Life, the Universe & Everything Else

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, it’s another cryptid spectacular! Gem relates the story of the Mothman of West Virginia, Ashlyn tells the tale of a naturalist lost at sea, Lauren explains why driving while exhausted isn’t such a good idea, and Laura introduces everyone to the most pitiful cryptid of all.

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

Mothman: Point Pleasant Register, 1966-11-16 (Web Archive) | Mothman Clippings (West Virginia Archives & History) | TNT Area, Point Pleasant, West Virginia (Atlas Obscura) | Welcome To The ‘TNT Area,’ Home of the Mothman (NPR) | Man photographs creature that resembles legendary “Mothman” of Point Pleasant (WCHS8 Eyewitness News)

Steller’s Sea Ape: The Secret History Behind Steller’s Sea Ape (The Portalist) | Steller’s Sea Ape: Identifying an Eighteenth-Century Cryptid (Skeptical Inquirer) | Georg Wilhelm Steller (Wikipedia) | Steller’s sea ape (Wikipedia) | Northern fur seal (Wikipedia) | Steller’s sea cow (Wikipedia)

Squonk!: What Is a Squonk, Anyway? (Tedium) | Fearsome critters, by Henry H. Tryon (HathiTrust Digital Library) | Squonkapalooza | Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, by William Thomas Cox (Internet Archive) | What is a squonk? Pa.’s ‘quaint’ beast cries over how ugly it is (PennLive) | Chemical Squonks (Chemical Innovation) | Genesis – Squonk (YouTube)

Black Dogs: How old is that story, bro?: Trucking tales, legends, ghosts (Overdrive) | Black dog (Wikipedia) | The Legend of the Black Dog (Shorebread) | Black Dogs and Englishmen: Black Shuck in English Folklore (Icy Sedgwick) | Black Dog (The Folklore Podcast) | Black Shuck (Wikipedia) | The Hound of the Baskervilles (Wikipedia) | 20 Urban Legends That Truckers Wish Would Go Away (Highway Driver Leasing) | Legend of the Black Dog (Tetrapod Zoology) | Hypnagogic Hallucinations: Why You Might Have Them (WebMD)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Gem, and Laura are joined by LUEE editor Ris to discuss some of the ways science and society have changed in the last two decades.

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

Taste Buds: The Taste Map of the Tongue You Learned in School Is All Wrong (Smithsonian Magazine) | What Are Taste Buds? (Cleveland Clinic) | The Deliciously Surprising Science of Taste (WIRED) | Umami (Wikipedia)

Planets, Oceans, and Continents: Pluto (Wikipedia) | Southern Ocean (Wikipedia) | Zealandia (Wikipedia)

Screening Guidelines: Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care | United States Preventive Services Taskforce | History of ACS Recommendations for the Early Detection of Cancer in People Without Symptoms (American Cancer Society) | Breast cancer statistics (Canadian Cancer Society)

Brontosaurus: The Brontosaurus Is Back (Scientific American) | Back to Brontosaurus? The Dinosaur Might Deserve Its Own Genus After All (Smithsonian Magazine) | Return of the Brontosaurus: Q&A with the Peabody’s Jacques Gauthier (YaleNews) | Brontosaurus (Wikipedia) | The Big Dinosaur Debate: Is It an Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus? (HowStuffWorks) | Why is “Brontosaurus” now called Apatosaurus? | Beloved Brontosaurus makes a comeback (Nature) | Brontosaurus: reinstating a prehistoric icon (Natural History Museum) | DINO History (Sinclair Oil Corporation)

Queer Drama in Northern Minnesota: Queer Drama in Northern Minnesota (Spreaker)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and Gem continue their discussion of modern evangelical crusaders, with a focus on Billy Graham and Youth with a Mission.

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

Youth with a Mission (YWAM): YWAM King’s Kids Winnipeg (Youth with a Mission) | “YWAM is dangerous. I spent 12 years under the influence” (Cult Education Institute) | Spiritual Abuse a Common Complaint for YWAM Students (MinistryWatch) | YWAM Is a Cult (Reddit) | On Being in a Cult (Abigail Baldwin) | Response to Article (YWAM Perth Australia) | YWAM: A Dynamic “Movement” of Hundreds of Ministries, but Not an Organization (The Roys Report) | Was I In a Cult? My Experience in Youth With a Mission (Stephen Bradford Long) | #YWAMToo: My Sexual Abuse Story (Rebecca Lujan Loveless)

Billy Graham: Billy Graham was a truly nasty man (Jonathan Poletti) | Jesus was ‘effeminate’ (Jonathan Poletti) | Billy Graham rule (Wikipedia) | The Alpha-Male Style in American Evangelicalism (Christianity Today) | Franklin Graham rebukes claim Jesus has transgender body, vagina (Christian Post) | How Billy Graham weaponized white evangelical Christian power in America (MSNBC) | Rev. Franklin Graham a birther? (POLITICO)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem is joined by Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and returning guest Kyle Joseph to discuss Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, some of the very worst televangelists.

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

Pat Robertson: Pat Robertson (Wikipedia) | The 700 Club (Wikipedia) | Robertson Allowed to Drop Libel Suit If Court Costs Paid (The Washington Post) | The Televangelist and the Warlord (The Nation) | Pat Robertson Urges Christian Woman to Quit Her Job So She Doesn’t Get ‘Infected’ by Buddhist Co-Workers (Christian Post) | Farewell to Pat Robertson, Enemy of Gays and Friend of Warlords (Skepchick)

Jerry Falwell: The Liberty Way (Liberty University) | The Liberty Way 1996–97 (Jerry Falwell Library) | “The Liberty Way”: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults (ProPublica) | ‘Someone’s Gotta Tell the Freakin’ Truth’: Jerry Falwell’s Aides Break Their Silence (Politico) | Sen. Jesse Helms, friend of Liberty University, dies at 86 (Liberty University) | A Biography of Jerry Falwell (CBS News) | Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies (The New York Times) | Auburn’s shameful Hugh Freeze hire shouldn’t be surprising at all (SBNation.com) | Inside Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Unlikely Rise and Precipitous Fall at Liberty University (Vanity Fair)

Wednesday Night Wallop: Wednesday Night Wallop (Twitter) | Podcast Feed

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Laura, Ashlyn, and Lauren continue their discussion of products marketed to podcast listeners. On part two, Lauren does some composting with Lomi and Ashlyn discusses Noom’s approach to weight-loss.

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

Ashlyn’s Website: Noble & Whimsical: Glass Memorials

Lomi Composter: Lomi | Lomi Compost: Reviewing the Lomi Composter (Epic Gardening) | Lomi Composter – Review of cost, how it works & is it worth it? (Cansumer) | “Soil” vs. “Dirt” (Colby Digs Soil)

Noom: Noom review: How does this weight-loss program work? (USA Today) | Noom Diet Review (2023): Costs, Pros and Cons (Forbes Health) | What Is Noom? RDs Review How The Noom Diet Works Plus Cost (Women’s Health) | Can You Diet AND Do Intuitive Eating? (Christy Harrison, Intuitive Eating Dietitian) | Noom Is Just a Diet App. Our Expectations Are What’s Different. (Teen Vogue) | Noom – Nothing New, Everything Harmful (Dances with Fat) | Noom: Toxic Diet Culture in Disguise (Irene E. Schultz)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Laura, Ashlyn, and Lauren discuss some of the products marketed to our listeners through ads on (other) podcasts. In part one, Gem subjects the panel to MUD\WTR and Laura tosses back some AG1 by Athletic Greens.

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

MUD\WTR: I found it. The most annoying alternative food product on earth. (SFGate) | MUD\WTR Review: Healthier Than Coffee? (Illuminate Labs) | Does Mud Wtr Have Caffeine? If So How Much? (Drug Genius) | Functional medicine: The ultimate misnomer in the world of integrative medicine (Science-Based Medicine) | Reflection Paper on the Adaptogenic Concept (European Medicines Agency) | MUD\WTR Reviews (Trustpilot) | DIY Mud Water Recipe for Cheap (YouTube) | Episode 77: Coffee & Tea (LUEE)

AG1: What are adaptogens and should you be taking them? (UCLA Health) | Herbs & Supplements (Winchester Hospital) | Ingredients and Benefits (Athletic Greens) | Athletic Greens Review (Forbes Health) | What are adaptogens? (Vox) | Digestive Enzyme Supplements: Benefits, Risks and More (Forbes Health) | Water, Hydration and Health (PMC) | Ashwagandha (Merck Manuals Professional Edition) | Reishi (Merck Manuals Professional Edition) | Bromelain (Mount Sinai Hospital) | Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) an edible mushroom; a comprehensive and critical review of its nutritional, cosmeceutical, mycochemical, pharmacological, clinical, and toxicological properties (PubMed)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and Dave watch C Me Dance, 2009’s hit Christian film about a ballerina with cancer who gets magic powers. Then Gem answers some questions about AI.

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

C Me Dance: C Me Dance (IMDb) | C Me Dance (Wikipedia) | C Me Dance Review (Eric D. Snider)

Large Language Models and “AI” Panic: The AI hype bubble is the new crypto hype bubble (Cory Doctorow) | ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web (The New Yorker) | Episode 116: Risk (LUEE)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Laura, and Gem are skeptical about historical claims large and small. Was there really a secret Roman emperor named Sponsianus? Did the Dutch really go wild for tulips in the seventeenth century? Are you in a black hole right now?

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

Emperor Sponsianus: fact or forgery?: Gold coin proves ‘fake’ Roman emperor was real (BBC News) | Authenticating coins of the ‘Roman emperor’ Sponsian (PLOS ONE) | Is Sponsian real? Further Considerations (American Numismatic Society) | An Expert Opinion on Sponsianus (CoinsWeekly) | Domitian II (Wikipedia)

Did Holland really go wild for tulips?: There Never Was a Real Tulip Fever (Smithsonian Magazine) | What was Tulip Mania? Tulip Mania Overview & Crash (Study.com) | Tulipmania: About the Dutch Tulip Bulb Market Bubble (Investopedia) | Calvinism (The Canadian Encyclopedia) | Tulip mania (Wikipedia)

Are you in a black hole right now?: There’s a conspiracy theory that the world ended in 2012 and it makes sense (Upworthy) | Did The World End In 2012? A Mandela Effect Theory (YouTube) | What Is the Mandela Effect? Examples and Explanations (Verywell Mind) | 10 Questions You Might Have About Black Holes (NASA) | Fact check: No black holes created by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (USA Today) | Will CERN generate a black hole? (CERN) | The Higgs boson (CERN)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Gem, and Laura talk about more scams and scam artists, featuring a famous surgeon, a wine counterfeiter, a Canadian investment fund, and of course that Republican politician everyone’s talking about.

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

Paulo Macchiarini: Dr Con Man: the rise and fall of a celebrity scientist who fooled almost everyone (The Guardian) | Reading about embattled trachea surgeon Paolo Macchiarini? Here’s what you need to know (Retraction Watch) | The Celebrity Surgeon Who Used Love, Money, and the Pope to Scam an NBC News Producer (Vanity Fair) | Sweden: surgeon convicted of bodily harm over synthetic trachea transplant (The Guardian) | Paolo Macchiarini (Wikipedia)

The Crocus Fund: Crocus Investment Fund final wind-down plan approved by Manitoba court (CBC News) | An empty bank account could finally spell the end of the Crocus Investment Fund wind-down (CBC News) | Final settlement reached in Crocus Fund lawsuit (CBC News) | An end in sight for Crocus investors (Investment Executive) | Manitoba fund scandal grows (The Globe and Mail) | Crocus hit with $200 million lawsuit (Advisor’s Edge) | Anatomy of an alleged fraud (Winnipeg Free Press) | Manitoba whistleblower transferred to ‘non-job’ and read novels until retirement (Yahoo! News) | Crocus Investment Fund (Wikipedia) | Astra Credit Union remains tight-lipped on cheque scam (Winnipeg Free Press) | Bills (The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba)

George Santos: Here’s Every Single Lie Told by George Santos (New York Magazine) | Embattled Republican George Santos Won’t Serve on House Committees (BNN Bloomberg) | Canadian politics is not immune to George Santos-like behaviour (National Post)

Rudy Kurniawan: After Kurniawan’s Conviction, What Now for Fine Wine? (Wine-Searcher) | The man who sold millions in counterfeit wine to rich collectors (The Hustle) | Wine con man, ‘Sour Grapes’ subject Rudy Kurniawan deported (Los Angeles Times) | Beyond High-Profile Scandals, Wine Fraud Is Rampant (SevenFifty Daily) | The Jefferson Bottles (The New Yorker) | The Wine Fraud Story – The Beat Goes On! (The Underground Wine Letter)

Cookies!: Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Sally’s Baking Addiction) | Soft & Thick Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe (Sally’s Baking Addiction)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Ashlyn, and Laura discuss the most important news of the twelve months. Who died? What were tech companies up to? And most importantly: Who brought snacks?

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

Update: Shortly after this episode was recorded, vote tallying was completed and QA workers at ZeniMax announced that their union drive was a success. Microsoft has officially recognized the union. ZeniMax Workers United, organized under the Communication Workers of America, which is now the largest union in the American video game industry.

2022 in Tech: A timeline of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter (NBC News) | Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk (Wikipedia) | Twitter under Elon Musk (Wikipedia) | Sony Paid Billions for Bungie and ‘Destiny,’ But What Are They Buying? (Vice) | The Consequences of Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard Are Dizzying (Vice) | WarnerMedia (Wikipedia) | Netflix loses almost a million subscribers (BBC News) | Tech’s Biggest Companies Are Sending Worrying Signals About the Economy (The New York Times) | Top tech stories of 2022: Musk buys Twitter, Facebook’s struggles, TikTok’s rise (Rappler) | This Startup Is Selling Tech to Make Call Center Workers Sound Like White Americans (Vice) | VC firms are getting stingier. Tribe Capital’s struggles show why (Fortune) | Amazon Labor Union | Amazon Labor Union (Wikipedia) | Tech’s Biggest Companies Are Sending Worrying Signals About the Economy (The New York Times) | Activision Blizzard Is Acting Like a Company That’s Scared of a Union (Vice) | Activision Blizzard CEO Says Company Will Recognize Raven Software Union And Begin Negotiations (Game Informer) | Edmonton video game workers vote to unionize, an industry first for Canada (CBC News) | Video Game Workers at Microsoft and Activision Take Steps to Unionize (The New York Times) | Fallout and Doom QA Testers Just Formed the Biggest Union in the US Games Industry (Vice) | Tech Won’t Save Us

2022 in Snacks: Top 10 TikTok food trends 2022: Pink sauce, butter boards and more (CNBC) | What Is the TikTok Pink Sauce Controversy? (The Spruce Eats) | The Most Popular Snack Recipes of 2022 (Bon Appétit) | 7 Viral TikTok Food Trends That Defined 2022 (Eat This) | Cosmo Snack Awards 2022: Best Portable Snacks of the Year (Cosmo)

2022 in Death: World Population Data Sheet 2022 Highlights Excess Deaths Due to COVID-19 (SDG Knowledge Hub) | List of the oldest living people (Wikipedia) | 2022 (Wikipedia) | How many people die and how many are born each year? (Our World in Data) | Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations (Our World in Data)

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Life, the Universe & Everything Else is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://winnipegskeptics.com/