DarkHorse Podcast

On this, our 343rd Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss logic and scientific thinking, as it is done on politically hot topics (e.g. 9/11, Charlie Kirk), and on calmer topics like whether retrievers like to fetch (or just think that we like them to fetch), and whether domestic cats see people as big, clumsy cats. Putting all the hypotheses on the table, working hard to falsify even—especially—your favorite ones—and ending up with one left standing, is the scientific way, and how we arrive at answers that are most likely to be true.

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Our sponsors:

Ridge: Upgrade your wallet today! Get 10% off @Ridge with code DARKHORSE at https://www.Ridge.com/darkhorse #Ridgepod

Dose for your Liver: Tasty drink with milk thistle, ginger, dandelion & turmeric to support liver health. Get 35% off your first subscription at http://dosedaily.co/DarkHorse.

Puori: Clean and safe supplements, lab tested and guaranteed. Go to http://Puori.com/DarkHorse for 32% off grass-fed whey protein with a subscription. DarkHorse code works on all products!

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

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

Music: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
This track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.net
Free License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net

Thumbnail Courtesy Getty Images News: Jeremy Weine / Stringer

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Mentioned in this episode:

Bret’s talk in NYC, 9-10-26, at Turning the Tide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9tol-sQZAM&t=4s

Shermer tweet: https://x.com/michaelshermer/status/2099207300695429427

Dog fetch: https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2079691639153664273

Neighborhood punk cat: https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2093574318181474321
 
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Timestamps: 
 
00:00:00 Why 343 Beats 243
00:01:12 Unbelievably Stupid, Apparently
00:04:36 Sponsor: Ridge
00:08:29 Sponsor: Dose
00:10:53 Sponsor: Puori
00:12:43 When Logic Gets Suspended
00:17:05 Reading Shermer's Tweet Aloud
00:22:25 Just Asking Questions is Normal
00:28:17 Hypotheses on the Table
00:33:41 Is This the Right Moment?
00:41:38 Do Dogs Really Like to Fetch?
00:46:56 Testing Fetch with a Machine
00:52:49 Are Cats Just Big Clumsy Cats?
01:01:18 Cats Talk to You, Not to Cats
01:05:10 Fairfax's Nightly Gifts
01:19:37 Chimeric Testes
01:29:40 That Was 343
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Bret Weinstein speaks with Joel Salatin, whom he calls “one of the wisest people” he’s ever met, on the subject of soil, stewardship, and the kind of knowledge you can only get by doing.

Find Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm on X at https://x.com/JoelSalatin and https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com

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Sponsors:

Sundays For Dogs: Dog food so tasty and healthy, even husbands swear by it. Go to http://www.sundaysfordogs.com/DARKHORSE to receive 50% off your first order.

Vanman: Go to https://vanman.shop/darkhorse26 and use code DARKHORSE26 for 15%  off your first order.

Redmond Salt: Jurassic-era salt from Utah, and amazing electrolytes (Re-Lyte) from the same sea bed. Go to http://redmond.life/darkhorse and use code DARKHORSE to get 15% off your first order.

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Join DarkHorse on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

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

Music: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
This track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.net
Free License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net

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Mentioned in this episode:

Polyface Farm https://polyfacefarm.com

Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front https://amzn.to/4gS6rD7  (commission earned)

Beavers? Bret Weinstein Speaks with Jakob Shockey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBmKwQ9SPt0

Brownstone Institute https://brownstone.org 

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan https://amzn.to/46oGfd5 (commission earned)

Greening the Desert Project (Geoff Lawton) https://www.greeningthedesertproject.org

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 One of the Wisest People 
00:01:15 Trump Spent His Political Equity
00:03:37 Sponsor: Sundays for Dogs
00:05:26 Sponsor: VanMan
00:07:19 Who Benefits? Bayer, JBS, & Trump
00:11:37 There Are No Global Problems
00:15:24 The Farm You Can Feel
00:19:30 Sponsor: Redmond Relyte
00:24:03 Biological or Mechanical?
00:28:13 Where Hubris Should Be Humility
00:31:32 Dominion Is a Destructive Idea
00:37:55 Petroleum Was Our Chance to Repair
00:39:35 North America Grew More Food in 1500
00:43:35 All True Stories Must Reconcile
00:48:35 Ice Age or Crispy Critters?
00:55:08 Bret’s Stadium of What He’s Burned
00:57:31 Learn a Skill
01:01:54 Not Wrong to Feel Betrayed
01:03:46 Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal
01:10:23 Who Should Inspect Your Carrot?
01:18:28 All Regulations Are Scale Prejudicial
01:21:04 Food Emancipation

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On this, our 342nd Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss men, women, and feminism; and the love of our pets. Gloria Steinem died at 92 this week. She exposed working conditions at Playboy clubs in the 1960s by going undercover as a bunny; founded Ms. Magazine in the 1970s; took Ms. ad free in the 1990s, and became a feminist icon. We discuss her legacy, both good and bad. Then: cats, dogs, and the differences between them.

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Our sponsors:

Caraway: Non-toxic, highly functional & beautiful cookware and bakeware. Save up to $230 on their 12 piece cookware set, and visit http://Carawayhome.com/DarkHorse for an additional 10% off your next purchase. Add their minis duo, and save up to $350.

CrowdHealth: Pay for healthcare with crowdfunding instead of insurance. It’s way better. Use code DarkHorse at http://JoinCrowdHealth.com to get 1st 3 months for $99/month.

Helix: Excellent, sleep-enhancing, American-made mattresses. Go to http://www.HelixSleep.com/DarkHorse for 27% off sitewide.

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

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

Music: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
This track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.net
Free License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

NYT obit of Steinem: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/us/politics/gloria-steinem-dead.html

A Bunny’s Tale: https://archive.org/details/a-bunnys-tale/page/n15/mode/2up 

Heying 2022: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-021-02278-0
Support the show

On this, our 341st Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss two lives well-lived, both of which ended on August 31, 2026: our beloved labrador Maddie, and Wendell Berry. Maddie was adventurous and loyal; she helped raise our children; and she gave unconditional love. Wendell Berry was a writer, an environmentalist, and a philosopher and defender of the land, and of traditional ways of being and doing. He died at 92 at his home in Kentucky, having lived a deep life farming, thinking, and writing.

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Our sponsors:

Timeline: Accelerate the clearing of damaged mitochondria to improve strength and endurance: Go to www.timeline.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse for 20% off your order.

Cowboy Colostrum: Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code Darkhorse at https://cowboycolostrum.com/darkhorse.

CrowdHealth: Pay for healthcare with crowdfunding instead of insurance. It’s way better. Use code DarkHorse at http://JoinCrowdHealth.com to get 1st 3 months for $99/month.

*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

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

Music: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
This track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.net
Free License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Wendell Berry in 2012 in Humanities: https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2012/mayjune/conversation/wendell-berry-landsma

Berry obit in NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/us/wendell-berry-dead.htm

The Peace of Wild Things: https://amzn.to/4zQkzE6  (commission earned)

The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture: https://amzn.to/4zTQV0S (commission earned)

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 A Rough One Today
00:02:07 Sponsor: Timeline
00:06:01 Sponsor: Cowboy Colostrum
00:09:09 Sponsor: CrowdHealth
00:11:22 We Lost Maddie on Monday
00:14:01 Why Does She Love Me Unconditionally?
00:15:38 Dogs May Save the World
00:18:03 The Longest-Standing Domesticate
00:20:53 Cats See Mothers, Dogs See a Team
00:23:43 Please Wait for Dad to Get Home
00:30:50 Why We Buried Her Ourselves
00:37:26 Sun Lakes and a Dog With a Job
00:43:09 Photographs of Maddie
00:45:57 Grief Is the Downside of Love
00:48:07 What We Surrender to the Market
00:55:58 Wendell Berry, 1934-2026
01:01:02 The Unsettling of America
01:02:25 Monoculture of Crops and of Ideas
01:07:23 The Cult of the Future
01:13:53 Manifesto: The Mad Farmer
01:16:46 A Meeting, and Goodbye

Support the show

On this, our 340th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss the recent flash flood on the border of Nepal and Tibet, climate science, and the nature of evidence. What commonalities are there between a glacial dam breaking and flooding the valley below, taking out towns and villages; Dry Falls and the Columbia River Gorge in Washington state; the Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean; and the 2011 earthquake that resulted in the destruction of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan? In some cases we have to infer what happened; in some cases we have direct observation; in all cases we have to construct a plausible story that fits all of the evidence. Meanwhile in climate science, a new paper reconstructs NOAA data from 1,200 weather stations from over 100 years, uses a different metric than NOAA does to describe the data, and concludes that the world—or at least the coterminous U.S.—is not heating up in the way we have been told. We discuss.

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Our sponsors:

Ethos: Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/darkhorse

Caraway: Non-toxic, highly functional & beautiful cookware and bakeware. Save up to $230 on their 12 piece cookware set, and visit http://Carawayhome.com/DarkHorse for an additional 10% off your next purchase. Add their minis duo, and save up to $350.

Puori: Clean and safe supplements, lab tested and guaranteed. Go to http://Puori.com/DarkHorse for 32% off grass-fed whey protein with a subscription. DarkHorse code works on all products!

*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

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

Music: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
This track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.net
Free License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net

*****
Mentioned in this episode:

New York Post on flood: https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/world-news/flood-hits-china-nepal-border-leaving-many-dead-and-missing/
 
Flood video: https://x.com/weaponizedwheat/status/2092652586935763289?s=46
 
More flood video: https://x.com/charlesarthur/status/2092613128387211617?s=20
 
Christy 2026. Declines in hot and cold daily temperature extremes in the conterminous US, 1899–2025. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 157(5): 309: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00704-026-06200-3
 
Epoch Times: https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/climatologist-says-a-century-of-weather-data-contradicts-claims-of-record-heat-6072358

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 When Can You Trust Your Own Eyes?
00:03:49 Sponsor: Ethos
00:05:31 Sponsor: Caraway
00:10:35 Sponsor: Puori
00:12:55 Infinite Paper for a Paperless World
00:18:38 Disaster on the Nepal-Tibet Border
00:22:19 Only 10% of Those Who Get Wet Survive
00:28:25 Dry Falls, the Largest Waterfall Ever
00:33:13 But Where Did the Water Come From?
00:35:27 Glacial Lake Missoula Explodes
00:41:58 The Flash Flood That Nearly Killed Us
00:44:26 Flash Flood vs. Mountain Tsunami
00:48:10 Japan Built Below the Stones
00:55:52 The Huascarán Debris Avalanche
01:00:45 What Boxing Day Taught the World
01:05:35 Declines in Hot and Cold Extremes
01:14:02 Means vs. Extremes
01:17:34 The License to Discard Outliers
01:22:55 The Records NOAA Left Out
01:27:33 Systematic vs. Random Error
01:31:12 How It's Supposed to Be Done
01:36:28 Frogs Next Time

Support the show