Kristin Rawls's guest appearances

Kristin Rawls

I Don't Speak German

Sam Harris

James Allsup

Donald Trump

Lauren Southern

Bret Weinstein

Gavin McInnes

Kurt Vonnegut

Jason Wilson

Eric Weinstein

Stefan Molyneux

Jimmy Dore

James Lindsay

Matt Shea

Charles Murray

Richard Spencer

OwlTail

Jeff Eaton

So UATX happened. Dear God I wish stuff would stop happening. Thankfully we got Kristin Rawls and Jeff Eaton from Christian Rightcast to come back to help us talk about it.  * Content Warnings. Podcast Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618 IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ IDSG on Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1 Christian Rightcast https://rightcast.substack.com/ CHristian Rightcast on Twitter https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en Kristin's Twitter https://twitter.com/kristinrawls Jeff's Twitter https://twitter.com/eaton   Show Notes: Pano Kanelos at Bari Weiss's Substack We Can't Wait For Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One  The numbers tell the story as well as any anecdote you’ve read in the headlines or heard within your own circles. Nearly a quarter of American academics in the social sciences or humanities endorse ousting a colleague for having a wrong opinion about hot-button issues such as immigration or gender differences. Over a third of conservative academics and PhD students say they had been threatened with disciplinary action for their views. Four out of five American PhD students are willing to discriminate against right-leaning scholars, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology. The picture among undergraduates is even bleaker. In Heterodox Academy’s 2020 Campus Expression Survey, 62% of sampled college students agreed that the climate on their campus prevented students from saying things they believe. Nearly 70% of students favor reporting professors if the professor says something students find offensive, according to a Challey Institute for Global Innovation survey. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education reports at least 491 disinvitation campaigns since 2000. Roughly half were successful.  University of Austin Wikipedia The University of Austin website Under "Our principles"  Universities devoted to the unfettered pursuit of truth are the cornerstone of a free and ﬂourishing democratic society. For universities to serve their purpose, they must be fully committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse. In order to maintain these principles, UATX will be ﬁercely independent—ﬁnancially, intellectually, and politically.  Under "What Makes UATX Different"  A COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM OF INQUIRY  We’re reclaiming a place in higher education for freedom of inquiry and civil discourse. Our students and faculty will confront the most vexing questions of human life and civil society. We will create a community of conversation grounded in intellectual humility that respects the dignity of each individual and cultivates a passion for truth.  A NEW FINANCIAL MODEL  We’re completely rethinking how a university operates by developing a novel financial model. We will lower tuition by avoiding costly administrative excess and overreach. We will focus our resources intensively on academics, rather than amenities. We will align institutional incentives with student outcomes.  AN INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM  Our curriculum is being designed in partnership not only with the world’s great thinkers but also with its great doers—visionaries who have founded bold ventures, artists and writers of the highest order, pioneers in tech, and the leading lights in engineering and the natural sciences. Students will apply their foundational skills to practical problems in ﬁelds such as entrepreneurship, public policy, education, and engineering. Under "Programs"  Beginning Summer 2022 The Forbidden Courses Our Forbidden Courses summer program invites top students from other universities to join us for a spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities. Students will become proficient and comfortable with productive disagreement. Instructors will range from top professors to accomplished business leaders, journalists, and artists. Beginning Fall 2022 ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEADERSHIP MA PROGRAM The primary purpose of most conventional business programs is to credential large cohorts of passive learners with a lowest-common-denominator curriculum comprised of the most abstract principles of accounting, finance, management, and organizational leadership. In this 12-month program, UATX will recruit elite students from top schools, teach them the classical principles of leadership and market foundations, and then embed them into a network of successful technologists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and public-policy reformers. Students will then actively apply their learning to the most urgent and seemingly intractable problems facing our society, both in the private and public sectors.  Under "Frequently Asked Questions"  Do you have a physical location? Our headquarters are located in central Austin: 2112 Rio Grande Street, Austin, TX 78705  RashChapman, Attorneys at Law Texas Tribune, The new University of Austin hopes to counter what its founders say is a culture of censorship at most colleges  They also haven’t officially received nonprofit status from the federal government. They are using Cicero Research, which is run by Austin-based tech investor and advisory board member Joe Lonsdale, as a temporary nonprofit sponsor. According to the 2020 tax filing for Cicero Research, its mission is to “create and distribute non-partisan documents recommending free-market based solutions to public policy issues,” and “produce and distribute non-partisan educational materials about the importance of preserving Texan policies, values and history.”  Lonsdale tweet about Pete Buttigieg's parternity leave  Great for fathers to spend time w their kids and support moms, but any man in an important position who takes 6 months of leave for a newborn is a loser. In the old days men had babies and worked harder to provide for their future - that’s the correct masculine response.  US tech investor Joe Lonsdale refuses to apologise for ‘loser’ paternity tweet Why Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale is leaving Silicon Valley  Lonsdale said that 10 to 15 of his firm’s 45 employees are likely to join him in the Austin area. He’s also moving his policy organization, Cicero Institute, to the city. Among 8VC’s better-known investments to date are Palmer Luckey’s start-up, Anduril, which is building a virtual border wall, and Dustin Moskovitz’s software company, Asana, which went public in September. He’s also putting a lot of money in health-care companies like insurance provider Oscar Health and men’s health company Hims. 

So UATX happened. Dear God I wish stuff would stop happening. Thankfully we got Kristin Rawls and Jeff Eaton from Christian Rightcast to come back to help us talk about it.  * Content Warnings. Podcast Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/danielharper" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/danielharper</a> Jack's Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&amp;fan_landing=true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618</a> IDSG Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/idsgpod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/idsgpod</a> Daniel's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/danieleharper" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@danieleharper</a> Jack's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/_Jack_Graham_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@_Jack_Graham_</a> IDSG on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1</a> Christian Rightcast <a href="https://rightcast.substack.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://rightcast.substack.com/</a> CHristian Rightcast on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en</a> Kristin's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/kristinrawls" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/kristinrawls</a> Jeff's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/eaton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/eaton</a> Show Notes: Pano Kanelos at Bari Weiss's Substack <a href="https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/we-cant-wait-for-universities-to" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">We Can't Wait For Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One</a> <ul> <li>The numbers tell the story as well as any anecdote you’ve read in the headlines or heard within your own circles. Nearly <a href="https://cspicenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AcademicFreedom.pdf" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">a quarter</a> of American academics in the social sciences or humanities endorse ousting a colleague for having a wrong opinion about hot-button issues such as immigration or gender differences. Over <a href="https://cspicenter.org/reports/academicfreedom/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">a third</a> of conservative academics and PhD students say they had been threatened with disciplinary action for their views. <a href="https://cspicenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AcademicFreedom.pdf" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Four out of five</a> American PhD students are willing to discriminate against right-leaning scholars, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology.</li> <li>The picture among undergraduates is even bleaker. In Heterodox Academy’s 2020 <a href="https://heterodoxacademy.org/campus-expression-survey/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Campus Expression Survey</a>, 62% of sampled college students agreed that the climate on their campus prevented students from saying things they believe. Nearly 70% of students favor reporting professors if the professor says something students find offensive, according to a <a href="https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/challeyinstitute/Research_Briefs/2021_American_College_Student_Survey.pdf" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Challey Institute for Global Innovation survey</a>. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education reports at least 491 <a href="https://www.thefire.org/research/disinvitation-database/#home/?view_2_per_page=500&amp;view_2_page=1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">disinvitation</a> campaigns since 2000. Roughly half were successful.</li> </ul> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Austin" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">University of Austin Wikipedia</a> <a href="https://www.uaustin.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The University of Austin website</a> Under "Our principles" <ul> <li>Universities devoted to the unfettered pursuit of truth are the cornerstone of a free and ﬂourishing democratic society.</li> <li>For universities to serve their purpose, they must be fully committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse.</li> <li>In order to maintain these principles, UATX will be ﬁercely independent—ﬁnancially, intellectually, and politically.</li> </ul> Under "What Makes UATX Different" <ul> <li>A COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM OF INQUIRY</li> </ul> We’re reclaiming a place in higher education for freedom of inquiry and civil discourse. Our students and faculty will confront the most vexing questions of human life and civil society. We will create a community of conversation grounded in intellectual humility that respects the dignity of each individual and cultivates a passion for truth. <ul> <li>A NEW FINANCIAL MODEL</li> </ul> We’re completely rethinking how a university operates by developing a novel financial model. We will lower tuition by avoiding costly administrative excess and overreach. We will focus our resources intensively on academics, rather than amenities. We will align institutional incentives with student outcomes. <ul> <li>AN INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM</li> </ul> Our curriculum is being designed in partnership not only with the world’s great thinkers but also with its great doers—visionaries who have founded bold ventures, artists and writers of the highest order, pioneers in tech, and the leading lights in engineering and the natural sciences. Students will apply their foundational skills to practical problems in ﬁelds such as entrepreneurship, public policy, education, and engineering. Under "Programs" <ul> <li>Beginning Summer 2022</li> <li>The Forbidden Courses</li> <li>Our Forbidden Courses summer program invites top students from other universities to join us for a spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities. Students will become proficient and comfortable with productive disagreement. Instructors will range from top professors to accomplished business leaders, journalists, and artists.</li> <li>Beginning Fall 2022</li> <li>ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEADERSHIP MA PROGRAM</li> <li>The primary purpose of most conventional business programs is to credential large cohorts of passive learners with a lowest-common-denominator curriculum comprised of the most abstract principles of accounting, finance, management, and organizational leadership.</li> <li>In this 12-month program, UATX will recruit elite students from top schools, teach them the classical principles of leadership and market foundations, and then embed them into a network of successful technologists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and public-policy reformers. Students will then actively apply their learning to the most urgent and seemingly intractable problems facing our society, both in the private and public sectors.</li> </ul> Under "Frequently Asked Questions" <ul> <li>Do you have a physical location?</li> <li>Our headquarters are located in central Austin: 2112 Rio Grande Street, Austin, TX 78705</li> </ul> RashChapman, <a href="https://www.rashchapman.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Attorneys at Law</a> Texas Tribune, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/08/university-austin-founders-college-culture/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The new University of Austin hopes to counter what its founders say is a culture of censorship at most colleges</a> <ul> <li>They also haven’t officially received nonprofit status from the federal government. They are using Cicero Research, which is run by Austin-based tech investor and advisory board member Joe Lonsdale, as a temporary nonprofit sponsor.</li> <li>According to the <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/861325445/202101839349200915/full" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">2020 tax filing</a> for Cicero Research, its mission is to “create and distribute non-partisan documents recommending free-market based solutions to public policy issues,” and “produce and distribute non-partisan educational materials about the importance of preserving Texan policies, values and history.”</li> </ul> <a href="https://twitter.com/JTLonsdale/status/1453399478254379008" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Lonsdale tweet about Pete Buttigieg's parternity leave</a> <ul> <li>Great for fathers to spend time w their kids and support moms, but any man in an important position who takes 6 months of leave for a newborn is a loser. In the old days men had babies and worked harder to provide for their future - that’s the correct masculine response.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/oct/28/us-tech-investor-joe-lonsdale-refuses-to-apologise-for-loser-paternity-tweet" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">US tech investor Joe Lonsdale refuses to apologise for ‘loser’ paternity tweet</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/06/palantir-co-founder-joe-lonsdale-leaving-silicon-valley.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Why Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale is leaving Silicon Valley</a> <ul> <li>Lonsdale said that 10 to 15 of his firm’s 45 employees are likely to join him in the Austin area. He’s also moving his policy organization, Cicero Institute, to the city.</li> <li>Among 8VC’s better-known <a href="https://8vc.com/companies/?industry=health-it" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">investments</a> to date are Palmer Luckey’s start-up, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/17/how-andurils-palmer-luckey-plans-to-take-on-boeing-lockheed-martin.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Anduril</a>, which is building a virtual border wall, and Dustin Moskovitz’s software company, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ASAN" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Asana</a>, which went public in September. He’s also putting a lot of money in health-care companies like insurance provider <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/alphabet-invests-375-million-in-josh-kushner-founded-oscar-health.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Oscar Health</a> and men’s health company <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/17/hims-aims-to-raise-200-million-as-sales-of-mens-health-products-grow.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Hims</a>.</li> </ul>

98: The University of Austin, with Kristin Rawls and Jeff Eaton

Our friends Jeff Eaton and Kristin Rawls from the Christian Rightcast return to help us wrap up our Bret &amp; Heather coverage, at least for now.  Daniel takes us through the horrors of the 'Better Skeptics Project', Bret and Heather's escalating (yet crumbling) project of puffing Ivermectin as a Covid treatment, their spat with Yuri Deigin and Quillette, etc.  Content Warnings Show Notes: Christian Rightcast https://rightcast.substack.com/ CHristian Rightcast on Twitter https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en Kristin's Twitter https://twitter.com/kristinrawls Jeff's Twitter https://twitter.com/eaton Thread by Ben Collins on the origins of the Ivermectin craze: https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1431040456364810242 Decoding the Gurus,  Special Episode: Welcome to Weinstein World with special guest David Pizarro Yuri Deigin,  Lab-Made? SARS-CoV-2 Genealogy Through the Lens of Gain-of-Function Research  Furin Cleavage Site Similarities to RaTG13  Dark Horse Episode 93: School of Rocks "No such thing as a biologist" -- 40:50ish Claire Berlinksi and Yuri Deigin,  Looking for COVID-19 ‘Miracle Drugs’? We Already Have Them. They’re Called Vaccines Sam Harris with Eric Topol, Making Sense Podcast #256, A Contagion of Bad Ideas Rebel Wisdom YouTube Rebel Wisdom, Better Skeptics for the Dark Horse Rebel Wisdom, Ivermectin, For and Against, with Tess Lawrie, Graham Walker, and Gideo Meyerson-Katz Rebel Wisdom, Eric Weinstein: Vaccines, Ivermectin, &amp; Dark Horse Rebel Wisdom, Yuri Deigin Responds to Bret Weinstein on Vaccines, Ivermectin, and Quillette Rebel Wisdom, Vaccines and Dark Horse, an Investigation Rebel Wisdom, Ivermectin, the Backstory of the FLCCC. Eric Osgood David Fuller,  Ivermectin -- For and Against, Briefing Document David Fuller,  On Bret Weinstein, Alternative Media, Ivermectin and Vaccine-Related Controversies Megyn Kelly, Bret Weinstein on Tech Censorship, The Value of Conversation, and COVID Treatments  Kirsch and Malone and the Other Side Starts around 17:20  The Better Skeptics Project Alexandros Marinos Twitter Alexandros Marinos [thread about Fuller and Better Skeptics]https://mobile.twitter.com/alexandrosM/status/1422301544737738762?s=19 Alexandros Marinos  thread about the Sam Harris/Eric Topol Making Sense Better Skeptics, [Launching the 10K Ground Truth Challenge]https://www.betterskeptics.com/launching-the-10k-ground-truth-challenge/  We think it is worthwhile to take full accounting of the quality of the statements uttered in these podcasts. This is almost 11 hours worth of live speech, so it would be unbelievable if the number of false statements is zero. Should some false statements be identified, it will be for the world to see how the interested parties react. We want to compose high-quality fact-checking from average-quality ingredients: normal people, with our own biases and internal contradictions. A detailed description of the challenge process and rules is available here. In a nutshell: Anyone who identifies what they believe is a false statement will be required to submit their claim to us via public Twitter message with a specified hashtag. Three referees will evaluate each submission across two rounds, and all submissions scoring 9 or above will be awarded the $100 prize.  Ground Truth Challenge: The Rules We've chosen and transcribed four recent podcasts featuring Bret Weinstein which discussed COVID-19 vaccines and/or Ivermectin. These are:  Covid, Ivermectin, and the Crime of the Century. June 1, 2021.  Video -  Transcript How to Save the World in Three Easy Steps. June 11, 2021.  Video -  Transcript Joe Rogan Experience #1671 - Bret Weinstein &amp; Dr. Pierre Kory. June 22, 2021. Video -  Transcript Bret and Heather 87th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: We Must Drive this Virus to Extinction. July 12, 2021. Video -  Transcript  Ground Truth Challenge: Results!  So what of the outcome? In the end, only 3 challenges succeeded. Of these, two provided effective counter-arguments, not entirely refuting the target quote but providing sufficient counter-evidence to warrant narrowing or rephrasing it. The third is a straightforward factual error that was no longer true at the time of the podcast (see table below). The material consisted of 11 hours of live, unscripted speech put under extreme scrutiny, and with no prior warning to the speakers. We therefore feel it's remarkable that so few challenges ended up as successful - however, this was our first such challenge, so we have no point of comparison.  Natural Selections Substack,  On Driving SARS-CoV-2 Extinct  If we are interested in minimizing harm from SARS-CoV2, we need to use prophylaxis to force extinction. Prophylaxis refers to action taken before exposure to prevent an event. A condom is prophylaxis against pregnancy. Doxycycline is prophylaxis against malaria. Vaccines and repurposed drugs such as ivermectin have both been presented as prophylaxis against Covid-19. In order to clear our planet of SARS-CoV2, we need safe and effective prophylaxis distributed so widely that it drives the virus to extinction. How we do this is up for debate, and of course there will be disagreement along the way. Some people, including the authors of a recently published Quillette article, see one and only one way forward: vaccination of every person with access to currently authorized vaccines. Other people, including ourselves, believe that the current vaccines—which are non-sterilizing, cannot quickly reach the entire world, and provide only narrow, short-lived immunity—cannot accomplish the goal, not even in principle. Any viable strategy for extinguishing SARS-CoV-2 in the near term must therefore include effective prophylaxis beyond the current crop of authorized vaccines. For now that means drugs taken to prevent infection for those who are unvaccinated and who have not had a confirmed case of Covid (and therefore lack natural immunity). It may also require prophylactic medicine for vaccinated people as fading vaccine-induced immunity and new variants evolving in response to the vaccination campaign render the current vaccines ever less effective.   This is a departure for us, running exactly counter to our typical expectations. Ordinarily, we are enthusiastic about vaccines and decidedly skeptical about pills. On this issue though, with these vaccines, our position has flipped. There are several reasons for this: the novel and non-sterilizing nature of the vaccines being deployed, the potential for perverse incentives involved in a vaccine only strategy, emerging concerns about vaccine safety, and the logistical reality that vaccines alone cannot, and will not, get the job done. In addition, the most promising prophylactic medicine is also extremely well known, with a four-decade long and unusually clean global safety record. This reasoning is discussed in episode #87of our podcast.  Gideon M-K thread on the Carvallo ivermectin study.  "20/n Given that the graphical and written representations of the primary outcome of the study appear to conflict, and the results tables differ between the pre-registration and the publication, it is worth asking whether this study even took place at all"  Gideon M-K at his Medium,  Ivermectin Shows No Clear Benefit in the Treatment of Covid-19  The new study in question is called the Together Clinical Trials, and it’s a truly amazing collaboration between a number of universities and research groups to study the effects of repurposed drugs on people with Covid-19 who attend hospitals as outpatients. Basically, they look at people who are at moderate risk but are experiencing relatively mild disease, randomize them to either get one of several drugs or a placebo, and then see if those drugs have any benefit in treating Covid-19. The  full protocol is a masterpiece of science—well worth reading if you’re interested in trial design. This trial has  already demonstrated that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir are unlikely to be beneficial treatments for people with Covid-19 in outpatient settings and, because of the hype around ivermectin, had included the drug in a treatment arm to see if it worked. The results from that part of the trial, including over 1,300 patients, were released in summary form late this afternoon. They showed  no benefit for ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19. None whatsoever.  Gideon M-K, Medium post  Is Ivermectin for Covid-19 Based on Fraudulent Research? Part 2  Most research is OK — it has some virtues, some oversights, some charms, some flaws. Some is excellent and transformative, some is terrible and harmful. When I first became interested in ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medication being tested for Covid-19, I expected a combo plate of the above — just like everything else. Maybe, and this is a worst-case scenario, a few cheeky papers that had been doctored or altered noticeably, something bad enough to leave a clue. I did not expect what has happened, what is happening. I hesitate to put this into words, because it scares me, and because I know the consequences of such statements. But there is no sugar thick enough to coat this: Ivermectin literature contains a staggering volume of scientific fraud. Not mistakes, or oversights, or gilded lilies. Fraud. My sincere opinion is that at least a third of the evidence supporting the use of ivermectin as a Covid-19 therapeutic is not just ‘ based on shaky data’, but consists of studies that may never have happened at all.  Dark Horse 94, Is It Later Than We Think?  Around 26:00, repudiating the Carvallo et al paper. 

Our friends Jeff Eaton and Kristin Rawls from the Christian Rightcast return to help us wrap up our Bret &amp; Heather coverage, at least for now.  Daniel takes us through the horrors of the 'Better Skeptics Project', Bret and Heather's escalating (yet crumbling) project of puffing Ivermectin as a Covid treatment, their spat with Yuri Deigin and Quillette, etc.  Content Warnings Show Notes: Christian Rightcast <a href="https://rightcast.substack.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://rightcast.substack.com/</a> CHristian Rightcast on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en</a> Kristin's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/kristinrawls" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/kristinrawls</a> Jeff's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/eaton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/eaton</a> Thread by Ben Collins on the origins of the Ivermectin craze: <a href="https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1431040456364810242" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1431040456364810242</a> Decoding the Gurus, <a href="https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/special-episode-welcome-to-weinstein-world-with-special-guest-david-pizarro" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Special Episode: Welcome to Weinstein World with special guest David Pizarro</a> Yuri Deigin, <a href="https://yurideigin.medium.com/lab-made-cov2-genealogy-through-the-lens-of-gain-of-function-research-f96dd7413748" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Lab-Made? SARS-CoV-2 Genealogy Through the Lens of Gain-of-Function Research</a> <ul> <li>Furin Cleavage Site</li> <li>Similarities to RaTG13</li> </ul> Dark Horse Episode 93: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtYqyzHJOdA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">School of Rocks</a> "No such thing as a biologist" -- 40:50ish Claire Berlinksi and Yuri Deigin, <a href="https://quillette.com/2021/07/06/looking-for-covid-19-miracle-drugs-we-already-have-them-theyre-called-vaccines/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Looking for COVID-19 ‘Miracle Drugs’? We Already Have Them. They’re Called Vaccines</a> Sam Harris with Eric Topol, Making Sense Podcast #256, <a href="https://samharris.org/podcasts/256-contagion-bad-ideas/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Contagion of Bad Ideas</a> Rebel Wisdom <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFQ6Gptuq-sLflbJ4YY3Umw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a> Rebel Wisdom, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CY3cbIvvBo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Better Skeptics for the Dark Horse</a> Rebel Wisdom, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_42LVirfNI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ivermectin, For and Against, with Tess Lawrie, Graham Walker, and Gideo Meyerson-Katz</a> Rebel Wisdom, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d8xLUXk58Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eric Weinstein: Vaccines, Ivermectin, &amp; Dark Horse</a> Rebel Wisdom, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwzfnZfo-rU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yuri Deigin Responds to Bret Weinstein on Vaccines, Ivermectin, and Quillette</a> Rebel Wisdom, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plLmTWHeKrI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vaccines and Dark Horse, an Investigation</a> Rebel Wisdom, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XClxXWWuyG4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ivermectin, the Backstory of the FLCCC. Eric Osgood</a> David Fuller, <a href="https://medium.com/rebel-wisdom/ivermectin-for-and-against-briefing-document-2f5c28539dc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Ivermectin -- For and Against, Briefing Document</a> David Fuller, <a href="https://medium.com/rebel-wisdom/ivermectin-for-and-against-briefing-document-2f5c28539dc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> On Bret Weinstein, Alternative Media, Ivermectin and Vaccine-Related Controversies</a> Megyn Kelly, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDzdtiwDPHc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bret Weinstein on Tech Censorship, The Value of Conversation, and COVID Treatments</a> <ul> <li>Kirsch and Malone and the Other Side Starts around 17:20</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Better Skeptics Project</a> Alexandros Marinos <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/alexandrosM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> Alexandros Marinos [thread about Fuller and Better Skeptics]<a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/alexandrosM/status/1422301544737738762?s=19" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://mobile.twitter.com/alexandrosM/status/1422301544737738762?s=19</a> Alexandros Marinos <a href="https://twitter.com/alexandrosm/status/1418820817161363456?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> thread about the Sam Harris/Eric Topol Making Sense</a> Better Skeptics, [Launching the 10K Ground Truth Challenge]<a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/launching-the-10k-ground-truth-challenge/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.betterskeptics.com/launching-the-10k-ground-truth-challenge/</a> <ul> <li>We think it is worthwhile to take full accounting of the quality of the statements uttered in these podcasts. This is almost 11 hours worth of live speech, so it would be unbelievable if the number of false statements is zero. Should some false statements be identified, it will be for the world to see how the interested parties react. We want to compose high-quality fact-checking from average-quality ingredients: normal people, with our own biases and internal contradictions.</li> <li>A detailed description of the challenge process and rules is available <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/ground-truth-challenge-the-rules/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. In a nutshell: Anyone who identifies what they believe is a false statement will be required to submit their claim to us via public Twitter message with a specified hashtag. Three referees will evaluate each submission across two rounds, and all submissions scoring 9 or above will be awarded the $100 prize.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/ground-truth-challenge-the-rules/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ground Truth Challenge: The Rules</a> We've chosen and transcribed four recent podcasts featuring Bret Weinstein which discussed COVID-19 vaccines and/or Ivermectin. These are: <ul> <li>Covid, Ivermectin, and the Crime of the Century. June 1, 2021. <a href="https://odysee.com/@BretWeinstein:f/COVID-Ivermectin-and-the-Crime-of-the-Century-DarkHorse-Podcast-with-Pierre-Kory-Bret-Weinstein:f" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Video</a> - <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/transcript-covid-ivermectin-and-the-crime-of-the-century-darkhorse-podcast-with-pierre-kory-bret-weinstein/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Transcript</a></li> <li>How to Save the World in Three Easy Steps. June 11, 2021. <a href="https://odysee.com/@BretWeinstein:f/how-to-save-the-world,-in-three-easy:0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Video</a> - <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/transcript-how-to-save-the-world-in-three-easy-steps/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Transcript</a></li> <li>Joe Rogan Experience #1671 - Bret Weinstein &amp; Dr. Pierre Kory. June 22, 2021. <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7uVXKgE6eLJKMXkETwcw0D" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Video</a> - <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/transcript-jre-1671-bret-weinstein-dr-pierre-kory/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Transcript</a></li> <li>Bret and Heather 87th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: We Must Drive this Virus to Extinction. July 12, 2021. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUvr8s0qEk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Video</a> - <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/transcript-bret-and-heather-87th-darkhorse-podcast-livestream/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Transcript</a></li> </ul> <a href="https://www.betterskeptics.com/ground-truth-challenge-results/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ground Truth Challenge: Results!</a> <ul> <li>So what of the outcome? In the end, only 3 challenges succeeded. Of these, two provided effective counter-arguments, not entirely refuting the target quote but providing sufficient counter-evidence to warrant narrowing or rephrasing it. The third is a straightforward factual error that was no longer true at the time of the podcast (see table below).</li> <li>The material consisted of 11 hours of live, unscripted speech put under extreme scrutiny, and with no prior warning to the speakers. We therefore feel it's remarkable that so few challenges ended up as successful - however, this was our first such challenge, so we have no point of comparison.</li> </ul> Natural Selections Substack, <a href="https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/on-driving-sars-cov2-extinct" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> On Driving SARS-CoV-2 Extinct</a> <ul> <li>If we are interested in minimizing harm from SARS-CoV2, we need to use prophylaxis to force extinction. Prophylaxis refers to action taken before exposure to prevent an event. A condom is prophylaxis against pregnancy. Doxycycline is prophylaxis against malaria. Vaccines and repurposed drugs such as ivermectin have both been presented as prophylaxis against Covid-19. In order to clear our planet of SARS-CoV2, we need safe and effective prophylaxis distributed so widely that it drives the virus to extinction.</li> <li>How we do this is up for debate, and of course there will be disagreement along the way. Some people, including the authors of a recently published <a href="https://quillette.com/2021/07/06/looking-for-covid-19-miracle-drugs-we-already-have-them-theyre-called-vaccines/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Quillette article</a>, see one and only one way forward: vaccination of every person with access to currently authorized vaccines. Other people, including ourselves, believe that the current vaccines—which are non-sterilizing, cannot quickly reach the entire world, and provide only narrow, short-lived immunity—cannot accomplish the goal, not even in principle. Any viable strategy for extinguishing SARS-CoV-2 in the near term must therefore include effective prophylaxis beyond the current crop of authorized vaccines. For now that means drugs taken to prevent infection for those who are unvaccinated and who have not had a confirmed case of Covid (and therefore lack natural immunity). It may also require prophylactic medicine for vaccinated people as fading vaccine-induced immunity and new variants evolving in response to the vaccination campaign render the current vaccines ever less effective.  </li> <li>This is a departure for us, running exactly counter to our typical expectations. Ordinarily, we are enthusiastic about vaccines and decidedly skeptical about pills. On this issue though, with these vaccines, our position has flipped. There are several reasons for this: the novel and non-sterilizing nature of the vaccines being deployed, the potential for perverse incentives involved in a vaccine only strategy, emerging concerns about vaccine safety, and the logistical reality that vaccines alone cannot, and will not, get the job done. In addition, the most promising prophylactic medicine is also extremely well known, with a four-decade long and unusually clean global safety record. This reasoning is discussed in <a href="https://youtu.be/QsUvr8s0qEk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">episode #87</a>of our podcast.</li> </ul> Gideon M-K <a href="https://twitter.com/GidMK/status/1419557546872819719?s=20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">thread</a> on the Carvallo ivermectin study. <ul> <li>"20/n Given that the graphical and written representations of the primary outcome of the study appear to conflict, and the results tables differ between the pre-registration and the publication, it is worth asking whether this study even took place at all"</li> </ul> Gideon M-K at his Medium, <a href="https://elemental.medium.com/ivermectin-for-covid-19-an-update-5e913bb49483" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Ivermectin Shows No Clear Benefit in the Treatment of Covid-19</a> <ul> <li>The new study in question is called the <a href="https://www.togethertrial.com/news" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Together Clinical Trials</a>, and it’s a truly amazing collaboration between a number of universities and research groups to study the effects of repurposed drugs on people with Covid-19 who attend hospitals as outpatients.</li> <li>Basically, they look at people who are at moderate risk but are experiencing relatively mild disease, randomize them to either get one of several drugs or a placebo, and then see if those drugs have any benefit in treating Covid-19. The <a href="https://cdn.jamanetwork.com/ama/content_public/journal/jamanetworkopen/938673/zoi210214supp1_prod_1618442558.82512.pdf?Expires=1631690569&amp;Signature=DJ2stGU6Dm~42RlopePZaZKSlx5gSn2m06UwssAN24Zne1vAbGDWGXk68kkQcMDWRXFc2DyagOZkNn-GOfJKezuXl7EMae2cV~Lv7y8aSHq1iRQwyPB4nWDlgV1sGyZIR1u0I9p8bOneyM7XfaXLNNeFzDT3FpzK02nt~wRG7o2KvMamwVddAlcQoTVZyg16j7FhcH-J0jQ7YSA5TOO91KJPHdT0Z8I-s1HClfozaJ7S4stFzAmNtDxjzZ~SuB12Gwr-SWYWGSHcMdpnM6IDDLtSPD99cUyUGlJBngiZKluFvitqZ9eIYdEnh9dctkDOIfNTpalCnb97GjdvlOqxYQ__&amp;Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> full protocol</a> is a masterpiece of science—well worth reading if you’re interested in trial design.</li> <li>This trial has <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2779044" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> already demonstrated</a> that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir are unlikely to be beneficial treatments for people with Covid-19 in outpatient settings and, because of the hype around ivermectin, had included the drug in a treatment arm to see if it worked. The results from that part of the trial, including over 1,300 patients, were released in summary form late this afternoon.</li> <li>They showed <a href="https://dcricollab.dcri.duke.edu/sites/NIHKR/KR/GR-Slides-08-06-21.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> no benefit</a> for ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19. None whatsoever.</li> </ul> Gideon M-K, Medium post <a href="https://gidmk.medium.com/is-ivermectin-for-covid-19-based-on-fraudulent-research-part-2-a4475523b4e4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Is Ivermectin for Covid-19 Based on Fraudulent Research? Part 2</a> <ul> <li>Most research is OK — it has some virtues, some oversights, some charms, some flaws. Some is excellent and transformative, some is terrible and harmful. When I first became interested in ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medication being tested for Covid-19, I expected a combo plate of the above — just like everything else.</li> <li>Maybe, and this is a worst-case scenario, a few cheeky papers that had been doctored or altered noticeably, something bad enough to leave a clue.</li> <li>I did not expect what has happened, what is happening.</li> <li>I hesitate to put this into words, because it scares me, and because I know the consequences of such statements. But there is no sugar thick enough to coat this:</li> <li>Ivermectin literature contains a staggering volume of scientific fraud. Not mistakes, or oversights, or gilded lilies. Fraud.</li> <li>My sincere opinion is that at least a third of the evidence supporting the use of ivermectin as a Covid-19 therapeutic is not just ‘ based on shaky data’, but consists of studies that may never have happened at all.</li> </ul> Dark Horse 94, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqjbvBa3XIQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Is It Later Than We Think?</a> <ul> <li>Around 26:00, repudiating the Carvallo et al paper.</li> </ul>

92: The Better Skeptics Project, with Jeff Eaton and Kristin Rawls

With - once again - apologies for the gap between episodes, here is a very special edition in which Daniel plays host to Kristin Rawls and Jeff Eaton of the excellent Christian Rightcast podcast, to chat about the areas where their work - on the Christian Right, if the name of their show didn't tip you off - intersects with ours.  Lots of laughs in this chat about depressingly awful people. Content warnings. Podcast Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618 IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ IDSG on Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1 Show Notes: Christian Rightcast https://rightcast.substack.com/ CHristian Rightcast on Twitter https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en Kristin's Twitter https://twitter.com/kristinrawls Jeff's Twitter https://twitter.com/eaton Hbomberguy on Davis Aurini  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hbomberguy+davis+aurini ADDENDUM by Kristin: "...[S]omething I was trying to get out yesterday didn't come through about the Reconstructionists, which is that... Yes, they think of themselves as the intellectuals of the Christian Right, but we aren't really agreeing with their assessment. And it's partly that they think charismatic/pentacostalism is "fairly tale nonsense," which is a direct quote from Rushdoony. Yes, that's racialized. But it's partly also that he thought he was better and more intellectual than institutions like Liberty because, like, he actually read books and was steeped in classics (this is where the pseudo-intellectual sheen of it comes from, which is a big thing that Wilson has carried on in starting the classical Christian school movement and a Great Books college). Those colleges are of course dead white man studies and nothing more than that, but it's kind of unusual in the Christian Right to actually read books. Which is to say, if there is any way in which their self-assessment is accurate, it's because the entire Christian Right is fundamentally anti-intellectual. This makes them unique for reading Plato. "So, it's partly that they're anti-charismatic in racialized ways (although the huge charismatic megachurches like Hillsong that get a lot of their scorn are VERY white). They also think Liberty and similar institutions are embarrassing, and they're embarrassed by "red state America" even though Wilson said "it's all we've got right now." This is about their pseudo-intellectual veneer and also has to do with classism and stereotypes about red state rednecks. It's all of a piece. They think they're better than the rest of the Christian Right and are heirs to some great Christian culture that they're going to rebuild by reconstructing all of life under "God's law." All of this is why they dovetail so easily with IDW people and racist defenders of "Western civilization.""

With - once again - apologies for the gap between episodes, here is a very special edition in which Daniel plays host to Kristin Rawls and Jeff Eaton of the excellent Christian Rightcast podcast, to chat about the areas where their work - on the Christian Right, if the name of their show didn't tip you off - intersects with ours.  Lots of laughs in this chat about depressingly awful people. Content warnings. Podcast Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/danielharper" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/danielharper</a> Jack's Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&amp;fan_landing=true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618</a> IDSG Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/idsgpod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/idsgpod</a> Daniel's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/danieleharper" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@danieleharper</a> Jack's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/_Jack_Graham_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@_Jack_Graham_</a> IDSG on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1</a> Show Notes: Christian Rightcast <a href="https://rightcast.substack.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://rightcast.substack.com/</a> CHristian Rightcast on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/crightcast?lang=en</a> Kristin's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/kristinrawls" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/kristinrawls</a> Jeff's Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/eaton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/eaton</a> Hbomberguy on Davis Aurini <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hbomberguy+davis+aurini" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hbomberguy+davis+aurini</a> ADDENDUM by Kristin: "...[S]omething I was trying to get out yesterday didn't come through about the Reconstructionists, which is that... Yes, they think of themselves as the intellectuals of the Christian Right, but we aren't really agreeing with their assessment. And it's partly that they think charismatic/pentacostalism is "fairly tale nonsense," which is a direct quote from Rushdoony. Yes, that's racialized. But it's partly also that he thought he was better and more intellectual than institutions like Liberty because, like, he actually read books and was steeped in classics (this is where the pseudo-intellectual sheen of it comes from, which is a big thing that Wilson has carried on in starting the classical Christian school movement and a Great Books college). Those colleges are of course dead white man studies and nothing more than that, but it's kind of unusual in the Christian Right to actually read books. Which is to say, if there is any way in which their self-assessment is accurate, it's because the entire Christian Right is fundamentally anti-intellectual. This makes them unique for reading Plato. "So, it's partly that they're anti-charismatic in racialized ways (although the huge charismatic megachurches like Hillsong that get a lot of their scorn are VERY white). They also think Liberty and similar institutions are embarrassing, and they're embarrassed by "red state America" even though Wilson said "it's all we've got right now." This is about their pseudo-intellectual veneer and also has to do with classism and stereotypes about red state rednecks. It's all of a piece. They think they're better than the rest of the Christian Right and are heirs to some great Christian culture that they're going to rebuild by reconstructing all of life under "God's law." All of this is why they dovetail so easily with IDW people and racist defenders of "Western civilization.""