Death by Ignorance

By Allan Walls

This podcast is about the truth.

In each episode I sweep away the lies, propaganda, and pseudoscience to take a cold hard look at the realities of life. Using plain language (where possible), I walk ... more

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How many episodes does Death by Ignorance have?

The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.

Death by Ignorance episodes:

December 06, 2019 S1E17 - A.I. and the Universal Basic Income
Death by Ignorance
Episode 17 - AI and the Universal Basic Income
Recommended reading:
1) Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom
2) Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark
3) The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil
4) Artificial Intelligence by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig
5) Machine Learning by Tom Mitchell
6) The Emotion Machine by Marvin Minsky
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47min
November 22, 2019 S1E16 - Heavy Metal and Deafness
Hello All,
This week I decided to take a break from the heavy and controversial topics we've been tackling lately. This episode a brief history of heavy metal toxicity, with a lot of interesting facts about the elements and their relationship with humans over the last 2000 years or so.
Hope you enjoy listening.
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54min
November 13, 2019 S1E15 - The Assassination of Truth
Death by Ignorance
Program notes – Episode 15 – The Assassination of Truth
References
1) An article from Chris Cillizza on truth in the 2016 US election
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-campaign-republican-us-election-2016-what-it-says-about-a7022276.html
2) Michael Deacon, writing in the Daily Telegraph (UK) on post-truth politics
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/09/in-a-world-of-post-truth-politics-andrea-leadsom-will-make-the-p/
3) Gay Alcorn’s article on post-truth politics and the irrelevance of facts from 2014
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/facts-are-futile-in-an-era-of-posttruth-politics-20140227-33m70.html
4) Richard Kreitner of The Nation giving some historical perspective on post-truth politics
https://www.thenation.com/article/post-truth-and-its-consequences-what-a-25-year-old-essay-tells-us-about-the-current-moment/
5) Sam Harris’ short book, “Lying” was a valuable background resource and is well worth your time to read – highly recommended
6) Paul Krugman’s article “The Post-Truth Campaign” from the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/opinion/krugman-the-post-truth-campaign.html
and a quote from the piece (that I didn’t include but is worth reading) … "[I]f past experience is any guide, most of the news media will feel as though their reporting must be 'balanced,' which means that every time they point out that a Republican lied they have to match it with a comparable accusation against a Democrat — even if what the Democrat said was actually true or, at worst, a minor misstatement."
7) Ralph Keyes (2004). “The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life”,
A highly recommended read. The pages I referred to are 127 and 128.
If you would be interested in looking cooler and smarter than everyone else in the world, consider snagging yourself a Death by Ignorance tee shirt, coffee mug, or Bugatti Veyron (only 10 Bugatti’s left – don’t be left out! Order now)
* Sorry guys... I was unable to attach a photograph of the tee shirt design. If you go to the Death by Ignorance webpage, you will see it there!
https://death-by-ignorance.pinecast.co
Tee shirt - $30
Coffee mug - $10
Bugatti Veyron - $1,795,000
My oblique reference to Kant’s stability came from Bruce’s Song, written by Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Do yourself a favor and watch Eric performing the piece in his living room – it’s on YouTube. Also, find the footage of the song being sung by the great Christopher Hitchens. He is sorely missed.
Bruce’s Song
Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
Who was very rarely stable
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table
David Hume could out-consume
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel
There's nothing Nietzche couldn't teach ya
'Bout the raising of the wrist
Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will
On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill
Plato, they say, could stick it away
Half a crate of whiskey every day
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
Hobbes was fond of his dram
And René Descartes was a drunken fart
"I drink, therefore I am"
Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed
A lovely little thinker
But a bugger when he's pissed
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1h 5min
October 30, 2019 S1E14 - Crisis...What Crisis?
An analysis of the US opioid crisis, with particular attention to the rapid recent increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths.
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1h
October 22, 2019 S1E13 - Race to the Bottom
Race to the Bottom - the sellout of National Geographic
Bored to death with 130 years of scientific reportage, National Geographic takes a hard left turn into fantasy-land with the publication of six do-it-yourself guides to home remedies. I recommend the article by Dr. Victor Benson in the September edition of the Skeptical Inquirer Magazine (Vol. 43 No. 5). Our opinions are much the same, but he is less offensive than me in the delivery.
I strongly recommend that you don't buy the offending books described in the article, but if you decide you just have to have them, you can have mine. I'll sell them for their actual value, 5 cents each, as long as you pay the postage.
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46min
October 12, 2019S1E12 - Just a Little Prick
Death by Ignorance – Episode 12 – Just a little prick
Additional reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Fantasyland-America-Haywire-500-Year-History-ebook/dp/B004J4WNJE
https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555
Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Deyo RA, et al. The diagnosis and treatment of chronic back pain by acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists. Clin J Pain. 2006 Mar-Apr;22(3):227–234.
Barrett, S (30 December 2007). "Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and "Chinese Medicine"". Quackwatch.
http://www.dcscience.net/Ernst-2011-AcupunctAlleviatePainRiskReview.pdf
Deare JC, Zheng Z, Xue CC, Liu JP, Shang J, Scott SW, Littlejohn G (May 2013). "Acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 5 (5): CD007070.
Seca S, Miranda D, Cardoso D, Nogueira B, Greten HJ, Cabrita A, Rodrigues MA (19 December 2018). "Effectiveness of Acupuncture on Pain, Physical Function and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Evidence". Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. doi:10.1007/s11655-018-2914-x. PMID 30569405
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3616356
Towler P, Molassiotis A, Brearley SG (October 2013). "What is the evidence for the use of acupuncture as an intervention for symptom management in cancer supportive and palliative care: an integrative overview of reviews". Supportive Care in Cancer. 21 (10): 2913–23. doi:10.1007/s00520-013-1882-8. PMID 23868190.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1466855
Barrett, Stephen. "Auriculotherapy: A Skeptical Look". Acupuncture Watch.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC558023
Cheuk DK, Wong V (May 2014). "Acupuncture for epilepsy". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 5(5): CD005062. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005062.pub4. PMID 24801225.
https://books.google.com/books?id=E6oa37ZyTxEC&pg=PA90
Burke A, Upchurch DM, Dye C, Chyu L. Acupuncture use in the United States: findings from the National Health Interview Survey. J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Sep;12(7):639–648.
Wu DZ. Acupuncture and neurophysiology. Clinical Neurology & Neurosurgery. 1990;92(1):13–25.
Cheng R, Pomeranz B. Monoamineergic mechanisms of electroacupuncture analgesia. Brain Res. 1981;215:77–92.
Hui KK, Liu J, Makris N, et al. Acupuncture modulates the limbic system and subcortical gray structures of the human brain: evidence from fMRI studies in normal subjects. Human Brain Mapping. 2000;9(1):13–25.
Park J, Linde K, Manheimer E, et al. The status and future of acupuncture clinical research. J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Sep;14(7):871–881.
Vickers AJ. Placebo controls in randomized trials of acupuncture. Eval Health Prof. 2002 Dec;25(4):421–435.
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1h 5min
October 06, 2019 S1E11 - Suffocating Reason
A discussion about anti-science activism in religion, business, and politics. What is it, where does it come from, who is behind it, and how it threatens each and every one of us.
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55min
September 26, 2019 S1E10 - Homeopathy - how pseudoscience kills
Thanks for listening. You’re the reason I do this.
In Episode 10 we take a good close look into homeopathy. What we see is not pretty.
Here are the resources that I refer to in the podcast:
This Dr. Stephen Barrett’s website, Quackwatch – if you have never visited, you are missing out on a powerful and important voice in medical skepticism!
https://www.quackwatch.org/index.html
This Dr. Barrett’s article on the subject of homeopathy – it is solid gold.
https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html
Here is the Merseyside Skeptics Society – an inspiring organization, and arch-enemy of British homeopathy. This is one place to find Michael Marshall (Marsh) and the home some really awesome skeptical podcasts (“Skeptics with a K”, “Re Reasonable”, and “inKredulous”)
http://www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk
This is a link to one of the British Homeopathic Association publications referenced in the podcast. Read with care, it’ll give you a bad headache.
https://www.britishhomeopathic.org/evidence/the-evidence-for-homeopathy/
This was one of my sources for tracking down the “evidence” for homeopathy. You should read a few of the articles if you want to get a feel for the kind of evidence homeopathy is using.
https://homeopathyusa.org/uploads/Homeopathy-Research-Evidence-Base-11-15-2018.pdf
This is one of the articles covering the death of young Francesco Bonifazi
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/belief-in-homeopathy-results-in-the-death-of-a-7-year-old-italian-child/
I didn’t use this story from Phil Plait, but it is worth reading. Another sad story that didn’t have to happen.
https://slate.com/technology/2009/06/homeopathy-kills.html
If you want the complete list of every piece of homeopathic research that I reviewed, shoot me your email address and I’ll send it to you.
Thanks again for listening!
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1h 7min
September 18, 2019 S1E9 - Medical Tourism
Hello all,
This week we look into the big business of medical tourism and try to figure out if it a glimmer of hope for American healthcare, or a dumb risk for individual Americans.
Here is the CDC's information on the subject:
https://www.cdc.gov/features/medicaltourism/index.html
This the WMA recommendation document I discuss:
https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-statement-on-medical-tourism/
This is the FAQ sheet from the Medical Tourism Association:
https://medicaltourismassociation.com/content.php/medical-tourism-faq-s.html?url=medical-tourism-faq-s&lang=en
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54min
September 13, 2019 S1E8 - Inside Trump's Head
This is the McAdams Atlantic article from 2016:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-mind-of-donald-trump/480771/
Support Death by Ignorance by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/death-by-ignorance
This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
...more
51min

FAQs about Death by Ignorance:

How many episodes does Death by Ignorance have?

The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.