Exquisite Failures: The 233rd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

Bret Weinstein on Odysee

In this 233rd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this week’s episode, we discuss The Hope Accord, which calls for the “immediate suspension of Covid-19 mRNA vaccine products.” We encourage you to sign it. Then: wisdom from Charlie Munger on why we should prefer a world in which some people are not compensated for their losses (even if they didn’t deserve to lose), over having gameable systems in which cheaters flourish. Then: how the NYT stacks the deck in favor of sunscreen, by asking oncologists and dermatologists. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Finally, how chytrid fungus has wiped out frog populations and species across the world; how fever is used by endotherms like us to clear infections; and new research that finds that frogs like frog saunas, which not only feels great, but helps them clear fungal infections. The through-line: human hubris intervening in complex systems often ends badly.
*****
Our sponsors:
Sundays: Dog food so tasty and healthy, even husbands swear by it. Go to www.sundaysfordogs.com/DARKHORSE to receive 35% off your first order.
Seed: Start a new healthy habit today with Seed probiotics. Use code 25DarkHorse at https://seed.com/darkhorse to get 25% off your first month of Seed's DS-01® Daily Synbiotic.
Pique’s Nandaka: delicious mushroom, tea, and chocolate drink that provides all day energy. Up to 20% off + free frother+beaker at www.Piquelife.com/darkhorse.
*****
Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
*****
Mentioned in this episode:
The Hope Accord: https://thehopeaccord.org
Poor Charlie’s Almanack: https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Charlies-Almanack-Charles-Expanded/dp/1578645018
The New York Times consults experts on the value of sunshine vs sunscreen: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/well/sunscreen-vitamin-d-skin-cancer.html
Lindqvist et al 2016. Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death: A competing risk analysis of the melanoma in southern Sweden cohort. Journal of Internal Medicine, 280(4): 375– 387: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joim.12496
Weldon et al 2004. Origin of the amphibian chytrid fungus. Emerging infectious diseases, 10(12): 2100: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323396/pdf/03-0804.pdf
Waddle et al 2024. Hotspot shelters stimulate frog resistance to chytridiomycosis. Nature: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07582-y
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk0IwAhScS0