Episode 192: Unsponsored Content, Part 2

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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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 190: The Christ Touch

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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Episode 189: Calvinist Tulips and Super Enormous Black Holes

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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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 187: Last Year’s News

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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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 185: They forgot to reveal the sinister truth!

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem subjects Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and Dave to a documentary of questionable quality.

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

Links: Sasquatch Unearthed: The Ridge – The Sinister Truth Revealed (YouTube)

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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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