Today we discuss childhood, fitness, and self-defense; the through-line is freedom. First up: Illinois has become the first state in the Union to mandate mental health screening for children in grades 3 – 12, so that conditions from trauma to anxiety can be detected early. How mandatory will these screenings be? How confidential? What is anxiety, and why are children better off learning to experience and solve their own anxiety, than to be coddled at every turn? We argue that anxiety—like pain, and sadness—are signals from your brain and body that should be listened to rather than erased. Also: childhood is a time of exploration, of mixing reality with fantasy, and should not be a time when adults’ fantasies are imposed on children. Then: the New York Times cannot abide that anything that RFK Jr. does or says makes sense. Finally: do people have the right to defend themselves inside their own homes? Have we forgotten habeas corpus? Are the foundations of democracy coming apart at the seams? 

*****

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Branch Basics: Get 15% off Branch Basics with the code DARKHORSE at https://branchbasics.com/darkhorse #branchbasicspod

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

***** 

 Mentioned in this episode:

Governor Pritzker signs bill mandating mental health checks for schoolkids: https://news.wttw.com/2025/07/31/pritzker-signs-legislation-implement-universal-mental-health-screenings-illinois-schools

Illinois Bill 1560: https://trackbill.com/bill/illinois-senate-bill-1560-mental-hlth-kids-beacon/2645551/

NYT on the fitness challenge of Kennedy and Hegseth: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/style/hegseth-rfk-jr-fitness-challenge.html

Breaking and entering report from the Kawartha Lakes Police Service: https://kawarthalakespolice.com/media-releases/media-release-august-18-2025-break-and-enter-assault

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Forrest Maready on the subject of the dual nature of AI, discussing both its potential benefits and risks, particularly in relation to human suffering, dependency, and the evolving concept of truth. 

Find Forrest Maready on X at http://x.com/forrestmaready and his website http://forrestmaready.com.

*****

Sponsors:

Everyday Dose: Coffee plus collagen, mushrooms & nootropics – delicious! Get 45% off your first subscription order and also receive free gifts at http://everydaydose.com/darkhorse.

Manukora: the most flavorful, delicious, and nutritious honey you’ll ever have. Get $25 off your starter kit at http://www.Manukora.com/DarkHorse

*****

Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Check out the DHP store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://www.darkhorsestore.org

Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

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Mentioned in this episode (Amazon links earn a commission):

The Moth in the Iron Lung: A Biography of Polio https://amzn.to/45CHqGn

The Germ In The Dairy Pail https://amzn.to/4lN2Q8r

The Reason We Kiss https://amzn.to/4g4qegA

A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century https://amzn.to/45XrayJ

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Exploring AI Perspectives with author Forrest Maready
00:23:29 The Role of Scarcity in the Human Experience
00:37:03 The Role of Pain and Pleasure in Human Experience
00:48:22 Delayed Gratification and Technology
00:58:47 Truth in the AI Era
01:11:34 The Impact of AI on Creative Work
01:26:35 The Future of Work
01:37:13 The Inevitable Collapse of Complexity
01:48:01 Solution: Build a Wise AI

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Today we are all over the map. First: Elon, AI, and humanoid robots, with discussion of sex, the industrial revolution, specialization, the Pleistocene, feminism, men’s work, porn, clankers, and vaping. Obviously. Then: are there differences between moral panics and social contagions, and is the current focus on pedophilia one or both? Finally: how widespread is fraud in science? It’s not rare, and not merely the result of bad actors. Taking a game theoretic approach, authors of new research suggest that many scientists are defecting from honest scientific work for rational reasons.

*****

Our sponsors:

Caraway: Non-toxic, beautiful, light ceramic cookware. Save $150 on a cookware set over buying individual pieces, and get 10% off your order at http://carawayhome.com/darkhorse10.

Masa Chips: Delicious chips made with corn, salt, and beef tallow—nothing else—in loads of great flavors. Go to http://masachips.com/DarkHorse, use code DarkHorse, for 25% off.

ARMRA Colostrum is an ancient bioactive whole food that can strengthen your immune system. Go to http://www.tryarmra.com/DARKHORSE to get 15% off your first order.

*****

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://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Elon Musk and the AI fashion show: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1958254084806578534

Michael Tracey on moral panics: https://x.com/mtracey/status/1958299632703795348

Richardson et al 2025. The entities enabling scientific fraud at scale are large, resilient, and growing rapidly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(32), p.e2420092122: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2420092122

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Today we discuss the reasons not to stay in your lane, wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, and whether Americans want a handout, or to be left alone. First: Bret responds to critique from Geert Vanden Bossche on his characterization of intramuscular vaccines and their capacity to produce mucosal immunity. Then: how science discovers reality, the risks of reductionism, and a hypothesis that generalists are more immune to corruption than specialists. Then: bald eagles and foxes compete to scavenge seal meat on the shores of the Salish Sea. Meanwhile in Canada, people are told they can’t go into the woods. Finally: young, and urban, Americans are more likely than older, or rural Americans, to want a handout from the federal government.

*****

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Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

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Sundays: Dog food so tasty and healthy, even husbands swear by it. Go to http://www.sundaysfordogs.com/DARKHORSE to receive 35% off your first order.

*****

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://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

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Mentioned in this episode:

Geert tweet: https://x.com/GVDBossche/status/1955304851270738108

Nova Scotia: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/08/05/travel-activities-woods-restricted-prevent-wildfires

New Brunswick: https://www.cp24.com/news/canada/2025/08/09/stay-out-of-the-woods-new-brunswick-closing-crown-lands-due-to-extreme-wildfire-hazard/

Fox poll: https://x.com/IAPolls2022/status/1948170719860281405

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Daryl Davis on his experience engaging with members of the KKK, emphasizing the importance of dialogue, empathy, and understanding in breaking down barriers.

Find Dary Davis at https://daryldavisspeaking.com and on X at https://www.x.com/realdaryldavis

*****

This episode is sponsored by Timeline. Timeline accelerate the clearing of damaged mitochondria to improve strength and endurance: Go to http://www.timeline.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse for 20% off your first order.

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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

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Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

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Today we discuss the cancellation of mRNA vaccine contracts by Secretary Kennedy. What are the risks, are they as limited as he suggests, and what can we look forward to from this technology in the future? Conversation includes Covid and the Covid shots, repurposed drugs, and the nature of science and knowledge. What does it mean for a claim to be credible—socially, or analytically? What does MAHA stand for, are their limits to hypernovelty, and how can we return to a more ancestral environment?

*****

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Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

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ARMRA Colostrum is an ancient bioactive whole food that can strengthen your immune system. Go to http://www.tryarmra.com/DARKHORSE to get 15% off your first order.

*****

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://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Kennedy’s announcement: https://x.com/seckennedy/status/1952851097019633766

BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority): https://www.medicalcountermeasures.gov

The Psychology of Totalitarianism (Desmet 2022) https://amzn.to/4fuOlEO (commission earned) 

The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life (Becker & Selden 1985) https://amzn.to/3UOUBO4 (commission earned)

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Today we discuss “gender affirming surgeries”, AI and the future of cognition, and wild foxes. Kaiser Permanente is pausing surgery on trans-presenting children—we discuss sex and gender, meaning and identity, delusion and madness. Then: unlike the physical multiverse, mental multiverses are common, and becoming more so, as AI makes it ever more difficult to know what is true. We discuss grief, and how our worlds must fork when we think, but do not know, that someone has died. Similarly, when events are unclear—who was responsible for the death of President Kennedy in 1963? Are aliens visiting Earth—we must keep multiple mental universes alive in our heads at once. Correctives to this include meeting people in person, and embracing belief systems that have timeless value. Finally: more wild foxes, this time trying to eat a raccoon carcass. Included: discussion of the evolution of territoriality, parental care, and animal behavior more generally.

*****

Our sponsors:

Masa Chips: Delicious chips made with corn, salt, and beef tallow—nothing else—in loads of great flavors. Go to http://masachips.com/DarkHorse, use code DarkHorse, for 25% off.

Caraway: Non-toxic, beautiful, light ceramic cookware. Save $150 on a cookware set over buying individual pieces, and get 10% off your order at http://carawayhome.com/darkhorse10.

CrowdHealth: Pay for healthcare with crowdfunding instead of insurance. It’s way better. Use code DarkHorse at JoinCrowdHealth.com to get 1st 3 months for $99/month.


*****

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://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Kaiser Permanente pauses “gender-affirming surgery” for minors: https://x.com/BillboardChris/status/1948119275094552610

Do not affirm, do not comply: https://darkhorsestore.org/products/do-not-affirm-do-not-comply-t-shirt-unisex

From Myths to the Multiverse: How Knowledge Evolves w/ Bret Weinstein & Brett Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp8DevWKCic

Malaysia Airlines 370: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/search-missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-suspended-end-year-rcna199653

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Today we discuss organ donation, and parenting in the animal world. Organ donation: how can we modify incentives so that people who need organs have a good chance of getting them, but people with healthy organs are never sent to an early death because their organs are valuable? Then: a natural history primer on parental care and feeding ecology of some local mammals and birds. What can be learned from observing the successful parenting of both barn swallows and red foxes?

*****

Our sponsors:

Jolie: Beautiful showerheads that filter out the garbage without reducing water pressure. Go to http://jolieskinco.com/DarkHorse to get free shipping; free returns within 60 days.

Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

ARMRA Colostrum is an ancient bioactive whole food that can strengthen your immune system. Go to http://www.tryarmra.com/DARKHORSE to get 15% off your first order.

*****

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://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

Thumbnail Solskin/DigitalVision via Getty Images

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

NYT 2025: Push for more organ transplants puts donors at risk: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/us/organ-transplants-donors-alive.html

NYT 2003: Bret letter to the editor on organ donation and incentives: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/18/opinion/he-gave-of-himself-so-that-i-could-live-3-letters.html

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life on organ transplants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-pU8TFsg0

Cornell on barn swallows: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/overview

Avian Architecture: https://amzn.to/4f4Hxh5 (commission earned)

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Dr. Jonny Hudson and Dr. Michael S. Bryant on the subject of Nazi doctors. 

Dr. Jonny Hudson has a PhD in Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Dr. Michael S. Bryant has a PhD in Modern European History and is a Professor of History and Legal Studies at Bryant University. He is also the author of “Confronting the ‘Good Death’: Nazi Euthanasia on Trial, 1945-53” and Nazi "Crimes and their Punishment."

*****

Sponsors:

Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

VanMan: Tallow and honey balm, deodorant, and many other amazing animal based personal care products. Go to http://www.vanmanscompany.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse10 for 10% off your first order.

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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

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Today we discuss Epstein, Trump, MAGA, and how we know what we think we know. The actual economy exists, as does the attention economy; now Bret introduces a new term: the leverage economy. This implies that there is a commodity that we cannot see, which can be used to coerce players to act in certain ways. We see evidence of this in academia, in the news, and in politics. Discussion includes data mining, conspiracy, and whether Trump will pick up neocons as he loses some of his base.

*****

Our sponsors:

Everyday Dose: Coffee plus collagen, mushrooms & nootropics – delicious! Get 45% off your first subscription order and also receive free gifts at  everydaydose.com/darkhorse.

Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

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.

*****

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://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Goldberg in the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/opinion/trump-jeffrey-epstein-files.html

Trump on truth social: https://x.com/chesschick01/status/1945498352507879536

Heinrichs in the Free Press: https://www.thefp.com/p/the-rights-1939-project

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