It Takes a Potemkin Village: The 251st Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

In this 251st in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.

In this week’s episode, we discuss how the Harris campaign spent their billion dollar war chest—including on celebrities who appeared to be endorsing her because they believed in her, but were actually getting paid. Also: $26 million was spent for “text message outreach,” any many people donated $10 or $20. It’s reverse Robin Hood: stealing from the poor, to give to the rich. Related: how can we stay optimistic about unity, when we are seeing such different things? Finally: the New York Times finds a whole bunch of well-credential “experts” in nutrition to assure us that seed oils are excellent for your health. (They’re not.) You have a choice: follow the science, or think scientifically for yourself, and actually be healthy.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Harris campaign disbursements from the FEC: https://github.com/gaiaus/2024-us-presidential-general-election/blob/main/harris%2Fspending%2Ftop_500_recipients.MD

News Nation with Lindy Li: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv3XbWtHyMg

Rescue the Republic: https://jointheresistance.org

Smith professors saw a perfect campaign: https://www.smith.edu/news-events/news/hope-and-action

Reason for Optimism: https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/reason-for-optimism

Are Seed Oils Actually Bad for You? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/well/eat/seed-oil-effects.html

Professor Gardner’s site: https://www.med.stanford.edu/profiles/christopher-gardner

Thumbnail Courtesy: Kent Nishimura / Stringer / Getty Images News via Getty Images.

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 Holding Screen
00:05:48 Welcome
00:07:31 Sponsors: Policygenius, CrowdHealth, Ralston College
00:22:11 How Harris Campaign Funds Were Spent
00:23:40 Paying for Endorsements
00:26:51 Text Message Outreach & the Matching Mystery
00:29:22 Service Fees
00:30:45 A Lot of Bad Categories
00:32:05 A Gaming of the Mind
00:35:23 Was She Paying for Home Court Advantage?
00:42:00 Faking Every Aspect
00:46:00 This Feels like Robin Hood in Reverse, Downstream of a Terror Campaign
00:48:37 When We Take Experts at Their Word
00:51:37 Too Big to Win
00:53:18 Sacred Trust with Campaign Donors Clip
00:55:13 Wag the Dog Level Phony
00:56:58 Multiple PSYOPs
01:00:24 Smith College Reflects on Election 2024 Results
01:06:20 The “Flawless Campaign” Formula
01:09:55 Heather’s Call for Basic Education in Logical Thinking
01:12:04 Asymmetry of the Blue & Red Perspectives
01:14:25 Blue No Matter Who
01:18:06 Behind the Scenes of Rescue the Republic
01:20:38 The NYT Thinks Seed Oils are Awesome
01:22:54 Bret & Heather Critique the Case for Seed Oils
01:31:48 Olive Oil is Not a “Seed Oil”
01:33:29 The Game of Pharma
01:35:26 Heather’s Culinary Advice
01:39:23 Questionable Experts
01:41:40 Closing