On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Ashlyn, and Laura discuss the extremely shaky science behind the new guidance issued by the White House concerning acetaminophen use during pregnancy. The bottom line? Don’t take medical advice from conspiracy theorists, whether they’re real estate developers or environmental lawyers: talk to your doctor instead!

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

Previously on LUEE: Episode 208: The Worst Possible Guy for the Job | Episode 101: “Trace Amounts”

Vaccines: Andrew Wakefield: the fraud investigation (Brian Deer) | Lancet MMR autism fraud (Wikipedia)

Acetaminophen: Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability (PubMed) | White House Press Release | RFK Jr., HHS to Link Autism to Tylenol Use in Pregnancy and Folate Deficiencies (Wall Street Journal) | What the research says about Tylenol and autism (CBS News) | Health Secretary RFK Jr to link Autism and Tylenol use in pregnancy sending company’s stock price spiraling (The Independent) | Acetaminophen is a recommended treatment for fever and pain during pregnancy (Health Canada) | SOGC Statement on Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada)

Leucovorin: Autism Announcement Fact Sheet (US Department of Health and Human Services) | Q&A: What is leucovorin, now being hailed as an autism treatment? (University of Virginia) | Folate (National Institutes of Health) | What to know about leucovorin, unproven autism drug touted by Trump (PBS News) | Folate (Oregon State University) | Leucovorin (StatPearls NCBI Bookshelf) | What is leucovorin, the drug the Trump team touted at its autism announcement? (CBC News) | Cerebral folate deficiency (Wikipedia) | Folate receptor autoantibodies more common in ASD families (ARRI) | Leucovorin for autism? Many scientists — and parents — are skeptical (NPR)

Diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder (National Institute of Mental Health) | What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder? (Psychiatry.org) | Autism spectrum disorder: definition, epidemiology, causes, and clinical evaluation (PMC) | Autism (World Health Organization) | Autism (Health Canada) | Autism spectrum disorder – Diagnosis and treatment (Mayo Clinic) | Diagnosis (Autism Canada)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Gem, and Laura discuss things that they find difficult to understand.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

Links: Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans (Behavioral and Brain Sciences) | Dunbar’s Number: Why the Theory That Humans Can Only Maintain 150 Friendships Has Withstood 30 Years of Scrutiny (Neuroscience News) | Complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir (Wikipedia) | Dyscalculia (Wikipedia) | The Unforgivable Sin of Ms Rachel (Lindsay Ellis)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Laura, and Ashlyn discuss medical scammers, grifters, and con-men, current, recent, and historical. Discussed on this episode: Malachi Love-Robinson, a modern-day Doogie Howser; James Graham, an 18th century Scottish sexologist; and Casey Means, a health grifter who also happens to be Trump’s pick for Surgeon General.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

Malachi Love-Robinson: Police: Juvenile posed as doctor at St. Mary’s hospital (South Florida Sun Sentinel) | Florida teenager is accused of posing as a doctor. Again. (The New York Times) | Fake teen doctor arrested again for fraud (South Florida Sun Sentinel) | Part One: The Fake Doctors Who Gave Everyone Alzheimer’s (Behind the Bastards) | Part Two: The Real Bastard Was Health Insurance Companies All Along (Behind the Bastards)

James Graham: 10 Weirdest Medical Hoaxes in History (Listverse) | All-cleansing, all-healing, all-vigorating: James Graham’s earth cure (Royal College of Physicians) | James Graham as Spiritual Libertine (SpringerLink) | The Prince of Quacks and How He Captivated London (JSTOR Daily) | Dr James Graham: Sexologist and His Temple of Health (Geri Walton: Unique histories from the 18th and 19th centuries) | James Graham (sexologist) (Wikipedia) | Graham’s Celestial Bed (Hoaxes.org) | Pneumatic chemistry (Wikipedia)

Casey Means: Who is Casey Means? Trump’s new surgeon general nominee sparks drama (USA Today) | Casey Means, Trump’s new pick for Surgeon General, draws wide criticism (Chief Healthcare Executive) | Review and Summary: Good Energy (Sekar Writes) | “She Was Tearful About It”: The Nuances of Casey Means’s Medical Exit and Antiestablishment Origins (Vanity Fair) | Kennedy’s Coalition of Quacks Wants to Feed America a Diet of Lies (McGill University Office for Science and Society) | Casey Means, Trump’s surgeon general pick, profits from wellness sales (AP News) | Zen Basil | Levels.com

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Laura, and Gem discuss some common misconceptions, focusing on cast iron cookware, Victorian corsetry, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, and the Canadian political system.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

Corsets: Victorian Image of Pregnancy through Corsetry (Maryland Center for History and Culture) | Here’s How Corsets Deformed the Skeletons of Victorian Women (Forbes) | Demystifying the S-Bend (Redthreaded) | Vintage X-rays reveal the hidden effects of corsets (CNET) | The history behind corsets: how a piece of clothing sparked controversy, criticism and empowerment (The Wildcat Tribune) | Victorian Corsets: Dangerous or Misunderstood? (HistoryExtra)

Syphilis and Other STBBIs: Syphilis Treatment and Monitoring (UpToDate) | Sexually Transmitted Infections and Blood-Borne Pathogens (Manitoba Health) | History of syphilis (Wikipedia)

Cast Iron Cookware: The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need to Go Away (Serious Eats)

The Canadian Political System: Debunking Myths: Unraveling Misconceptions about Canadian Political Parties (Chris Wick News) | Three Myths That Shape Canadian Politics (Law & Liberty) | 10 Political Misconceptions About Canada (Listverse) | Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Wikipedia) | Charter of Rights and Freedoms (History of Rights) | Canadians confused about charter rights (CityNews Vancouver) | The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Government of Canada) | List of current senators of Canada (Wikipedia) | List of federal political parties in Canada (Wikipedia) | Majority and Minority Governments (Government of Canada) | Responsible Government (Government of Canada) | Governor General of Canada (Wikipedia) | List of governors general of Canada (Wikipedia) | Motion of no confidence (Wikipedia) | Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (Wikipedia) | Nepean Members of Parliament (House of Commons of Canada) | Comparing Electoral Systems (Elections Canada’s Civic Education) | How Do Canadian Legislatures Differ from their U.S. State Counterparts? (MultiState) | Canadian and American Governance: A Comparative Look (Government of Alberta)

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Originally published 17 September 2018.

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Laura, Ashlyn, and Lauren discuss the history and future of patent medicine, from snake oil and Piso’s Cure for Consumption through Bovinine and bitters all the way to the Burzynski Clinic.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that delves into issues of science, critical thinking, and secular humanism.

Note: Additional music in this episode by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

Patent Medicine: Patent medicine (Wikipedia) | Snake oil (Wikipedia)

Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound: Advertising Motherhood with the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company (Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study) | Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound (The Embryo Project Encyclopedia) | Lydia Pinkham (Wikipedia)

Piso’s Consumption Cure: The Great American Fraud, by Samuel Hopkins Adams (Wikisource) | Piso’s Trio: One Step Ahead of the Law (Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors)

Micajah’s Medicated Wafers: Micajah’s Medicated Wafers (Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health) | The Fundamental Antagonism: Veritism and Commerce in Medical Practice (Bennett Holman)

Bovinine: Bovinine (National Museum of American History) | Bovinine Beef Food Tonic (National Museum of American History) | The Bovinine Co. blotter (National Museum of American History) | 15 Curious Quack Remedies From the Age of Patent Medicine (Mental Floss) | Bovinine, by the Bovinine Company (Google Books) | Bovinine Bottle | New Haven Morning Journal and Courier (1895-06-19) | Hand Book of Haematherapy with Clinical Reports, 1902, by the Bovinine Company | The Medical Times and Register (Google Books) | The Popular Science News and Boston Journal of Chemistry (Google Books) | Hemotherapy (Wikipedia) | Misbranding of Bovinina. U.S. v. Bovinine Co. (National Library of Medicine)

Soda Pop & Bitters: Angostura bitters (Wikipedia) | ‘Pop’ Culture: Patent Medicines Become Soda Drinks (CSI) | A Brief History of Bitters (Smithsonian)

Right to Try and the Burzynski Clinic: Right-to-try law (Wikipedia) | “Right to try” laws and Dallas Buyers’ Club: Great movie, terrible for patients and terrible policy (Science-Based Medicine) | The cruel sham that is right-to-try raises its ugly head at the federal level again (Science-Based Medicine) | Burzynski Clinic (Wikipedia)

Ian James and the Combo Breakers: The Broken Among Us by Ian James and the Combo Breakers (SoundCloud) | The Broken Among Us by Ian James and the Combo Breakers (BandCamp)

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Originally published 17 September 2018.

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn is joined by Lauren, Laura, and Gem to discuss right-wing authoritarianism and how to fight it.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

Fascism 101: Ur-Fascism (Umberto Eco, The Anarchist Library) | Fascism (Wikipedia) | Neo-fascism (Wikipedia) | Fascist symbolism (Wikipedia) | List of symbols designated by the Anti-Defamation League as hate symbols (Wikipedia) | Trump and the Nazi symbol of the Odal Rune (International Auschwitz Committee) | Paradox of tolerance (Wikipedia) | The Warning Signs of Fascism: They’re Subtle Sometimes (Ambysoft) | Fascism – Authoritarianism, Nationalism, Militarism (Britannica) | How to Spot a (Potential) Fasc!st (YouTube)

How to Join the Resistance: U.S. could lose democracy status, says global watchdog (Radio-Canada.ca) | Without the Awful Roar of Its Many Waters (Margaret Killjoy) | The only thing that can stop Trump is a general strike (Nora Loreto) | Into the Demiground (Margaret Killjoy) | Margaret Killjoy – A Short and Incomplete Guide For New Activists (Anarchist Federation) | Fascism is rising out of the corpse of liberal democracy (Nora Loreto) | We failed to stop the rise of fascism. What comes next? (Robert Evans, The Anarchist Library) | The Sky is Falling; We’ve Got This (Margaret Killjoy) | The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide (Verfassungsblog on Matters Constitutional) | Black Trowel Collective Microgrants | How to Build an Antifascist Movement (The Walrus) | Yale professor who studies fascism fleeing US to work in Canada (The Guardian) | Canada’s little-known anti-socialist internment camps (Briarpatch Magazine)

The Intersection of Fascism and Healthcare: Hate fascism? Then don’t be a health supremacist (Maarten Steenhagen) | The Rise of Medical Fascism (The Nation) | Medical Care, Nazism, and the Holocaust (Experiencing History: Holocaust Sources in Context) | This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops (404 Media)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem is joined by Lauren, Ashlyn, and Laura to talk in some detail about Elon Musk’s misadventures, including his history with PayPal, the Hyperloop and the Boring Company, and some of the less savoury aspects of his family life.

Not covered in detail here (as it’s been covered exhaustively elsewhere): Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, OpenAI, Twitter, and Elon Musk’s history of making extremely wrong, extremely dangerous predictions. (See the Bonus links below.).

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

An “Ideas Guy”: Elon Musk calls British diver in Thai cave rescue ‘pedo’ in baseless attack (The Guardian) | The Biggest Challenges That Stand in the Way of Hyperloop (Interesting Engineering) | What We Know About Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine Rumor (Snopes.com)

Zip2, X.com, Confinity, and PayPal: Was Elon Musk Fired from PayPal? (Snopes.com) | How PayPal bros ousted Elon Musk from CEO job, saved SpaceX (New York Post) | The Elon Musk & PayPal Story: Why He Was Removed (Shortform Books) | 21 Years Ago Elon Musk Was Fired from Paypal — Here’s How He Bounced Back (Entrepreneurship Handbook) | Why Was Elon Musk Fired From Paypal (CEO Influencers) | PayPal (Wikipedia) | The History of PayPal (TheStreet.com) | Timeline of PayPal (Wikipedia) | Zip2 (Wikipedia) | X.com (bank) (Wikipedia) | Confinity (Wikipedia) | Why is Elon Musk obsessed with the letter X? (The Independent) | Can Canadians Finally Use Venmo in 2025? Here’s the Truth (Mac Issues) | Is Venmo Available in Canada? (The Financial Geek) | Why You Can’t Venmo In Canada (The Peak) | How PayPal took over Canada (Montréal Guardian)

The Boring Company: Elon Musk’s underground transit system in Las Vegas is a magnet to trespassers and confused drivers who have to be escorted out (Fortune) | Elon Musk’s Boring Company is building tunnels to nowhere (Vox) | The Boring Company: What It Is, Products, and the Elon Musk Factor (Investopedia) | Prufrock (The Boring Company) | I Took Elon Musk’s Las Vegas Loop And It’s Just As Dumb As I Was Expecting (Jalopnik) | The financial pickle facing Elon Musk’s Las Vegas Loop system (TechCrunch) | Almost 7 Years Ago, Elon Musk Announced He’d Turn Tunnel Dirt Into ‘Bricks For Low-Cost Housing.’ Another One Of His Ideas That Fizzled Out? (Yahoo! Finance) | The Boring Company goes brick-and-mortar with The Brick Store (TechCrunch) | The Evolution of Tunnel Boring Machines (Construction Physics) | The Vegas Tesla Loop Is A Glorified Crosswalk (Jalopnik) | Vegas Loop workers burned, report says; Boring Co. faces $100K in fines (The Strip) | Elon Musk’s Boring Company plan for a 69-station ‘Vegas Loop’ is anything but nice (The Verge) | The hyperloop is dead for real this time (The Verge) | Musk’s Boring Company makes list of ‘Dirty Dozen’ workplace safety offenders (Nevada Current)

Elon’s Family Life: Elon Musk’s ex-wife refutes his claim that firstborn child died in his arms (The Independent) | Talulah Riley opens up about still loving Elon Musk and asking him to buy Twitter (The Independent) | Vivian Jenna Wilson on Being Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter, Protecting Trans Youth and Taking on the Right Online (Teen Vogue) | 6 times Vivian Wilson murdered her father Elon Musk with words (Pride) | Elon Musk quietly dating musician Grimes (Page Six) | Elon Musk’s Wives, Women, and Kids: A Deep Dive Into His Long and Messy Relationship History (Glamour) | Elon Musk’s First Wife Justine Musk Talks Their Messy Divorce (Marie Claire) | Elon Musk’s 13 Children: All About the Controversial Billionaire’s Many Kids (Parade) | SpaceX Paid $250,000 to a Flight Attendant Who Accused Elon Musk of Sexual Misconduct (Business Insider)

Bonus: Elon’s History of Making Dangerous Predictions That Will Get People Killed: List of predictions for autonomous Tesla vehicles by Elon Musk (Wikipedia) | Elon Musk’s False Covid Predictions: A Timeline (Forbes)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Laura, Ashlyn, and Lauren talk scams and charlatans. On this episode: George Mickum’s fake Birkin Bags, the “Pig Butchering” romance scam that manages to make crypto even more fraudulent, useless “AI-powered” weapon scanners, and M. Lamar Keene’s run-ins with the “Psychic Mafia”.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

George Mickum’s Birkin Bags: The Hermès Birkin bag: Everything you need to know about the world’s most coveted tote (CNN) | Guest of a Guest writer accused of selling fake Birkins (Page Six) | Birkin Bag Scammer Also Hawked Fake Jewels (Avenue Magazine) | Manhattanite scammer allegedly sold counterfeit Birkin bags (Jezebel) | The Birkin Bag Grifter Had Some Shady Hamptons Deals, Too (Avenue Magazine) | Age is nothing for this fashion consultant (WTOP News)

Pig Butchering: Warning on crypto and romance frauds (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre) | Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority Warns Investors About "Pig Butchering Scams" in Advertising Campaign (Government of Saskatchewan) | How Human Traffickers Force Victims Into Cyberscamming (ProPublica) | How Pig Butchering Scams Work (ProPublica)

AI Weapon Scanners: New safety officers at Manitoba’s largest hospital will be properly equipped, health minister says (CBC News) | Weapons scanners to be installed at some HSC entrances in coming weeks (Winnipeg Free Press) | HSC weapons detectors panned by nurse after knives go undetected (Winnipeg Free Press) | The AI gun detectors NYC is testing on the subway trigger false positives (The Verge)

M. Lamar Keene: M. Lamar Keene (Wikipedia) | Camp Chesterfield (Wikipedia) | Camp Chesterfield Exposure – Lamar Keene (YouTube) | True-believer syndrome (Wikipedia) | Scam the bereaved, defraud the dead: the shocking crimes of America’s greatest psychic conman (The Guardian Podcasts) | Fake Psychic (BBC Audio)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Laura, Ashlyn, Lauren, Gem, and Ris discuss fasting from a personal, cultural, religious, and physiologic perspective.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that explores the intersection of science and society.

Note: Apologies for the subpar audio quality on this episode: we had to record without some of our usual equipment.

Links: From starvation to time-restricted eating: a review of fasting physiology (International Journal of Obesity) | Physiology, Fasting (StatPearls NCBI Bookshelf) | Adherence and Retention in Early or Late Time-Restricted Eating: A Narrative Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (Nutrition Reviews) | Intermittent fasting and health outcomes: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (The Lancet) | Obesity in Adults: Dietary Therapy (UpToDate) | The Effect of Intermittent Fasting on Appetite: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PMC) | Intermittent Fasting: Women vs. Men (ISSA) | The Definitive Guide to Intermittent Fasting For Men Over 40 (The Fit Father Project) | Why Nutrition Is Different for Men and Women (Cleveland Clinic) | How to Market Weight Loss Programs to Men (OppGen) | Marketing Masculinity: The Meat of the Matter (Sentient Media) | Men, Meat, and Marketing (Food and Wine) | Meat is masculine: how food advertising perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes (The Conversation) | Real Men & Real Food: The Cultural Politics of Male Weight Loss (Nursing Clio) | Eating Disorders in Males is Becoming More Prevalent and Deadly (Eating Disorder Hope) | Eating Disorders in Men and Boys (National Eating Disorders Association) | Statistics on Anorexia in Men & Boys (The Bulimia Project) | What are the prevalence rates, risk factors, comorbidities and psychological correlates of Orthorexia Nervosa in men? A systematic review of the existing literature (Chayah Guishard, ResearchGate) | Orthorexia and Men: End of the Meat and Potato Diet? (Eating Disorder Hope) | Orthorexia nervosa (Wikipedia) | Intermittent Fasting Linked to Disordered Eating, Compulsive Exercise (Healthine)

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Originally published 14 January 2019.

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Laura, and Ashlyn dive into three unscientific practices: flower remedies, feng shui, and iridology.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that delves into issues of science, critical thinking, and secular humanism.

Flower Remedies: The Original Bach Flower Remedies Information and Sale (Directly from Nature) | Rescue Remedy is an effective all-natural stress, anxiety reliever, study suggests (Medical News Today) | Bach flower remedies: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials (Swiss Medical Weekly) | Bach Flower Remedies (Science-Based Medicine)

Feng Shui: Types of Feng Shui (The Feng Shui Society) | Feng shui (RationalWiki) | Feng shui (Wikipedia) | Yin and yang (Wikipedia) | Qi (Wikipedia) | Bagua (Wikipedia) | Chi, or Universal Energy in Feng Shui (The Spruce) | Understanding the Feng Shui Bagua (The Spruce) | Open Up Blocking Walls with Feng Shui (The Spruce) | Episode 124: Ancient Discoveries (LUEE)

Iridology: Iridology (Wikipedia) | Iridology Not Useful and Potentially Harmful (JAMA Ophthalmology) | An Evaluation of Iridology (JAMA) | Looking for gall bladder disease in the patient’s iris (BMJ) | An investigation of the relationship between anatomical features in the iris and systemic disease, with reference to iridology (Complementary Therapies in Medicine) | Does Iris Change Over Time? (PLoS One)

Other Pseudosciences: Flat Earth: A Measured Response (Hbomberguy) | Episode 96: The Moon Landing Conspiracy (LUEE) | Episode 100: Silly Pseudoscience Special! (LUEE) | Episode 106: Parapsychology (LUEE) | Episode 108: Cryptozoology & Mythical Creatures (LUEE)

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