books
Mattias Desmet’s The Psychology of Totalitarianism: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-psychology-of-totalitarianism/
Evolutionary Lens Livestream 121 from April 2, 2022, Welcome to the Noble Psy-Op: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrfL6fRW150

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Normalizing Normativity: The 219th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

In this 219th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss evolution and intelligent design, and why the failures of institutions and institutional science during Covid are causing people to question everything that science has concluded. We also discuss motonormativity—aka car brain—both steel manning it as a concept, and critiquing the research that named the phenomenon. Finally: sex chromosomes in cephalopods (octopus and their kin)—older than you think.
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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
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Mentioned in this episode:
“Giving Up Darwin” - Gelernter’s review of Meyers’ book: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/giving-up-darwin/
Motonormativity: critical car theory (at Principled Bicycling): https://substack.com/home/post/p-142960056
Walker et al 2023. Motonormativity: how social norms hide a major public health hazard: https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJENVH.2023.135446?af=R
Oldest known animal sex chromosome evolved in octopuses 380 million years ago: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00637-0
Coffing et al 2024. Cephalopod Sex Determination and its Ancient Evolutionary Origin Revealed by Chromosome-level Assembly of the California Two-Spot Octopus: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.21.581452v2.full.pdf

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Covid Through a Pathologists Eye: Ryan Cole on DarkHorse Mar 30, 2024

Show notes

Bret Speaks with Ryan Cole about his role as a Covid dissident over the last 4 years, and his unique viewpoint as a pathologist.
Find Ryan Cole on X: @drcole12 (https://twitter.com/drcole12)
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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Check out the DHP store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://www.darkhorsestore.org/
Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

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Original Syndrome: The 218th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

In this 218th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss plants, a lot, in service of understanding what a “syndrome” is, and why it matters. This is not mere semantics, but if you feel that it is, focus on the tropical forests instead! There are plenty of bats to go around. What can you predict about the pollinators of flowers that are bright and showy and have no smell? How about those that are white and have a musty smell? What can you predict about jungle trees that grow fast and die young? How does such predictive power and pattern recognition relate to how to make sense of the world in which you live? Also: update from Panama: the San Vicente Camp is now closed, and a fire has apparently destroyed all of its records. Curious, that.
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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
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Mentioned in this episode:
San Vicente Camp in Panama destroyed: https://apnews.com/article/panama-migrants-darien-colombia-disturbance-6d45b7fc7f581ad0c0a8bcff7247b9bf
Introduction to Antipode: https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/antipode-introduction

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Unsettling Science – Rebutting the Experts Mar 24, 2024

Show notes

Bret Swanson put together an excellent slide deck to accompany this podcast, find it here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5vaooui2r15zayv1kl2ye/2024-3-23-Dan-Wilson-Response-Slide-Deck.pdf?rlkey=3t5uizv3e0gep2q3vydouwtl7&dl=0
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Find Bret Swanson on X: @JBSay (https://twitter.com/JBSay)
Find Bret Swanson on Substack: http://infonomena.substack.com/
Find Joomi Kim on X: @JoomiKim1 (https://twitter.com/JoomiKim1)
Find Joomi Kim on Substack: https://joomi.substack.com/
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--Shared Sources --
Krauson Et Al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-023-00742-7
Roltgen Et Al. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00076-9
--Joomi Kim’s Sources--
Nunez Castilla Et Al. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/7/1415
Can Li Et Al. https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/74/11/1933/6353927
Buergin Et Al. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37470105/
Mansanguan Et Al. https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/7/8/196
Shenton Et Al. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264410X23015165
Yu Et Al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10373639/
Mulligan Et Al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2639-4
Cheng-Che Chen Et Al. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1756-185X.14482
Jing-Xing Li Et Al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-023-00661-7
--Bret Swanson’s Sources--
Nakamura Et Al. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/5/934
Zaiem Et Al. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040595723001099
Sharabi Et Al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8575550/
Guo Et Al. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997223000745
Yonker Et Al. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061025
Baumeier Et Al. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/13/6940?cmid=de3a70dd-30e4-4d19-beef-1cf840d2ee7a
Schwab Et Al. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00392-022-02129-5
Joy Et Al. https://www.jacc.org/doi/abs/10.1016/j.jcmg.2021.04.011
Tuvali Et Al. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/8/2219/htm?mibextid=ykz3hl
Karlstad Et Al. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2791253
Fauci https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/pdf/S1931-3128(22)00572-8.pdf
Shrestha (Cleveland Clinic) https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/10/6/ofad209/7131292
McGreevy Et Al. https://academic.oup.com/jamiaopen/article/6/2/ooad026/7117831
Deb Conrad: https://infonomena.substack.com/p/dr-hotezs-data-is-highly-flawed
Brogna Et Al. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/prca.202300048
Jingan Chen Et Al. https://pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2309472120
Bitounis Et Al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-023-00859-3
Weissman (Parhiz Et Al.) https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00076-9
Morz Et Al. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/10/1651
Arne Burkhardt: https://rumble.com/v2jbj16-arne-burkhardt-presentation-to-the-ccca.html
Age Stratified Excess Mortality: https://infonomena.substack.com/p/society-of-actuaries-shows-continued
Hoshino Et Al. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35812802/
--Other Sources--
Our world in data graph: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status
Armada Et Al. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciimmunol.adh3455
Norman Fenton “Cheap Trick” Statistical Games: https://wherearethenumbers.substack.com/p/the-very-best-of-cheap-trick

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The Question is Moot: The 217th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

In this 217th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss the Supreme Court, the First Amendment, Covid, censorship, DEI, the Rawlsian Veil of Ignorance, and affirmative action, in the context of Murthy v State of Missouri. We also talk about Goliath being a combination of emergence and collusion, and how facts are being used to support existing narratives, rather than stories being constructed using all of the facts. We discuss two explosive pieces of research that dropped this week—on the health risks of heat, and of intermittent fasting. And we briefly talk about why you should never cave to the mob (beaver edition).
*****
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Moink: Grass-fed and grass-finished beef and lamb, pastured pork and chicken, and wild caught Alaskan salmon. Visit www.moinkbox.com/darkhorse to get a year’s worth of hamburger free when you sign up.
Seed: Start a new healthy habit today with Seed probiotics. Use code darkhorse at https://seed.com/darkhorse to get 25% off your first month of Seed's DS-01® Daily Synbiotic.
*****
Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
*****
Mentioned in this episode:
Case File 23-411: Murthy v State of Missouri: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-411/299644/20240202144405984_2024-02-02%20-%20Murthy%20v.%20Missouri%20-%20Brief%20of%20Respondents%20-%20Final%20with%20Tables.pdf
Hypothesis about Goliath: https://twitter.com/alexandrosm/status/1770219558990938294
Sunbathing for just ONE DAY is super bad for you (except it’s not): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wellness-us/body/article-13215737/sunbathing-heart-disease-risk-skin-cancer.html
Research Abstract: Associations Between Short-Term Outdoor Heat Measures and Markers of Immune
Response and Inflammation: https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/20343/presentation/484
Research Abstract: Association Between Time-Restricted Eating and All-Cause and Cause-Specific
Mortality: https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/20343/presentation/379
Never Cave to the Mob: https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/never-cave-to-the-mob

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Surgical Sophistry: The 216th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Mar 13, 2024

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In this 216th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode, we discuss the WPATH files—internal documents from the World Professional Association on Transgender Health—which were released this month. In them, we find evidence that clinicians are encouraging hormonal and surgical interventions on young people who are too young to consent, have not been informed of the risks, and often have comorbidities. We also discuss an article by a trans-identified man who argues “the moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies.” Finally: the milk of amphibians.
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VanMan: Tallow and honey balm, and many other animal based personal care products. Go to vanmanscompany.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse for 10% off your first order.
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Helix: Excellent, sleep-enhancing, American-made mattresses. Go to www.HelixSleep.com/DarkHorse and use code HELIXPARTNER20 to get up to 20% of all mattress orders AND 2 free pillows.
*****
Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
*****
Mentioned in this episode:
The WPATH Files: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a45d683b0be33df885def6/t/65e6d9bea9969715fba29e6f/1709627904275/U_WPATH+Report+and+Files.pdf
Andrea Long Chu in New York magazine: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trans-rights-biological-sex-gender-judith-butler.html
Amphibian Milk at Natural Selections: https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/amphibian-milk

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