Episode 191: Unsponsored Content, Part 1

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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Episode 188: The Pope’s Personal Physician

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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Episode 186: LUEE Gets Cancelled

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, it’s cancel or be cancelled! Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, Gem, and special guest Kyle Joseph discuss a few people who really deserve a good cancelling.

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

Wednesday Night Wallop Podcast: Wednesday Night Wallop

Mother Theresa, Missionary of Misery: Criticism of Mother Teresa (Wikipedia) | Aroup Chatterjee (Wikipedia) | Mother Teresa (Wikipedia) | Canonization (Wikipedia) | The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (Wikipedia)

Bill Gates, Dubious Philanthropist: Bill Gates (Forbes) | Every Time Bill Gates Engaged in Inappropriate Conduct (Business Insider) | Bill Gates’ Nerdy Do-Gooder Image Destroyed by Divorce Revelations (Business Insider) | Who Flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ Plane? Full List of People Named (Newsweek) | Um, who are Melinda and Bill Gates trying to kid? (The Washington Post) | Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions to shape education policy. Now, they say, they’re ‘skeptical’ of ‘billionaires’ trying to do just that. (The Washington Post) | The media loves the Gates Foundation. These experts are more skeptical. (Vox) | Bill Gates, Vaccine Monster (The New Republic) | They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma (Kaiser Health News)

Man Doctor Diet Book Authors: Vintage Diet Books are My Favorite Thing to Collect and I’m a Fat Activist (SELF) | The problem with diet books written by doctors (Vox) | About Dr. William Davis | About Dr. Gundry | About Carnivore MD | About Paul Saladino MD (Psychology Today Canada)

J.K. Rowling, TERF: J.K. Rowling (GLAAD) | Is J.K. Rowling Transphobic? (Them) | Robert Galbraith Heath (Wikipedia) | A Complete Breakdown of the J.K. Rowling Transgender-Comments Controversy (Glamour) | J.K. Rowling’s transphobic tweets failed Harry Potter fans (Vox) | The metamorphosis of J.K. Rowling (Politico) | J.K. Rowling’s new book is about a character accused of transphobia (NPR)

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Episode 184: Revenge of the Quiz Show!

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and Marissa test each other’s knowledge of creation myths, fall foods, historical clocks, anthropology, and medicine.

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

Timekeeping: A Chronicle Of Timekeeping (Scientific American) | The Very Long and Fascinating History of Clocks | A Brief History of Time-Keeping (The Washington Post) | Decimal time: the revolution that never was (Watches and Culture) | Decimal time (Wikipedia) | The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe (Encyclopedia.com) | Wrist Watches: From Battlefield to Fashion Accessory (The New York Times) | A Brief History of the Wristwatch (The Atlantic) | History of timekeeping devices (Wikipedia) | Water clock (Wikipedia)

Diagnosis: UpToDate | Centor Score for Strep Pharyngitis (MDCalc) | Classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (UpToDate) | Overview of the management and prognosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (UpToDate) | Polymorphic light eruption (NHS) | Osteosarcoma: epidemiology, pathology, clinical presentation, and diagnosis (UpToDate) | Diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state in adults (UpToDate) | Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: clinical manifestations and diagnosis (UpToDate) | Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: treatment and prognosis (UpToDate)

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Episode 183: Hope (to replace every tree with a chest freezer)

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, and Laura discuss scientific advances that give them hope for the future, and Gem issues a correction.

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

The HIV Vaccine: NIH launches clinical trial of three mRNA HIV vaccines (National Institutes of Health (NIH)) | HIV Vaccines (HIV.gov) | Zidovudine (Wikipedia) | HIV vaccine development (Wikipedia) | HIV/AIDS (Wikipedia) | Retrovirus (Wikipedia) | Why Is It So Difficult to Find an HIV Cure? (American Gene Technologies) | Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines (CDC)

The Four Day Work Week: The 4-day workweek: How realistic is it really? (NPR) | The Workweek Revolution: a Solution to the Health Care Exodus (Clinical Advisor) | More Employers Are Trying a 4-Day Workweek and Finding Benefits (Business Insider) | Why the four-day working week is ‘doomed to fail’ (HRD Canada) | Can the four day work week save us? A look at the statistics (Fingerprint for Success)

The Moxie Experiment: NASA’s Moxie instrument successfully makes oxygen on Mars (The Guardian) | Small Device Currently on Mars Is Generating as Much Oxygen as a Tree, Scientists Reveal (Vice) | MOXIE experiment: NASA made enough oxygen on Mars to last an astronaut for 100 minutes (New Scientist) | MIT’s MOXIE experiment reliably produces oxygen on Mars (MIT News) | Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (Wikipedia) | Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) – Preparing for human Mars exploration (Science Advances) | Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment: MOXIE (NASA)

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Episode 181: The Extraordinary Science of Everyday Things

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn is joined by Lauren, Gem, and Laura to discuss the amazing hidden science behind common objects and phenomena, including coloured glass, toilets, foam, and placebos.

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

Coloured Glass: Chemistry of Colored Glass (Science Notes) | The Chemistry of Coloured Glass (Compound Interest) | Bottle Colors (Society for Historical Archaeology) | What Causes Color in Stained and Colored Glass (Geology.com) | Glass (New World Encyclopedia) | Glass: Composition, types and uses (Jagran Josh)

The Placebo Effect: Semantics of the placebo (Psychiatric Quarterly) | A systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo versus no treatment for insomnia symptoms (ScienceDirect) | Is the Placebo Powerless? — An Analysis of Clinical Trials Comparing Placebo with No Treatment (NEJM) | The Powerful Placebo and the Wizard of Oz (NEJM) | The Powerful Placebo (JAMA) | The Powerful Placebo Effect: Fact or Fiction? (ScienceDirect) | Placebo interventions for all clinical conditions (Cochrane Library) | Are Treatments More Effective than Placebos? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PMC) | Correction: Are Treatments More Effective than Placebos? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PMC) | Statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (Cochrane Library) | Greater Response to Placebo in Children Than in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis in Drug-Resistant Partial Epilepsy (PMC)

Toilets: Gravity and Your Toilet: A Beautiful Science Relationship (Homeschool.com) | How toilets work (Explain That Stuff) | Learn Who Invented the Toilet (Brubaker) | A Brief History of The Flush Toilet (The British Association of Urological Surgeons) | Who Invented the Flush Toilet? (HISTORY) | 8 Inventions By African Americans That Helped Shape Civilization (Black Then) | Gravity Fed Toilets (Toiletology) | 2.972 How A Toilet Works (MIT) | Bernoulli’s principle (Wikipedia) | Indus Valley civilisation (Wikipedia) | The Physics of Toilets (University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Foam: Nitrogen in Guinness Beer (Inertion) | Wildfire Retardants (Government of the Northwest Territories) | Researchers discover the physics of foams (ScienceDaily) | Practical Foam Science (Cosmetics & Toiletries) | The science behind the foam in your cappuccino (The Splendid Table) | Two new papers explore the complicated physics behind bubbles and foams (Ars Technica) | The Basics of Engineering with Foam (MachineDesign) | Foam (Wikipedia) | The Strange Physics of Foam (NASA Science Mission Directorate) | Science of Sloshing: Why Foam is Important (Science Connected Magazine) | Unraveling the science of coffee foam (Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition) | The science of foaming (ScienceDirect) | Shuffling bubbles reveal how liquid foams evolve (EurekAlert!) | Spray Polyurethane Foam Basics (American Chemistry Council)

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Episode 179: Cursed Knowledge

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Gem, and Laura share things that they wish they had never learned. Warning: this episode contains parasites!

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

The Curse of Knowledge: Curse of knowledge (Wikipedia) | The Curse of Knowledge (Digital Learning) | The Curse of Knowledge | The Curse of Knowledge and How to Avoid It (All About Learning) | The Curse of Knowledge: How It Impacts You, and What to Do About It (User Testing)

Snail-borne Parasites: Schistosomiasis (CDC) | Rat Lungworm Disease and How to Prevent It (Corry’s) | Snail-borne parasitic diseases: an update on global epidemiological distribution, transmission interruption and control methods (PMC) | Eating Slugs Can Cause Paralysis—Here’s Why (National Geographic)

Fatal Familial Insomnia: Fatal Familial Insomnia (National Organization for Rare Disorders)

Face Mites: ‘Face Mites’ Live in Your Pores, Eat Your Grease and Mate on Your Face While You Sleep (Live Science) | Face Mites: They Really Grow On You (NPR) | Demodex (Wikipedia)

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Episode 178: The Worst Tooth Fairy

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem introduces the panel to Dr. Henry Cotton, a pioneer in the field of “psychiatric surgical bacteriology”, Lauren provides a biographical sketch of Magnus Hirschfeld and his Institute of Sex Research, Laura discusses the supposed health consequences of eating “fried foods”, and Ashlyn does a deep dive on a common way the medical system makes people’s lives just a little bit more miserable.

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

Henry Cotton: Henry Cotton (Wikipedia) | Trenton Psychiatric Hospital (American Journal of Psychiatry) | Book Review: “Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine” (Psychiatry, Psychology and Law)

Magnus Hirschfeld and the Institute of Sex Research: World League for Sexual Reform (Wikipedia) | Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (Wikipedia) | Magnus Hirschfeld (Wikipedia) | Arthur Kronfeld (Wikipedia) | Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Wikipedia) | LGBTQ Legislation Tracker (Freedom for All Americans) | Canada’s gender identity rights Bill C-16 explained (CBC Docs POV) | C-4 (44-1) An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Parliament of Canada) | Weimar Republic (Wikipedia) | Sexual intermediacy and temporality in late nineteenth- and early twentieth- century literature and culture (ResearchGate) | Magnus Hirschfeld (Britannica)

Fried Foods: Formation of trans fatty acids in edible oils during the frying and heating process (ScienceDirect) | Characterization of the Distribution of Oil Uptake in French Fries (Microscopy Today) | Fried-food consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of observational studies (BMJ Heart) | Consumption of Fried Foods and Risk of Heart Failure in the Physicians’ Health Study (Journal of the American Heart Association) | Consumption of fried foods and risk of coronary heart disease: Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (BMJ) | Association of fried food consumption with all cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality: prospective cohort study (BMJ) | Analysis of Trans Fat in Edible Oils with Cooking Process (Toxicological Research) | Fried Food Consumption and Cardiovascular Health: A Review of Current Evidence (Nutrients)

Anaesthesia and Fasting: Ending the misery of ‘nil by mouth’ (NHS) | Guidelines to the Practice of Anesthesia (Canadian Journal of Anesthesia) | You don’t need to do a prolonged fast before surgery (Slate) | A Trio of Commentaries on
Preoperative Fasting Guidelines (California Society of Anesthesiologists) | Practice Guidelines for Obstetric Anesthesia (American Society of Anesthesiologists)

Unconstitutional Prayer in Manitoba: In Open Defiance (BC Humanist Association)

Gem’s Stories: “Passepartout” (first prize in the 2021 Bedford Writing Competition) | “Persistence of Vision” (published in Surge: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology)

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Episode 177: Contraception Should Be Free

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn and Gem are joined by Kennadie Chaudhary and Teale Phelps Bondaroff to discuss the AccessBC’s campaign for free contraception and some of the arguments made by critics of the campaign.

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

Links: AccessBC: Campaign for Free Prescription Contraception in BC | AccessBC (Twitter) | Birth Control Access for Manitoba (Twitter) | CoverContraceptiON (Twitter) | Canadian women opting for less effective birth control (PMC) | Household income and contraceptive methods among female youth: a cross-sectional study using the Canadian Community Health Survey (CMAJ Open) | BC Budget 2022 fails to take bold action on gender-based violence (West Coast LEAF)

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Episode 176: 🎵 Dontcha put it in your mouth! 🎶

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Laura, and Gem discuss medical scams, including Miracle Mineral Solution, urine therapy (i.e., drinking your own pee), Trina Health’s dubious treatment for diabetes, and Dr. Zamboni’s Liberation Therapy for multiple sclerosis.

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

Miracle Mineral Solution: Danger: Don’t Drink Miracle Mineral Solution or Similar Products (FDA) | Miracle Mineral Solution is a Nightmare (McGill University) | Health Canada reminds Canadians of dangers of Miracle Mineral Solution after investigation leads to guilty plea and two-year sentence (Canada.ca) | Miracle Mineral Solution: Do Not Drink This, FDA Warns (Forbes) | Sellers of Miracle Mineral Solution Criminally Charged with Making Coronavirus Claims (ConsumerLab.com)

Urine Therapy: Urine (Wikipedia) | ‘I Would Have to Be Restrained’: Internet Eviscerates Parent for Adding Urine to Popsicles (Newsweek) | What Are the Risks and Benefits of Drinking Urine? (Healthline)

Trina Health’s Diabetes Treatment: About the Trina Health investigation (inewsource) | San Diego woman says controversial diabetes treatment endangered her health (inewsource) | Montana couple sinks life savings into “miracle” diabetes treatment (inewsource) | Trina Health Frequently Asked Questions (Web Archive) | Hustling Hope: San Diego doctor runs controversial diabetes clinic (inewsource) | Effects of Pulsatile Intravenous Insulin Therapy on the Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy (Dailey et al.) | Doctors debunk diabetes treatment as fraud charges hit clinic executive (inewsource) | MAT® Treatment (Aoki Diabetes Research Institute) | Intermittent Intravenous Insulin Therapy (Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletins)

Liberation Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis: ‘Scientific quackery’: UBC study says it’s debunked controversial MS procedure (CBC News) | Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for treatment of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) in people with multiple sclerosis (Cochrane Library) | Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in multiple sclerosis: the final curtain (The Lancet) | Prevalence of extracranial venous narrowing on catheter venography in people with multiple sclerosis, their siblings, and unrelated healthy controls: a blinded, case-control study (The Lancet) | About patients, “inventors”, journalists, scientists, IRBs (to say nothing of the institutions): CCSVI and MS (PubMed) | Multiple sclerosis (Wikipedia) | Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency controversy (Wikipedia) | Epstein-Barr virus leading cause multiple sclerosis (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

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