On this, our 329th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we continue to discuss the West. We begin with readings of glorious California—from Stegner to Chandler to Didion—and reminisce about our own time growing up in LA. Then: the elections in California seem rigged, and if your elections are rigged, you don’t have a democracy. Paper polls worked; in-person voting worked; exit polls provided information. Why did our elections change? The system as it stands is an invitation to fraud. A democratic republic is the only viable alternative, and Democrats are destroying the goose that lays the golden eggs, which makes the marvelous life of most people—including the men singing about not taking it anymore--possible. Meanwhile in the state of Washington: the newest Executive Order demonstrates just how spineless, powerless, and in need of replacement, our leaders are. EO 26-01 purports to address menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms; instead, it is a pandering, bureaucratic, gameable, woke, anti-scientific mess. To everyone who still believes the blue team: Stop being foot-soldiers of Goliath.

*****

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

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Mentioned in this episode (Amazon links receive affiliate commission, thank you for supporting DarkHorse):

Haslam 1992: Many Californias: Literature from the Golden State https://amzn.to/3QwRDPN

Didion 1968: Slouching Towards Bethlehem https://amzn.to/4vEJnw4

Stegner 1971: Angle of Repose https://amzn.to/4olKo9U

Chandler 1939: The Big Sleep https://amzn.to/3RYFVOn

West 1939: The Day of the Locust https://amzn.to/4uqy0a2

Didion 1979: The White Album https://amzn.to/4uKdem5

KTLA: https://ktla.com/news/politics/los-angeles-mayor-primary-election/

Men’s chorus: https://x.com/politibunny/status/2064083824393236818

WA EO on menopause: https://governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/exe_order/26-01%20-%20Menopause%20%28tmp%29.pdf

Women’s Commission: https://wswc.wa.gov

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On this, our 328th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss fires in the West, both literal and metaphorical. First: the mayoral race in LA, and race politics. Then: rioting in Paris after a soccer win—not mere hooliganism, but also due to race politics and immigration. The World Cup is coming to Seattle—but what to do about the homeless people? Build a “low barrier” tiny home community out of sight of the tourists, where drug addicts are encouraged to relocate. New public toilets in Seattle were destroyed within weeks, though—will tiny homes be sufficient to protect soccer fans? Also: it’s pride month! At UCSC’s “Gender Affirming Gear” closet, students can get free binders, packers, and tucking kits! Knitting it all together: What is the West, what are its tenets, and is it worth saving? Yes.

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

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Mentioned in this episode:

LA mayoral race results: https://ktla.com/news/politics/los-angeles-mayor-primary-election/

Voting based on race: https://x.com/DrewPavlou/status/2061571066707972540?s=20

Rioting in Paris: https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/2060870418014118162?s=20

Seattle toilets: https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/2061802513993490856

Tiny homes in Seattle: https://thepostmillennial.com/seattle-builds-tiny-home-village-for-citys-homeless-drug-users-displaced-by-fifa-world-cup-games

UCSC Queer Center: https://queer.ucsc.edu

UnClockable tucking kit: https://unclockable.com/products/unclockable-tuck-kit-2

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On this, our 327th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss West coast politics, propaganda, and AI. First: the insurgent campaign of Spencer Pratt in the race for mayor of Los Angeles is going strong. He is by far the best hope for Los Angeles, given fires and filth, homelessness and crime, drugs and corruption. Then: propaganda from Iran is remarkably compelling. And: Bret proposes that the model of AI that we are living under is degenerate intellectual communism, and that we have been given no choice. And: there is so much new under the sun—but AI may blind us to its discovery.

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Branch Basics: Excellent, effective, simple, truly non-toxic cleaning supplies. Get 15% off with code DarkHorse at https://branchbasics.com/DarkHorse #branchbasicspod

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

LA mayoral debate: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rI3A6alVHM)

CBS fact-checks mayor Bass: https://x.com/CBSNews/status/2052588315828994148?s=20

Pratt on JRE on fentanyl zombies: https://x.com/DrewPavlou/status/2058477622439583827?s=20

Pressure washing campaign slogans in LA: https://x.com/Rightanglenews/status/2058587656334803243?s=20

Pilates moms ad: https://x.com/SnarkingIsLegal/status/2056336125732507799

LA Times says crime is down: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-24/crime-rates-los-angeles-mayor-race-2026-candidates

Iran Lego video: https://x.com/FurkanGozukara/status/2042149309588590937?s=46

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Panama Canal follow-up: Bret Weinstein and Michael Yon return to the subject two years later after major developments. Michael appears this time with his wife and partner, Masako Ganaha sharing their unique paradigm for understanding global patterns, historical lessons, and future predictions.

Find Masako Ganaha at https://note.com/masakoganaha and on X at https://x.com/ganaha_masako

Find Michael Yon on Substack at https://michaelyon.substack.com and on X at https://x.com/Michael_Yon

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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

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Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

*****
Mentioned in this episode:

Michael Yon Panama Canal on DarkHorse https://darkhorse.locals.com/post/5179074/bret-weinstein-with-michael-yon-in-the-panama-canal

Catherine Austin Fitz on Michael Yon Substack https://michaelyon.substack.com/p/amazing-talk-masako-and-catherine

Trojan Migration? The 210th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmwxo3iMAs 

Zionist Forces may close Strait of Hormuz https://michaelyon.substack.com/p/zionist-forces-may-close-strait-of 

Dutch Farmers Canaries in the Globalist Coal Mine  Michael Yon  Eva Vlaardingerbroek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqHQN54XCL0 

Screwworms over Texas https://michaelyon.substack.com/p/screwworms-over-texas

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On this, our 326th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss government and tyranny, environmental toxins and the media, eminent domain, and memories of childhood. Former Washington state governor Christine Gregoire says the state doesn’t have an income problem, it’s got a spending problem—and that unpredictability from legislators is making it impossible for the business community to plan. Stochasticity is impossible to adapt to—for humans, and for other species too. In the most expensive Congressional primary race in U.S. history, incumbent Thomas Massie lost in Kentucky; his opponent was substantively funded by AIPAC. Young people supported Massie; old people did not. The Department of Fish & Wildlife has declared the widely used herbicide atrazine no big deal—but it very much is, beginning with the well-established fact that it turns the frogs…not gay, but aggressive and dysfunctionally hermaphroditic. In Georgia, eminent domain is being invoked to “liberate” people from their houses. And we end with memories of idyllic childhoods in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Christine Gregoire: https://x.com/BrandiKruse/status/2054995043006681440

AIPAC on Kentucky race: https://x.com/AIPAC/status/2056893663511257316

NYT on atrazine, 2023: https://www.nytimes.com/article/rfk-conspiracy-theories-fact-check.html

NYT on atrazine, 2026: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/climate/epa-atrazine-endangered-species-maha.html

Hayes et al 2003. Atrazine-induced hermaphroditism at 0.1 ppb in American leopard frogs (Rana pipiens): laboratory and field evidence. Environmental health perspectives, 111(4): 568: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1241446/pdf/ehp0111-000568.pdf

Gender Surrender – DarkHorse #182 on atrazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USF0A_fRlvk

Eminent domain – Ansley Brown in Georgia: https://x.com/Ansleysgarden/status/2054036145328075104

Shadow Thoughts: https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/shadow-thoughts

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Jakob Shockey on the subject of cancel culture in the nonprofit world, raising money, and beavers.

Find Project Beaver at https://www.projectbeaver.org

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Caraway: Non-toxic, highly functional & beautiful cookware and bakeware. Save with Caraway’s cookware set and visit http://Carawayhome.com/DHPOD to for an additional 10% off your next purchase.

Puori: Amazingly clean and safe supplements and protein powders, lab tested and guaranteed. Go to http://Puori.com/DarkHorse for 32% off grass-fed whey protein with a subscription. DarkHorse code works on all products!

Timeline: Timeline accelerate the clearing of damaged mitochondria to improve strength and endurance: Go to http://www.timeline.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse for 20% off your first order.

*****

Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Check out the DHP store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://www.darkhorsestore.org

Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.


*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Beavers? Bret Weinstein Speaks with Jakob Shockey on the Darkhorse Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBmKwQ9SPt0

Just How Busy Is the Beaver? https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/beaver

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On this, our 325th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss Hanta virus and drought. First: what is the natural history of Hantavirus, do any Hantaviruses transmit directly from human to human, and what is going on with the M.V. Hondius, the cruise ship on which Hantavirus has made a stand? Given its mechanisms of action, Ivermectin is likely to treat Hantavirus (a negative sense single-stranded RNA virus), but the WHO dismisses the possibility. Moderna is working on a Hantavirus vaccine, even though the Number Needed to Treat is sky high. What is going on? Then: in Washington state, we’re experiencing a very wet drought. The Department of Ecology has declared a drought (again), and the snow pack is low, but all other indicators—from rivers to reservoirs to soil moisture—are excellent. Cliff Mass, atmospheric scientist, puts the evidence in one place and calls bull on the drought diagnosis.

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Hantavirus and the elders: https://asm.org/articles/2024/october/indigenous-knowledge-solved-mysterious-outbreak

Toledo et al 2022. Evidence for human-to-human transmission of hantavirus: a systematic review. The Journal of infectious diseases, 226(8): 1362-1371: https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/226/8/1362/6369311

Zaidi & Dehgani-Mobaraki 2022. The mechanisms of action of ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2—an extensive review. The Journal of antibiotics, 75(2): 60-71: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-021-00491-6

The WHO on the recent outbreak: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON599

Cliff Mass – There is no drought emergency: https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-is-no-drought-emergency-in.html

Statewide drought declared in WA: https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2026/april-8-statewide-drought-declared-due-to-dismal-snowpack

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On this, our 324th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss the 2028 presidential election, and bees, plants, and electrons. First: Kamala Harris is currently the front-runner for the Democratic nominee in 2028. Given her scant record of achievements, her capacity, and her campaign in 2024, how is this possible? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be a better choice. On the Republican side, Vance is the front-runner, as expected, but there are far more other options than on the Democratic side (DeSantis, Kennedy, Gabbard, to name a few). Then: flowers are negatively charged, bees become positively charged while flying, such that when bees arrive at flowers, pollen leaps on to bees. We discuss sensory modalities, communication between pollinators and pollen distributors, and how environmental EMF might disrupt such systems.

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*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Ross Douthat on Harris in the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/opinion/kamala-harris-democratic-party.html

Real Clear Polling on Republicans in 2028: https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/republican-primary/2028/national

Sir David Attenborough on bees, plants, and EMFs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee381dCP6JM

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On this, our 323rd Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss vultures, politics, and complex systems. Vultures, which have evolved multiple times (like mangroves, poison frogs, and “trees”), specialize on carrion. In India, a painkiller commonly used in people but toxic to vultures, diclofenac, came out of patent, began to be used in cattle, and the vast majority of vultures in India died. Downstream effects include the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and tens of billions of dollars in economic losses. Now in Africa, vultures are being poisoned intentionally, and a similar devastation is likely to happen. Vultures are ugly, smelly, and gross…and utterly central to the health of not just their ecosystems, but the people who live in and near them. Welcome to complex systems. Also: Katie Wilson, the mayor of Seattle, seems to be engaged in a kind of “scientific socialism,” akin to “scientific racism,” in which quasi-scientific ideas are used to justify (bad) policy.

*****

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Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

Xlear: Xylitol nasal spray that acts as prophylaxis against respiratory illnesses by reducing the stickiness of bacteria and viruses. Find Xlear online, or at your local pharmacy, grocery store, or natural products store.

*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Frank & Sudarshan 2024. The social costs of keystone species collapse: evidence from the decline of vultures in India. American Economic Review 114(10): 3007-3040: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/171014/13/WRAP-twerp-1433-Sudarshan-24.pdf 

Anoosh Moonka tweet: https://x.com/anishmoonka/status/2049394252573004057

On the Origin of Species: https://dn710801.ca.archive.org/0/items/darwin-online_1859_Origin_F373/1859_Origin_F373_text.pdf

Katie Wilson clip from Brandi Kruse: https://x.com/BrandiKruse/status/2049562844862324861

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Bret Weintein debates Jonathan Pageau with Jordan Hall on whether science or religion can save humanity from itself.

Find Jonathan Pageau at https://www.thesymbolicworld.com and on x at https://x.com/PageauJonathan 

Bret thanks Redeemer Anglican Church for loaning them the space to do this podcast.

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Sponsors:

Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Check out the DHP store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://www.darkhorsestore.org

Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Bret Speaks with Jonathan Pageau https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NYz1DJ4ByM

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Joshua Stylman, an entrepreneur, investor and Covid dissident about societal manipulation and social engineering. The conversation focuses around a recent Substack piece by Stylman on “The Enemy is Not Each Other.”

Find Joshua Stylman on Substack at https://stylman.substack.com, on X at https://x.com/jstylman, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/stylman.

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This episode is sponsored by:

Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Check out the DHP store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://www.darkhorsestore.org

Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

*****

Bret recommends you read:

The Enemy Is Not Each Other https://stylman.substack.com/p/the-enemy-is-not-each-other

The Authentication Layer https://stylman.substack.com/p/the-authentication-layer 

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