LUEE

7 May 2023

Episode 191: Unsponsored Content, Part 1

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Laura, Ashlyn, and Lauren discuss some of the products marketed to our listeners through ads on (other) podcasts. In part one, Gem subjects the panel to MUD\WTR and Laura tosses back some AG1 by Athletic Greens.

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

MUD\WTR: I found it. The most annoying alternative food product on earth. (SFGate) | MUD\WTR Review: Healthier Than Coffee? (Illuminate Labs) | Does Mud Wtr Have Caffeine? If So How Much? (Drug Genius) | Functional medicine: The ultimate misnomer in the world of integrative medicine (Science-Based Medicine) | Reflection Paper on the Adaptogenic Concept (European Medicines Agency) | MUD\WTR Reviews (Trustpilot) | DIY Mud Water Recipe for Cheap (YouTube) | Episode 77: Coffee & Tea (LUEE)

AG1: What are adaptogens and should you be taking them? (UCLA Health) | Herbs & Supplements (Winchester Hospital) | Ingredients and Benefits (Athletic Greens) | Athletic Greens Review (Forbes Health) | What are adaptogens? (Vox) | Digestive Enzyme Supplements: Benefits, Risks and More (Forbes Health) | Water, Hydration and Health (PMC) | Ashwagandha (Merck Manuals Professional Edition) | Reishi (Merck Manuals Professional Edition) | Bromelain (Mount Sinai Hospital) | Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) an edible mushroom; a comprehensive and critical review of its nutritional, cosmeceutical, mycochemical, pharmacological, clinical, and toxicological properties (PubMed)

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Posted by Gem Newman on 7 May 2023 in General.

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3 April 2023

Episode 190: The Christ Touch

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and Dave watch C Me Dance, 2009’s hit Christian film about a ballerina with cancer who gets magic powers. Then Gem answers some questions about AI.

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

C Me Dance: C Me Dance (IMDb) | C Me Dance (Wikipedia) | C Me Dance Review (Eric D. Snider)

Large Language Models and “AI” Panic: The AI hype bubble is the new crypto hype bubble (Cory Doctorow) | ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web (The New Yorker) | Episode 116: Risk (LUEE)

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Posted by Gem Newman on 3 April 2023 in Art, Atheism, Geekery, Religion, Science and tagged ai, chatgpt, christian films, humour, religion, reviews.

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13 March 2023

Episode 189: Calvinist Tulips and Super Enormous Black Holes

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Laura, and Gem are skeptical about historical claims large and small. Was there really a secret Roman emperor named Sponsianus? Did the Dutch really go wild for tulips in the seventeenth century? Are you in a black hole right now?

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

Emperor Sponsianus: fact or forgery?: Gold coin proves ‘fake’ Roman emperor was real (BBC News) | Authenticating coins of the ‘Roman emperor’ Sponsian (PLOS ONE) | Is Sponsian real? Further Considerations (American Numismatic Society) | An Expert Opinion on Sponsianus (CoinsWeekly) | Domitian II (Wikipedia)

Did Holland really go wild for tulips?: There Never Was a Real Tulip Fever (Smithsonian Magazine) | What was Tulip Mania? Tulip Mania Overview & Crash (Study.com) | Tulipmania: About the Dutch Tulip Bulb Market Bubble (Investopedia) | Calvinism (The Canadian Encyclopedia) | Tulip mania (Wikipedia)

Are you in a black hole right now?: There’s a conspiracy theory that the world ended in 2012 and it makes sense (Upworthy) | Did The World End In 2012? A Mandela Effect Theory (YouTube) | What Is the Mandela Effect? Examples and Explanations (Verywell Mind) | 10 Questions You Might Have About Black Holes (NASA) | Fact check: No black holes created by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (USA Today) | Will CERN generate a black hole? (CERN) | The Higgs boson (CERN)

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Posted by Gem Newman on 13 March 2023 in Conspiracy, History and tagged black holes, History, tulips.

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13 February 2023

Episode 188: The Pope’s Personal Physician

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Gem, and Laura talk about more scams and scam artists, featuring a famous surgeon, a wine counterfeiter, a Canadian investment fund, and of course that Republican politician everyone’s talking about.

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

Paulo Macchiarini: Dr Con Man: the rise and fall of a celebrity scientist who fooled almost everyone (The Guardian) | Reading about embattled trachea surgeon Paolo Macchiarini? Here’s what you need to know (Retraction Watch) | The Celebrity Surgeon Who Used Love, Money, and the Pope to Scam an NBC News Producer (Vanity Fair) | Sweden: surgeon convicted of bodily harm over synthetic trachea transplant (The Guardian) | Paolo Macchiarini (Wikipedia)

The Crocus Fund: Crocus Investment Fund final wind-down plan approved by Manitoba court (CBC News) | An empty bank account could finally spell the end of the Crocus Investment Fund wind-down (CBC News) | Final settlement reached in Crocus Fund lawsuit (CBC News) | An end in sight for Crocus investors (Investment Executive) | Manitoba fund scandal grows (The Globe and Mail) | Crocus hit with $200 million lawsuit (Advisor’s Edge) | Anatomy of an alleged fraud (Winnipeg Free Press) | Manitoba whistleblower transferred to ‘non-job’ and read novels until retirement (Yahoo! News) | Crocus Investment Fund (Wikipedia) | Astra Credit Union remains tight-lipped on cheque scam (Winnipeg Free Press) | Bills (The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba)

George Santos: Here’s Every Single Lie Told by George Santos (New York Magazine) | Embattled Republican George Santos Won’t Serve on House Committees (BNN Bloomberg) | Canadian politics is not immune to George Santos-like behaviour (National Post)

Rudy Kurniawan: After Kurniawan’s Conviction, What Now for Fine Wine? (Wine-Searcher) | The man who sold millions in counterfeit wine to rich collectors (The Hustle) | Wine con man, ‘Sour Grapes’ subject Rudy Kurniawan deported (Los Angeles Times) | Beyond High-Profile Scandals, Wine Fraud Is Rampant (SevenFifty Daily) | The Jefferson Bottles (The New Yorker) | The Wine Fraud Story – The Beat Goes On! (The Underground Wine Letter)

Cookies!: Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Sally’s Baking Addiction) | Soft & Thick Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe (Sally’s Baking Addiction)

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Posted by Gem Newman on 13 February 2023 in Medicine, News, Politics, Skepticism and tagged medicine, scams, skepticism.

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9 January 2023

Episode 187: Last Year’s News

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Ashlyn, and Laura discuss the most important news of the twelve months. Who died? What were tech companies up to? And most importantly: Who brought snacks?

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

Update: Shortly after this episode was recorded, vote tallying was completed and QA workers at ZeniMax announced that their union drive was a success. Microsoft has officially recognized the union. ZeniMax Workers United, organized under the Communication Workers of America, which is now the largest union in the American video game industry.

2022 in Tech: A timeline of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter (NBC News) | Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk (Wikipedia) | Twitter under Elon Musk (Wikipedia) | Sony Paid Billions for Bungie and ‘Destiny,’ But What Are They Buying? (Vice) | The Consequences of Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard Are Dizzying (Vice) | WarnerMedia (Wikipedia) | Netflix loses almost a million subscribers (BBC News) | Tech’s Biggest Companies Are Sending Worrying Signals About the Economy (The New York Times) | Top tech stories of 2022: Musk buys Twitter, Facebook’s struggles, TikTok’s rise (Rappler) | This Startup Is Selling Tech to Make Call Center Workers Sound Like White Americans (Vice) | VC firms are getting stingier. Tribe Capital’s struggles show why (Fortune) | Amazon Labor Union | Amazon Labor Union (Wikipedia) | Tech’s Biggest Companies Are Sending Worrying Signals About the Economy (The New York Times) | Activision Blizzard Is Acting Like a Company That’s Scared of a Union (Vice) | Activision Blizzard CEO Says Company Will Recognize Raven Software Union And Begin Negotiations (Game Informer) | Edmonton video game workers vote to unionize, an industry first for Canada (CBC News) | Video Game Workers at Microsoft and Activision Take Steps to Unionize (The New York Times) | Fallout and Doom QA Testers Just Formed the Biggest Union in the US Games Industry (Vice) | Tech Won’t Save Us