On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Ashlyn, Lauren, and Laura detail the many scientific shortcomings of Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

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

Vaccines: Doctors worried RFK Jr. will tout vaccine-skeptic views after he is picked for HHS secretary (ABC News) | How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Could Destroy One of Civilization’s Best Achievements (The New York Times) | RFK Jr: Fact-checking his views on health policy (BBC News) | What RFK Jr could do on US vaccines, fluoride and drugs (BBC News)

Fluoride: Early dental fluoride preparations (Fluoride History) | Fluoride and Oral Health (Government of Canada) | Expert panel meeting on the health effects of fluoride in drinking water: Summary report (Government of Canada) | Water fluoridation (Wikipedia) | Fluorapatite (Wikipedia) | Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries (PMC) | Water Fluoridation and Cancer Risk (American Cancer Society) | Fluoride in Calgary’s water (Government of Calgary) | The contentious timeline of fluoridation in Calgary’s drinking water (Calgary Journal) | Measuring the short-term impact of fluoridation cessation on dental caries in Grade 2 children using tooth surface indices (Journal of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology) | Lack of fluoride in Calgary drinking water leads to rise in kids’ tooth decay, study indicates (CBC News) | 3 charts that help explain fluoride in drinking water (CNN) | Skeletal fluorosis (Wikipedia) | Fluoride Exposure: Neurodevelopment and Cognition (US Department of Health and Human Services) | Colgate, Glaxo settle toothpaste ‘nurdle’ lawsuit (Reuters)

Antidepressants: Associations between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and violent crime in adolescents, young, and older adults (PMC) | Is There a Link Between Mental Health and Mass Shootings? (Columbia University Department of Psychiatry) | The Misperception of Antidepressants and Mass Shootings (Psychology Today Canada) | What’s behind the dubious claim that psychiatric drugs fuel mass shootings? (PolitiFact)

HIV/AIDS: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s worst conspiracy theories: The 2024 candidate’s leadership in “ideas.” (Slate) | 5 of RFK Jr.’s most controversial views (The Hill) | RFK Jr. Has Made False and Dangerous Claims About AIDS. That Could Become a Global Problem. (Mother Jones) | Debunking some of RFK Jr.’s contradictory statements (PBS News) | How AIDS Activists Fought for Patients’ Rights (HISTORY) | Fauci recalls the terrifying early days of the AIDS epidemic (National Geographic) | Global HIV Programme (WHO)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn relates her story of catching COVID-19 in Romania and asks the panel to evaluate the appropriateness of her treatment. Ashlyn was prescribed:

• Vitamin C 1000 mg PO daily
• Vitamin D 2000 IU PO daily
• Zinc 60 mg PO daily
• Paracetamol 500 mg PO TID
• Metamizole 500 mg PO TID
• Dexketoprofen 25 mg PO BID
• Quercetin 250–500 mg PO daily
• Melatonin 3–5 mg PO qHS
• Black radish syrup PRN
• Propolis throat spray PRN
• Famotidine 40 mg PO daily
• Moxifloxacin 400 mg PO daily
• Fluconazole 150 mg PO x1
• Maxitrol nasal spray PRN

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

Metamizole: Metamizole (Wikipedia) | Metamizole: An underrated agent causing severe idiosyncratic drug‐induced liver injury (PMC) | EU drugs watchdog probes painkiller linked to deaths (Health, The Guardian) | ‘They thought I had cancer’: painkiller banned in UK linked to Britons’ deaths in Spain (Drugs, The Guardian) | Just a moment…

Propolis and Phytotherapy: Propolis (Wikipedia) | Dacia Plant Propolis Spray (NatuRemedies) | Propolis: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews (WebMD) | Phytotherapy: Definition, Research & Principles (Cleveland Clinic) | Quercetin (Wikipedia)

Colloidal Silver: Colloidal silver (WikiDoc)

Vitamin D and Zinc Supplementation: Twice-Daily Oral Zinc in the Treatment of Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial (PubMed) | Effect of High-Dose Zinc and Ascorbic Acid Supplementation vs Usual Care on Symptom Length and Reduction Among Ambulatory Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The COVID A to Z Randomized Clinical Trial (JAMA Network) | Vitamin D and Zinc Supplementation to Improve Treatment Outcomes among COVID-19 Patients in India: Results from a Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial (PMC) | Vitamin D for COVID-19: where are we now? (Nature Reviews Immunology)

Acetaminophen: Acetaminophen (UpToDate)

NSAIDs: Ibuprofen (UpToDate) | Naproxen (UpToDate) | Ketorolac (UpToDate) | Dexketoprofen (UpToDate)

Melatonin: Melatonin (UpToDate)

Histamine H2 Antagonists: Famotidine (UpToDate) | Ranitidine (UpToDate)

Maxitrol: Maxitrol (UpToDate)

Moxifloxacin: Moxifloxacin (UpToDate)

Fluconazole: Fluconazole (UpToDate)

Paxlovid: Paxlovid (UpToDate)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem is joined by Laura, Ashlyn, and Lauren to conclude their discussion of the situation in historic Palestine. Laura describes barriers to access food and water imposed by the government of Israel on both Gaza and the West Bank. Gem contrasts popular working definitions of antisemitism and examines claims that criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian liberation are antisemitic.

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

Note: This episode was recorded on 19 September 2024 and does not discuss the escalating regional war between Israel, Lebanon, and Iran.

The Blockade of Gaza: Canadians are facing higher levels of food insecurity (Statistics Canada) | State study finds nearly 1 million Israelis suffered from food insecurity in 2021 (The Times of Israel) | Hunger (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) | Procedure for monitoring and assessing inventories in the Gaza Strip (State of Israel Ministry of Defence via Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement) | Putting Palestinians “On a Diet”: Israel’s Siege & Blockade of Gaza (IMEU) | Israel Gaza blockade study calculated Palestinians’ calories (Reuters) | Food Insecurity in Palestine: A Future for Farmers (Wilson Center) | Gaza bonanza (Haaretz via Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement) | Gaza siege: Years of starvation (Mada) | West Bank and Gaza Market Overview (US International Trade Administration) | Palestine runs dry: ‘Our water they steal and sell to us’ (Al Jazeera) | Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – Red Lines (Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement) | Israel-Palestine: Water Sharing Conflict (Climate-Diplomacy.org) | Parched: Israel’s policy of water deprivation in the West Bank (B’Tselem) | UNICEF seawater desalination plant helps head off Gaza water crisis (UNICEF) | The Siege of Gaza’s Water (CSIS) | Gaza turns to desalination amid increasingly scarce water access (EFE Noticias)

Antisemitism and the State of Israel: Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential (The Lancet) | Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA) | The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) | Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine (ICC) | Israel must take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, UN court says in ruling on temporary measures (CBC News) | Anatomy of a Genocide – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 (United Nations) | Semitic people (Wikipedia) | Semitic languages (Wikipedia) | Canadian Sanctions Related to Syria (Government of Canada) | Canadian Sanctions Related to Sudan (Government of Canada) | Canadian Sanctions Related to Russia (Government of Canada) | National Council of Canadian Muslims | Report: Unveiling the Chilly Climate – The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada (Independent Jewish Voices Canada)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem is joined by Ashlyn, Lauren, and Laura in the first part of a two part discussion of the history and current situation in historic Palestine. Gem provides an overview of the October 7th attacks and the Israeli military response, Ashlyn summarizes the history of settlement in the region, and Lauren addresses the question of apartheid in the West Bank.

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

The October 7th Attacks and the War in Gaza: A breakdown of how the Hamas attack unfolded (Al Jazeera) | Death count from Re’im music festival massacre reportedly updated to 364 (The Times of Israel) | Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war (Committee to Protect Journalists) | At least half of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed, new analysis shows (BBC) | 360,000 buildings damaged or destroyed in Gaza Strip: ESCWA (Anadolu Agency) | Israel-Gaza war: What we know about the captives taken by Hamas (Al Jazeera) | Thousands of Gaza workers ‘missing’ after arrested and blindfolded by Israel (The Independent) | Israel: Palestinian Healthcare Workers Tortured (Human Rights Watch) | Canadian doctors are being tapped for evidence in war crimes case against Israel (The Breach) | Canadian healthcare workers’ experiences in the Gaza strip after November 2023 (International Centre of Justice for Palestinians)

The History of Palestine: How Settlements and Displacements Are Part of the Gaza Conflict (NPR) | A History of Zionism (NPR) | Deir Yassin massacre (Wikipedia) | Revisionist Zionism (Wikipedia) | 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine (Wikipedia) | History of Palestine (Wikipedia) | History of the State of Palestine (Wikipedia) | Timeline of the Palestine region (Wikipedia) | Nakba (Wikipedia) | 1967 Palestinian exodus (Wikipedia) | History of ancient Israel and Judah (Wikipedia) | Israeli Declaration of Independence (Wikipedia) | Shane and Ben on Confronting Antisemitism on the Left Pt. II (Live Like the World is Dying)

Apartheid in the West Bank: Apartheid (Legal Information Institute) | Apartheid (MSF Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law) | Does Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians Rise to the Level of Apartheid? (Human Rights Watch) | The question of Palestine (UN Trade & Development) | Gaza crossings: movement of people and goods (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) | List of International Law Violations by the State of Israel (ItIsApartheid.org) | Battle of Gaza (2007) (Wikipedia) | History of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict (Wikipedia) | Israeli Declaration of Independence (Wikipedia) | West Bank barrier (Wikipedia) | Israeli apartheid (Wikipedia)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, the crew discusses common misconceptions: Gem corrects cardiac confusion, Ashlyn advocates for accommodations, and Lauren lambasts linguistic prescriptivism.

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

Heart Conditions: Cardiac Arrest (Johns Hopkins Medicine) | Heart Failure (Johns Hopkins Medicine) | Heart Attack (Johns Hopkins Medicine)

Prescriptive Grammar: Definition and Examples of Prescriptive Grammar (Thought Co.) | Adjective Order Rules in English (Grammarly Blog) | English usage controversies (Wikipedia) | Common English usage misconceptions (Wikipedia)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, and Laura discuss some summer-themed nonsense and Gem entertains the panel with an obscure patent that may just fix policing.

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

NatPat: NATPAT Health and Wellness Patches

Reflexology Sandals: Reflexology Research Doesn’t Put Its Best Foot Forward (McGill University) | Reflexology: panacea or placebo? (The Conversation) | Revisiting reflexology: Concept, evidence, current practice, and practitioner training (PMC) | Is There Science to Support Reflexology? (Massage Magazine) | Foot Reflexology Chart: How to Properly Massage Your Feet (Well and Good) | Foot and Ankle Anatomy (Foot Pain Explored) | Willow Springs man staged farm accident, paid someone to cut off his feet (Springfield News-Leader)

US Patent #1749090: US1749090A: Apparatus for obtaining criminal confessions and photographically recording them (Google Patents) | These are the Dates I Choose to Remember (Discourse Blog) | Would You Confess Your Criminal Misdeeds to This Skeleton? (Atlas Obscura) | Episode 98: Crime & Punishment (LUEE) | Episode 99: Forensic Science (LUEE) | Episode 159: Policing in Canada (LUEE)

Aloe Vera: Acemannan, an Extracted Polysaccharide from Aloe vera: A
Literature Review (NPC) | No evidence of aloe vera found in the aloe vera at Wal-Mart, CVS, Target (Chicago Tribune) | The efficacy of Aloe vera cream in the treatment of first, second and third degree burns in mice (ScienceDirect) | Efficacy of aloe vera cream in prevention and treatment of sunburn and suntan (PubMed) | Aloe Vera for Sunburns: Does It Help? (Cleveland Clinic) | The efficacy of aloe vera used for burn wound healing: a systematic review (PubMed) | The truth about applying after-sun on sunburnt skin, according to the experts (The Independent) | Aloe Vera Is a Lie (The Ringer) | Aloe Vera: A Short Review (PMC)

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Originally published 22 February 2021.

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Laura, Gem, and Lauren discuss soup’s history as a religious conversion tool, the science of bone broth, and the discredited claim that bat soup was responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, then everyone attempts (and fails!) to define what, exactly, makes something a soup.

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

Souperism: Souperism (Wikipedia) | Origins of the Irish Famine term “take the soup” (Irish Central) | Edward Nangle and the Achill Island Mission (History Ireland) | Irish Potato Famine (History Channel)

Bone Broth: Dietary Collagen: Should Consumers Believe the Hype? (Today’s Dietitian Magazine) | Collagen: The Fibrous Proteins of the Matrix (NCBI Bookshelf) | What’s the scoop on bone soup? (Harvard Health) | Bone Broth vs. Stock: What’s the Difference? (Epicurious) | Bone Broth Analysis: Reader Research (alive) | Ask the Expert: What’s the Deal With Bone Broth? (Today’s Dietitian Magazine)

COVID-19 Wasn’t Caused by Bat Soup: Where did COVID come from? WHO investigation begins but faces challenges (Nature) | Covid-19: Infectious coronaviruses ‘circulating in bats for decades’ (BBC News) | How the myths surrounding bat soup came to represent our collective fear and confusion over COVID-19 (National Post) | Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Transmission (CDC)

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Originally published 13 January 2020.

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Laura leads Ashlyn, Lauren, and Gem in a discussion of the history and science of sandwiches, then everyone attempts (and fails!) to define what, exactly, makes something a sandwich.

On this episode: Ashlyn maintains that open-faced sandwiches do not exist, Gem argues that soup in a bread bowl is in fact a sandwich, Ashlyn and Laura dispute whether pie qualifies as a casserole or a dumpling, and Lauren opines that once a sandwich is put in the Snackmaster sandwich maker, it ceases to be a sandwich entirely.

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a podcast that delves into issues of science, critical thinking, and secular humanism.

John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich: Warfare on the Mediterranean in the Age of Sail: A History, 1571–1866, by David S.T. Blackmore (Google Books) | A Tour to London, Or, New Observations on England and Its Inhabitants, by Pierre Jean Grosley (Google Books) | Earl of Sandwich (Wikipedia) | John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (Wikipedia) | The Story of the Sandwich (History) | History of the Sandwich (PBS Food) | Trencher (Wikipedia) | Meze (Wikipedia) | Poker Night in Napa (Food & Wine)

Biphasic Sleep: Biphasic and polyphasic sleep (Wikipedia)

Processed Meat and Cancer: International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC (MSDS HyperGlossary) | This is the only known thing that is not a carcinogen (Business Insider) | List of IARC Group 1 Agents (Wikipedia) | Bacon, salami and sausages: how does processed meat cause cancer and how much matters? (Cancer Research UK) | Processed meat and cancer – what you need to know (Cancer Research UK) | Red meat, processed meat and cancer (Cancer Council NSW) | Q&A on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat (WHO)

The History and Science of Bread: Wheat (Wikipedia) | Bread (Wikipedia) | History of bread (Wikipedia) | Bread in culture (Wikipedia) | Bread (History Magazine) | Science of Bread: Bread Science 101 (Exploratorium) | Science of bread making (Baking Industry Research Trust) | Bread Baking Clinic: Under-Kneading & Over-Kneading (The Kitchn)

Cultural History of Sandwiches: Important Sandwiches That Changed America Forever (Thrillist) | The History of Five Uniquely American Sandwiches (Smithsonian Magazine) | To Evade Pre-Prohibition Drinking Laws, New Yorkers Created the World’s Worst Sandwich (Gastro Obscura) | Raines Law (St. Louis Public Library) | Who Invented the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich? (National Peanut Board) | The Curious History of Vietnam’s Bánh Mì Sandwich

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On this special bonus episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn Noble and Lauren Bailey share Gem’s valedictory address to the University of Manitoba Medicine Class of 2024 and discuss the fallout thereof.

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

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Ashlyn, and Laura discuss the impact of large language models and other forms of generative AI on culture and scientific endeavours.

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

Note: Content warning for discussion of disordered eating and self-harm from 36:30 to 38:30.

AI Chatbots: Chatbot that offered bad advice for eating disorders taken down (NPR) | In 2016, Microsoft’s Racist Chatbot Revealed the Dangers of Online Conversation (IEEE Spectrum) | Twitter taught Microsoft’s AI chatbot to be a racist asshole in less than a day (The Verge) | Microsoft Investigates Disturbing Chatbot Responses from Copilot (Forbes) | 5 Gen AI chatbot fails and how to avoid them (Khoros) | What Air Canada Lost in ‘Remarkable’ Lying AI Chatbot Case (Forbes) | Facebook’s AI Told Parents Group It Has a Gifted, Disabled Child (404 Media)

AI and the Job Market: Top AI in Hiring statistics in 2024 (Workable) | AI Recruiters Have Joined the Job Search. Who Are They Helping? (Scientific American) | Considerations and Risks of AI in Employment Decisions (McCarthy Tétrault) | Job security in the age of artificial intelligence and potential pandemics (Statistics Canada) | The History of Artificial Intelligence: Complete AI Timeline (Tech Target) | The Ultimate AI Job Search Guide (Career Foundry) | Top 10 A.I. Job Search Tools (HashDork) | Unveiling The Dark Side of Artificial Intelligence in the Job Market (Forbes) | Your Job Search Sucks Right Now Due to AI Hiring, Ghost Job Listings (Business Insider)

AI in Photography: Samsung caught faking zoom photos of the Moon (The Verge) | Xerox scanners/photocopiers randomly alter numbers in scanned documents (D. Kriesel)

AI and Peer Review: Scientific Journals Are Publishing Papers with AI-Generated Text (404 Media) | Quantum Entanglement: Examining its Nature and Implications (Journal of Material Sciences & Manufacturing Research) | Scientific Journal Publishes AI-Generated Rat with Gigantic Penis In Worrying Incident (VICE) | Study Featuring AI-Generated Giant Rat Penis Retracted, Journal Apologizes (VICE) | Unethical academics, AI, and peer review (Nicholas Lo Vecchio) | ChatGPT Looms Over the Peer-Review Crisis (404 Media) | Monitoring AI-Modified Content at Scale: A Case Study on the Impact of ChatGPT on AI Conference Peer Reviews (Liang et al., arXiv.org)

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On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Gem, and Laura talk about people who were disbelieved but were eventually vindicated. Topics include pilot David Steeves’ missing airplane, singer Sinéad O’Connor public denunciation of the Catholic Church, neurologist Stanley Prusiner’s discovery of prions, and neuropathologist Bennet Omalu’s findings of CTEs in NFL players.

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

David Steeves’ Missing Airplane: David A. Steeves (Steeves House Museum) | David Steeves (Wikipedia) | Hero or hoax? Public doubted pilot’s story of survival (Los Angeles Times)

Sinéad O’Connor and the Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal: Sinéad O’Connor: Biography, Singer, Activist (Biography.com) | Sinead O’Connor Cause of Death Revealed: Natural Causes (Rolling Stone) | Sinéad O’Connor (Wikipedia) | Sinéad O’Connor on Saturday Night Live (Wikipedia) | Catholic Church sexual abuse cases (Wikipedia) | Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Wikipedia)

Stanley Prusiner and Prions: Heretical Theory on Brain Diseases Gains New Ground (The New York Times) | Novel Proteinaceous Infectious Particles Cause Scrapie (Science) | Prions (PNAS) | Stanley B. Prusiner (Wikipedia) | Prion (Wikipedia) | Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (Wikipedia) | Kuru (disease) (Wikipedia) | Fatal insomnia (Wikipedia)

Bennet Omalu and CTEs: Doctor behind ‘Concussion’ tackled racism and NFL (Los Angeles Times) | Concussion medic didn’t identify head trauma syndrome as Will Smith film claims, say doctors (The Guardian) | League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis (PBS Frontline) | The NFL Tried to Intimidate Scientists Studying the Link between Pro Football and Traumatic Brain Injury (Union of Concerned Scientists) | Bennet Omalu, Concussions, and the NFL: How One Doctor Changed Football Forever (GQ) | CTE doctor Bennet Omalu has profited selling distorted science (Washington Post) | How the Sports World Learned to Ignore CTE (Global Sport Matters)

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