LUEE

30 December 2025

Episode 217: On the Upside, the Screaming Has Stopped

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn, Lauren, Laura, and Gem discuss some of the year’s most absurd, disappointing news, with a healthy heaping of CanCon: Canada losing Measles Elimination status, the government’s inability to give accurate tax advice, the Liberal Prime Minister’s right-wing agenda, and Elon Musk’s ongoing meltdown.

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

Note: We encountered problems with Ashlyn’s audio file during this recording and had to resort to backup audio—so if you’re wondering why the audio quality is a little off, and why Ashlyn suddenly disappears for Something Nice, that’s why!

Canadian Revenue Agency’s Inaccurate Advice: Canada Revenue Agency’s contact centres are not providing taxpayers with timely and accurate information (2025 Report of the Auditor General of Canada) | CRA Continues to Have Major Problems in Call Centres: Auditor General’s 2025 Report (Canadian Tax Lawyer Analysis) | In scathing report, AG finds CRA call centres are slow to answer and often inaccurate (CBC News)

Mark Carney’s Right-wing Agenda: 2025 Canadian federal election (Wikipedia) | Who Is Mark Carney, Really? (The Walrus) | Minister apologizes for ‘poor choice of words’ about meeting with B.C. First Nations group (CBC News) | Guilbeault resigns from cabinet after Carney signs Alberta pipeline deal (Global News) | How Mark Carney lost his cabinet’s green conscience (Toronto Star)

Canada Loses Measles Elimination Status: Statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada on Canada’s Measles Elimination Status (Canada.ca) | Measles (National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases) | Measles vaccines: Canadian immunization guide (Canada.ca) | Measles: For health professionals (Canada.ca) | Measles deaths down 88% since 2000, but cases surge (WHO) | PAHO calls for regional action as the Americas lose measles elimination status – PAHO/WHO (Pan American Health Organization) | How Regions Earn and Keep Their "Measles-Free" Status (History of Vaccines) | ‘An embarrassment’: What losing measles-elimination status means for Canada (McMaster News) | Measles Cases and Outbreaks (CDC)

Elon Musk’s Ongoing Meltdown: Elon Musk’s biggest controversies (The Week) | America PAC Contributions (FEC) | Exclusive: Musk’s DOGE using AI to snoop on U.S. federal workers, sources say (Reuters) | Elon Musk salute controversy (Wikipedia) | Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats (The Week) | A Timeline of Elon Musk’s Terrible 24 Hours—A Dark Day for X, Tesla and More (Forbes Africa) | Vivian Jenna Wilson on Being Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter, Protecting Trans Youth and Taking on the Right Online (Teen Vogue) | Elon Musk Goes on Transphobic Rant (HuffPost Latest News) | Elon Musk urges German far-right party to overcome ‘past guilt’ (NPR) | Exclusive: DOGE ‘doesn’t exist’ with eight months left on its charter (Reuters) | Tesla Diner: Elon Musk’s Hollywood Restaurant Is an Undercooked Mess (Rolling Stone)

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Neverdream – An Audioplay: Neverdream – An Audioplay | Direct Audio Link

Posted by Gem Newman on 30 December 2025 in Medicine, News, Politics, Science and tagged pseudoscience, science, vaccination, canada, local, elon musk, mark carney.

Episode 216: RFK Jr.’s Autism Quackery

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Ashlyn, and Laura discuss the extremely shaky science behind the new guidance issued by the White House concerning acetaminophen use during pregnancy. The bottom line? Don’t take medical advice from conspiracy theorists, whether they’re real estate developers or environmental lawyers: talk to your doctor instead!

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

Previously on LUEE: Episode 208: The Worst Possible Guy for the Job | Episode 101: “Trace Amounts”

Vaccines: Andrew Wakefield: the fraud investigation (Brian Deer) | Lancet MMR autism fraud (Wikipedia)

Acetaminophen: Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability (PubMed) | White House Press Release | RFK Jr., HHS to Link Autism to Tylenol Use in Pregnancy and Folate Deficiencies (Wall Street Journal) | What the research says about Tylenol and autism (CBS News) | Health Secretary RFK Jr to link Autism and Tylenol use in pregnancy sending company’s stock price spiraling (The Independent) | Acetaminophen is a recommended treatment for fever and pain during pregnancy (Health Canada) | SOGC Statement on Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada)

Leucovorin: Autism Announcement Fact Sheet (US Department of Health and Human Services) | Q&A: What is leucovorin, now being hailed as an autism treatment? (University of Virginia) | Folate (National Institutes of Health) | What to know about leucovorin, unproven autism drug touted by Trump (PBS News) | Folate (Oregon State University) | Leucovorin (StatPearls NCBI Bookshelf) | What is leucovorin, the drug the Trump team touted at its autism announcement? (CBC News) | Cerebral folate deficiency (Wikipedia) | Folate receptor autoantibodies more common in ASD families (ARRI) | Leucovorin for autism? Many scientists — and parents — are skeptical (NPR)

Diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder (National Institute of Mental Health) | What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder? (Psychiatry.org) | Autism spectrum disorder: definition, epidemiology, causes, and clinical evaluation (PMC) | Autism (World Health Organization) | Autism (Health Canada) | Autism spectrum disorder – Diagnosis and treatment (Mayo Clinic) | Diagnosis (Autism Canada)

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Posted by Gem Newman on 6 October 2025 in Conspiracy, Medicine, News, Politics, Science, Skepticism and tagged acetaminophen, adhd, autism, leucovorin, medicine, pseudoscience, quackery, science, tylenol, vaccines.

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8 September 2025

Episode 215: Rugged Individualism (and also Math)

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Gem, and Laura discuss things that they find difficult to understand.

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

Links: Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans (Behavioral and Brain Sciences) | Dunbar’s Number: Why the Theory That Humans Can Only Maintain 150 Friendships Has Withstood 30 Years of Scrutiny (Neuroscience News) | Complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir (Wikipedia) | Dyscalculia (Wikipedia) | The Unforgivable Sin of Ms Rachel (Lindsay Ellis)

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Posted by Gem Newman on 8 September 2025 in Philosophy, Politics and tagged capitalism, critical thinking, math, personal, politics.

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11 August 2025

Episode 214: “Casey” Means “Grifter”

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Gem, Lauren, Laura, and Ashlyn discuss medical scammers, grifters, and con-men, current, recent, and historical. Discussed on this episode: Malachi Love-Robinson, a modern-day Doogie Howser; James Graham, an 18th century Scottish sexologist; and Casey Means, a health grifter who also happens to be Trump’s pick for Surgeon General.

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

Malachi Love-Robinson: Police: Juvenile posed as doctor at St. Mary’s hospital (South Florida Sun Sentinel) | Florida teenager is accused of posing as a doctor. Again. (The New York Times) | Fake teen doctor arrested again for fraud (South Florida Sun Sentinel) | Part One: The Fake Doctors Who Gave Everyone Alzheimer’s (Behind the Bastards) | Part Two: The Real Bastard Was Health Insurance Companies All Along (Behind the Bastards)

James Graham: 10 Weirdest Medical Hoaxes in History (Listverse) | All-cleansing, all-healing, all-vigorating: James Graham’s earth cure (Royal College of Physicians) | James Graham as Spiritual Libertine (SpringerLink) | The Prince of Quacks and How He Captivated London (JSTOR Daily) | Dr James Graham: Sexologist and His Temple of Health (Geri Walton: Unique histories from the 18th and 19th centuries) | James Graham (sexologist) (Wikipedia) | Graham’s Celestial Bed (Hoaxes.org) | Pneumatic chemistry (Wikipedia)

Casey Means: Who is Casey Means? Trump’s new surgeon general nominee sparks drama (USA Today) | Casey Means, Trump’s new pick for Surgeon General, draws wide criticism (Chief Healthcare Executive) | Review and Summary: Good Energy (Sekar Writes) | “She Was Tearful About It”: The Nuances of Casey Means’s Medical Exit and Antiestablishment Origins (Vanity Fair) | Kennedy’s Coalition of Quacks Wants to Feed America a Diet of Lies (McGill University Office for Science and Society) | Casey Means, Trump’s surgeon general pick, profits from wellness sales (AP News) | Zen Basil | Levels.com

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Posted by Gem Newman on 11 August 2025 in History, Law, Medicine, Politics, Science and tagged law, medicine, pseudoscience, quackery, sex.

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7 July 2025

Episode 213: Cast Iron, Corsets, Crotches, and Canada

On this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Lauren, Ashlyn, Laura, and Gem discuss some common misconceptions, focusing on cast iron cookware, Victorian corsetry, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, and the Canadian political system.

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

Corsets: Victorian Image of Pregnancy through Corsetry (Maryland Center for History and Culture) | Here’s How Corsets Deformed the Skeletons of Victorian Women (Forbes) | Demystifying the S-Bend (Redthreaded) | Vintage X-rays reveal the hidden effects of corsets (CNET) | The history behind corsets: how a piece of clothing sparked controversy, criticism and empowerment (The Wildcat Tribune) | Victorian Corsets: Dangerous or Misunderstood? (HistoryExtra)

Syphilis and Other STBBIs: Syphilis Treatment and Monitoring (UpToDate) | Sexually Transmitted Infections and Blood-Borne Pathogens (Manitoba Health) | History of syphilis (Wikipedia)

Cast Iron Cookware: The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need to Go Away (Serious Eats)

The Canadian Political System: Debunking Myths: Unraveling Misconceptions about Canadian Political Parties (Chris Wick News) | Three Myths That Shape Canadian Politics (Law & Liberty) | 10 Political Misconceptions About Canada (Listverse) | Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Wikipedia) | Charter of Rights and Freedoms (History of Rights) | Canadians confused about charter rights (CityNews Vancouver) | The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Government of Canada) | List of current senators of Canada (Wikipedia) | List of federal political parties in Canada (Wikipedia) | Majority and Minority Governments (Government of Canada) | Responsible Government (Government of Canada) | Governor General of Canada (Wikipedia) | List of governors general of Canada (Wikipedia) | Motion of no confidence (Wikipedia) | Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (Wikipedia) | Nepean Members of Parliament (House of Commons of Canada) | Comparing Electoral Systems (Elections Canada’s Civic Education) | How Do Canadian Legislatures Differ from their U.S. State Counterparts? (MultiState) | Canadian and American Governance: A Comparative Look (Government of Alberta)