The Disinfo Detox

This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with Wynn Tranfield — STEM Librarian at the University of California, Santa Cruz — to unpack the media frenzy surrounding Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.

From the Trump–Pfizer deal to the politicization of public health, this episode dives into the complex intersections of science, policy, and propaganda. Tranfield brings a researcher’s perspective to viral claims about “Big Pharma,” life expectancy, animal testing, and even Tylenol’s alleged link to autism — separating scientific evidence from political spin.

👉 What does the MAHA movement reveal about America’s growing distrust of science?
👉 How do corporate and government alliances shape the research we see (and don’t see)?
👉 Are bipartisan “wellness” bills really about health — or ideology?
👉 And what’s at stake when public discourse turns scientific debates into culture wars?

If you care about how media, politics, and misinformation collide in the world of health science — this is an episode you can’t miss.

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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with Nicholas Baham III—professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University East Bay, author, and co-host of The People’s Detective podcast—to explore the power of art and popular culture as forms of political resistance. From jazz to hip-hop, film to literature, artists have long challenged systems of corruption, censorship, and inequality. Baham highlights why Oakland has been such a vital setting for cultural resistance and what these stories reveal about the failures of mainstream news.

👉 How art and popular culture serve as weapons of resistance
👉 The overlooked history of artists confronting political corruption
👉 Why Oakland matters as a cultural and political epicenter
👉 What censored or ignored stories reveal about the media landscape

If you care about the intersection of culture, politics, and resistance—and how art can tell truths the news won’t—this conversation is a must-watch.

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Sydney Sullivan: https://substack.com/@sydneysullivanphd

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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with Matt Bailey, marketing strategist, educator, and founder of SiteLogic, to unpack the future of social media. With audiences shifting, ad dollars drying up, and creators struggling to adapt, Bailey explains why the social media industry may be reaching the end of an era—and what it means for advertisers, content creators, and the future of digital marketing.

👉 Why “the end of social media” may already be here
👉 How changes in algorithms, ad models, and user behavior are shaking the industry
👉 What creators and advertisers can do to survive—and even thrive—in the new landscape

If you’ve ever wondered whether social media is still worth the investment—or what might replace it—this is a must-watch conversation.

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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with Dr. Anastasia Berg, PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at UC Davis, to unpack the White House’s controversial claims about acetaminophen (Tylenol), pregnancy, and autism.

In a recent press conference, President Trump and top officials announced changes to FDA drug labeling, warning pregnant women about acetaminophen use and promoting leucovorin (a cancer drug) as a potential autism treatment. But are these claims backed by science—or by Big Pharma’s influence on scholarship and policy?

👉 The truth about acetaminophen, pregnancy, and autism
👉 Why Big Pharma’s influence skews scholarship and public health guidance
👉 What the science really says about Trump’s autism claims (and how RFK Jr. plays into it)
👉 Practical advice for expecting mothers navigating reproductive health misinformation

If you want to understand how politics, pharma, and pseudoscience collide to shape public health, this conversation is a must-watch.

📢 Support the show & join the conversation:
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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with Scott Jamieson, co-founder of Inspire Citizens, to explore how global citizenship and empathy-driven education can heal toxic divisions and create a more democratic culture. In the wake of the post-Charlie Kirk assassination climate, where U.S. society revealed deep fractures, Jamieson argues that fostering empathy in schools is essential to building a more just, collaborative, and connected world.

👉 Why global citizenship belongs at the heart of education
👉 How empathy-based learning can counter toxic and divisive culture
👉 Practical steps educators can take to prepare students for a more democratic future

If you want to understand how rethinking education can transform not just classrooms, but entire societies, this conversation is a must-watch.

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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with John Corbally, Professor of History at Diablo Valley College, to explore the untold stories behind America’s immigrant experience. Corbally’s new book, Enriching America: A World History of 20th Century Immigrant Families, draws on the voices of 60 families—many collected from community college students in Northern California—to reveal the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of those who built new lives in the United States.

👉 John Corbally on how student family histories illuminate global patterns of migration
👉 The hidden costs and contributions of immigrant life in the 20th century
👉 What the past can teach us about today’s immigration debates

If you want to understand how immigration shaped modern America—not just in headlines, but in the lives of real families—this conversation is a must-watch.

📢 Support the show & join the conversation:
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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon is joined by five powerhouse guests to unpack the chaos, censorship, and political fallout after the murder of Charlie Kirk. From late-night TV to college campuses, the ripple effects are everywhere—and the media spin machine is working overtime.

👉 Craig Aaron (Free Press) on Jimmy Kimmel’s removal from ABC after his Kirk comments
👉 Mickey Huff (Project Censored / Ithaca College) on the censorship wave gripping media and academia
👉 Steve Macek on how the Utah Valley University shooting is fueling fear and silencing speech on campus
👉 Robin Andersen (Fordham University) & Allison Butler on competing narratives—from right-wing fights over Israel, to Scott Galloway’s take on young men, to the debate over political violence itself

If you want to cut through the noise and understand how media, politics, and power collide in moments of crisis, this episode is a must-watch.

📢 Support the show & join the conversation:
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Sydney Sullivan: https://substack.com/@sydneysullivanphd

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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with John Kiriakou—whistleblower, author, journalist, and former CIA officer—for a raw and revealing conversation about the intelligence community, courage, and the costs of telling the truth.

Kiriakou made history as the first U.S. official to confirm the CIA’s use of waterboarding. For speaking out, he was sent to prison. In this powerful episode, he shares:

👉 What life inside the CIA taught him about power and secrecy
👉 The personal price of exposing torture and challenging the system
👉 His time in prison—and how it reshaped his view of justice in America
👉 Why whistleblowers matter, and what “profiles in courage” look like today

If you want to understand the dark underbelly of intelligence operations, the courage it takes to resist, and the lessons Kiriakou’s story holds for democracy, this is a must-listen episode.

📢 Support the show & join the conversation:
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Sydney Sullivan: https://substack.com/@sydneysullivanphd

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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon sits down with Andrew Tonkovich—host of Bibliocracy Radio—for a wide-ranging conversation about the books we should all be reading right now to better understand politics, power, and truth in the 21st century.

Andrew makes the case for three essential reads:
👉 The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord
👉 Neoliberalism’s War on Higher Education by Henry A. Giroux
👉 Alternative Facts by Emily Greenberg

Plus, a special shoutout to writer Lisa Alvarez and her stunning collection Some Final Beauty.

Together, Nolan and Andrew dig into why these works matter today, how they cut through propaganda, and what lessons they hold for resisting disinformation and reclaiming democracy.

If you want a fresh, thought-provoking reading list that doubles as a survival guide for navigating media and politics—this is the episode for you.

📢 Support the show & join the conversation:
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This week on The Disinfo Detox, host Nolan Higdon is joined by Brian Dolber—Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies and volunteer organizer with Rideshare Drivers United—and Alvaro Bolainez, a rideshare driver and Vice President of Rideshare Drivers United. Together, they break down the battle over AB1340, the SEIU and Gavin Newsom’s backroom deal that cut out drivers, and the broader fight against exploitation in the gig economy.

In this eye-opening episode, Dolber and Bolainez share:

👉 How AB1340 reshaped labor rights for rideshare drivers—and who it really benefits
👉 The reality of what it means to make a living as a driver in today’s economy
👉 How SEIU and political elites undermined drivers by negotiating without them
👉 What both drivers and riders can do to fight exploitation and change the trajectory of ride-sharing in the U.S.

If you want to understand the hidden costs of the gig economy, the politics of labor betrayal, and the movement building to reclaim worker power, this is a must-listen episode.

📢 Support the show & join the conversation:
🧠 Subscribe to our Substacks for exclusive essays & media critiques:
Nolan Higdon: https://nolanhigdon.substack.com
Sydney Sullivan: https://substack.com/@sydneysullivanphd

💥 JOIN the Detox crew on Patreon for exclusive content, essays, and annual consultations:
👉 https://patreon.com/disinfodetox

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