March Bonus: Plandemic!
Despite being almost 90 minutes long, our COVID CONSPIRACIES episode covered just a fraction of the misinformation bouncing around the country in 2020. So to cover some of the viral myths and zombie statistics we didn't get to, we decided to have a little watch party for a coronavirus conspiracy classic: "Plandemic."
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As ever, leave a comment if you've got a request for future Patreon bonus episodes.
Also thanks one more time for bearing with us during our hiatus! It feels amazing to be back. See you soon on the main feed for JAMIE OLIVER!
M&A
Comments (151)
I also talk to the podcasts I'm listening to like they can hear me
There was a time during my eating disorder where I joked with my friend I was getting help because of feeling to weak to change the channel when Big Bang Theory reruns came on. (I am doing better. It turns I also had undiagnosed hypthyroidism).
Made respect for Mike Hobbs for knowing about the Chinese conspiracy theories about COVID coming from the US military. I work as a China policy analyst, and collecting those theories from PRC websites was my job back in December 2019. One year later, I was getting requests "does the Wuhan virology lab have ties to the Chinese government?" Yes, for the same reason the NIH has ties to the U.S. government. It's a public research institution, that's not a secret. The Wuhan water department also has ties to the Chinese government.
Great episode, what a wild ride. Also, PSA, the thing about falsely linking cfs/me to that imaginary retrovirus and the think tank selling test kits is actually a LOT worse than offering false hope. If there is reputable evidence (eg, a paper in a major peer reviewed journal) that a disease is caused by X, then drs are liable to infer that the presence of X is necessary for a diagnosis. And whether or not you can get a diagnosis has a pretty massive impact on what support, if any, you can access via health providers, government programs, insurance companies, etc. If the retrovirus was not in fact connected with cfs/me, then obviously people who took the test would be negative for the virus. I'd be very surprised if there weren't people who lost their cfs/me diagnosis as a result of this (if they were able to get one in the first place) and were denied aid as a result - all on the basis of testing negative for a (possibly fictional) virus with no fucking connection to their condition in the first place. It's pretty dark that grifters like this who manage crossovers with the legitimate medical industry are even more cursed than the ones who stay in their lane. They can really screw vulnerable people over from two directions at once.
Hey, I’m super late to this cause I’m catching up on bonus episodes but I have severe ME. Thanks for explaining this to people. I’m absolutely devastated that this specific incident happened to my me/cfs community —before my time in it, so to speak, but still. I’d add that incidents like this also ward off further research.
Late on this. The camera man for that is a guy named Gabriel who used to be a DJ in the psychedelic psytrance scene. He went from partier to Christian and moved to a ranch with Micki Willis. He's been me tooed.
This whole episode felt like being sat down by my older siblings I wish I had and being ruthlessly mocked and laughed at for ever getting sucked into this crap. I very nearly became indoctrinated into plandemic, antivax, wellness and right wing beliefs by an ex partner for 3 yrs! Its been 2yrs since i left him and i am so glad I found this podcast 🙌
I was out at "doctorial"
As someone who lives 10 minutes from Ojai, you’re missing a key demographic that makes it even worse: super racist country people. It’s a very bizarre town
I either just sent you a looooong email just before adding a quick second point, or I accidentally erased the looooong email. Geez. Anyway, point #2:At approx 47:32, I was reminded of a stat I once read. It was something along the lines of, "When surveyed, 95% of people report that they have above average IQ's." Ya gotta love it.
Can y'all please fact check this in a future episode? https://www.okdoomer.io/everything-that-friend-wants-you-to-know-about-covid
I wish they named it "Plandemic 2: 2 Plan 2 Demic" And then obviously "Plandemic 3: Tokyo Drift."
Plandemic The Musical: The Musical: The Series!
So excited to spend my Sunday morning streaming your documentary, Aubrey. Thank you for opening up your life for us. Hearing your story filled my heart.
Dream crossover: Maintenance Phase, God Awful Movies, and Plandemic the Musical. (But if in the future I just get two separate episodes about this musical, that will also be amazing)
Re: the chronic fatigue syndrome tangent, I have a convenient anecdote for getting people to understand the difference between "tired" and "no, I'm serious, this is a medical issue": I have had sleep paralysis exactly once in my life. I came to in the middle of the night, feeling fully awake. I wanted to know what time it was, but my glowing alarm clock was on the other side of the room, and I couldn't see it in the position I was in. It took me SEVERAL MINUTES to notice anything was unusual, because I COULD NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE between the amount of trouble I frequently have moving from nothing but lack of executive function and LITERALLY BEING PARALYZED. I only figured it out when my nose got itchy.
Remember when we were supposed to turn into covid zombies 2 years after taking the vaccine?
Not yet a zombie.
It’s really a testament to how well Micheal has kept his face separate from his work and maintained privacy that we shop at the same Trader Joe’s and I would literally never recognize him
Unrelated to this episode but: I’d love to see you guys talk about some positive portrayals of fat protagonists in media! To make up for all the negative portrayals, I’d love to hear about movies or shows etc where they actually get fat representation right!
I wish you’d dug a little deeper into Jamie Oliver’s fat phobia and his hateful behaviour toward fat children. You got there in the end, which is great, but his fat phobia and his gleeful engagement in humiliating and degrading CHILDREN, with their parents participation on national television, is what really set this guy apart. It was shocking even at the time.
Not sure if this is a big enough topic for a bonus episode, but heard this story on NPR and I have so many thoughts and feelings and REALLY want Aubrey and Mike’s thoughts and feelings, too! https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1243989381/how-big-food-co-opted-the-anti-diet-movement-for-profit
I wasn't in the know about Jamie's offenses, so this was really illuminating! I have to say though, I have several of his cookbooks and they are all really great! Recipes and techniques look odd at first, but are easy to follow and ALWAYS turn out. I'm confused on the topic of "appropriation" though -- food everywhere has always evolved through the blending of culinary cultures and fusions can be exciting and make different foodways more accessible and appreciated. Final point -- unfortunately, Jamie's shtick while he's performing HAS become pretty tiresome -- all the little catchphrases and cutesiness have become downright cringey!
Guys this podcast is quite literally my favourite thing ever!! I look forward to every episode and am never disappointed ❤️ keep it up!!
Can I just throw it in here (vis the Jamie Oliver post) that his steak pie with cheddar and Guiness is easy and crazy good (scrummy?)
scrummy is short for scrumptious ... haven't tried it but thanks for tip
If you enjoyed this then I really recommend the second series of Jon Ronson's 'Things Fell Apart' podcast. Looks at the links between the people and ideas linking so many recent conspiracy theories including Plandemic. It really shows how one thing can fuel another without realising
Can confirm, brilliant show
I think the most problematic stunt show Jamie Oliver did was Fifteen .
Fluffernutters are real! And I loved them as a kid. Born and raised in New England and didn’t understand why Fluff WASN’T in the sandwich aisle in grocery stores in other areas.
Aubrey got a shout out today from sci-fi author Cory Doctorow! wtg Aubrey! https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/05/corrupt-for-cocoa-puffs/
I didn't see Aubrey mentioned it that... but I did see something that started reasonable and became honestly as toxic as what it says it's fighting against. Yes, we don't need to defend big food companies and we should point out their influence. But that doesn't make any food, even highly processed food, "unhealthy." And just like it isn't okay to promote diets as if they are an actual solution, it's not okay to vilify foods like cereal as if they are always bad. That just adds to the idea that weight is a direct factor of what we eat when that's largely untrue, especially for fat folks. It also leaves out folks (children and adults) with ARFID and food sensitivities whose only safe foods might be processed foods like cereal. Fed is absolutely always best and I hate this vilification of food poor people can afford and food that could be safe and necessarily for folks with ARFID. The fact is that no food should be vilified or denied unless it is actually poisonous, and processed food is not objectively poisonous just because it's processed. High calorie food isn't objectively poisonous just because it's high calorie. Some people absolutely need foods like these, and others are perfectly fine consuming them. Foods are not the enemy.
I also loved the Jamie Oliver episode, fuelled by rage of course, thanks! As a Brit, I knew about some of his racism / colonialism, not the horrendous Empire stuff but his appropriation / annihilation of 'jerk' flavourings - the comedian Munya Chawawa has done some great sketches based on that! But I'm ashamed his rampant fatphobia in particular had somehow passed me by over the years. So yeah, firmly on team F this guy forever! Although I have to say I'm a little sad neither of you uttered the word 'pukka' in this episode, which in my mind was always his biggest catchprase...and now I think about it is also likely appropriative! P.S. Aubrey, it was so lovely to meet you in Newcastle earlier in the year - Erica (dragonfruit earrings).
It was so interesting to hear more about Jamie and how problematic he is... but also I just came here to say isn't Munya a national treasure?? What a guy!!!
I was so excited to see a Jamie Oliver episode waiting for me today! I’m glad you talked about the school lunches and his obnoxious and wrong-minded crusade. Every time I see the clip of him telling kids that expensive meat like chicken breasts are good (because they are expensive, he actually says this) but the carcass is trash, I am overcome by a desire to corner Jamie Oliver in a dark alley and demand to know if he’s never made his own bone broth, as surely any chef should know how to do. And was that broth trash, Jamie??? But mostly I came here to say to Michael what Aubrey could not. I am from Alabama, and so I can say it: Mountain Dew is a redneck drink. I am so sorry to break it to you, I also love Mountain Dew! When I was younger and had a lot of shame about the where I’m from, it was a guilty pleasure to enjoy the soda that was largely associated with Talladega and country boys who chew tobacco. Now I’m older and wiser, unashamed of my home, and aware that the poor rural south is where moral panics about systemic issues go on vacation, so I probably shouldn’t care about anyone who looks down on rednecks and their soda of choice.
Y’all should consider doing a podcast on Andrew huberman & this crazy fall out 👀
...But where is the aforementioned main feed episode? 😅
@Aubrey "spiders man" lolllllllll
I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but there's a big part of Mikki's radicalization you may have missed! Mikki's brother died of AIDS after using AZT. Mikki believed the drug is what killed him, and Fauci was one of the faces for this treatment. I think he was perfectly primed for this conspiracy.
Re chronic fatigue syndrome, I think there is a core misunderstanding perpetuated by health care professionals - not having a diagnosis and/or not having much or any measurable evidence (ie per traditional tools like blood work or biometric data or test results etc.) of a disease state does NOT mean that you do not have a legitimate issue that is impacting your quality of life and/or overall health. All it likely means is that insurance will not cover it and western medicine does not have an established treatment algorithm that works to treat or improve the symptoms. Diagnosis like CFS (and IBS) are western medicine’s attempt to essentially recognize symptoms that subjectively are very real but are not one cohesive, single disease or have one single (or even any number of quantifiable) cause(s). Rather, the research we do have substantiates that these grab-bag diagnoses are an attempt to label a symptom (or cluster of symptoms) that something is out of balance (mildly or extremely) in a person’s physiology or biochemistry etc. so that a person can access medical care and support. However, these diseases are not actually a single disease state. They are red flags that serve as a proxy for likely thousands (at a minimum) of different imbalances, some of which are within a person’s power to influence (such as nutrition or sleep etc.) but many of which may be outside of a individual’s ability to influence them directly and or reliably. (Like genetics / epigenetics, for example). Practically, understanding this means: - western medicine may invalidate your very real health issues because it does not have a framework to measure and quantify and treat your body’s imbalances. This doesn’t mean you are optimally healthy or fine. It just means our western medicine system likely can’t help you very well (or at all) and or insurance companies will not be able to help you in paying for supports you very likely may benefit from. - your subjective experiences, in the face of little ability to quantify or measure via common tests used in medicine, matter. A lot. If you are tired and can’t get out of bed, there is a problem. Do not let a practitioner tell you there is not a problem. It is true that our subjective experience is more vulnerable to being misunderstood or misinterpreted. However, this is not a good reason to permit health care providers to dismiss entirely your experiences. - you are likely more vulnerable than others to purchasing services or products that acknowledge and legitimize your experience; unfortunately, this alone does not make it more likely that whatever it is they are selling or marketing will help improve your situation. I’m not saying this to dash your hopes or wholesale criticize those attempting to help others who western medicine framework has left behind / failed. I’m saying it to encourage you to use your critical thinking skills to evaluate information. - Thinking of health on a spectrum is usually very helpful. For example, eating - on one extreme end we have a person who has an eating disorder diagnosis. On the other end, we have someone who has an extremely healthy relationship with food. In the middle, we have the majority of people - all variations of relationships with food (a grey area vs black and white). If we use only the extreme end of the spectrum to permit people to access care (insurance coverage), or to legitimize their experience (ie you have an anorexia diagnosis and therefore your struggle is real), we are missing a huge swath of people whose quality of life and health may be suffering by denying their experience and also their access to treatments. Experts and friends alike may prolong their suffering by invalidating their experience either overtly or subconsciously, which often leads a person to suppress their inner wisdom and experiences, which prevents engagement in care that could improve their situation. Fatigue is the same. Narcolepsy on one end, energy all of the time on the other (or minimally sufficient energy). It is unwise and unhelpful to gaslight people who are in the middle of this spectrum - wether consciously or unconsciously- if they have identified that this symptom is affecting their quality of life / components of health that are important to them. I recognize that this was a tangential rant. I hope that this post is helpful to those that are struggling and feel like their struggle has not been recognized by the current healthcare system we have in place. My background: Registered Dietitian, specializing in eating disorder / disordered eating support; a rebel who is trying to change healthcare by offering sliding scale support to those who need it, irrespective of diagnoses
This was extraordinary. You're a remarkable health advocate.
Plandemic 2: Disinformation Bugaloo
During an eating disorder relapse (prior to being diagnosed with hypothyroid and idiopathic hypersomnia) I had an experience similar to Aubrey's TRL story. Although it was The Big Bang Theory I didn't have the strength to turn off
Had no idea how much i needed fargo voice until now
Post-viral mass disabling events (including but not limited to ME-CFS, HIV, polio, Lyme, EBV, long COVID) would be a juicy series. And all the gaslighting and quackery that followed and continue to this day.
If anyone is actually interested in reading about some early predictions of the next pandemic, there's a great book from 2012ish called "Spillover" by science writer David Quammen that looks at the number of ways that viruses from the animal kingdom actually mutate and become deadly to people. It covers HIV/AIDS, Hantavirus, Marburg, Ebola, etc. It's actually really interesting reading! It's loooong, but you can read it in pieces. And Quammen made the case ten years ago that the next pandemic event would likely be a respiratory virus that spilled-over from the animal kingdom. Shhh! Don't tell the Plandemic people!
Speaking of ME/CFS, if you ever have space on your schedule, might I suggest graded exercise therapy as a topic? That whole mess seems like a legitimate nightmare misfire of the medical system.
I feel like I'm getting dumber even hearing clips of this. There used to be times when I thought I was too ignorant to understand something or that the people around me were getting something I wasn't because I was too young/inexperienced/unsophisticated/etc and God bless Mike, Aubrey, Sarah and Peter for helping me to understand that those situations were almost universally emerging from someone spinning bullshit to try and sell a fake thing. Whether it's applying to pills or crypto or a book or a diet or a lifestyle or an idea, I have learned a genuine skill from you all. Grif-dar.
Holy moly, did Mike & Aubrey undersell the musical! Check out this blurb: *** Plandemic: The Musical features an all-star cast of singers, dancers, jugglers, disco roller-skaters, mariachi bands, and more, plus cameos from real-life superheroes. *** All-star jugglers, people!! (https://plandemicseries.com for the trailer)
I thought this was just a great Aubrey one-liner at first! Of course it’s real! Those disco roller skaters must be straight from hell 🛼🪩👹
Thank you! I have ME/CFS and you are so wonderful to hear support us
"a miniature gentleman having a face journey" 😂😂😂😂😂
Tufts connected person here! John Coffin wasn’t a co-author, but had signed an editorial supporting the study before failing to replicate it in his own lab
Gotta love those neoliberal Californians lolol
What is the difference between the Patreon bonuses and "MP after dark" on spotify?
Those are paid access episodes for people who aren’t on Patreon they can just pay to listen on Spotify instead.
I think we should conceptualize fatigue more the way we conceptualize pain, in that there are different kinds and different degrees of fatigue.
When will I learn not to be getting a drink during these!😂
Can’t even lie I gasped when I saw this title
I was so delighted when, after having the exact same thought, Aubrey said, you’re gonna get some hop ons. 😂
I didn't know where to put this, but someone is posting bonus episodes on Spotify under the name MP After Dark.
I think it’s them cos it’s paid!
I don’t know whether I’m dreading or looking forward to Jamie Oliver! It’ll be interesting to hear a non-UK perspective, I suppose, if nothing else…
(Because, honestly - he’s done some pretty good things. Not exclusively good things, of horse, but definitely a few.)
Shock waves... ...foetal tissues... ...minions... ...waged war... ...out of focus...
My dad died of COPD during the pandemic but his death certificate only mentioned COPD/pneumonia. His hospital records said he was negative for Covid, so, no, doctors didn't assume Covid in all respiratory deaths, Marge (couldn't remember her name but remember the Fargo comparison)
Is Emily Oster on your radar? She’s an economist turned parenting book writer that caused quite a fuss in my science minded mom groups with her first book expecting better. Then we had to ban her content during the pandemic because she started making wild predictions and covid recommendations as someone with zero public health knowledge. She’s got at least two more books out and I’d swear I saw a think piece about how she can only seem to fail up? I would dieeeee for a little coverage of her here or on IBCK!!
Yes!!
Ooh licensing payments for researchers is my job!
“A miniature gentleman having a face journey” is a quote for the ages.
Agreed! One of the best Mike zingers of all time.
Btw it’s worth noting that ME/CFS is still underfunded. Does the big long Covid funding make up for it? Honestly not sure.
Long covid funding has gotten anyone absolutely jack shit
Holy shit! I totally guessed it was selling supplements. Why is that the grifter go-to??
the gasps during the playback are sending me 😂😂😂
Mickey may as well have been my uncle, would absolutely not be surprised if he was big in the sovereign citizen movement!
Freak folks out further is a decent tagline vs build back better
i am *from* ojai, and i’d just like to clarify that for most of my life it was a mix of ag and blue collar workers and hippies in puff painted dragon t-shirts… with the occasional celebrity buying a second home there, and most rich tourism at the Inn. it wasn’t UNTIL the “plandemic” (lol) that it became an extra ramped up “rich people vacation town” whomst of which ended up buying up housing (and eventually turned them all in ti airbnbs when the world “reopened”)therefore, now, none of the locals can afford to live there 🤗 it’s exactly the wealthy tech and conspiracy libertarian adjacent people who moved to ojai and ventura during covid that ran housing prices up and opened up expensive gentrified shops and restaurants, and also were dumbasses on the trails leaving heaps of trash and making ‘search and rescue’ work overtime 💆🏼♀️🫠 i have an extra bitter place in my heart for all the wealthy city slicker jabronies that landed in my hometown during covid to cosplay working class and cottagecore
Moment of appreciation for Plan-Plandemic-demic
It’s impossible not to read the title of this episode in Aubrey’s voice
Slightly off topic but as a Brit I am so here for the Jamie Oliver exposé. Bring it!
Why does the guy in "Plandemic" sound like an AI?
I met this Judy lady while in graduate school. She had a late breaking abstract at a conference I attended. 2009. She was mesmerizing and I am no dummy but she definitely used fake data magic and propaganda as part of her con.
Michael « no hope » Hobbes : I couldn’t love you more
Why is it always autism and AIDS they lie about curing???? I mean I know why but why!!!
Mike and his “Lewis Black” voice about the World Economic Forum lmfao!!
I DEMAND merch of "a miniature gentleman having a face journey."
Awesome episode! So good to have you two back 👏🏻
I can't be the only one who almost yelled out "selling supplements!" when they Michael asked Aubrey what she thought Judy M was doing now...
Doctorial thesis. 🤦🏻♀️
The Planini. I am not sorry.
Anyone else find it weird how soothing the music is for the “documentary”?!?! I’m only 8 min in (to the ep- not watching the thing) and I feel like falling asleep while also deeply annoyed. It’s an odd choice of music for someone supposedly having their civil rights taken away…
I’m so surprised a podcast this gay and this millennial had a whole conversation about chronic fatigue syndrome and didn’t once mention the Golden Girls Episode about it 😂
Literally scrolled through the comments just to see if someone else remembered that episode!
My mom (a doctor) once sent me some right-wing video about how Obama anticipated a COVID-like pandemic when he was requesting funding from Congress after the 2014 Ebola outbreak. She didn’t realize that it was a right-wing video until I pointed out that the woman was some bat-shit conspiracy theorist because it was so obvious to someone capable of critical thinking that preparing for a future pandemic was a prudent thing to do. I genuinely don’t understand what Obama would have stood to gain politically by creating/funding a pandemic task force in 2014, when he wasn’t up for reelection—let alone by manufacturing a global pandemic six years later. I mean, do these folks not have *any* common sense?
When Aubrey and Michael are discussing the gag order that Judy M seemingly violates, and comparing it to MTG on the floor of Congress, it is reminding me of RFK JR on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in early 2022 ranting about covid mandates and vaccines being worse than Anne Frank in Nazi Germany. Yes dude, you are incredibly censored. Even his wife took to Twitter 20 minutes after his "apology" to call his remarks "reprehensible and insensitive."
Listen to the new season of Things Fell Apart
Who is this Roman Mars wanna be narrating this documentary what on earth
Right?? Uncanny valley Roman Mars. I thought it was an AI voiceover until it cut to the first interview clip.
The idea that the government wants you to be terrified is really interesting because I've just been listening to the QAA podcast and the Trickle Down episodes where they talk about just how much the US government invested in *stopping* people from being terrified of nuclear war and making it seem like a survivable event. It seems more likely to me that they don't want people to panic and I think if you weren't working in healthcare then you didn't get a full picture of how bad things were. But I guess that's conspiracy brain thinking for you, the government is always minimising or exaggerating and it seems fairly random which they choose to believe.
“You’re gonna get hop-ons” 💀
I'm dying to know if "face yoga" is a real thing Please consider it for one of the next episodes
I like this idea! Maybe one about alcohol. I feel like I’ve heard lots of contradictory information, like red wine being good for you vs. there is no safe amount of alcohol to consume.
I got my PhD in 2019 and my dissertation was in mathematical epidemiology focusing on mpox (then called monkeypox). The misinformation during covid was so frustrating, but listening to you guys point out the ridiculousness in your signature way is so cathartic.
My sympathies for the last 5 years, sounds awful to truly know how messed up the reporting and the conspiracies are.
Marge Gunderson being a recurring character in the Michael Hobbes podcast universe makes me so happy.
You two always make me laugh out loud multiple times but Audrey's "you are loving this fargo voice" made me legit cackle
My former MLM bossbabe cult shared the shit out of the Plandemic video… woof
USAMRAA is an agency that provides grants, cooperative agreements, and other transaction agreements for research. They don't do the research themselves. Lol
I think what was being said was USAMRID, not USAMRAA. USAMRID is the division that researches infectious diseases.
The Ojai descriptions 🤣 I grew up in Ojai and distinctly remember a dude handing out janky copies of Loose Change and pamphlets about chem trails at the farmers market. For most of my time living there they didn’t allow chain businesses within the city limits other than gas stations and grocery stores. At least three private boarding schools but only one small public high school. Weird little corner of the country
Thanks for clarifying how Ojai is spelt for us non Americans ☺️
Brb I’m going to watch the musical
As someone who is an RN and worked in a level one trauma center during COVID, this topic is aways very upsetting to me. I live in a major city we have on the regular quite a few codes every night because people come in who are really sick and we have every type of Dr there able to do everything. During the worst part of COVID we had dozens of codes every night. On the unit I work we tend to have fairly stable patients, we had a couple codes every single night for months. Half the unit was turned into a sick but not vented sick COVID unit. I had three coworkers die of COVID that first year. This wasn't a fake illness, this wasn't just a bad flu, this was new and when people get all ass hurt because the CDC kept changing guidance, it's because they didn't know everything. They weren't lying they were learning. I know so many nurses who left nursing all together after things calmed down about a year and a half ago. We were praised then vilified. You'd spend all night trying to save people to then have that fing moron of a president spew total garbage on news briefings. It was exhausting. I had to pretty much not be on any social media because I just started hating everyone. I can't even sit with it, like I can't look back at it without crying and thinking what was it all even for? People still don't believe, they still think it wasn't that bad. Sigh
'they weren't lying they were learning' - thank you for this. So succinct. Fwiw, I saw and see you healthcare workers and the immense sacrifice and trauma that you held in the face of weaponised magical thinking and outright hostility, and now, the overwhelming indifference to those still affected by covid whether that be long covid patients, the bereaved, the immunocompromised who are effectively excluded from society, and those like you who shouldered immense loads at the height of the pandemic and still now carry the emotional and mental scars from it. I'm in the UK and I thank the NHS staff every time I see them (a lot, bc disabled) and when I do that I'm thanking you too. Truly. Thank you, and I am so sorry. You deserve so much better.
Concept: A t-shirt that says "How Ojai!" with the MP logo rendered as an orange and an avocado
I’m going to start using the term “face journey” 😂 Also looking forward to the Jamie Oliver episode. I’m an American who was living in the UK when he started his school lunch crusade over there. It was full of anti-fat bias and class bias and just so very food shamey.
Michael's whispered adlibs while they play clips are so good
I have listened to less than 8 minutes and am hung up on “doctorial” thesis.
Not doctoral lol
By minute 12, I’ve headed straight to comments to see if anyone else remembers the episode of The Golden Girls where Dorothy gets gaslit for the entire ep and then is diagnosed with CFS. 👀
I remember that episode!
I was trying to remember what Michael's little whisper comments under the interview audio reminded me of and I think I landed on old SNL skits making fun of those whispery perfume ads from the 90's.
I was sent this (Pt 1) by my AirBnB landlady in London on May 6, 2020. I’m not sure if the online viewing numbers took into account WhatsApp, as that’s where she and the conspiracy theorists (extraordinaire) of her generation (pensioners) were sharing and resharing everything Covid. My reaction to it/reply to her that day was “Just watched 5 min. While I am open to the possibility, that Fauci is not a saint/could have skeletons in his closet, she just said that Fauci had killed millions of people since 1984....this video is not for me, I'm afraid. It seems like a personal grudge/anti-vaccination activist/anti-government/American extreme right wing conspiracy theory.” 😉
I am so sad I missed Michael walking through my local Trader Joe’s listening to horrifying things while shopping. Normally I’m listening to y’all. Meta!
As someone who remembers this from when it came out I was like trying to tell people this is how working in a scientific research lab works, like she isn't some martyr that got shut up bc she disagreed with someone. No she actively falsified data and then got all pissed off bc people called her out on it. And at the time of this video it was so easy to look up rna vaccines that exist and work like as a person who works in a lab I can't stand this woman or this "movie"
"miniature gentleman having a face journey" just absolutely turned my terrible morning around.
In 2009 I watched an ABC special called Earth 2100 speculating what the world would be like if we did not stop climate change, including a worldwide pandemic that disrupts civilization. I looked it up on YouTube out of curiosity and Fauci was one of the talking heads. https://youtu.be/MDqRpM72Odg?si=iHZAWTrQJBMIMflF
that's my Trader Joe's and now I'm trying to remember if I saw a miniature man having a face journey last week
Y'all could do a whole deep dive on me/CFS and all the redonkulous snake oil bs around it. As a queerdo with dumb amounts of fatigue, I'd love to hear your hot takes on all the bs out there. It's like a charcuterie platter of false hope...
I have ME/CFS, and I really appreciate your comments on it. I get a lot of disbelief even from my doctors and friends. You're the best. ❤
Same. It's so validating to hear undiluted belief and care, because it's so not what we're used to.
I came here looking for old episodes and stayed for the new episode!
The immense joy I feel seeing when your podcast drops is that sense of, oh yay, I get to hang out with my friends — thank you!!
Can we please start a thread guessing what the Plandemic Musical numbers will be like?
You Give Me Fever
The Jamie Oliver episode may possibly finally be the episode to make me cringe so hard that I completely turn inside out. That man is a lot... Looking forward to it! 😂
Same. As a West Virginian, I harbor some Big Time Resentment against his ass. Side note, I hope the episode mentions Oliver’s bullshit with school lunches in Huntington WV…
"Facial hair straight out of the warped tour" is such vivid, specific, deeply deeply cursed description. Exceptional. I hate it.
Ojai is where the romcom classic Easy A (with Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes and Penn Badgley) is set up. The John Hughes inspired filmed that is a modern adaptation of The Scarlet Letter. And yeah “unchecked wealth” is definitely the vibe of Ojai in the movie. And there’s even a line that’s like “her parents are the weirdest people I’ve ever met and I live in California”.
awesome to hear you talk about CFS. i’m wondering if you’d be interested in making an episode digging deeper into ME/CFS/fibromyalgia and the discourse around it (some experts saying it doesn’t exist)?
This would intersect very well worth a deep debunking of anthony william aka The Medical Medium. The medical establishment's dismissal of so many (mostly women) is how he found his niche. He's a menace to society, causing huge harm and death. All of it balancing on the skepticism generated around ME/CFS.
Mike, don't sell yourself short! You also have Elizabeth Holmes 😅
Season 2 of Jon Ronson’s Things Fell Apart is focusing on Covid times, and has episodes on Judy M. and Mikki Willis and how he made it because he thinks he is a hero in Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Interesting listen, recommend!
Yes, I came here to recommend season 2 of Things Fell Apart to Michael and Aubrey and other patrons who may enjoy additional context. You obviously know this Lenka, but for others: there are 8 episodes in the season and each one tells a discrete story until you get to episode 8 which talks about Plandemic and ties it to the previous 7 episodes. Ronson actually interviews Judy Mikovich in one episode and she’s obviously cooked. There’s even a link to George Floyd. The journey is wild.
I'm only just starting, but talking about sealed inditements you can't talk about screams Qanon stuff to me.
Yeah. Nugget lovers against Jamie!
So happy you're back, and as a brit who blames Jamie Oliver every time I drink a sad flavourless San Pellegrino, very excited for that episode!
Yessss Jamie Oliver that'll be a good one
Just listening to old episodes from you folks on Spotify when I got the notification! :) Bless!
Same lol! What a nice surprise