Do Cornflakes and graham crackers make you want to touch yourself? No? Good, that’s part of the goal.

Kate takes Larkin on a journey through the history of sexual repression and how it led to a health food movement focused on avoiding the “sin of self-pleasure.” Proponents of this movement included Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg, who we have to thank for graham crackers and Cornflakes (though it was John Harvey’s brother, W.K., who invented the latter). 

This was a randy one that contains some graphic sexual content, so CONTENT WARNING:: Sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, religious sexual trauma

References

Masturbation euphemisms

https://mashable.com/article/masturbation-slang-euphemisms-list

IVF Ruling

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/the-alabama-supreme-courts-ruling-on-frozen-embryos

https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-press-releases/2020/new-figures-show-how-different-people-are-using-ivf/

History of sexual repression, particularly regarding masturbation

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27505893?mag=a-brief-history-of-masturbation&seq=1

https://hilo.hawaii.edu/campuscenter/hohonu/volumes/documents/Vol06x17SexualRepressionandMasturbation.pdf

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-sin-of-onan

https://hekint.org/2023/11/20/samuel-auguste-andre-david-tissot-1728-1797/

https://archive.org/details/b20442348

https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2020/06/anti-onanism-doctor/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evil-deeds/201801/who-were-the-alienists

Hodges FM. The antimasturbation crusade in antebellum American medicine. J Sex Med. 2005 Sep;2(5):722-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.00133.x. PMID: 16422831.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609515312376

Sylvester Graham

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sylvester-Graham

https://scalar.usc.edu/works/maine-vegetarian-history-project/1834-sylvester-graham-riot-in-portland

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cereal

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/sylvester-graham-and-antebellum-diet-reform

Circumcision

https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/circumcision-does-not-reduce-penile-sensitivity-research-finds

The Kelloggs

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Harvey-Kellogg

Loignon, Austin Eli, "Cornflakes, God, and Circumcision: John Harvey Kellogg and Transatlantic Health Reform" (2019). History Dissertations - Archive. 76.

https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/history_dissertations/76/

https://adventist.org/en/beliefs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_G._White

https://www.battlecreekvisitors.org/blog/post/facts-about-battle-creeks-world-famous-health-spa-in-the-1900s/

https://bentley.umich.edu/about/collections-magazine/spring-2018/citizen-grain/

https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2022posts/the-impact-of-dr-john-harvey-kelloggs-stand-for-eugenics.html

https://disabilityjustice.org/basic-legal-rights/right-to-self-determination-freedom-from-involuntary-sterilization/

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buck-v-bell-1927/

https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/w-k-kellogg

https://www.thefoodhistorian.com/blog/the-real-kellogg-recipe-granula-v-granola

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/06/bloomers-and-breakfast-cereal-james-caleb-jackson-and-the-founding-of-a-health-movement/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shredded_wheat

https://www.britannica.com/biography/C-W-Post

Kinsey and De-stigmatization

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1447862/

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-nov-15-he-kinsey15-story.html

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/national-masturbation-month-history

https://www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/stories/the-debate-over-sex-education-and-its-consequences

Good Vibes

https://www.goodvibes.com/?source=pepperjam&publisherId=21181&clickId=5545181938&utm_source=pjn&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=21181&cvosrc=affiliate.pepperjam.21181

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

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Larkin blindsides Kate with a truly upsetting ruin regarding one of the world’s favorite treats. Learn how chocolate went from ritualistic beverage to corporate juggernaut, built on the backs of people who will never have the luxury of tasting it. 

Content Warning: Violence, torture, child abuse

It’s practically impossible to find ethically sourced cocoa products, but here’s the list Larkin mentions: https://foodispower.org/chocolate-list/

References

YouTube Video - Carla Martin: Cocoa Crisis

https://youtu.be/_a4si2TCw0U

YouTube Video - Carla Martin: “What Makes Chocolate Good?”

https://youtu.be/Z3M9Vswd6Js?si=r_jbanxQJhELXlVl

NC State University Cooperative Extension “The Cacao Tree: From Ancient Mesoamerica to Global Chocolate”  Gene Fox, April 14, 2025

https://beaufort.ces.ncsu.edu/news/the-cacao-tree-from-ancient-mesoamerica-to-global-chocolate/

Cook, L. Russell. "cacao". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Jun. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/plant/cacao

Myhrvold, Nathan, Blumberg, Naomi. "chocolate". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/chocolate

NIH National Library of Medicine: Samanta, Sharmistha et al. “Dark chocolate: An overview of its biological activity, processing, and fortification approaches.” Current research in food science vol. 5 1916-1943. 15 Oct. 2022, doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2022.10.017 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9589144/

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkley: “Does Chocolate Grow on Trees?” December 5, 2025

https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/learn/garden-stories/does-chocolate-grow-on-trees/

History.com Article “History of Chocolate” History.com Editors. May 27, 2026

https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-chocolate

Yucatan Magazine “The Misunderstood History of the Great Aztec Empire” Carlos Rosado van der GrachtMay 19, 2025

https://yucatanmagazine.com/aztec-history/

Indigenous Mexico “Mexica or Aztec: How the Mexicas Were Renamed” 

https://www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/mexica-or-aztec-how-the-mexicas-were-renamed

Aztlán (Aslan)

Tenochtitlan (Tenochiclan)

Huizilopochtili (hoo-ee-chlee-oh-potchli)

Cornell University Library: Online Exhibitions “When Money Grew on Trees”

https://exhibits.library.cornell.edu/chocolate-food-of-the-gods/feature/when-money-grew-on-trees

Cornell Botanic Gardens “For the Love of Chocolate”  Sarah Fiorello February 13, 2024

https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/for-the-love-of-chocolate

World History Encyclopedia “Sugar & the Rise of the Plantation System” James Hancock, June 18, 2021

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1784/sugar--the-rise-of-the-plantation-system/

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University “Chocolate History” 2015

https://ansp.org/press-room/press-releases/2014/chocolate-history

Lowcountry Digital History Initiative - College of Charleston “Voyage of the Echo: Trials of an Illegal Trans-Atlantic Slave Ship - Historical Context: Abolishing the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade” 

https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/voyage-of-the-echo-the-trials/historic-context--abolishing-t

ResearchGate “The bitter and sweet of chocolate in Europe” Carla D. Martin, January 2015

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290471791_The_bitter_and_sweet_of_chocolate_in_Europe

ResearchGate “From Cocoa Farms to Candy Chutes” Dr. Carla Martin & Kathryn Sampeck. January 8, 2021

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375717625_From_Cocoa_Farms_to_Candy_Chutes

The Tufts Daily “Dr. Carla Martin discusses politics of chocolate” Abigail Feldman February 5, 2016

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2016/02/dr-carla-martin-discusses-politics-chocolate-gives-samples-chocolate

Digital Commons: Sackett, Marjie (2008) "Forced Child Labor and Cocoa Production in West Africa," Human Rights & Human Welfare: Vol. 8: Iss. 1, Article 34. 

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/hrhw/vol8/iss1/34/

The Washington Post “Cocoa’s child laborers: Mars, Nestlé and Hershey pledged nearly two decades ago to stop using cocoa harvested by children. Yet much of the chocolate you buy still starts with child labor.” Peter Whoriskey & Rachel Siegel, June 5, 2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/business/hershey-nestle-mars-chocolate-child-labor-west-africa/

Bureau of International Labor Affairs - ‘The Department of Labor’ Exposing Exploitation in Global Supply Chains 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/supply-chains/cocoa

Food Empowerment Project “Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate Industry” 

https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/slavery-in-the-chocolate-industry/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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In honor of America’s 250th birthday, Kate ruins one of the most consistently idealized figures in American history: George Washington.

Content Warning: Violence, gore, slavery, genocide, and rape

Support Kate’s Series: https://www.dogoodpoints.com/fund/meat-cute-series

Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23864638707&gbraid=0AAAAAooDyp12zonjrN5VFMNZ7Gpx9qeJ9&gclid=CjwKCAjw0dPRBhAPEiwAE5vTTn5usyE90QRx1DmrrCX8SyT92PBZkYbv64z7M6U_ZKkEtlkFpvil4hoCwREQAvD_BwE

Mount Vernon Slavery Database:

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/slavery-database

Complete Reference List

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Online privacy isn’t just about your cookie settings. Corporations like Facebook have filed some truly creepy patents that reveal their ability to track everything from dust on your camera lens to who you talked to the most at a party. Target may even know you’re pregnant before you do…

Kate and Larkin are joined by Ben Silver, who made them stutter, hide, and nearly walk away as he reveals all the information companies have about us. Grab your tinfoil hats and prepare to be unsettled. 

About Ben Silver:

Ben holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Math from the University of Hartford, a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and Media from Columbia University, and is currently at Columbia working on his second master’s in Data, Learning, and Society. His research has focused on technology, education, accessibility, culture, and ethics.

As a creator, Ben rides the waves of his unreliable brain chemistry… it’s a fun ride, if you’d like to follow along. He lives in New York City with several dead houseplants, he loves the moon, and he wants you to drink more water. You can follow him on TikTok and Instagram.

To take action against the proposed federal rule:

Leave a public comment on the proposed rule attempting to erase trans and non-binary people: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance

Kate’s language, if you want to base your comment off hers:

“This proposed rule is an insidious attempt to smuggle anti-trans and non-binary sentiment into government funding. It allows for a politically appointed reviewer to deny funding based on ‘denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans or the notion that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic.’ § 200.205(b)(ii). 

§200.205(b)(i) also allows for denial of funding if an organization uses ‘Racial preferences or other forms of racial discrimination by the recipient, including activities where race or intentional proxies for race will be used as a selection criterion for employment or program participation.’ This is incredibly broad and is clearly meant to penalize any organization that dares to focus on the issues faced by non-white communities. 

Denial of funding based on these parameters is atrocious. It will affect not only the communities it attempts to erase, but anyone who hopes to receive help from hospitals or other organizations that may be denied funding based on these sweeping standards. It is, in a word, fascism.

If this rule is to move forward, it should eliminate the portions allowing for witholding of funding based on an organization's acknowledgement of trans and non-binary individuals, and support of non-white communities.

As an attorney and as a citizen, I strongly condemn the language in this proposed rule. The attempted erasure of transgender, non-binary, and non-white individuals by this administration is abhorrent and downright un-American.”

Erin in the Morning article about the above-mentioned proposed rule: https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/fascismnew-federal-rule-would-require

References

Patent: Inferring relationship statuses of users of a social networking system

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150356180A1/en

Patent: Associating cameras with users and objects in a social networking system

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150124107A1/en

Patent: Techniques for emotion detection and content delivery

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150242679A1/en

Patent: Systems and methods for utilizing wireless communications to suggest connections for a user

https://patents.justia.com/patent/10111059

Your phone isn’t secretly listening to you, but the truth is more disturbing

https://newatlas.com/computers/smartphone-listening-conversations-ads-facebook/

Here’s the Pitch Deck for ‘Active Listening’ Ad Targeting

https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/?sh=208c9bd76668

How Companies Learn Your Secrets

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html

(Archived) https://archive.is/20120910190622/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html

Facebook Now Suggesting Friends Found in Imported Contact Lists?

https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/facebook-now-suggesting-friends-found-in-imported-contact-lists/

Social Media Patents & Privacy Data

https://www.metaverselaw.com/facebook-patents-and-privacy-new-ways-to-mine-personal-information/

Facebook Knows How to Track You Using the Dust on Your Camera Lens

https://gizmodo.com/facebook-knows-how-to-track-you-using-the-dust-on-your-1821030620

Uber State Interference

https://www.nelp.org/insights-research/uber-state-interference/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Happy Pride! In the spirit of the season, Kate tells the story of Alan Turing. During World War II, Turing designed a machine that could decrypt tens of thousands of Nazi communications per month, likely shortening the war by several years and saving millions of lives. 

He was lauded as a hero… until it was revealed he was gay. His conviction for “gross indecency” led to the tragic end of a brilliant visionary who pushed computer science forward by leaps and bounds. 

Kate also gives a very high-level overview of the history of computers through the mid-20th century, and discusses the shady Nazi dealings of IBM and its president, Thomas Watson. 

Content Warning: Suicide

References

History of Computers

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/computer

https://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/lebombo.html

https://afrolegends.com/2019/05/17/the-lebombo-bone-the-oldest-mathematical-artifact-in-the-world/

https://mathigon.org/timeline/ishango

https://old.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-ishango-bone

https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5ec33729-835c-5b97-8993-f6ea84bd7617/content

https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/computer/History-of-computing

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital/all

https://control.com/textbook/digital-data-acquisition-and-networks/digital-representation-of-numerical-data/

https://www.paleotechnologist.net/?p=5264

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinknudson/2017/01/21/the-humble-logarithm/

https://www.nps.gov/long/blogs/a-gunter-scale-used-for-navigation-and-mathematics.htm

https://web.mit.edu/2.972/www/reports/slide_rule/slide_rule.html

https://sites.imsa.edu/hadron/2024/04/02/decoding-the-digital-age-how-binary-code-rules-our-world/

http://scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/jacquard-loom

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum

https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/engines/

https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/adalovelace/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666389920301598

Thomas Watson and IBM

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/watson_hi.html

https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/02/carroll-21-and-meirowitz-22-why-is-brown-celebrating-a-nazi-honoree-rename-the-watson-cit

https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/07/archives/1937-hitler-decoration-is-returned-by-watson.html

https://chsi.harvard.edu/harvard-ibm-mark-1-about

IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ICISEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=thomas+j+watson,+Ibm,+and+nazi+germany&ots=dvygruNeA_&sig=pGtz198U3coJnEUA8E6qVvABOzQ#v=onepage&q=thomas%20j%20watson%2C%20Ibm%2C%20and%20nazi%20germany&f=false

Alan Turing

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18419691

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/articles/zhwp7nb#zbmwcxs

15-year-old Alan: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/976xn/p02ck8fl.jpg.webp

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Turing

https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/enigma-codebreaker-alan-turing-two-jewish-refugees/

https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/the-enigma-of-alan-turing/

https://www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/science-engineering/2024/06/18/an-indicted-hero-honouring-alan-turing-as-a-gay-man-failed-by-society-pride-month-2024/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Kate acts as the Scully to Larkin’s Mulder as Larkin walks her through the evidence (of varying credibility) for Nessie’s existence. And like Scully, Kate winds up being less skeptical than when she started. 

We weren't intending to upcycle this week, but we had a guest drop last-minute and didn't have time to put something else together in a thoughtful way. We'll be back all new on the next one with a (sad) story for Pride!

References

https://www.nature.scot/landscapes-and-habitats/habitat-types/lochs-rivers-and-wetlands/freshwater-lochs

​​https://www.historyhit.com/painted-people-who-were-the-picts/#:~:text=Before%20the%20Romans%20came%20to,which%20later%20evolved%20into%20Scotland.

​​https://www.digitscotland.com/scottish-archaeology-and-the-loch-ness-legend/

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14881753

https://www.scotclans.com/pages/the-loch-ness-monster

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/the-library/online-exhibitions/mary-anning-and-the-geological-society/reconstruction-of-life/plesiosaurus-dolichodeirus/

https://www.britannica.com/animal/plesiosaur

Images from sonar and imaging study in the 70s: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cryptozoology/comments/n99p51/photos_from_the_mit_sonar_and_imaging_study_of/

https://www.technologyreview.com/2007/10/15/223418/the-nessie-quest/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most useful, healthy substances on earth. Eating just two tablespoons a day can help prevent heart problems, cancer, and even Alzheimer’s. 

But that’s assuming you have real EVOO, which… you probably don’t. And you might have paid the mafia for the knockoff sitting on your shelf.

Kate, now an olive oil obsessive, enlightens Larkin on the incredible history and science behind olive oil, before discussing the issue of oil fraud that plagues the industry. Then, she gives some tips on how to find good oil from Tom Mueller, author of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. 

Plus, she and Larkin discuss the uncomfortable romanticization of the mafia. 

We want to emphasize that we are NOT trying to turn you off olive oil! We just want to help you maximize the benefits by making sure you find the good stuff. 

References

Tom Mueller, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, Atlantic Books, 2012 

Tom’s article in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/08/13/slippery-business

Tom’s Website: https://www.tommueller.co/extravirginigy

https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/world/mafia-olive-oil-on-60-minutes/50203

https://www.oliveoilsource.com/info/history-of-the-olive

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/celebrations/article/hanukkah

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/add-antioxidants-to-your-diet/art-20546814

https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/olive-oils-health-benefits-and-why-you-should-add-it-to-your-diet/2024/04

https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/what-are-free-radicals-a-dietitian-explains.h00-159699912.html

https://history.state.gov/countries/italy

https://time.com/4788671/hunger-italy-food-culture/

https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2025/05/08/olive-oil-a-major-target-for-food-fraud/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mafia

https://people.howstuffworks.com/mafia.htm#pt1

https://kottke.org/07/11/the-mafias-ten-commandments

https://theweek.com/crime/italian-mafia-why-is-murder-and-extortion-going-out-of-fashion

Toxic Oil Syndrome: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1240833/

Get Gotti on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/watch/81712582

Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80218338

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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Happy 4/20! In honor of the informal holiday, we’re giving you this episode two entire days early!

If you celebrate, grab your favorite means of ingestion and listen as Larkin talks all things sticky and icky, breaking down the history of how cannabis was used as an excuse for racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, eventually leading to its criminalization. The movement against this hearty “herb” has fueled oppression, fed the prison-industrial complex, and stalled research about the potential benefits. Plus, the formerly social drug is now increasing social isolation among 1 in 15 American adults. 

References

Kursgesagt - In a Nutshell “You Need to Quit Weed”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brm71uCWr-I

TIME Magazine article “420 Day: Why There Are So Many Different Names for Weed” Katy Steinmetz. April 20, 2017

https://time.com/4747501/420-day-weed-marijuana-pot-slang/

PBS Eons - “The Hazy Evolution of Cannabis”

https://www.pbs.org/video/the-hazy-evolution-of-cannabis-cyjdln/

Science Advances research article: “Large Scale Whole-Genome resequencing unravels the domestication history of Cannabis sativa” 16 Jul 2021 Vol 7, Issue 29

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg2286

NPR Codeswitch: The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' Matt Thompson July 22, 2013

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/14/201981025/the-mysterious-history-of-marijuana

The MIT Press Reader: ‘Cannabis Through the Ages’ Linda A. Parker 

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/cannabis-through-the-ages/

The MIT Press Reader. ‘A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis’ Ryan Stoa

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-global-history-of-the-war-on-cannabis/

Dictionary definition “Marijuana”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marijuana

The University of Sydney: Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics “History of Cannabis

https://www.sydney.edu.au/lambert/medicinal-cannabis/history-of-cannabis.html

HISTORY.com Authors: Marijuana

https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-marijuana

Lee, Martin A. “Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana – Medical, Recreational and Scientific” Scribner, August 13, 2013

Anslinger Testimony 

https://www.hempology.org/ALL%20HISTORY%20ARTICLES.HTML/1937%20ANSLINGER%20TESTIMONY.html

ACLU Stats

https://www.aclu.org/the-war-on-marijuana-in-black-and-white

https://www.aclu.org/the-war-on-marijuana-in-black-and-white

Brownie Mary 

https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/the-legacy-of-brownie-mary/article_b9ac6c31-dd01-5228-8d63-f0418aed36dd.html

Missouri Independent “Why some people believe ‘marijuana’ is a racist word, and why it doesn’t offend me: Latin American History Professor Isaac Campos recently published findings online of his study on the history of cannabis terminology” Rebecca Rivas. May, 2023

https://missouriindependent.com/2023/05/02/why-some-people-believe-marijuana-is-a-racist-word-and-why-it-doesnt-offend-me/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

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Kate and Larkin welcome fashion enthusiast and content creator KP Deluxe, who tells us about the predictably racist, patriarchal origins of sizing in fashion. KP outlines our journey from bespoke, customizable pieces to the fast fashion nightmare of today, and how the realities of women’s bodies were repeatedly ignored in favor of mass production. 

Follow KP/Styled Over Substance on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Check out Ifemi, the ready-to-wear line for plus-sized women, and sign up to be notified when it drops.

References

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1860-1869/

https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KqSjAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=the+history+of+sizing&ots=UmW7pq8OC9&sig=AK2KmyOJ6RV91jbPGQRMxLaQPDE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=the%20history%20of%20sizing&f=false

https://time.com/3532014/women-clothing-sizes-history/

https://fashionmagazine.com/style/vanity-sizing/

https://www.bu.style/articles/clothing-sizing

https://medium.com/sizolution/a-brief-history-of-sizing-systems-aee6bd066834

https://www.seamwork.com/style-and-wardrobe/the-origins-of-clothing-sizes?srsltid=AfmBOooeAY2Kg18VOTWGOTdHcnrk_AnkpuGgLW854Grs0v8X0cMId2Nl

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0887302X0502300301

https://twyg.co.za/struggle-for-size-inclusivity/

https://www.vogue.com/article/the-vogue-business-spring-summer-2026-size-inclusivity-report

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0891243218756010

https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/women

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1910-1919/

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2752/175174109X467512?__cf_chl_tk=LC4e9csNn0vhBSzAq2PuzNuxkRbH.a8azzTyxQOdVUM-1775066032-1.0.1.1-fqS2dfMCXo0s4.d9pjCv43thIg_j5LLPqLa13Jy38tc

https://www.illustrationhistory.org/essays/flapper-fashion-illustrating-the-garments-worn-by-the-modern-woman-during-the-jazz-age-1919-1942

https://www.britannica.com/topic/flapper

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

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We’re upcycling this week to give Kate a break as she prepares for a panel at Wonder-Con (March 27, 2026 at 6 pm in room 207!). Thankfully we have a timely one for you: The story of the boycott, a great example of community advocacy that’s quite relevant today. Plus, it’s about the Irish, so the fact that it was recently St. Patrick’s day lined up nicely as well! 

Get ready to learn about the man behind the movement, mediocre white man Charles Boycott. Boycott worked as a land agent for the oppressed tenant farmers of British-occupied Ireland in the 1850s, showing up post-famine and pissing off pretty much everyone. His refusal to lower rents, imposition of fines for petty violations, and general jerkishness did not ingratiate him to the locals. Little did he know that his name would live on as one of the most effective tools in the protest playbook. 

Kate also gives you a hefty (yet woefully inadequate) summary of the conflicts between the English and Irish up to 1853. She does her best to hit the highlights from 700 years of war and rebellion, including the Norman invasion, Oliver Cromwell’s campaign of terror, and the pathetic English response to the famine that killed a million people. 

And, as a bonus, you’ll hear the origin of boycatting!

CW: Violence, Sexual Assault, Self-Harm

References

Captain Boycott and the Irish, by Joyce Marlow

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott

https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-tesla-sales-model-y-boycott-doge-deliveries-976a467eca5a179db58cbe4318f54a52

https://www.businessinsider.com/target-boycotts-making-mark-more-protests-are-coming-2025-5

https://www.newsweek.com/target-facing-permanent-boycott-june-2079736#:~:text=Pastor%20Jamal%20Bryant%2C%20in%20an,was%20cut%20by%2043%20percent.

https://www.britannica.com/money/Charles-Cunningham-Boycott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/corps-royal-engineers

https://www.britannica.com/technology/sapper-military-engineering

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/marking-the-norman-invasion-of-ireland-850-years-and-counting-1.3877350

https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/2023/how-ireland-served-as-a-laboratory-for-the-british-empire/

https://yourirish.com/history/16th-century/introduction-of-the-crown-of-ireland-act-1542

https://www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/ireland/

https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/

https://www.britannica.com/event/Penal-Laws

https://www.britannica.com/event/Irish-Rebellion-Irish-history-1798

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/irish-rebellion-1798

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/collections/ireland/act-of-union-1800/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-OConnell

https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1653&context=mulr

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Land-League

https://cartlann.org/authors/charles-stewart-parnell/ennis-speech/

If you know something we can ruin, send the topic and a brief hint at how it's ruined to [email protected]. Let us know if you'd like us to credit you if we choose your topic!

Follow us on Patreon for updates, video episodes, and lots of fun bonus content (even for unpaid members). You can also follow us on YouTube and Instagram.

You can also follow Kate and Larkin! Kate is on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Larkin is on TikTok and Instagram.

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