Bill Nye’s Bow Tie: the Politics of Science
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EP84: Big Psychedelic (ft. Erika Dyke and David Nickles)
Psychedelics have gone from the counterculture, to the mainstream. However, can you turn take such an ineffable thing -- personal revelation, cosmic oneness, spiritual enlightenment, whatever people have called it -- and make it just another commodity? We look at the deep rifts in and around psychedelic medicine, as different camps vie for the future of these drugs.Listen now -
EP82: The Texas Two-Step and Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder
What's safer than baby powder? Parents have been using it for over 100 years to powder their baby's bottoms, and they've found one brand especially trustworthy: Johnson & Johnson. Yet, numerous studies have revealed the presence of trace amounts of asbestos in this talc-based powder. Thousands of parents now claim that this asbestos is responsible for their cancers. In settling these claims, J&J is using a proposing a bankruptcy move called the Texas Two-Step. Critics say is nothing more than a scheme to limit their liabilities. We examine the messy medical and legal history behind the beloved brand.Listen now -
EP76: Do You Want to Live Forever?
The story of the Fountain of Youth is as old as history itself. Herodatus, the father of ancient Greek history, wrote of a mythical spring that extended the life of its bathers. Today, entrepreneurs, scientists, and health influencers are still searching for that mythical spring.Listen now -
EP68: Science Against the People (ft. Charles Schwartz & Sigrid Schmalzer)
The right attacks science, liberals uncritically defend it. But there are other ways to see scientific authority. Scientists have always served capitalism, patriarchy, and empire. So say Science for the People, a radical movement of scientists. So, they are fighting to change it. We tell the story of the groups Vietnam-era origins, and explore why it's having a resurgence today.Listen now -
EP56: Don’t Look Left (ft. David Sirota)
Why does the democratic establishment always avoid turning left, even when it might mean a political win? Gordon asks David Sirota. Sirota is behind the smash-hit Netflix movie Don’t Look Up! He is also host and co-writer of an excellent podcast series called Meltdown, which documented how Obama’s lacklustre response to the financial crisis set the stage for Trump. We cover a range of topics: from the limits of technocracy, the political co-option of science and expertise, the critical reaction to Don’t Look Up, and whether or not Ideocracy (2006) has bad politics.Listen now