Maintenance Phase

The rise, fall and rise of the most nonsensical conspiracy theory we've ever heard.

Thanks to Gregg Gonsalves for helping us fact-check this episode! 

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• Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories and Pseudoscience in a Post-COVID World
• Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge
• The Duesberg Phenomenon
• AIDS Denialism Beliefs among People Living with HIV/AIDS
• HIV Denial in the Internet Era
• HIV Denial in the COVID Era
• How COVID conspiracy theories led to an alarming resurgence in AIDS denialism
• The Man Who Thought AIDS Was All In The Mind
• AIDS "Dissident" Seeks Redemption
• Truth and Heresy About AIDS
• Defending the boundaries of science
• Justice After AIDS Denialism
• AIDS Denialism vs. Science
• The Unbeliever
• Estimating the lost benefits of ARV use in South Africa
• Conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS
• Are HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs a Barrier to HIV Prevention Among African Americans?
• HIV causes AIDS: Koch's postulates fulfilled
• AIDS And The Scientific Governance Of Medicine In Post-Apartheid South Africa
• The Denialists
• Has Duesberg a right of reply?

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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We’re nearly halfway through Trump's second term and we still don’t have a Surgeon General. What gives?

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• White House withdraws nomination of Janette Nesheiwat
• Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Distorted Key Parts of Her Résumé 
• Dr. Janette Nesheiwat takes role at Walter Reed treating Havana Syndrome
• When Did RFK Jr Start Listening to Calley and Casey Means? 
• What Casey Means and MAHA Want You to Fear
• Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Is Tearing the MAHA Movement Apart
• Trump surgeon general pick said mushrooms helped her find love
• The Dizzying Rise of MAHA Warrior Calley Means
• Casey Means Poised to Become Nation’s Top Doctor 
• Casey Means discloses financial ties to supplement industry 
• Laura Loomer Targets Trump’s Pick for Surgeon General
• The Bad Science of Good Energy 
• Trump's Surgeon General Pick Tried to Trademark MAHA 
• Can Trump's latest pick for surgeon general make it through confirmation?
• New surgeon general pick in deleted posts criticized Trump, RFK Jr
• Trump’s pick for SG sells supplement with ingredient banned by Pentagon 
• Trump’s new surgeon general pick deepens MAHA-MAGA rift

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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In the 1980s, a low-sodium diet was seen as the gold standard for healthy behavior. In 2026, salt has been repackaged as “electrolytes” and is now cast as a core component of wellness. How did we get here?

Also, an important correction: One pound of butter to one pound of potatoes is Joel Robuchon’s recipe.

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• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
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Links!

• The 25 Saltiest Restaurant Meals in America 
• Facts, Issues, and Controversies in Salt Reduction for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease 
• Salt Wars 
• The INTERSALT Study: background, methods, findings, and implications
• Sodium reduction
• Sodium Intake Reduction: An Important But Elusive Public Health Goal
• Effects of Diet and Sodium Intake
• Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease
•  Racial and Ethnic Differences in Sodium Sources and Sodium Reduction Behaviors Among US Adults
• The Great Salt Debate: So Bad?
• Salt guidelines draw heavy backlash
• Sodium Reduction in US Households’ Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases
• Blood pressure lowering efficacy of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for primary hypertension

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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We're joined by Mike's If Books Could Kill co-host to revisit a biohacking diet book for the boys.

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Links!

• The 4-Hour Body
• Does Glycemic Index Matter for Weight Loss? An Examination of the Evidence 
• New! Improved! Shape Up Your Life! 
• The 4-Hour Body: The Real App You Are Working On Is An App Called Yourself

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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What do you do when you've flamed out as a Hollywood actor, a political commentator and a wellness guru? You make a YouTube channel.

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• Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults and abuse
• Exposing Russell Brand
• Russell Brand And The Conspiracy Grift
• Russell Brand on revolution
• Celebrity Capital in the Political Field: Russell Brand’s migration from stand-up comedy to Newsnight
• “Arthur” lawsuit against Brand
• BBC says it received five complaints about presenter
• Woman says star exposed himself to her 
• Russell Brand, Seriously
• How the U.S. is sabotaging its best tools to prevent deaths in the opioid epidemic
• Russell Brand And The Conspiracy Grift
• Russell Brand’s fellow travellers should defend their claims in court

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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Tracing the left-to-right political trajectory of the unfunniest man in British comedy.

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• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
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Links!

• Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults and abuse
• Exposing Russell Brand
• Russell Brand And The Conspiracy Grift
• Russell Brand on revolution
• Celebrity Capital in the Political Field: Russell Brand’s migration from stand-up comedy to Newsnight
• “Arthur” lawsuit against Brand
• BBC says it received five complaints about presenter
• Woman says star exposed himself to her 
• Russell Brand, Seriously
• How the U.S. is sabotaging its best tools to prevent deaths in the opioid epidemic
• Russell Brand And The Conspiracy Grift
• Russell Brand’s fellow travellers should defend their claims in court

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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The rags-to-riches tale of how an illegal methamphetamine manufacturer became a legal methamphetamine manufacturer.

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• How the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 Weakened the FDA
• Mad About Metabolife
• Stimulant Propels Diet Empire
• The dangers of the herb ephedra - Harvard Health 
• An Historical Review of Steps and Missteps in the Discovery of Anti-Obesity Drugs 
• Weight Loss the Herbal Way: No All-Natural Silver Bullet
• Over-the-Counter-Strategy - The Washington Post 
• Anxious Pill-Maker Puts ABC Interview on the Web
• A 'Neutral' Comment, a Company's Tough Reaction
• Metabolife Intern., Inc. v. Wornick (S.D. Cal. 1999) 
• Ephedra hearings in the US House of Representatives 
• Expert Panel Finds Flaws In Diet Pill Safety Study
• Letter Urging a Criminal Investigation of Metabolife - Public Citizen 
• Perspective; Regulation of Dietary Drugs Is Long Overdue
• No Limit, for Now, on a Dieting Supplement
• U.S. Bans Dietary Supplement Linked to Number of Deaths

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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Once widely banned, raw milk consumption is on the rise and states are repealing their bans. No one’s happier about that than the far right. How did we get here?

NOTE: In the retelling of Pasteur’s early pasteurization, Aubrey misspoke! The culprit wasn’t lactic yeast, it was lactic acid bacteria. Sorry for the slip up!

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• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
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Links!

• Milk!: A 10,000 Year Food Fracas
• U.S. Consumer survey
• The Effects of Pasteurization on Vitamins
• Lingering Heat over Pasteurized Milk
• How pasteurization improves safety
• Swill-Milk and Infant Mortality
• Alta Dena (Court case 1, Court case 2, Alta Dena's raw milk history)
• A Raw Milk Magnate Has Spent Years Fighting Public Health Agencies
• Should This Milk Be Legal?
• The Amish farmer who ignited outrage over raw milk
• Why Are People Promoting Raw Milk? 
• The Quest for Raw Milk
• Some Raw Truths About Raw Milk
• Right Wing Commentators Are Pushing Misinformation
• How Raw Milk Went From Hippie to MAGA 
• Here's why raw milk drinkers need to be concerned about bird flu
• Influencers promote raw milk 

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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One blogger bravely pushes back against Starbucks, Subway and basic scientific facts.

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• Taking On the Food Industry, One Blog Post at a Time
• How the ‘Food Babe’ Went From Obama Ally to Trump Crusader
• Activist or Capitalist? How the 'Food Babe' Makes Money
• Latest Food Scare: What Is The 'Yoga Mat' Chemical - And Why Is It In Your Food? 
• Almost 500 Foods Contain The 'Yoga Mat' Compound. Should We Care? 
• Are You Eating This Ingredient Banned All Over the World?
• The "Food Babe" Blogger is Full of Shit 
• Are Microwaves Safe? 
• Global Food Security Index 2022 
• Differences between EU and US nutrition labels go far beyond ounces and grams
• Is Food Really Better in Europe?
• Vani Hari: How She Grew Her Food Blog Into An Empire
• Food blogger asks Kraft to stop using dye in mac and cheese
• Meet the food blogger influencing RFK Jr.
• Food Babe blogger Vani Hari taking heat over health science 

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

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Why are you, as a man, afraid of sunflowers.

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• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
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Links!

• The O6-O3 ratio: A critical appraisal
• Seed Oils: Are They Actually Toxic?
• No need to avoid healthy omega-6 fats
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
• Do Seed Oils Make You Sick?
• Seed oils: Are they healthy or harmful?
• ToxGuide: Hexane
• Dietary linoleic acid intake and blood inflammatory markers
• Effect of dietary alpha-linolenic acid on blood inflammatory markers
• Changes in consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
• The Skinny on Fats
• Dietary oleic acid drives obesogenic adipogenesis
• How Seed Oils May Be Affecting Your Body Fat and Health
• Stanford nutrition expert breaks down effects of seed oils
• The Newest Bitcoin Diet Trend Is Hating ‘Seed Oils’
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Coronary Artery Disease
• The Great Con-ola

Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

Support the show