What’s in our medicines? There are active ingredients, and there are excipients, which is everything else. From colorants to emulsifiers to adjuvants, excipients hide many horrors, and it’s not even possible to know which ones are in your meds (or foods). Dairy that has been fortified with vitamins A & D also has seed oils and emulsifiers, but those things aren’t on the label. The government database that should have all the information is full of errors. Polysorbate 80, a common emulsifier in food and drugs, is so complex that it hasn’t been fully characterized, and is known to be cytotoxic generally, including being hemolytic—it breaks apart red blood cells. Meanwhile, Moderna’s Covid “vax” has even more contaminants than previously recognized.

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Mentioned in this episode:

FDA to ban petroleum-based dyes: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/hhs-fda-phase-out-petroleum-based-synthetic-dyes-nations-food-supply

Milk fortified with seed oils and Polysorbate 80: https://x.com/strong_sistas/status/1906085634357236222

Abrantes et al 2016. An overview of pharmaceutical excipients: safe or not safe? Journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 105(7): 2019-2026: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022354916004470

Betty Pezzimenti on DarkHorse, Nov 26, 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qA0wZD0iPw

Kinsella et al 2024. Inconsistent excipient listings in DailyMed: implications for drug safety. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 397(9): 6851-6854: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00210-024-03067-x

RFK on Dr. Phil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZofNzZ8UoPk

On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee: https://amzn.to/3EFZBAj (commission earned)

Sun et al 2017. Component-based biocompatibility and safety evaluation of polysorbate 80. RSC advances, 7(25): 15127-15138: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2017/ra/c6ra27242h

More contaminants in the Moderna vaccine: https://x.com/kevin_mckernan/status/1917252562442506303

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The middle ground scramble continues. Elites redefine their positions as if they had it right all along, and explain why they definitely need to be in charge of more stuff. We have been waiting for the reckoning; instead we are getting the anti-reckoning. Herein: how science isn’t done, why the scientific method is for everyone, and evidence that most who consider themselves elite don’t understand science. Also: the UK is moving forward with plans to dim the sun, because apparently we learned nothing from Covid, and informed consent is optional.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Our elites don’t deserve this much hatred: https://www.thefp.com/p/elites-dont-deserve-hatred

Anti-effectiveness of mRNA shots: https://x.com/JBSay/status/1915059350407676294

Experiments to dim the Sun will be approved within weeks: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/22/experiments-to-dim-the-sun-get-green-light/

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This week in women: the UK Supreme Court declares that transwomen are not women, and women are lauded for putting on matching jumpsuits and being launched into space for a minute. In Britain, rapists can no longer pretend to be women; in the United States, we are asked to celebrate one of the oldest plays in the book—attractive woman attaches herself to wealthy man and attains power—and pretend that it represents female empowerment, while conveniently forgetting actually skilled women who have come before. Also: a hostage situation in Podcastistan: in which we explore the strange about-face of some prominent free speech warriors. Finally: the amazing institution that is Ralston College, whose themes are truth, freedom of inquiry, beauty, and fellowship.

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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

Thumbnail courtesy of Blue Origin.

*****
Mentioned in this episode:

How women won the gender wars, by Kathleen Stock: https://unherd.com/2025/04/how-women-won-the-gender-wars/

Rapists aren’t women in the UK: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/18/trans-rapists-can-no-longer-claim-to-be-women/

Federal contracts to SpaceX, ULA & Blue Origin: https://spacenews.com/spacex-ula-blue-origin-win-13-5-billion-in-u-s-military-launch-contracts-through-2029/

Best shot at space for Amanda Nguyen: https://www.thecut.com/article/amanda-nguyen-blue-origin-space-flight-controversy.html

MIT research team: https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/amanda-nguyen-carries-mit-research-projects-into-orbit/

Former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, in Ebony: https://www.ebony.com/black-women-technology-nasa/

Douglas Murray in the New York Post: https://nypost.com/2025/04/17/opinion/douglas-murray-so-called-israel-hamas-ukraine-war-experts-spew-false-info-on-joe-rogans-podcast-there-has-to-be-a-standard/

Ralston College: https://www.ralston.ac

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Tom Bilyeu on the subject of consciousness, philosophy, and the scientific method. They discuss the importance of a conscious approach to life, the utility of principles in achieving goals, and the challenges of navigating novelty in a rapidly changing world.

Find Tom Bilyeu on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu and on X at https://x.com/tombilyeu.

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

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Tariffs, Trump, AI, nature, and science. Are the tariffs insane, or brilliant? Will Trump actually bring manufacturing back to the U.S.? How are the “reciprocal tariffs” calculated, what game is everyone playing, and how long will it take to know who wins? Then: AI marches us further into the Cartesian Crisis; can we restore our humanity? Scientific American claims that too much nature is bad for you (it’s not), and finally, some words from County Highway, and why we should consider being quiet and listening to Aslan.

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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

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

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Tucker Carlson & Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: https://x.com/tuckercarlson/status/1908204378613248067

Jeffrey Sachs – Trump is uniting the world against the U.S.: https://x.com/AskBabaDog/status/1908232709417402724

Ross Perot in 1992, and the “giant sucking sound:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRr60nmDyu4&t=1s

Balaji on “nuking supply chains,” quote-tweeting Flexport’s graph of the formula used to generate “reciprocal tariffs”: https://x.com/balajis/status/1907645443221463105

AI alignment on tariffs: https://x.com/krishnanrohit/status/1907587352157106292

AI turns images into full-body animations: https://x.com/minchoi/status/1907799412094427205

Scientific American warns against spending too much time in nature: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-spent-in-nature-is-good-for-your-brain-but-an-excess-can-negate-these/

Zagnoli et al 2022. Is Greenness Associated with Dementia? A Systematic Review and Dose–Response Meta-analysis. Curr Envir Health Rpt 9: 574–590: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40572-022-00365-5

County Highway: https://www.countyhighway.com

Ralston College’s Sophia Lectures: https://www.ralston.ac/events/the-sophia-lectures-with-bret-weinstein-and-heather-Heying

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In this week’s episode, we discuss ridiculous op-eds and letters to the editor in Nature this week, and the concept of fairness. First: gender equity for female scientists in war zones, and for women in mining. Are these laudable goals? Also: is division of labor between the sexes inherently objectionable? How does the concept of homeostasis relate to a body being given pharmaceutical interventions, a society being given equity interventions, or a government being given bureaucratic interventions? Then: level playing fields are the sine qua non of the West – they work in science, markets, politics, everything. Internet algorithms in their current state are, in comparison, anti-Western. Using the analogy of a card game, we discuss luck.

*****

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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:

Track gender ratios in research to keep countries, institutions and publishers accountable: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00891-w

Give grants to female scientists in war zones: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00926-2

How to get more women into mining: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00925-3

Murdock & Provost 1973. Factors in the division of labor by sex: A cross-cultural analysis. Ethnology 12(2): 203-225: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3773347

Ralston College’s Sophia Lectures: https://www.ralston.ac/events/the-sophia-lectures-with-bret-weinstein-and-heather-heying

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Bret Weinstein speaks with Charles Eisenstein on the subject of blackmail in American politics. They explore the complexities surrounding Zionism, the implications of antisemitism in political discourse, and the psychological mechanisms of coercion and blackmail that influence public figures.

Find Charles Eisenstein on X at https://x.com/ceisenstein and on his website at https://charleseisenstein.org.

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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.

Thumbnail: Jon Cherry / Stringer Getty Images News via Getty Images"

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

RFK Jr tweet: https://x.com/seckennedy/status/1904259440544743427

Bret’s Segment on RFK Jr. on Episode #269 https://youtu.be/Ms1p_WDJunA

Bret’s piece in Salon on terrorism: https://www.salon.com/2015/11/15/lets_not_get_it_wrong_this_time_the_terrorists_won_after_911_because_we_chose_to_invade_iraq_shred_our_constitution

“Rabbi tells Senate hearing on anti-Semitism that it's ‘not enough’ to be ‘not anti-Semitic.’" Tweet: https://x.com/infolibnews/status/1906536666635850188

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In this week’s episode, we discuss 23andMe – what does its impending bankruptcy mean for data security, and why did people think their genetic data were secure before the company went into bankruptcy? As we protect existing rights laid out in the Constitution, we also need to innovate new protections in a world with new threats and possibilities. Going back to what was will not be sufficient. Then: Bobby Kennedy Jr. and anti-Semitism; and Columbia University’s response to the Trump administration as it tries to hang on to $400 million dollars in annual federal funding. Finally: it’s five years since our first Evolutionary Lens livestream—what did we say in that first episode? Were we right, or were we wrong?

*****

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Caraway: Non-toxic, beautiful, light ceramic cookware. Save $150 on a cookware set over buying individual pieces, and get 10% off your order at http://carawayhome.com/darkhorse10.

*****

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:

23andMe initiates bankruptcy: https://investors.23andme.com/news-releases/news-release-details/23andme-initiates-voluntary-chapter-11-process-maximize

A midwestern Doctor considers 23andMe: https://x.com/midwesterndoc/status/1904446639537902014

RFK Jr tweet: https://x.com/seckennedy/status/1904259440544743427

Columbia University’s unsigned 4 page letter: https://president.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/03.21.2025%20Columbia%20-%20FINAL.pdf

DarkHorse Evolutionary Lens, episode 1, March 24, 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym-WGOq96G0

Ralston College’s Sophia Lectures: https://www.ralston.ac/events/the-sophia-lectures-with-bret-weinstein-and-heather-heying

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