A Little Bit Of Science

Ever caught someone on public transport having what looks like an intimate text conversation, only to realise they're sweet-talking an AI?   Welcome to modern romance, where your biggest relationship competition isn't another human - it's a chatbot with perfect grammar and infinite patience.    But that's just the beginning of today's journey through science's weirdest discoveries. We're exploring how Russian royalty accidentally invented the cure for sin (spoiler: it involves screaming and defying gravity), and why whales might be desperately trying to get our attention through elaborate underwater art displays.    CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:05 Physics Against Satan 01:56 The Origin of Rollercoasters 04:22 Rollercoasters in America 12:27 AI and Human Emotions 20:57 The Psychology of Addictive Technologies 21:21 The Impact of Media on Vulnerable Individuals 23:27 The Unisexual Mole Salamander 24:24 Kleptogenesis: A Unique Reproductive Strategy 31:20 Whale Watching Adventures 31:57 Humpback Whales and Their Bubble Blowing Behavior 34:34 Whale Communication with Humans SOURCES: 14 Fun Facts About Roller Coasters https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/14-fun-facts-about-roller-coasters-180972920/ The American rollercoaster was invented to save people from Satan https://www.unilad.com/community/american-rollercoaster-satan-20221021   BBC wildlife May 2025 FEMALE OF THE SPECIES- A self-replicating sisterhood of salamander gene thieves https://www.livescience.com/59639-salamanders-steal-genes.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you get when you cross a sheep’s intestine, a TSA agent’s glove, and the gnawing fear that you might be the dullest person at the party? This week’s episode, that’s what. We’re serving up a scientific sampler platter that’s equal parts awkward, hilarious, and “wait, is that real?” From the surprisingly storied history of animal-based contraception, to the dystopian future of airport pat-downs, to the social perils of being the human equivalent of beige paint, this episode is a wild ride through science’s strangest corners. No sheep were harmed in the writing of this article, though their dignity may never recover. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:21 The Science of Boring People 01:49 Global Population Estimates: Are We Underestimating? 07:29 Airport Security Innovations 12:43 The Most Boring Day in History 17:05 AI and Vending Machines: A Stability Test 21:54 Stereotypes of Boring People 24:09 The Five Most Boring Jobs 26:52 The Most Boring Hobbies 29:30 The Cost of Spending Time with Boring People 32:56 Historical Condoms 37:56 Wildlife Corridors: Do They Work?   Sources: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672221079104 https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/04/13/april-11-boring-day https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/Why-Is-April-11,-1954,-the-Most-Boring-Day-in-History#:~:text=Using%20an%20algorithm%20to%20scan,who%20was%20born%20that%20day https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/publication/wearable-sensor-contactless-physical-assessment?ref=404media.co https://www.404media.co/tsa-working-on-haptic-tech-to-feel-your-body-in-virtual-reality/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56906-7 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1617138125000780?via=ihub https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.15840 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1de271qg4yo.ampSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  From humans secretly glowing like discount glow sticks to sharks displaying better table manners than most toddlers, today's science roundup proves that nature is absolutely bonkers in the best possible way. We're exploring a world where your body emits light (just not enough to read by), cuttlefish have better impulse control than most adults, and apex predators are apparently more civilised than Black Friday shoppers.  Stay curious, keep questioning everything, and remember - you're literally a walking, talking light source.    CHAPTERS 00:00 The Force Might Be Real 00:50 Introducing the Hosts 01:04 Exploring Bio Photons 01:26 Disgusting Animals and Human Reactions 02:08 The Komodo Dragon Story 03:25 Scientific Evidence of Bio Photons 09:48 The Ocean is Getting Darker 14:44 The Marshmallow Test and Animal Cognition 21:41 The Risk of Foraging 22:19 Cuttlefish and Cognitive Abilities 22:51 Disgusting Foods Around the World 25:33 Psychological Mechanisms of Food Rejection 34:22 Sharks' Polite Scavenging Behavior 38:02 Conclusion and Listener Engagement SOURCES: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70227 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.3161 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/fish-science/articles/10.3389/frish.2025.1520995/full?ref=404media.co These Scientists Set out to Build a Silent Room, But Discovered Something Way More Terrifying - Popular mechanics 22 may 2025 https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64838062/anechoic-chamber-silence-fear/ All living things emit an eerie glow that is snuffed out upon death Alex Wilkins, New Scientists 9 May 2025 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2479590-all-living-things-emit-an-eerie-glow-that-is-snuffed-out-upon-death/ Vegetarians Feel As Disgusted About Eating Meat As Omnivores Do About Cannibalism Wed, 14 May 2025 15:40:01 https://www.iflscience.com/vegetarians-feel-as-disgusted-about-eating-meat-as-omnivores-do-about-cannibalism-79205See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wondered what happens when fish accidentally consume our medications? Or how AI might be bringing the dead back to testify at their own murder trials? Perhaps you've been losing sleep over the universe ending billions of billions of years sooner than expected? (We haven't.)    Today we're diving into a scientific grab bag of the bizarre, the unsettling, and the downright ridiculous. From rivers flowing with pharmaceutical cocktails that are giving fish gender crises and enlarged genitalia, to the cosmic clock potentially ticking faster than we thought, to the historical irony of how the smartest guy in the room became synonymous with the dumbest.    And just when you thought it was safe to prove you're human online, we'll reveal how those annoying CAPTCHAs might actually be training our future robot overlords. Buckle up for a journey through science's strangest corners—no PhD required, just a healthy appreciation for the absurd.   Sources: https://futurism.com/ai-dead-brother-impact-statement?utm_term=Futurism%20//%20060725&utm_campaign=Futurism_Actives_Newsletter&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/10/john-duns-scotus-and-the-dunce-cap-a-brief-history-of-a-pointy-hat-that-was-once-a-symbol-of-respected-scholars.html https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-dunce-cap-wasnt-always-so-stupid https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/407949/anti-anxiety-depression-medication-wildlife-salmon https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/salmon-are-being-exposed-to-our-anti-anxiety-medication-and-its-making-them-take-more-risks-study-suggests-180986424/ https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1475-7516/2025/05/023?ref=404media.co https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(25)00266-0?ref=404media.co https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq808px90wxo Chris Pelkey video The Guardian CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:50 Impact of Drugs on Fish 03:53 Antidepressants and Fish Behaviour 07:19 Pharmaceutical Pollution and Its Consequences 12:31 AI and Legal Proceedings 22:59 Cosmology News: The Universe's Lifespan 23:43 The Immense Scale of the Universe 25:00 Theories on the Universe's End 26:02 Fossils from Previous Universes 28:12 The Story of John Duns Scotus 32:39 The Origin of the Dunce Cap 35:13 The Dunce Cap in Modern Times 40:17 The Evolution of CAPTCHAsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From politicians swimming in fecal water to underground ant trafficking rings. We're exploring a world where the US Health Secretary voluntarily bathes in decades-old poop water, ant smuggling is apparently a lucrative criminal enterprise, and Elon Musk's AI has developed a concerning obsession with letting the world know about the latest genocide.  Next time someone tells you science is boring, tell them about the underground ant trafficking network – that should keep the conversation hopping. Stay curious, stay weird, and maybe check your local creek's E. coli levels before diving in! 00:00 Wholesome Family Outing Turns Controversial 01:30 AI and Side Hustles 01:44 The Irony of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 03:56 Elon Musk's Grok AI Mishaps 04:26 AI's Unfiltered Responses 13:22 Fighting Back Against AI Crawlers 19:59 The Bizarre World of Ant Smuggling 24:10 Ant Collecting and Online Vendors 26:00 Ants in Popular Culture 31:17 Prime Minister's Secular Oath 31:52 Swearing Oaths on Unusual Objects 36:56 The Concept of Angstlust   Sources: https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1921609958631575969   https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/rfk-jr-rock-creek-bacteria.html   https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https:// de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angstlust&ved=2ahUKEwj_qs7g-6aNAxWjka8BHVuMEiwQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0M2cs5TDkIT-Tlu9Sytwps   https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/01/ai-haters-build-tarpits-to-trap-and-trick-ai-scrapers-that-ignore-robots-txt/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=null   https://zadzmo.org/code/nepenthes/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From environmental impacts of AI politeness to the linguistic mysteries of snow, today's science roundup may leave you with more questions than answers, and that’s the way we like it. We're exploring a world where being nice to robots could harm the planet, scientists gave elephants LSD (yes, really), and Australian’s get creative with their election day propaganda.  Got thoughts? Wild theories? Stories about other elephants on acid? (Please don't actually give elephants acid.) Drop us a line at [email protected].  Stay curious, stay weird, and maybe ease up on the pleases and thank yous to your robot friends!   Sources: Tool We Mentioned: https://charleskemp.com/code/lexicalelaboration_conversation.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/technology/chatgpt-alexa-please-thank-you.html https://futurism.com/altman-please-thanks-chatgpt https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010027724002233 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2417304122 http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/EskimoHoax.pdf https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-science-behind-cocaine-bear-and-other-inebriated-animals https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/feb/26/research.science https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/declassified-cold-warera-cia-files-detail-soviet-clash-with-aliens-who-witnesses-say-turned-soldiers-to-stone/news-story/e8ced6d1fdca4df3454e79049533f8f8 https://futurism.com/altman-please-thanks-chatgpt?utm_term=Futurism%20//%2004.21.25&utm_campaign=Futurism_Actives_Newsletter&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=emailSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From mind-bending virtual reality choices to paradoxical barbers, hungry indecisive donkeys to real-world science funding crises, we're taking you on a wild ride through philosophy's greatest head-scratchers. And just when you think we couldn't make this journey any more interesting, we'll throw in a monster-sized sturgeon that would make Jaws think twice about who rules the waters. Today's episode proves that philosophy isn't just about old guys stroking their beards - it's about questioning reality, making impossible choices, and occasionally pondering why a donkey can't just eat its lunch.   00:00 Fun with Google's AI: Weird Phrases and Their Meanings 01:53 Exploring Paradoxes: Rocco's Basilisk and More 03:53 The Experience Machine: A Dive into Hedonism 10:45 The Barber's Paradox: A Philosophical Puzzle 15:09 Buridan's Ass: Decision Paralysis 19:54 Exploring the Concept of Perfect Equality 20:20 AI Ethics: The Dilemma of Self-Driving Cars 21:45 The Impact of Trump on Scientific Careers 23:38 Canceled Research Grants: A Closer Look 29:36 The Worst Case Scenarios: Are We Prepared? 34:45 Fun Science Facts: The Giant Sturgeon 37:11 Conclusion and Call for Feedback   SOURCES: https://www.wired.com/story/google-ai-overviews-meaning/ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01216-7https://airtable.com/appjhyo9NTvJLocRy/shrNto1NNp9eJlgpA?Ffj6Q=allRecordshttps://airtable.com/appGKlSVeXniQZkFC/shrFxbl1YTqb3AyOO https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/ https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/) https://slate.com/technology/2014/07/rokos-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber_paradox https://plus.maths.org/content/mathematical-mysteries-barbers-paradox  https://www.cracked.com/article_36820_4-dumb-thought-experiments-that-need-to-be-eradicated-from-the-hivemind.html https://philosophynow.org/issues/81/Why_Buridans_Ass_Doesnt_StarveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

G'day science lovers! Buckle up, because today we're diving into everything from bottom-end evolution to deliberately poisoning yourself and your child with a deadly jellyfish (yes, really). Here’s a recap of our recent escapade through intriguing science headlines. From evolutionary hand-me-downs to jellyfish on holiday, brain-powered symphonies to space algae, science keeps proving that reality is wilder than anything we could make up. Next time someone tells you science is boring, show them this episode - or better yet, tell them about the anus evolution. That'll get the conversation flowing. 00:00 Welcome to A Little Bit Of Science 00:39 The Evolution of the Anus 01:30 Scientific Theories and Genetic Studies 02:54 Early Animal Anatomy 10:59 Cybercrime and AI 17:50 Tech Bro Tales 28:04 Tough Scientists and Dangerous Beaches 30:58 Introduction to the Jellyfish Story 31:07 The Painful Effects of the Jellyfish Sting 31:48 Historical Accounts and Investigations 33:31 Jack Barnes' Quest for Answers 36:45 The Discovery of the Tiny Jellyfish 38:00 The Experiment with the Jellyfish 44:42 Modern Implications and Climate Change 47:19 Art and Science: The Revivification Installation 54:17 Potential Signs of Life on K2-18b Sources https://www.sify.com/ai-analytics/the-hilarious-and-horrifying-hallucinations-of-ai/ https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ai_bots_hallucinate_software_packages/ https://socket.dev/blog/gmail-for-exfiltration-malicious-npm-packages-target-solana-private-keys-and-drain-victim-s https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1964.tb114424.x https://journals.lww.com/em-news/fulltext/2005/04000/the_amazing_and_bizarre_discovery_of_irukandji.37.aspx https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-02/doctor-jack-barnes-discovered-irukandji-jellyfish-stinging-son/103541442 https://www.vice.com/en/article/alien-abduction-conspiracies-and-antigravity-scams-the-joseph-firmage-story/ https://futurism.com/tech-founder-anti-gravity-trouble https://www.newscientist.com/article/2473713-the-anus-may-have-evolved-from-a-hole-originally-used-to-release-sperm/ https://futurism.com/neoscope/musician-resurrected-brain-new-music See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the potential resurrection of dire wolves (yes, they were real, not just Game of Thrones fantasy!) to the surprisingly modest paychecks of our space-exploring heroes, we're unpacking the extraordinary alongside the unexpectedly ordinary in the world of scientific discovery. Our journey takes an intriguing turn as we explore the sophisticated feeding habits of vampire bats (including their rather unusual bathroom habits mid-meal) and tackle the peculiar question of the internet's physical weight. These seemingly random scientific pursuits reveal fascinating insights into how researchers are constantly pushing the boundaries of our understanding, even in the most unexpected directions. Finally, we explore how even our most advanced technologies mirror human quirks, as demonstrated by robots experiencing the same awkward "sidewalk shuffle" we humans know all too well. This episode highlights how science continues to surprise us, whether it's through groundbreaking genetic engineering, space exploration economics, or simply understanding the peculiar behaviors of nature's most misunderstood creatures. Join us for a journey that proves truth really is stranger (and more entertaining) than fiction. We’re taking a look at some of science's most fascinating recent developments that sound more like science fiction than reality. From the potential resurrection of dire wolves (yes, they were real, not just Game of Thrones fantasy) to the surprisingly modest paychecks of our space-exploring heroes, we're going down the rabbit hole of the extraordinary alongside the unexpectedly ordinary in the world of scientific discovery. Our journey takes an intriguing turn as we explore the sophisticated feeding habits of vampire bats (including their rather unusual bathroom habits mid-meal) and tackle the peculiar question of the internet's physical weight. These seemingly random scientific pursuits reveal insights into how researchers are constantly pushing the boundaries of our understanding, even in the most unexpected directions. Finally, we explore how even our most advanced technologies mirror human quirks, as demonstrated by robots experiencing the same awkward "sidewalk shuffle" we humans know all too well. There is no doubt science continues to surprise us, whether it's through groundbreaking genetic engineering, space exploration economics, or simply understanding the peculiar behaviours of nature's most misunderstood creatures. SOURCES: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9ejy3gdvo https://theconversation.com/return-of-the-dire-wolf-is-an-impressive-feat-of-genetic-engineering-not-a-reversal-of-extinction-254098 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9147351 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1909.09224   https://futurism.com/stranded-astronauts-per-diem?utm_term=Futurism%20//%2003.20.25&utm_campaign=Futurism_Actives_Newsletter&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/female-vampire-bats-sharing-blood https://www.wired.com/story/weight-of-the-internet/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to our first episode back as the new and improved “A Little Bit Of Science”.  We're Rod and Will and it’s best if you think of us as your slightly unhinged tour guides through the bits of science that probably won't win Nobel Prizes but will definitely make you the most interesting person at your next dinner party. When Robots Get Awkward Ever wondered what it's like to drop your pants for a robot? Neither had we, until science decided to tackle the elephant in the room: our weird relationship with medical robots. Turns out, we're not super keen on showing our bits to a talking toaster, even if it has a medical degree. Scientists are frantically trying to figure out how to make us comfortable with robot doctors, but let's be honest - there's something deeply unsettling about a machine asking you to "turn and cough." The 'Stupid Hackathon': Where Brilliance Meets Bonkers Speaking of questionable innovations, let us introduce you to the 'Stupid Hackathon' - where genius meets absolutely pointless. The star? A virtual pet that survives on vape clouds. Yes, you read that right. It's called the 'Vape-o-Gotchi” and it's exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. It's like a Tamagotchi but only survives off relentless vaping.  When AI Gets Sassy Picture this: you're coding away, and your AI assistant suddenly goes full career counsellor on you. "Have you considered learning to code better?" Ouch. It's like having a digital version of your disappointed parent, except this one runs on algorithms and attitude. Who knew silicon could serve such spectacular shade? Exploding Termites and Immortal Cells Now, for something completely different - termites that literally explode when they're stressed. (Relatable, honestly.) These little kamikaze insects from French Guiana take "going out with a bang" quite literally.  And while we're on the topic of bizarre biology, let's talk about 'zombie cells' that refuse to die. Will is convinced his mustache would be a great use of zombie cells, potentially achieving post-mortem world domination. Rod's betting on his spleen, because apparently the snowboarders of the world would thank him. The Dying Art of Pranking Here's a sad stat: April Fool's Day searches are down 50% from a decade ago. Are we all getting too serious? Too busy? Research shows interest peaked in 1931 - probably because they didn't have TikTok to distract them. So there you have it, folks - our first little bit of science episode after our rather long and unintentional break. Where else would you learn about exploding insects, sassy AI, and vape-dependent virtual pets all in one go? Stay tuned for more scientific weirdness, because trust us, this is just the tip of the nerdy iceberg. Until next time, keep your curiosity weird and your termites unexploded!   03:03 Exploring AI and Its Quirks 03:43 The Stupid Hackathon and Vape-O-Gotchi 11:30 AI's Role in Climate Change Research 15:56 AI's Human-like Behaviour 23:15 AI and Mistranslation Fun 26:17 The Exploding Termites of French Guiana 28:09 The Evolutionary Wonders and Oddities 29:09 The Mysteries of Dog Farts 31:39 Zombie Cells and Their Implications 35:20 The Embarrassing Robot Study 46:39 The Decline of April Fool's Day   SOURCES: Vape-o-Gotchi:  https://futurism.com/neoscope/vape-tamagotchi-interview   Robot refuses to code: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/ai-coding-assistant-refuses-to-write-code-tells-user-to-learn-programming-instead/   Embarrassed Robots: https://link.springer.com/article/10.2478/s13230-010-0011-3   Reassessment of the Anthropogenic CO₂-Global Warming Hypothesis: https://scienceofclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/SCC-Grok-3-Review-V5-1.pdf    Tortured Phrases: https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.06751 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Submit feedback/questions/rebuttals/abuse to [email protected] and you might be featured/glorified/shamed in the next episode! From the ashes of The Wholesome Show, A Little Bit Of Science is born! We are back, more professional, beer-fuelled, and sciencey than ever. We now have well-thought-out segments, consistent bits, more lols and an even greater lust for creating high-quality infotainment - basically everything we need to take this show to the next level! Stay tuned for a little bit of science from your favourite academics with beers! MORE FROM THE WHOLESOME SHOW: Apple Spotify Omny FM Website Twitter TikTok Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Submit feedback/questions/rebuttals/abuse to [email protected] or comment below and you'll be featured/glorified/shamed in the next episode! We are heading back into the wholesome lab to re-jig our format so we are creating the best possible show for you all. Nothing is sacred during this rebuild so we are tearing it all apart! We'll be back under a different name, with a different show, still presented by your two favourite truant beer-wielding academics! See you in the future! MORE FROM THE WHOLESOME SHOW: Apple Spotify Omny FM Website Twitter TikTok Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1990s, Samuel T. Cohen, the father of the neutron bomb, became extremely vocal about the fact that the Soviets had discovered a new raw material that could potentially spell the end of organised society. Red mercury had hit the market. Apparently, when detonated in combination with conventional high explosives, it could create city-flattening blasts like a nuclear bomb. And, it would help make nuclear fusion weapons more efficient and considerably smaller. It was an arms dealer’s dream! In theory, red mercury could produce enormous pressures and temperatures, sufficient to initiate a mini pure fusion explosion. Traditionally, fusion weapons need a fission component to trigger the deuterium fusion. However, with red mercury, this fission step is supposedly unnecessary. Cohen described it as a remarkably non-exploding high explosive. Sounds like something from a Marvel movie right? SOURCES: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/sep/30/thisweekssciencequestions1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_T._Cohen#Red_Mercury_claims https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00963402.1997.11456737 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazher_Mahmood https://web.archive.org/web/20081016050603/http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/douglass/2003/0311.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/magazine/the-doomsday-scam.html https://www.gizbot.com/internet/news/what-is-red-mercury-and-why-people-are-ready-to-pay-lakhs-for-it-068487.html https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13418241-900-only-fools-still-hunt-for-elusive-red-mercury/ CHAPTERS: 00:00 Samuel T. Cohen Concerns About New Raw Material 03:05 Red Mercury: Doomsday Dreams 07:41 Mass Destruction or Myth? 10:06 Red Mercury Hoaxes 14:23 Cohen Claims Red Mercury Exists 17:28 Frank Barnaby’s Investigations 23:30 Scammers and Fake Red Mercury 31:12 The Mystical and Sexual Properties of Mercury 41:16 The Enduring Red Mercury ScamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Born just outside Vienna, Austria in November 1860, Hanns Hörbiger was an engineer by trade. He invented a steel valve for a blast furnace blowing engine which changed the game for efficient steel production. He also played a key role in the design and construction of the Budapest subway, the third in the world at the time. He was obviously a clever man. A real thinker. And some might say, a complete nut job. A keen astronomer, one evening Hörbiger pointed his telescope at the moon and suddenly realised, it was all made of ice. It was so shiny! How could it not be ice? He looked at Mars. He looked at Neptune. He looked at the Milky Way…Everything in the cosmos was ice. And not only was it made of ice, but ice was the driving force of the entire universe. Strangely, the German scientific community at the time thought Hörbiger was bonkers and didn’t pay attention to anything he said. World War I was happening so, you know, people had other things to think about. But Hörbiger was not dissuaded. He became a total zealot and decided that all he needed to do was convince the masses of his ideas. Then the academic scientists would be pressured to agree. SOURCES: Willy Ley: Pseudoscience in Naziland Christina Wessely: Cosmic Ice Theory—Science, Fiction and the Public, 1894–1945. Eric Kurlander: Hitler’s Monsters Eric Kurlander: A Song of Ice and Fire Philip Ball: How 2 Pro-Nazi Nobelists Attacked Einstein’s "Jewish Science" The Occult History of the Third Reich: Horbiger CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Dark Side of the German Students Union 03:12 Hans Hörbiger: Engineer & Inventor 05:35 Hörbiger's Cosmic Ice Theory 06:25 A Prophetic Dream and Pendulum Science 11:09 The Origin of the Solar System According to Hörbiger 17:23 Cults and Cosmic Theories 19:14 Hobiger's Zeal and Post-War Tactics 20:16 The Rise of the World Ice Movement 22:38 Hitler Embraces World Ice Theory 29:52 The Pseudoscience Impact on Nazi Germany 33:39 The Downfall and Legacy of the World Ice TheorySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans love a good apocalypse. Give us a blockbuster about a virus that obliterates the population, an asteroid that wipes out the entire planet, or anything with aliens and we lap it up. But have you ever thought about what will actually kill us at the finish line? Sure, we’d like to think the zombie apocalypse will be the winner, but if we’re talking about plausible ways to exterminate humanity, what’s a good way to go? The end of the world as we know it isn’t all fiction. Life on Earth has come pretty close to getting wiped out a few times actually. Genetic analysis shows humanity plummeted to perilously low numbers—about 1,200 breeding humans (yes, we are all related)—when intense volcanic activity in Siberia caused global warming and wiped out 96% of plants and animals. But life persisted. We might be inbred, but it seems total annihilation is harder to pull off than you think. The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago didn’t completely destroy the earth, and humans managed to scrape through the black plague. So what could be our final end?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do humans and lobsters have in common? Apart from the fact that both have social hierarchies and serotonin, not all that much really. Last time we checked, we don’t live underwater or have tasty claws. But despite the differences, esteemed (and often controversial) Canadian psychologist and Harvard Professor, Jordan Peterson, has become rather well known for his theory linking human social hierarchies to lobsters. The first rule in Peterson’s book is “Stand up straight with your shoulders back." Indeed, aggressive and dominant lobsters stand up to exert their authority. Lobsters also don’t really like each other much on the whole, except when they're trying to mate. Mostly they’re just trying to be macho and make all the other lobsters their subordinates. The males compete for the best territory to win access to most females. So the moral of the story is, just be a dickhead because you’re the same as a lobster? CHAPTERS: 00:00 What is Sociobiology? 05:16 Jordan Peterson: Psychologist & traditionalist 12:57 12 Rules for Life: An Overview 15:52 Stand Up Straight with Your Shoulders Back 18:15 Lobster theory 20:01 Humans and Lobsters Exist in Hierarchies 23:22 The Science Behind Serotonin 26:31 Why Compare to the Lobster? 31:43 Cherry Picking to Illustrate Existing Beliefs 35:34 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/06/04/jordan-peterson-needs-to-reconsider-the-lobster/ https://theconversation.com/psychologist-jordan-peterson-says-lobsters-help-to-explain-why-human-hierarchies-exist-do-they-90489#:~:text=Peterson%20argues%20that%2C%20like%20humans,helps%20make%20more%20serotonin%20available https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/21/human-instinct-why-we-are-unique https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/jordan-peterson-12-rules-kate-manne-review/ https://deadwildroses.com/2019/01/07/sociobiology-and-jordan-peterson-lobsters-all-the-way-down/ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2018/nov/01/pity-jordan-peterson-lobster-analogy-replace-sense-humour See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one likes being told what to do. As soon as we can choose for ourselves, humans thrive on the sense of agency to wear what we want, eat what we want, say what we want and do what we want. And that includes laughing. So why did so many television shows include a laugh track, telling us when to laugh at something? Was it an attempt to manipulate us? Or perhaps the jokes weren’t funny enough to conjure up a genuine guffaw. The Big Bang Theory was the last show to incorporate a laugh track and that ended in 2019. So with laugh tracks pretty much dead now, what caused producers to kick the canned laughter? You mean they have to rely on clever scriptwriting, innovative directing and engaging actors?! Could the laugh track be dead forever? CHAPTERS: 00:00 Laugh Tracks: Why? 03:30 Loathe It or Love It 06:09 The Invention of the LAFF Box 08:49 Laugh Boy Art 13:52 The Rise and Fall of the Laugh Track 15:44 Shows That Used Fake Laughter 19:44 Laugh Track: An Evil Innovation 23:01 Why Did The Laughing Stop? 30:34 Is It All That Bad? 31:57 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: - RIP canned laughter, the most evil innovation in TV history - The Death of Laugh Tracks - The Hollywood Sphinx and his Laff Box - The Laugh Track: Loathe It or Love It - The Most Hated Sound on Television - The Real Reason TV Sitcoms Stopped Using Laugh Tracks - This Sitcom’s Cancelation Signals The Death Of A 70-Year-Old Sitcom Trend - 20 Funniest Sitcoms With Laugh TracksSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reality TV is a genre that has wormed its way into our screens, our culture, and—for many of us—our guilty pleasures. While some might dismiss these shows as frivolous entertainment (we’re using the term “entertainment” generously here), maybe there’s more to it than good old fashioned wife swapping, marrying strangers and surviving in the wild with nothing but a six-pack and an epic tan. Perhaps reality TV is so popular because it holds up a mirror to society, showcasing the full spectrum of human emotions. Watching real people in real situations causes us to reflect on our own life choices and experiences. Or perhaps it’s all completely fake, scripted rubbish that makes the producers a hell of a lot of money. As a writer of The Simpsons, Dana Gould put it, reality TV is “people who aren’t actors working with people who aren’t writers in an amateur production of nothing.” But how “real” is reality TV… really? *CHAPTERS:* 00:00 Born In The Wild 07:30 Bet on Your Baby 11:06 How Real is Reality TV? 16:38 Release The Hounds 25:14 The Role of NDAs in Reality TV 29:14 The Naked Magazine Sweepstakes 30:21 Ethics and Consent in Reality TV 31:24 Who's Your Daddy? 33:59 Viewer Shame 37:11 When Reality TV Goes Too Far 43:17 The Upsides of Reality TV 48:23 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: Who's Your Daddy? (2005 TV series) - Wikipedia 34% of Aussies who watch reality TV lie about it "Born in the Wild": Lifetime TV has lost its mind | Salon.com "Born in the Wild" TV Review on Lifetime https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/absolutely-bonkers-reality-shows/ Release the Hounds - Wikipedia Intervention (TV series) - Wikipedia https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshwilson/2022/03/17/reality-tv-how-the-genre-has-consistently-re-engineered-itself-into-new-life/?sh=2cbffce5303a How Reality Shows Affect Our Lives and Society | Psychology Today Australia Reality TV Has Reshaped Our World, Whether We Like It or Not Why are people so embarrassed to say they love reality TV? - ABC News Full article: The Voice: non-disclosure agreements and the hidden political economy of reality TV Angles /The Reality Behind Reality TV by John Yazbek Five myths about reality television - The Washington Post Just how fake are reality TV shows? | HowStuffWorks 20 worst reality TV shows of all-time (so far) The New Quiz Show Scandal -- Reality Television - Los Angeles Times ‘Intense and insane’: was this the most unsettling reality TV show ever? | Documentary films | The Guardian https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a823156/most-dangerous-reality-shows-ever/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Havens was a smart kid. While it mightn’t have been the best move for his social status in the fourth grade, he was so keen on maths that he even tutored his classmates. Nerd alert! Maybe that’s why he eventually got caught up in the wrong crowd. He just wanted to fit in and be cool like everyone else. And of course, being cool meant smoking weed and drinking alcohol, which led to mushrooms and LSD. And then things eventually spiralled into pain pills and crystal meth, which spiralled even more out of control, resulting in him murdering someone. Sigh. Before going to prison, Haven’s dad gave him some helpful advice to survive incarceration - be the shark, not the clownfish. So, of course, Haven interpreted that advice as beating up another prisoner so he could join a gang. While that act might have confirmed his loyalty to the gang, it also opened the door to his new accommodation in solitary confinement. AKA Hell on earth. Nothing but blank concrete walls, the smell of your own shit, and a bright fluorescent light to keep you company all day and all night. It was enough to drive a person mad, and by the sounds of the constant kicking and screaming next door, his neighbours were already there. Thankfully Havens was thrown a lifeline…in the form of a maths puzzle. CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Horrors of Solitary Confinement 02:42 Christopher Havens' downward spiral 03:30 Algebra: A Solitary Confinement Lifeline 10:06 Flow State in the Midst of Hell 14:31 Solving the Unsolvable for Umberto Cerruti 21:36 Giving Back with the Prison Math Project 23:17 The Journal of Prisoners on Prisons 26:31 Recidivism and Rehabilitation 28:50 The Power of Education in Reducing Recidivism 32:40 Spoiler Altert: Solitary Confinement Doesn’t Work 34:04 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show? SOURCES: A conversation with Christopher Havens, Prison Mathematics Project A systematic review of criminal recidivism rates worldwide: 3-year update An inmate’s love for math leads to new discoveries How a maximum security prison offers a pathway to academic excellence and a PhD Moving from prison to a PhD Pioneering Advanced Math from Behind Bars Recidivism Rates by Country 2024 This Inmate Used Solitary Confinement to Learn Math. Now He's Solving the World's Hardest Equations Why Prison Education? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in the old days, there were pretty slim pickings about what to do for a career. Basically, people just did what their father or mother did. Then, as education became more available to the masses, every parent’s dream was for their child to become a doctor, lawyer or accountant. Secure a respectable job and make the big bucks. But what if you didn’t want to drag out your days in an ordinary job, working for the man in a major multinational corporation? What if you were more interested in say, mystical and astrological matters? In 1996, when Rod was deciding his career fate, there was actually a one-year diploma in Astrology and Jungian psychology from The Urania Trust in London. He nearly signed up but chickened out and did the corporate grad entry thing instead. He loved it (NOT). Don’t make his mistake! Whatever you’re interested in, there’s a degree out there and some of them are pretty wild. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Rod’s dreams for psychoanthropology 05:07 Masters of Science: Brewing and Distilling 09:36 Royal School of Needlework 12:18 Unusual Performance Degrees 15:20 The Art and Science of Time Measurement 20:56 Puppets and Existential Sadness 25:10 Surf Science In England 27:20 Theme Park Engineering 29:07 Bagpipe Studies at Carnegie Mellon 34:45 Ethical Hacking: Training criminals 38:56 What Next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: BSc (Hons) Ethical Hacking Degree | Abertay University Policy Statement - 99-12 Engineering, Bachelor of Science in, Option in Theme Park Engineering- Academic Senate | California State University Long Beach What Is Piobaireachd? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strathspey_(dance) 16 most unusual university degrees - Save the Student Ten of the most unusual degrees in the world | Student 20 Strangest Bachelor's Degrees Urania Trust Royal School of Needlework See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World War II pilots ate a bunch of carrots. Back then, people were well aware that vitamin A was critical for healthy eyesight and that carrots were a good source of beta-carotene. So in 1940, versions of high-carotene strains of carrots were being tested on pilots to reduce night blindness. This was pretty important at the time because during the 1940 Blitzkrieg, the Luftwaffe often struck under the cover of darkness. The British government issued citywide blackouts to make it more difficult for German planes to hit targets, so maximising vision among pilots and civilians was critical. The year before, the RAF had built the new secret Airborne Interception Radar (aka AI). Instead of being limited to land-bound detection stations, the AI Radar was on planes, able to pinpoint enemy bombers before they even reached the English Channel. In 1940, RAF night fighter, John Cunningham, became the first pilot to shoot down an enemy plane using AI. He eventually tallied 20 kills - 19 of them at night - and became known as “cat eye” Cunningham. But, the Poms needed to make sure the Germans didn’t know about the secret of their success. So, the UK Ministry of Food came up with a different reason: Carrots. Make the Germans think that carrots gave Cunningham night vision.. And just don’t mention the little Airborne Interception Radar that he had on his plane. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Debunking Food Myths: Bread Crusts and Apples 02:16 The Spinach Iron Myth 04:32 Carrots and Night Vision 06:55 Ancient Egyptian cure: Liver Juice in the Eyes 09:17 Carrot Man Can’t Poop 13:19 WWII Airborne Interception Radar 16:49 Dig for Victory Campaign 19:59 Dr. Carrot and Wartime Propaganda 23:41 The Wholesome Verdict 29:01 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: Arctic Cold Case Solved: Who Was First To The North Pole? SOURCES: - Fact or Fiction?: Carrots Improve Your Vision | Scientific American A WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark K. Annabelle Smith August 13, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20220519172618/http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/ww2seeinthedark.html Carrots and Night Vision - WW2 Copyright 1996-2022 World Carrot Museum. The Myth About Carrots and Vision Started to Foil Nazis - The Atlantic By Ed Yong November 13, 2015 Do carrots really help you see in the dark? - BBC Science Focus Magazine What's so super about superfoods? by Cecilia Duong 26 September 2022 The True Science of Spinach and What the Popeye Mythology Teaches Us about How Error Spreads – The Marginalian An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away — Fact or Fiction? Carrot man: a case of excessive beta-carotene ingestion Int J Eat Disord. 2012 Sep;45(6):816-8 doi: 10.1002/eat.22015.Epub 2012 Mar 19.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Besides unnecessary wars, assassinations and scandalous affairs, what comes to mind when you think about American presidents? The Oval Office, the Star-Spangled Banner, Air Force One, the official military salute… and of course golf. With the exception of three presidents (Hoover, Truman and Carter), golf has been the presidential sport of choice throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. While Hoover avoided golf during the great depression (a bit rude while everyone was starving), others like Woodrow Wilson were fanatics, playing over 1600 rounds during his presidency. But when it comes to golf, there’s one President who brings a flair of colour to the green - and we’re not talking about the colour of his polo shirt. This president is renowned less for his golfing prowess and more for his boastful claims of golf accolades and notorious cheating habits. None other than Donald Trump. SOURCES: Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, by Rick Reilly Does Trump lie about how good he is at golf? 5 cheating stories about the ex-president Hand-in-cap How Donald Trump Cheats at Golf, According to a Sportswriter: 'He Will Do Anything' How golf explains Trump. Seriously. Obama Golf Counter The President’s club: How golf took over the White House The Serial Golf Cheat in the White House Trump Golf Count See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all have our idiosyncrasies, those automatic things we do each day that form the way we are in the world. Whether we scrunch or fold, or leave the toilet seat up or down, these are things we do (or don’t do) automatically. Much like the urgent need to crap your dacks in a Japanese bookstore. That’s right, there is a significant portion of Japanese people who feel overcome by a heaving sensation in the rectal passage whilst browsing books. In 1985, 29-year-old Japanese woman, Mariko Aoki, contributed an article in the Hon no Zasshi or “Book Magazine” about her strong urge to defecate whenever she visited a bookstore. Surprisingly, a significant number of readers wrote to the editorial department to share their similar experiences. Who would have thought so many people had been fending back faeces in the fiction section?! Turns out a lot. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Idiosyncratic & Biological Habits 02:21 The Aoki Mariko Phenomenon 08:07 Feature Article explains Book Bowel Tendency 12:13 Japanese Survey to Revitalise Bookstores 14:28 Millions suffer with Aoki Mariko Phenomenon 21:11 Symptoms: Body Shivers & Unusual Urges 26:13 Psychiatrist Speculation: Hyper Response to Stress 33:27 The Wholesome Verdict: Psychological or Sociological Phenomenon? 37:49 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: What is “key in lock” syndrome? - Hands on Healthcare A Doctor Explains Why Bookstores Make Some People Feel the Need to Poop Bathrooms and Noble - The Current https://web.archive.org/web/20120509063936/http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/national/news/CK2012042902000077.html Mariko Aoki phenomenon - Wikipedia Let’s Talk About Poop. Specifically: bookstore poop | by Judey Kalchik | Artisanal Article Machine | Medium Mariko Aoki Phenomenon | The Daily Omnivore The Mariko Aoki Phenomenon: When You Need To Poop After Entering A Book Store | Faculty of Medicine See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever seen someone in public and you swear you know them from somewhere, you just can’t pick where? Are they an old school friend? The guy who delivers bread to your local cafe? You feel like you know them but it would probably be weird if you started a conversation. Well, that’s a glimpse into the life of a small percentage of the population who recognise with freakish accuracy every face they’ve ever seen. People with this extraordinary gift can find themselves in awkward social interactions due to their detailed memories of people they’ve actually never met. Yes, it can look a tad stalker-ish... Yenny Seo is one of these unique people (not a stalker). From a young age, she demonstrated an uncanny ability to remember faces - strangers on the street she had seen weeks ago, extras in movies, every person in her university lectures and people in photos on her social media feed. She even caught a serial shoplifter by recognising his face on CCTV. In 2017, Seo got curious about her skills and stumbled upon the University of New South Wales (UNSW) face test online quiz. Her exceptional performance put her in the top 0.05 per cent of all participants, confirming she was a Super Recogniser. That’s right. Yenny officially has superpowers. And she’s not alone either. SOURCES: The super-recognisers of Scotland Yard - New Statesman ‘I’d keep it on the down low’: the secret life of a super-recogniser | Science | The Guardian Could super recognisers be the latest weapon in the war on terror? 2016 David James Robertson Super-Recognisers in the Metropolitan Police DJ Robertson et. al. February 2016 Face Recognition by Metropolitan Police Super-Recognisers PLOS ONE 11(2):e0150036 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0150036 What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen? | Psyche Ideas QPS Super Recogniser Network helps crack 1,000 cases - Queensland Police News It is widely believed that humans are rather good at recognising faces See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the millions of years of evolution, we humans have developed into a highly intelligent species. We’ve developed the ability to communicate, we’ve created social order, and established norms and protocols that facilitate a (mostly) harmonious coexistence. Take, for example, the fact that we all know how to stand in line to order a beverage. But now, after millennia of humans lining up and waiting their turn, it seems all of a sudden there’s an entire generation that doesn’t know how to queue. They loiter in the vicinity of the line, they leave long gaps between them and the person in front, making the queue, if there even is one, ambiguous at best. Are they in the queue? Are they out of the queue? It’s all very unclear and to be honest, when all you want is your coffee, it’s wildly frustrating for us olds. Now this is making a huge generalisation about a large group of people in society, but someone needs to say it. Sorry Generation Z, we love you, but it seems like you don't know how to queue properly. What’s going on? CHAPTERS: 00:00 Why can’t Gen Z queue properly 03:33 Queue research: Cultural, Social and Psychology studies 05:33 Cultural Differences in Queuing 08:50 Gen Z Don’t Care About Queue Jumpers 10:11 Is Social Media to Blame? 13:06 The Legendary AFL Queue of 1965 16:16 Why Queue Fitness Has Dropped 20:42 The Art of Queue Jumping 24:18 Generational Differences and Social Norms 25:45 The Magic of the Seventh Son 30:17 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: A global guide to queuing philosophies, from Wimbledon to São Paulo, Quartz Generation Z more likely to queue-jump and let others do the same, poll claims No, Argentina's president did not adopt a Jewish child to stop him turning into a werewolf by Uki Goni in The Guardian Queue Culture: The Waiting Line as a Social System, by Leon Mann in the American Journal of Sociology The Psychology of Queuing, in Psychology, by A Furnham, L Treglown, G & Horne, G. What’s Up Doc? Seventh Sons in Victorian and Edwardian Lancashire, by Simon Young in Folklore See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans love their independence. Wars have been fought for it, songs have been written about it, and history is filled with examples of individuals and communities seeking to raise a flag towards more liberating ideals. And some have taken the flag very literally. Project Minerva was an ambitious endeavour led by Michael Oliver in the 1970s to create a libertarian utopia on the coral reefs of the South Pacific. They got some coral, wrapped it in chicken wire, covered it in cement, and dumped it on the existing coral reefs which lay just a few metres beneath the water line. High above their man-made island, the flag for the Republic of Minerva flew proudly. But do these libertarians think about the impact on indigenous populations? And would you really want to live in a country (or a planet) that is bankrolled and governed by the wealthy elite? Surely they have their own agenda, and it’s likely not the health and well-being of their citizens… 00:00 Shipwrecked on Invisible Reefs 01:27 Michael Oliver Escapes from Nazi Rule 03:28 Constructing a Libertarian Utopia: The Republic of Minerva 05:02 Exploring Libertarian Escapes with Professor Raymond B. Craib 09:09 Post World War II Market Libertarianism 13:27 Sealand: A Libertarian Exit with Longevity 18:15 Ethical Dilemmas of Libertarian Exits 21:42 Grand Schemes of Billionaires: Dreams vs. Reality 22:24 The Labor Dilemma in Utopian Projects 24:52 The Contrast Between Organic and Engineered Libertarian Projects 31:04 Ethical Quandaries of Libertarian Experiments 35:23 Reimagining Power and Governance in Libertarian Exits 42:43 The Cautionary Tale of the Republic of Minerva 45:58 Concluding Thoughts on Libertarian Utopias SOURCES: A Narrative of the Wreck of the Minerva, by Peter Bays Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age, by Raymond Craib Escape Therapy: On Douglas Rushkoff’s “Survival of the Richest”, by Raymond Craib, in LA Review of Books See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think of the word ‘cult’, what immediately comes to mind for most of us are things like hooded velvet robes, secretive gatherings and doomsday prophesies. Then there’s the charismatic yet nefarious leader brainwashing followers, maybe a forced orgie or two, a spot of mass suicide. Generally not good stuff. Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton outlines three primary characteristics of destructive cults: a charismatic leader, coercive persuasion tactics, and exploitation of members. Well, that pretty much sums up NXIVM and the Order of the Solar Temple. It’s pretty well established that there are a lot of bad cults. But are there any good ones? CHAPTERS: 00:00 Management cult at Rod’s first job 07:01 Scientology: A Cult or Not? 10:23 10 warning signs of being in a cult 14:14 Order of the Solar Temple 18:51 NXIVM: Were you a Nazi in a former life? 24:16 Cognitive dissonance and why do people join cults? 31:23 Female Empowerment in New Religious Movements 34:55 Ma Anand Sheela and Osho 40:04 Defining Cults: Destructive or Benign 44:17 The Wholesome Verdict on Cults 48:26 What’s next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: Benign Cults vs Negative Cults Rajneesh movement - Wikipedia How Scientologists Founded the Pancake Parlour See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The teen years can be tough. Let’s be real, it was an awkward time for the best of us. During those tender years, we all did our best to navigate the tumultuous world between childhood and adulthood amidst raging hormones, love triangles and knife fights... the usual teenage stuff. Ok, perhaps not every teenager gets in a knife fight, but this particular case has all the drama you would expect to find in a daytime soap opera. The story involves a 15-year-old girl who was employed in a local bar (well that’s the first red flag right there). She was admitted to hospital after a knife fight outside the bar involving her former lover and a new boyfriend. Exactly who stabbed who was not quite clear, but all three participants in the small war were admitted with knife injuries. Precisely 278 days later… The girl was admitted to hospital once again. This time with acute intermittent abdominal pain. Upon examination, the doctors found something very surprising indeed... A fully grown baby. But she couldn’t possibly be pregnant… she didn’t have a vagina!! CHAPTERS: 00:00 Knife fight admits teenagers to hospital 01:50 Mysterious abdominal pain 02:14 Pregnancy without a vagina 03:35 Medical investigations: How did this happen? 05:55 Lessons from oral pregnancy PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: So did you get a root? Tales, definitions and loopholes for defining sex SOURCES: Oral conception. Impregnation via the proximal gastrointestinal tract in a patient with an aplastic distal vagina. Case report, by Douwe A A Verkuyl, in BJOG See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the deal with redheads? It sounds like the beginning of a Seinfeld bit but in all fairness (pun intended), for a group of people who make up only 2% of the population, our flame-haired ginger guys and gals have attracted much attention throughout history. Some of that attention is due to the obvious: redheads are babes. But the fascination with redheads over the centuries hasn’t all been positive. They’ve also received far more hostile attention like being labelled barbarians by the ancient Greeks and Romans. In Ancient Egypt, redheaded men were burnt as human sacrifices at the grave of Osiris (god of the deceased) and their ashes were scattered to the four winds in the name of a bountiful harvest; red hair symbolised the golden wealth of the corn after all, so… makes sense. In medieval times, people with green eyes and red hair were considered either witches, werewolves or vampires. There were even alchemical recipes requiring the blood of a redhead to turn copper into gold. Just mix the blood up with the ashes of a basilisk, easy as pie. Scientific or not, redheads do seem to carry the reputation of having a somewhat spicy temperament and the people from Charles University in Prague wanted to know if this translated into the bedroom… The science says yes but not in the way you think! CHAPTERS: 00:00 Why do redheads fascinate us? 03:42 Barbarians and human sacrificing 05:40 Alchemical recipe with the blood of a redhead 07:30 19th century study: Most criminals were redheads 09:31 Ayurvedic medicine and genetics 13:42 Opiate response, Vitamin D and adrenaline 17:48 Redheads smell like ambergris 19:12 Pain studies: Stabbing and electric currents 21:50 Sexism in redhead stereotypes 24:21 Study on Redheads and Sexuality 27:08 What’s next on The Wholesome Show PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: What The Hell Happened To The Left-Handers? SOURCES: Myths about red hair are rooted in fear of difference | Aeon Ideas The Truth About Redheads Ginger hair: 13 fascinating facts about redheads World Redhead Day: 16 fun facts about red hair - Indianapolis Redheaded women are more sexually active than other women, but it is probably due to their suitors Science Confirms Redheads Are Equipped With Some Weird Genetic Superpowers - GQ Australia Red hair - Wikipedia See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think about the Cold War, you immediately think about whale songs right? Okay, maybe not everyone makes that connection, but in a delightfully random way, the political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s had a lot to do with the discovery of the beautiful whale song, and ultimately, the collapse of the commercial whaling industry altogether. Back in the 1950s, the United States had gone gangbusters with submarines. Travelling under the Arctic Ocean, they were set on going the longest, the deepest, the hardest. But they were worried about other countries doing it too… particularly the Soviets. They knew they couldn’t stop them, but they at least wanted to know where the Red subs were. That’s when Frank Watlington was tasked by the US Navy to develop hydrophones (microphones they could stick in the ocean) to listen for submarine sounds. So Watlington set off to Bermuda and got to work. One day he dropped his hydrophone 1,500 feet into the ocean and heard strange, eerie sounds coming from the deep. For the Navy, these sounds were just annoying distractions from detecting submarine activity but for Watlington, well, they were captivating. Ditching his original task of detecting Soviet submarines, Watlington became obsessed with the ethereal sounds he had recorded and he played them to anyone who would listen... CHAPTERS: 00:00 Everyone knows the whale song 02:08 A dog’s breakfast: 20th century whaling 03:32 The Cold War and the end of whaling 05:21 Frank Watlington and hydrophones 07:22 Roger Payne: From science to viral sensation 10:35 Patterns and rhythm in the whale song 12:19 Humpback Whale record goes viral 14:58 Rock stars, Greenpeace and whaling ban 16:49 What next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: Francis W. Watlington; Recorded Whale Songs, NY Times 'It always hits me hard': how a haunting album helped save the whales, The Guardian It Took A Musician's Ear To Decode The Complex Song In Whale Calls, NPR Listening to Whales by Douglas Allchin in The American Biology Teacher Number of whales killed, World, Our World In Data Oral conception. Impregnation via the proximal gastrointestinal tract in a patient with an aplastic distal vagina. Case report, by Douwe A A Verkuyl, in BJOG Whale song: A grandfather's legacy, CBS News See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politicians get a bad rap, don’t they? Every mutterance and every action falls under intense scrutiny from the press and the public eye. If they make one wrong move, we’ll know about it and keep talking about it for ages too. Maybe that’s why politicians go to such great lengths to win the people over. Like when Governor Carey of New York volunteered to drink a glass of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls - highly carcinogenic chemical compounds) to prove a state building was safe. It seems that drinking a cup of toxic liquid is the go-to political move. Punjab State Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, downed a glass of polluted water from a holy river in 2022 on the heels of a campaign to clean water bodies. He was hospitalised for 2 days. Then there’s the bizarre demonstration from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who allegedly drank fracking fluid in a ritual-like manner around a table. Bit culty. While you could argue that demonstrations like these showcase leadership and a willingness to share risks with the public, they could also just be downright reckless and stupid. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Don’t put torpedos in your mouth 03:06 Mad Cow Disease: Putting beef to the test 05:47 President Obama drinks lead-lined Flint Water 08:35 East Palestine toxic chemical water 11:58 The Fracking fluid ritual 15:41 Proving that New York Midtown is safe 18:41 Nuclear bombs are perfectly fine 20:35 Dining Dangers: From COVID to Cholera 25:38 Product safety testing downfalls 32:03 What’s next on the Wholesome Show SOURCES: Communications and Politics, in The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide: Leadership and Management in Trying Times by Joshua M Sharfstein Ex-N.Y. Gov. Hugh Carey dies at 92, Politico Factiva archive Food Irradiation by the CDC New York Times Archive Trove The cholera epidemic in Latin America, Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen What became of Cordelia Gummer, the Mad Cow girl?, Daily Express Vets dismiss fears of 'mad cat' disease, New Scientist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On November 24, 1971, Dan Cooper, a quiet, nondescript man (wearing the classic business suit everyone wore back then) wandered into Portland airport and paid cash for a one-way ticket to Seattle. He drank his bourbon and soda in the lounge and boarded the plane like every other passenger. Cooper was your average guy, at least until shortly after takeoff, when he handed the flight attendant a note. And no, it wasn’t an attempt to flirt his way into the mile-high club. This note said that there was a bomb in his briefcase and that she should sit down next to him. She sat down. Dan opened his briefcase to reveal a mass of wires and red coloured sticks to the flight attendant, who promptly followed his instructions to send a message to the captain. He demanded that $200,000 in twenty-dollar bills and 4 parachutes be delivered to him upon landing. The flight landed in Seattle, Cooper exchanged the flight’s 36 passengers for the money and parachutes and then, with some crew still on board, took off again for Mexico City. Somewhere between Seattle and Reno, ordinary Dan walked to the back of the plane, opened a door and jumped out with a parachute and the money. The pilots landed safely and DB Cooper, as he became known, disappeared. 50 years later, we’re still looking for him, and amazingly, there have been very recent (as in March 2024) updates to this cold case! CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Mysterious Case of DB Cooper 03:15 Investigations, Theories, and Folk Hero Status 05:36 Copycats and Confessions 08:54 The Hunt for DB Cooper: Suspects, Clues, and Dead Ends 12:26 Tom Colbert’s case against Robert Rackstraw 15:38 DB Cooper Wannabes 18:36 Case closed after 45 years 20:31 DNA Evidence: A New Hope in the Cold Case 27:40 Speculations and Theories: Where is DB Cooper? 29:32 What’s next on The Wholesome Show SOURCES: D.B. Cooper Hijacking — FBI https://www.the-sun.com/news/10528799/db-cooper-dna-sample-fbi-new-culprits/ 7 People Have Confessed to Being DB Cooper. A Twist in the Case Says One Told the Truth. Who Was D.B. Cooper? | HISTORY D.B. Cooper Hijacking - Topics on Newspapers.com 'Missed crucial DB Cooper clue' left behind by mystery plane hijacker doesn't have to be turned over by FBI, rules judge | The US Sun See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all forget things sometimes. We leave the car keys in random places. We look all over the house for our sunglasses, only to find them already on our heads. And we’ve all experienced the angst of double booking, completely (or conveniently) forgetting about a dentist appointment booked for the time we were meant to meet up with friends at the pub. Sometimes our brains just have enough stuff in there and there’s no room for anything new. Kinda like how the world forgot about the time when millions of people died within a six month period from the Spanish Flu. Sure, we talk about it now but back then, when the pandemic was over, no one talked about it. 5 per cent of the population died, it sucked, let’s just forget about it…? But how could a catastrophic event of this magnitude be collectively forgotten? And perhaps it’s not the only tragedy we’ve tossed into the black memory hole of history… CHAPTERS: 00:00 Exploring the concept of memory holes 00:44 The Spanish Flu: A case study of collective forgetting 02:31 Have we forgotten COVID-19? 03:36 Memory hole from George Orwell’s book, 1984 06:17 Beyond Pandemics: Forgetting wars and cockroaches 09:15 Collective forgetting of the Allied bombing of Germany 11:37 The science behind why we forget 13:16 Collective memory requires communication and narrative 16:00 Should we memorialise Covid-19? 19:48 What’s next on The Wholesome Show PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: Wittenoom: Australia's Asbestos Chernobyl Wiped Town Off The Map SOURCES: Building a collective memory: the case for collective forgetting, by William Hirst and Alan Coman in Current Opinion in Psychology Collective Memory and Forgetting: A Theoretical Discussion by Cindy Minarova-Banjac Page 4 of 5 The rising of collective forgetting and cultural selectivity in inventors and physicists communities by Cristian Candia and Brian Uzzi See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are the most common fears and phobias that people have today? Most of us can relate to having a healthy fear of sharks or getting sweaty palms at the idea of being stuck in a tiny space. It’s also pretty socially acceptable for someone to opt out of bungee jumping, or for a fellow aeroplane passenger to need a few deep breaths to calm themselves before takeoff. Then of course there’s the fear of public speaking - which we all fear more than death, right? Maybe not… This claim seems to link back to a publication from 1977 called The Book of Lists, which in turn cites the London Times… which in turn references the 1973 Burskin Report. This claims that 41 per cent of people feared speaking before a group, whereas only 19 per cent feared death. But is it really true? CHAPTERS: 00:00 The fear of public speaking 05:29 Defining fear and phobia 10:24 Research findings: 1977 Book of Lists 13:04 The fear of heights and deep water 15:29 Top 10 Fears in America 16:31 White Supremacists and High Medical Bills 18:02 Fear of Ghosts and Zombies 20:49 Australia’s fears: Social Phobias and Agoraphobia 22:22 Fear of Swooping Magpies 26:26 The Boring Apocalypse 28:28 What’s next on the Wholesome Show PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: Mary Shelley, Taphophobia and Life-Preserving Coffins SOURCES: Solomon, Robert C., 'Self-Reproach in Guilt, Shame, and Pride', True to Our Feelings: What Our Emotions Are Really Telling Us (2008; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011) The 14 Worst Human Fears in the 1977 Book of Lists: where did this data really come from? https://www.speakschmeak.com/2008/04/public-speaking-vs-death.html Top 10 Most Common Phobias List — Talkspace Top 10 phobias and what they reveal about the strangeness of life | Mental health | The Guardian America's Top Fears 2020/2021 | Chapman University Phobias: The ten most common fears people hold - ABC News Is Public Speaking Really More Feared Than Death?. Full article: Is Public Speaking Really More Feared Than Death? The Thing We Fear More Than Death | Psychology Today Australia See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the end of the science as we know it! And I feel fine! But seriously though, is it? As a global community, we are investing 10 times more money and resources into scientific research than we did in the 1950s, yet the number of groundbreaking discoveries is dwindling. We’ve gone to the moon. We’ve discovered massive black holes. We’ve split the atom and peered through high-resolution microscopes to observe those tiny little quarks. Sure, we’re still making advancements, but a lot of science these days is refining past discoveries. We’re not really uncovering anything new. In fact, most of the Nobel Prizes awarded since the 1990s have been awarded for scientific work that went on in previous decades. So is scientific pursuit just slowing down? Or, are we nearing the end of scientific discovery altogether? CHAPTERS: 00:00 The slowing pace of scientific discovery 03:29 Historical claims of the end of science 07:46 John Horgan’s book: The End of Science 10:11 A Debate: Will we reach the end of science? 12:09 More spending and fewer scientific discoveries 15:30 Big mysteries of science remain 16:46 Blurring the lines of science and technology 18:56 The arrogance of physics 23:15 The Wholesome Verdict: Rod vs Will 23:45 What’s next on The Wholesome Show 28:32 Listener shoutouts SOURCES: Is science about to end? by Sabine Hossenfelder John Horgan interview on The End of Science Was I Wrong about “The End of Science”? By John Horgan Lord Kelvin and the End of Physics, Which He Never Predicted Albert Michelson, notes at the Inauguration of the Ryerson Physics Laboratory Everything That Can Be Invented Has Been Invented by David J Katz Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time by Michael Park, Erin Leahey and Russel J Funk in Nature Are we witnessing the end of science? In The Guardian See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone loves a good loophole. From a clever workaround that outsmarts the tax man to exploiting a glitch in a video game (Sega Mega Drive all the way), there's something undeniably thrilling about circumventing the system. It taps into our innate desire for freedom, creativity, and that little touch of rebellion. While avoiding tax bills and gaining high scores on Sonic the Hedgehog can certainly get us going, some people have discovered loopholes that arouse a more intimate type of pleasure. We’re talking about sex. But what exactly constitutes sex? For a lot of people, the term is open to interpretation, especially if you’re trying to stay a virgin to please the Lord or deny your infidelity. We all remember Bill Clinton’s famous speech about not having “sexual relations”. Does this mean that oral sex isn’t sex? And what about anal sex? For some, there is a poophole loophole, while others consider looking at pornography and deep kissing as an act of sex. Regardless of what you consider sex to be, there seem to be a lot of grey areas as cultural, religious and contextual factors thrust their way into the conversation. Is sex only considered sex if you reach the big O? And what if it's just the tip or a little bit of shaft? Two dicks, no dicks, plastic-covered dick? Who has to do what with what to whom for it to be considered sex in your mind? CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Bill Clinton scandal 03:09 Defining a sex act 05:26 Majority say oral sex isn’t sex 08:10 Age-related sex loopholes 11:27 Choosing a definition of sex that suits you 13:06 Sex with a condom isn’t sex? 15:12 God only cares about ejaculation 17:54 Soaking: Mormon sex loopholes 23:53 Japanese loopholes for prostitution 25:18 Studies on sexual substitution 28:37 A rare case of pregnancy from anal sex 30:50 What’s next on The Wholesome Show PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: The Strange Things People Have Smuggled Into Space https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpLAU59m61M The Secret Spy Science Of Poo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f528jx5Wgo SOURCES: What Is Sex? - Defining Sexual Intercourse and What It Feels Like 11 Sexual Activities That People Don't Count As "Having Sex" Sex | Get the Facts. Three Really Big Sex Loopholes In The Old Testament | Martin Hughes Sex Loopholes That Some Mormons Are Exploiting To Have Pre-Marital Sex | Sexography https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2%2C245879= https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2%2C245879= See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember as a kid, having to wear that uncomfortable school uniform every single day? We were told when to sit, when to stand, when to eat, when to play, even when we were allowed to go to the toilet. Myriad rules to crush us into oppressive obedience! Now imagine a similar scenario in your workplace. Employees are given insultingly basic commands and training that even the most sheltered individual would have learned simply in the school of life. There’s a term for it: Workplace Infantilisation. Workers denied their agency and wisdom from experience in favour of child-like over-proceduralisation. And no, workplace infantilisation is not a term for child labour, pathological smuggling of employee’s children into the office, or a worker boasting an adult diaper fetish. Infantilisation in the workplace is basically when your boss treats you like a child. Explicit instructions for straightforward tasks, insinuating that you don’t have the common sense to figure it out. They make rules for things that well-adjusted adults don’t need rules for (like you’re not allowed to masturbate on someone else's desk.) Well duh. You use your own desk; we’re not animals! But is workplace infantilisation genuinely happening on a significant scale? Or is it merely a vent for worker frustrations over the minutiae of bureaucratic tape? SOURCES: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288384634.pdf Postmortal Society: Towards a Sociology of Immortality The infantilization of the worker : r/antiwork https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6535470294486839296/ “I deeply resent how we've infantilized the workplace”: A manager's manifesto goes viral Treat Employees like Adults CHAPTERS: 00:00 Understanding the concept of workplace infantilisation 03:02 Harvard Business Review claims 04:37 Language, tone and building trust 07:41 Reality check: Is workplace infantilisation just a feeling? 09:21 Being an adult is understanding context 11:30 Defining infantilisation: Treating someone as a child 14:54 Controversial symptoms of workplace infantilisation 16:45 What does Google Scholar say? 20:01 Evidence of workplace infantilisation 23:11 Context matters See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mother Nature, in all her brilliance, has birthed some fascinating phenomena. Take the magical skies of the Aurora Borealis in Iceland for example, or the bioluminescent Maldives shores where the ocean lights up like neon blue fairy lights. Here in Australia, we have Lake Hillier, where the water is the colour of a strawberry milkshake. In England of course, they have the synchronised sheep panic at 8pm. Wait… what? Although one of the lesser known phenomena (you might even say “un-herd” of), unexplained sheep panic caused quite a stir in Oxfordshire England in the late 19th century. On November 3, 1888, tens of thousands of sheep in a 200 square mile radius in Oxfordshire suddenly went bonkers at 8pm. It was as if some unseen terror had gripped them all simultaneously. Can you hear the X-files theme music playing?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in the day, before robots and the internet, guys and gals who longed for the company of a significant other had one move up their sleeve: pluck up the courage to leave the house and talk to another human. Nowadays-ish, people search for love from home aided by computers and a social media background check (thanks Wayback Machine). Nowadays proper, the pool from which to select a lover has expanded to include artificial intelligence. In today’s post-ChatGPT age, AI girlfriend chatbots are on the market but you better keep it hush-hush… apparently, OpenAI don’t want you to meet their digital darlings, especially Tiffany or Nadia. Speaking of intelligence, the former director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Sean Kirkpatrick, squashed our dreams in a recent interview, candidly admitting that UAP sightings (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - we don’t call them UFOs anymore) were likely just top secret military intelligence drones. Awesome. So why make such a big deal about releasing the UFO files? We don’t buy it. They’re definitely hiding something. On the topic of misinformation, in 1997, 14-year-old junior high school student Nathan Zohner warned his fellow students about a dangerous substance called dihydrogen monoxide, or DHMO. It’s colourless, odourless, tasteless and yet kills thousands of people every year through accidental inhalation. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage and in its gaseous form, DHMO causes severe burns. It’s found in cancers and infected wounds, and large quantities have been confirmed in every river, stream, lake and reservoir in America. But most terrifying is that everyone who drinks DHMO goes on to eventually die. How can this be legal?? CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Rise of AI Girlfriends 03:06 Open AI bans romantically oriented chatbots 05:27 The Loophole for sex-related content 09:06 Sean Kirkpatrick squashes UFO dreams 10:31 Spherical drones with cubes inside 11:58 The Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide 14:07 Twisting the facts to weaponise water PREVIOUS EPISODE MENTIONED: Smart Toilets, Brain Pics, Corpse Comfort, Nuclear Moon, Space Fashion, and Super Conductivity SOURCES: OpenAI Struggling to Destroy Onslaught of AI Girlfriends Pentagon’s Ex-Alien Hunter Admits a Lot of UFO Sightings Are Secret Military Crafts How A 14-Year-Old Boy Convinced His Class To Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide | IFLScience See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the horrors of World War I, the Australian Federal Government gave thousands of discharged veterans money, land and the promise of a bright and happy agricultural life in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Life as a farmer wasn’t easy, but at least these veterans had seen the last of the battlefield. Or so they thought. The war was over but followed soon after by the great depression in 1929. Hoping to ease the pressure and literally put bread on the table for Australians, the Federal Government promised subsidies to the new farmers to increase their crop production. Wheat prices began to fall and farmers were left wanting when the subsidies never came. The farmers were screwed. And on top of all of this, they found themselves in a battle with an unexpected adversary, pillaging their wheat and destroying their rabbit fences: the emu. As if plummeting wheat prices and broken promises weren't enough, the veterans-turned-farmers found themselves neck to ample neck with a literal army of emus. 20,000 birds had descended upon the wheat fields (coincidentally smack bang in the middle of their migration route), wreaking havoc on crop yields and perimeter infrastructure. The solution was, of course, clear to these battle-hardened farmers: Guns. Lots of guns. CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Hardest Animals to Kill with a Gun 02:36 The Plight of World War I Vets Turned Farmers 05:06 The Arrival of the Emus 07:58 The Farmers' Plea for Machine Guns 12:04 Let the Emu War Begin 15:50 First Battle Tactics and Failures 17:34 Emus: Tough as Lead 21:47 Australian Parliament discusses Emu Wars 24:38 The War Continues until 1960 28:56 Bounty Put in Place to End the War 30:02 The Emu War Becomes a Movie SOURCES: Looking back: Australia's Emu Wars - Australian Geographic by Jasper Garner Gore October 18, 2016 19 Nov 1932 - "EMU WAR" DEFENDED. - Trove Emu War - Wikipedia BBC Earth - The Great Emu War in Western Australia was a... | Facebook Australia's Emu War spawns feature film, jokes and memes 90 years on - ABC News Australia’s emu war: John Cleese outrun in race to shoot movie of how flightless birds thwarted army’s machine guns Australia Once Lost a War With the Mighty Emu | by Matthew Gault | War Is Boring | Medium Are Emus Dangerous? (Reasons They Attack + How To Avoid) | Birdfact Trailer Drops for Monster Fest 2023 Official Selection THE EMU WAR See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our modern society, most people live their lives lurching from fix to fix from the digital syringe; relying on social media and telecommunication advances to feel connected to the world around them. Facetime, Instagram, LinkedIn, we froth it. Well, most people do. Some people want absolutely nothing to do with not only modern technology but with the rest of the world in general. Around the globe, there are 100 or more "uncontacted" tribes, Indigenous peoples who avoid all contact with outsiders. Many of these people groups are in places like Brazil, Venezuela and Peru, probably hoping the beautiful rainforest they call home doesn’t get completely decimated by the white man. Over the years, outsiders have made some attempts to build connections with such tribes, in the hopes of understanding their cultures and respecting their way of life (well, we’d like to think that was their intention anyway). But the title of the most “uncontacted” people today goes to the Sentinelese people, an isolated tribe living on North Sentinel Island located off the coast of India. And if weren’t for the noteworthy, and quite frankly, arrogant efforts of John Chau, a devout Christian missionary in 2018, we doubt we would have ever heard of them. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Uncontacted tribes around the globe 05:09 Most uncontacted tribe today: The Sentinelese 08:40 British Royal Navy kidnap Sentinelese children 10:09 Anthropologist TM Pandit’s expeditions to North Sentinel 14:35 Indigenous rights groups protest to protect the Sentinelese people 17:21 John Chau’s zealous Christian faith 22:01 Chau’s education and preparations for adventure 26:09 Missionary Training in the Andaman Islands 28:30 Chau panics during his encounter with the Sentinelese 32:11 Waterproof Bible saves Chau but not for long 37:26 Stop trying to convert everyone to Christianity SOURCES: 5 of the Most Isolated Peoples on Earth | Discover Magazine by Stephen C. George Nov 28, 2021 The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers by J Oliver Conroy 3 Feb 2019 The Sentinelese: Who Are The Most Isolated Uncontacted Tribe On Earth? | IFLScience Tom Hale 15 June 2023 The man who spent decades befriending isolated Sentinelese tribe by Swaminathan Natarajan 27 Nov 2018 Andamans: US man's death puts spotlight on 'tribal tourism' North Sentinel Island: How can the Sentinelese people avoid contact with the outside world? - ABC News by Liam Butterworth 22 Nov 2018 Background - The Sentinelese See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re all afraid of something. Many people live with significant anxiety due to their fear of things such as heights, flying, public speaking, the number 8 for example (Octophobia - it’s a real thing). But one fear puts disproportionately more heebies in our jeebies: taphophobia, or the fear of being buried alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead. To a mad few, it may seem a genuine irrational fear (like omphalophobia - the fear of belly buttons) but at least some solace can be taken in the fact that it is exceedingly rare… right? There wouldn’t be an episode if that was the case! Perhaps being trapped 6 feet under is more reality than nightmare. This was certainly the case in centuries past. In the early 19th century, when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, it was remarkably common for people to be accidentally buried alive. It happened so frequently in fact, that some clever people came up with innovative escape coffins to help the poor buried people get out. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Taphophobia: The fear of being buried alive 01:00 Resuscitation Techniques in the 1700s 03:26 The Story of Mary Wollstonecraft 07:01 The Influence of Contemporary Science on Frankenstein 10:20 What differentiates the living from the dead 15:50 The Language of Life and Death in Frankenstein 17:15 Historical Methods of Determining Death 18:01 The Distinction Between Absolute and Apparent Death 21:22 Historical Cases of Premature Burial 27:39 Innovative Solutions to Avoid Premature Burial 29:46 The Life Preserving Coffin: A Solution to Premature Burial 37:01 The Modern Perception of Death PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: World's Most Kissed Face: Why CPR Doll Resusci-Anne Looks Like A French Girl The Resurrectionists! The Vague Silver Lining of Tobacco SOURCES: The Science of Life and Death in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – The Public Domain Review By Sharon Ruston What are life-preserving coffins? – How It Works Taphophobia and ‘life preserving coffins’ in the nineteenth century - Marco Cascella, 2016 Life-preserving Coffin in Doubtful Cases of Death | Hagley Digital Archives Mary Shelley - Wikipedia See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 20th century was a golden era for ethically dubious brain studies. In 1950, Dr Jose Delgado had a vision to control aggressive behaviour using a device surgically implanted in the brain known as the Stimoceiver. How science fictiony is that?! Delgado's journey toward creating a peaceful human race started with a bully macaque monkey who had been terrorising his cage mates. After successfully pacifying the angry monkey with the Stimoceiver, Delgado took the bull by the horns, quite literally. In 1963, a pivotal moment unfolded as Delgado tested the limits of the Stimoceiver in a dramatic experiment in the bull fighting arena. The public spectacle that followed thrust Delgado into the spotlight, drawing both admiration and ethical concerns. Delgado’s desire to create a "psycho-civilized society" caused some discomfort, with critics fearing the implications of the technology in the wrong hands. Whether controversial or revolutionary, Delgado's work remains a testament to the power of asking "What if..." PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: The Terrible History of The Lobotomy Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation SOURCES: The Man Who Fought a Bull With Mind Control | Discover Magazine By Jack El-HaiMar 22, 2016 Tribute to Jose Delgado, Legendary and Slightly Scary Pioneer of Mind Control - Scientific American Blog Network By John Horgan on September 25, 2017 Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado | Neuropsychopharmacology José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado - Wikipedia ‘Matador’ With a Radio Stops Wired Bull by John A. Osmundsen - New York Times, May 17, 1965 Neuroanatomy, Amygdala - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf Timothy C. Marzullo (2017) The Missing Manuscript of Dr. Jose Delgado’s Radio Controlled Bulls. J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2017 Spring; 15(2): R29–R35. Paul A. Offit (2017) Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong. National Geographic See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a lot of patron saints out there in the Catholic multiverse. They have saints for every day of the year and then some. We’ve all heard of the more famous saints like St. Paul, St. Peter and St. Patrick. What, no Saint Gary? Pfft. But then there are some lesser-known saints, but by no means less holy. Take St. Bernardino for an example. He travelled all over Italy and preached to the public instead of reading boring sermons in church. He became known as one of the greatest orators of his time, drawing big crowds with his captivating sermons. Sounds great, until you learn that he preached anti-Semitism, the brutal persecution of homosexuality, and the occasional witch hunt. Nevertheless, his gift of the gab led him to be venerated as the saint of marketing, communications and PR. No joke. Then there’s St. Lawrence, who while being executed by the Romans (by being cooked on the grill) allegedly exclaimed after quite some time, “I'm done on this side, turn me over” and became the saint of cooks, chefs, and comedians. You just can’t make this stuff up. And then some saints are very niche indeed. Like St. Lidwina of Schiedam, the patron saint of ice skating. At age 15, she fell over ice skating and broke her rib, which one source ominously states was the beginning of her martyrdom. No matter what medical intervention was applied, her rib just did not heal. She became progressively paralysed, soon unable to walk, her body slowly deteriorating to the point where she was confined to bed for the rest of her life. But paralysis was just the beginning. Soon after her injury, gangrene set in and spread across her entire body. She had three large open wounds on her body where maggots feasted on her rotting flesh. She barely ate anything, surviving mostly on the Eucharist and had literally zero sleep for days, weeks, and even months on end. Then she began to shed. Skin, bones, parts of her intestines. Some stories suggest that she may have even puked out some bone. Her parents kept the offcasts in a vase, which would give off a sweet odour, making her quite popular with the townspeople. All she could do was meditate on the ‘gift’ of pain and suffering that God had given her. At about 25 years of age, Lidwina began to experience ecstasies and visions and apparently, many miracles took place at her bedside, gaining her the reputation as a healer and holy woman. But despite her blissful spiritual experiences, Lidwina continued to suffer every imaginable pain. She had intense headaches, toothaches, fever, dropsy, (generalised swelling), she couldn’t see out of her right eye, and her left eye was so weak that any light caused her pain. She was one big sore from head to foot and greatly emaciated. What a life. Not only did she become the patron saint of ice skating, but she was also canonized as the patron saint of the chronically ill. And, as it turns out, Lidwina is thought to be one of, if not the first documented cases of multiple sclerosis. Perhaps all that suffering was not so much God’s will, but an awful degenerative disease of the nervous system. But to live in that amount of pain, she must have received help from St. Drausnius, the patron saint of invincible people. Or maybe she prayed to St. Genesius, the saint of torture (as well as clowns, actors, lawyers and many other random things). What else will they come up with? Patron saint of the internet? (Spoiler, they already have) PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: Dying For It: A Scientific Look At Death During Sex SOURCES: St. Lidwina St Lydwine of Schiedam Lidwina, Wikipedia Does the history of multiple sclerosis go back as far as the 14th century? R Medaer (1979) Acta Neurol Scand. 1979 Sep;60(3):189-92. 10 Most Bizarre Patron Saints in Catholicism 25 Patron Saints of Really Random Things See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think of champions in the battle against climate change, names like Greta Thunberg, David Suzuki, and David Attenborough come to mind. But would you ever associate former US President Donald Trump with climate action? Probably not. But, his 2016 presidential campaign manager, Steve Bannon - you know the former investment banker, Hollywood executive, the guy who’s continuously being charged and convicted of crimes - well, he played a surprising role in an incredible scientific endeavour which has been aiding in climate change research for decades. You think you know someone. The story goes back to the 1970’s at an ‘intentional community’ in New Mexico called Synergia Ranch. Whether or not it was a fancy name for a hippy cult, Synergia Ranch became a breeding ground for ideas about creating a self-contained, ecologically sustainable environment. Co-founder John Allen, an ecologist and playwright, dreamed of blending high-tech and ecological principles to create a self-sustaining wonderland. Allen believed that the earth was already as good as dead, so he wanted to build a big ass terrarium where plants, animals and humans could thrive. But he needed cash. Heaps of it. Enter stage right, Allen’s billionaire buddy, Texas oil tycoon, Edward Bass. Bass contributed a staggering $150 million (petty cash really) and became the Chair of the Space Biosphere Ventures company which administered and managed the whole project. In 1991, Allen’s dream was realised and the construction of the Biosphere 2 was complete - biosphere 1 is Earth. Makes sense. A 3.14-acre terrarium with 6,500 windows, reaching nearly 28 meters in height and sealed by a 500-ton welded stainless steel liner. Containing a small ocean, mangrove wetlands, tropical rainforest, Savannah grassland, and a fog desert, Biosphere 2 was the solution for the survival of humanity. The goal was to house eight "biospherians" who would live entirely within this self-contained ecosystem, growing their own food, recycling waste, and demonstrating that humans could potentially survive in space. Could they really pull this off? Or would the whole thing turn into green slime? Well, there were a few challenges. Within two weeks, they’d broken the rules by sending one biospherian to the hospital (she chopped off her finger) and she sneakily brought back some supplies. They also tuckered into their emergency food supplies way sooner than expected and then around the 8-month mark, oxygen levels were dangerously low because of an explosion of oxygen gulping bacteria in the soil. You’d think there’d be excess CO2 because of that, but no, it chemically bonded with the concrete in the structure. You can’t make this shit up. Hummingbirds and honeybees died, crops went unpollinated, bugs attacked what remained and cockroaches reigned supreme. It was a hot mess. Needless to say, Biosphere 2 wasn’t getting good press. Bass had already put in another $50 million into the project and needed to get the finances under control. Enter stage left, Steven Bannon, who was managing his own investment banking firm at the time. Bannon was interested in Biosphere 2’s potential and, after failed attempts to secure venture capital, Bannon proposed a bold marketing plan: sell biospheres to governments worldwide and build Biosphere 3 as a Las Vegas casino and resort. Can you imagine… gambling amongst the corpses of hummingbirds. Anyway, Bass agreed, and the solution was to remove John Allen from control and appoint Bannon as acting CEO. But Bannon's takeover in April 1994 was nothing short of dramatic. In an audacious move, accompanied by U.S. marshals, Bannon entered Biosphere 2 and purged the entire management team just as the second team of biospherians moved in. It was a shit show. Ecologist, Abigail Alling and engineer, Mark Van Thillo, two passionate defenders of the project, were concerned about safety but were arrested after trying to break the system's safety valves and open the doors. What followed was a complex legal battle, with the jury eventually finding in favour of Alling and Van Thillo, awarding them $600,000. The second team of biospherians tried to continue the mission, but it was cut short. In 1995, Bannon brokered a deal with Columbia University to manage Biosphere 2 and focus on using the giant terrarium for climate research instead of the original experiment. In 2003, the University of Arizona took over, and today Biosphere 2 continues its important mission as a climate research facility. Like a time machine, it allows scientists to simulate future climate scenarios and study their impact on various ecosystems. It’s bloody fantastic. But we’re still gobsmacked that Steve Bannon was the guy who made all this happen. PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: Fired For Slow Travel: A Chat With Climate Scientist Gianluca Grimalda SOURCES: Trump’s Campaign CEO Ran a Secretive Sci-Fi Project in the Arizona Desert – Mother Jones The Lost History of One of the World’s Strangest Science Exp

Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year. Festive feasting on sweet delicacies, children filled with wonder, awaiting Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve. Unless of course, you subscribe to some of the lesser-known Northern European traditions. Then Christmas is downright horrifying. Hans Trapp for example. After being excommunicated from his local catholic church, Hans Trapp roamed the countryside disguised as a scarecrow, obsessed with the idea of tasting human flesh. He lured a young shepherd boy to his death, cooked him over a fire and just when he was about to eat him, God struck him down with lightning. He’s dead now, but legend has it that at Christmas time, Hans Trapp goes from door to door looking for tasty young children. There’s also Krampus, a demonic half-goat Christmas monster who kidnaps children and either drowns them, eats them or drags them to hell. Okaaay. And we mustn’t forget Grýla, a giant ogre who lives in a cave and emerges at Christmas to hunt for children to cook into a stew. Nothing says Merry Christmas like child cannibalism apparently. Speaking of eating, not every country is into Christmas cookies. Some cultures prefer more unique delicacies, like the Russian favourite, Holodets, AKA meat jelly. It’s not the most appealing looking (or sounding) thing. The Soviets could work a little harder on their branding and aesthetics. Or how about some Lutefisk? It’s made from aged fish and caustic lye. You basically turn the fish into poison, then add enough water so it’s edible. Oh, and it corrodes silver. But if you want to go fancy this Christmas, how about you try Kiviyak, a classic recipe from Greenland. You take about 500 auks (you know those birds that look like a mini penguins). Then you stuff them, beaks, feathers and all, into the hollowed-out carcus of a seal. Cover it in grease, put it in a hole and cover it with rocks for three to 18 months while it ferments. Delicious. Now for those more inclined toward festive pastries, you better hope there’s enough butter, unlike the great Norwegian butter crisis of Christmas in 2011. The Nordic brethren got a little crazy when butter shortages left them imagining Christmas without their buns and biscuits. There were supermarket stampedes, butter smuggling arrests, and desperate Norwegians paying up to 50 pounds per stick. Much like the great Hawaiian toilet paper shortage in 1971. By the time Christmas rolled around, Hawaii was a post-apocalyptic scene of people guarding their TP supplies with their lives We all know Christmas is about giving, and what better gift than Hasbro javelin darts. These outdoor missile darts were fun for the whole family in the 1960s until the ER visits started ramping up. There were also a few deaths. Let’s just say these things could pierce skulls, and in one case, they definitely did. Another super fun toy was the Wego kite tubes, a giant ring you tie to the back of a speedboat. Certainly not your average floatation device, Wego resulted in riders losing consciousness, breaking vertebra, rupturing eardrums and puncturing lungs. That product got recalled and quickly became illegal to use in the USA and Canada. So, whatever you’re into at Christmas, maybe steer away from deadly toys, poisonous food and terrifying your children with tales of cannibalism. Also, let’s hope you get some new clothes for Christmas so you don't get eaten by an evil giant cat. It’s an Icelandic thing. SOURCES: Swedes arrested for butter smuggling Let us Celebrate the Anniversary of Norway's Infamous Butter Crisis Just Tickled - January 13, 1997 The Worst Christmas Shortages in History Remembering The Short Lived And Deadly “Kite Tube” Craze by Francis Xavier September 3, 2019 The seven most terrifying Christmas traditions around the world, The Guardian https://disgustingfoodmuseum.com/disgusting-christmas-foods/ https://commonplacefacts.com/2021/09/26/flubber-toy-flop/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/03/29/toilet-paper-shortage-hawaii/ https://www.safehome.org/news/most-dangerous-toys/ https://unofficialnetworks.com/2019/09/03/remembering-the-short-lived-and-deadly-kite-tube-craze/ https://www.vox.com/21796404/12-days-of-christmas-explained See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Anthony Lanza had quite an impressive career. Amongst many things, he discovered the cause of the lung disease, silicosis, and founded the discipline of industrial hygiene, making workplace environments more safe for employees. He was also a beloved teacher and researcher at New York University in the final years of his career. What a guy. But when he died in 1964, Dr Lanza's far less laudatory secret career came to light and he had a lot of haters. Over the last 2 episodes of our asbestos series, we’ve heard about the miracle of asbestos and the horrors of asbestos. But when did we learn how bad the stuff was? In Ancient Roman times, Pliny the Elder recommended not to buy asbestos mine slaves because they died pretty young. (Good advice I guess ??). So maybe they knew a thing or two back then. But let’s fast forward to more modern times because that’s when the health risks associated with asbestos started emerging in the academic and medical literature. The first asbestosis death that was officially linked to asbestos exposure was in 1924. A few other asbestos-related deaths were happening around that time too so in 1929, asbestos companies commissioned our friend Dr. Lanza to run an industrial hygiene survey of several of their asbestos plants and factories. After conducting a bunch of physical examinations and X-rays, Dr Lanza found that asbestosis was rife in the workers. But instead of gently breaking the news to them that they would die a slow, horrible death, he decided it was better to not tell them anything and instead tell the executives. Hmmm. Maybe not so nice. Later, Dr Kenneth Smith was working at one of the big asbestos companies, Johns-Manville, and a bunch of workers with early signs of asbestosis came to see him. What did he do? Well, he told the company executives to hide the results from the workers, for their own good of course. And because he really cared about the worker’s well-being, he suggested the executives purchase a shredding machine to destroy any ‘confidential’ correspondence. Dr Smith then became the medical director at Johns Manville. He was a keeper. So, by 1943, big asbestos companies knew that asbestosis was definitely a thing. But how bad was it? They decided to commission Dr Lanza again, but this time to do an animal trial. The study showed that 81.8% of the mice they experimented on developed lung tumours upon asbestos exposure. However, that study was considered inconclusive (81.8%!) and much too problematic to take to the public. Better destroy the study altogether and say everything’s fine. Just smile and wave. A bit further down the track, the asbestos industry was forced to put warning labels on bags and crates of asbestos. And they did. In the smallest font they possibly could. And when sending crates of asbestos overseas, they just removed the warning label altogether. It wasn’t until 1964, some 40 years after the official recorded death, at Irving Selikoff’s international conference on the Biological Effects of Asbestos that the link between asbestos exposure and cancer was firmly established. And in 1978,18 years later, a series of documents from the asbestos companies came to light. They were described by a bunch of lawyers as being like the Pentagon papers for the asbestos industry, revealing studies they had done, what they knew about the dangers and what they had done to cover it up. No doubt the asbestos executives regretted not buying a shredder. PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: From Toothpaste and Cigarettes: The Lesser Known Uses Of Asbestos Wittenoom: Australia's Asbestos Chernobyl Wiped Town Off The Map SOURCES: Defending the Indefensible, by Jock McCulloch and Geoffrey Tweedale New Data on Asbestos Indicate Cover-Up of Effects on Workers, by Bill Richards in The Washington Post Shooting the Messenger: The Vilification of Irving J. Selikoff, by Jock McCulloch and Geoffrey Tweedale in International Journal of Health Services The Real Asbestos Horror Story, Spider Johnson The silence: the asbestos industry and early occupational cancer research--a case study, in Am J Public Health See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia is a wondrous country with endless sights to see. The Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, the vast sunburnt deserts... and a tiny town in Western Australia where, if you breathe, your chances of dying a horrible death will be vastly increased. Wittenoom, considered Australia's version of Chernobyl, is a site that no one should visit (and yet some still do). Back in the 1930s, before Wittenoom was even a town, a young man named Lang Hancock kicked off a mining boom after discovering a beautiful blue rock: premium-grade blue asbestos. At first, the asbestos mining was more like fossicking on the surface, but things really kicked off when CSR (a famous Australian sugar refining company!) bought the mine and decided to take things underground. After World War II, the demand for asbestos grew due to the lack of imports so the Australian government decided to help CSR and make their mine go gangbusters. They even built them a town with a post office, hospital, police station, state school (and likely many pubs). They wanted everyone to go live in Wittenoom so they could mine the crap out of it. The problem is, mining sucks. It’s one of the worst jobs ever. Crawling through small, dark tunnels, miners would be covered in cuts all over their bodies, dust filling up their lungs and eyeballs. The whole mine was one giant dust cloud. CSR tried to fix it with some Rotoclone dust-collecting units, but they lasted for a grand total of 64 operating hours because the asbestos dust corroded them. The mining part was bad, but the next stage of the process was even worse. Once the rock had been extracted, it was sent to the mill to be smashed into tiny fragments. Then it had to be bagged, where workers would be covered head to toe in asbestos fibres. After the bagging, they had to do something with the leftover stuff, the asbestos tailings. What did they do with that? Oh, they just dumped it wherever they could, even in the kids’ sandpits. Sometimes the kids would chew on the asbestos tailings as a substitute for chewing gum. Hey, it corrodes metal fans, what harm could it do to kids? Needless to say, Wittenoom was a shit place to live. The town was covered in dust all the time, so much so that the Royal Flying Doctors knew exactly where the town was from 100km away because of the giant blue plume of smoke. Little did the people of Wittenoom know what was to unfold was worse yet. There are basically two diseases that asbestos causes and they go from bad to worse. The first is asbestosis, which is chronic scarring of the lungs. Death usually comes from something like heart failure because it’s so damn hard to breathe. For those who don’t die, their fate is to survive through decades of horrible pain. The other thing that can happen is mesothelioma, which is cancer in the lining of your organs. It is truly a horrible way to die and all it takes is one asbestos particle to do it. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, more and more cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma began to emerge. In 1960, Dr. McNulty did a series of chest X-rays of the Wittenoom mine workers and one quarter of them were affected. Asbestos related diseases cause approximately 4,000 deaths every year in Australia, with one person dying every 12 hours from mesothelioma. But nothing anyone did caused the mining to stop… it just wasn’t profitable anymore. Eventually in 1966, they closed the mine (only because they could import asbestos for cheaper) and in 1978 the Western Australian government decided to phase out the town. It took decades for this to happen though, gradually closing down businesses, schools and pubs. Now it’s a wasteland but there was one faithful resident who refused to leave until finally she was evicted in 2022 by a team wearing full protective gear and face masks. So, unless you want to risk dying a slow and painful death, maybe don’t go visit the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: From Toothpaste To Cigarettes: The Lesser Known Uses Of Asbestos SOURCES: Asbestos caused psychiatric injury, The Age Chilling image shows group of miners competing in an asbestos shovelling contest...and all of them except one died from exposure to the deadly mineral, Daily Mail Demolition of asbestos town Wittenoom starts, as government warns visitors to stay away, ABC Last homes in asbestos-riddled Wittenoom to be demolished, but some want to stay, ABC Memories of Wittenoom, a once-thriving but asbestos-riddled town that led to more than 1,000 deaths, ABC More than 2,000 people from Wittenoom died of asbestos-related diseases. A powerful andcompelling requiem brings their story to the stage, The Conversation Permanent Memorials, Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia Sistemazione and death: the role of the Wittenoom asbestos mine in the lives and deaths of Italian transnational workers, by Angela DI Pasquale That’s iron, he said, The Australian Women’s Weekly The discovery of the association bet

Asbestos. Do you feel like coughing just thinking about it? Most of us shudder to hear the word - it’s a substance that has caused hundreds and thousands of horrible, painful deaths. And yet it’s one of the most goddamn amazing things on the planet. We’ve all heard about the horrors of asbestos. But what about the miraculous side of it? Think about it - it’s a rock that you can make clothes out of, and banknotes for that matter. It’s wild. A weaveable, fire-resistant, rot-resistant rock. There’s literally nothing else like it on the planet. With all our advances in science and modern manufacturing techniques, we still haven’t been able to come up with something to match it. The use of asbestos skyrocketed in the industrial era, but there are actually signs of this magical rock being used all the way back in 4000 BC. Some people even found asbestos fibres in stone age debris, dating back some 750,000 years ago (but that could be just coincidental - there were a lot of rocks being used back then amirite). For ancient peoples, asbestos was so magical that it seemed to belong more to the realm of fairy tales than to real life. Some believed that it was derived from the wool of the mythical fire-resistant salamander or the feathers of the phoenix. Others confidently claimed that it was spun from the long, silky fur of rats that lived inside volcanoes. Okay, the stories are a bit far-fetched, but they were onto something. Asbestos is freaking magical. In the Middle Ages, asbestos was considered the party trick of kings. Not only did it protect against medieval spells, but it helped with magic tricks too. King Charlemagne apparently had an asbestos tablecloth, and when his guests had finished eating, he would rip the tablecloth off and throw it in the fire. In the blaze, the cloth would turn fiery red, but not burn. He’d take it out and say (in medieval French), “Look, clean!” Now that’s a party trick. And apparently, it was so impressive that it even stopped a war from happening. Nobody messes with King Charlemagne and his magic tablecloth. Now we all know the boring modern uses of asbestos such as building materials, roofing, fireplaces etc. Boring. We want to know the more creative uses for this magical rock. Well, how does asbestos toothpaste sound to you? Or an asbestos cigarette for that extra lung-scarring flavour. And if you’re working with asbestos and are worried about inhaling the fibres, not to worry - just pop on a face mask… made out of asbestos. To really get the Christmas season going, perhaps these holidays, you could decorate your tree with fluffy asbestos artificial snow! (Don’t do this.) So much fun for the kids (for now). PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED: Iroquois Theater Blaze: The Tragic Fire That Ignited The Evolution Of Exit Lights SOURCES: Asbestos, on How Products are Made Asbestos: Geology, Mineralogy, Mining and Uses by Robert L Virta for the US Dept of theInterior ASBESTOS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, UNRV.com Charlemagne's Asbestos Tablecloth Mystery AsbestosClaims.Law History of Asbestos on asbestos.com How to be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood 1941-1981 by William J Mann The Legend of Oscar-Winning Producer-Showman Mike Todd by Michael Callahan When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine a slower pace of life: Growing your own vegetables, spending more time with the children, the smell of freshly baked sourdough wafting through your well-kept home, no pesky job or financials to worry about. That does sound lovely, doesn’t it? And then while your healthy kids are playing in their mud kitchen, you hop online to chat with your tradwife friends about how to ban immigration, ban abortion, and breed out the blacks. Wait, what?! To be fair, it’s quite a leap to go from baking bread to white supremacy. But there seems to be a connection between these wholesome and traditional values and something far more sinister. For some women, the tradwife movement is as simple as being tired of the rat race and genuinely wanting to spend more time with the family and less time at work. But for the more suggestible traditionalist women out there, it is a pathway to the bigoted alt-right; to the white nationalists espousing racism, misogyny, and heterosexism, sometimes to the point of explicitly advocating violence and terrorism. And because we can’t quite understand what the hell sourdough has to do with terrorism, we’ve invited special guest Dr Kristy Campion on the show to discuss the links between the tradwife movement and the alt-right. Dr Campion is a Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead of Terrorism Studies at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security at Charles Sturt University. For the past two years, her research has focused heavily on right-wing extremism in Australia, and whilst investigating why there were so many women in a movement inherently dismissive of women’s rights, the tradwife connection became apparent. We’re all for everyone making their own choices and living life the way they want to. If you want to stay at home with the kids and cook and clean and greet your husband at the door with a cocktail, go for it! If you want to oppose feminism, disagree with women voting, and think women don’t belong in the workforce, whatever floats your boat! (Even if we think that is a stupid boat to float). But it’s when these hate-filled world views fuel attempts to force other people into alignment via means of violence that things get a bit… Trumpy. An intriguing aspect of extremism, similar to religion, is its attraction for individuals who crave certainty. For people who desire an existence devoid of doubt and ambiguity, with blame for all of life’s problems placed squarely on undeserving populations, the rabbit hole of extremism is all too easy to fall down. Dr Campion chats to us about the unexpected rise in conspiratorial activity during COVID and an age predisposition towards the baby boomers due to their non-existent digital filter. She also imparts a bleak truth in that at some point, you aren’t responsible for a friend's or a loved one’s beliefs. But fear not! The answer lies in reinvigorating our appreciation of democracy; a rebrand for the 21st century so that democracy once again slaps! If the youth get reacquainted with the pros of democracy and the freedoms and order it affords, then the desire to leave the mainstream lessens and extremism becomes salty af. SOURCES: Defining Ecofascism: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Interpretations in the Extreme Right, In Terrorism and Political Violence, by Kristy Campion Women in the Extreme and Radical Right: Forms of Participation and Their Implications, in Social Sciences, by Kristy Campion Steve King's rape comments reveal the misogyny at the heart of white supremacist ideology, NBC News, by Mona Eltahawy Alt-right women and the "white baby challenge" [Excerpted from "Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the Alt-Right is Warping the American Imagination" by Alexandra Minna Stern (Beacon Press, 2019). Reprinted with permission by Beacon Press.] Why Are Gen Z Girls Attracted to the Tradwife Lifestyle?, The Public Eye, Spring/Summer 2021 by Mariel Cooksey See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.