Freedom, Tyranny, and Childhood Lost: The 291st Evolutionary Lens w/ Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying

Today we discuss childhood, fitness, and self-defense; the through-line is freedom. First up: Illinois has become the first state in the Union to mandate mental health screening for children in grades 3 – 12, so that conditions from trauma to anxiety can be detected early. How mandatory will these screenings be? How confidential? What is anxiety, and why are children better off learning to experience and solve their own anxiety, than to be coddled at every turn? We argue that anxiety—like pain, and sadness—are signals from your brain and body that should be listened to rather than erased. Also: childhood is a time of exploration, of mixing reality with fantasy, and should not be a time when adults’ fantasies are imposed on children. Then: the New York Times cannot abide that anything that RFK Jr. does or says makes sense. Finally: do people have the right to defend themselves inside their own homes? Have we forgotten habeas corpus? Are the foundations of democracy coming apart at the seams?

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Mentioned in this episode:

Governor Pritzker signs bill mandating mental health checks for schoolkids: https://news.wttw.com/2025/07/31/pritzker-signs-legislation-implement-universal-mental-health-screenings-illinois-schools

Illinois Bill 1560: https://trackbill.com/bill/illinois-senate-bill-1560-mental-hlth-kids-beacon/2645551/

NYT on the fitness challenge of Kennedy and Hegseth: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/style/hegseth-rfk-jr-fitness-challenge.html

Breaking and entering report from the Kawartha Lakes Police Service: https://kawarthalakespolice.com/media-releases/media-release-august-18-2025-break-and-enter-assault

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 Holding Screen
00:06:14 August is Ending, School is Starting
00:18:32 Illinois Mandates Mental Health Screening for Children
01:03:14 The New York Times on the Pete and Bobby Challenge
01:08:52 Why Are Rights Being Chipped Away in the West?