Today's Fascinating Guests
I saw a news story that as a nerd really caught my eye. It is about the high rate (or maybe it's a normal rate...we'll find out) of "side effects" from the COVID vaccine reported by people who actually got a placebo. We'll talk about it with Dr. Ted Kaptchuk who is a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director, Program in Placebo Studies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Here's more about the study: Placebo Effect Accounts for More Than Two-Thirds of COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Events, Researchers Find | BIDMC of Boston
I've had Steve Shippy on the show quite a few times. Yes, you (and I) have to "suspend disbelief" for these conversations about the paranormal but they're kinda fun even if I don't believe in phantoms and poltergeists. We'll talk about the new "Shock Docs" special documentary telling the true story behind the successful horror movie series, "Scream", the latest of which just came out in theaters. Apparently the actual bad guy was known as the Gainesville Ripper!
Although you may not have heard of them, Edelman is a very large corporate communications company (over 6,000 employees). Each year they do a large survey they call their "Trust Barometer." This year's results show a massive, though perhaps not surprising, drop in trust in the US of media and government. There's also interesting information about which countries (and which types of countries) have the people most trusting of their governments and media. We'll talk about all of it with Tonia Ries, the executive director of Edelman Intellectual Property. Here are links to the Trust Barometer site and the full report: 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer | Edelman and https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2022-01/2022 Edelman Trust Barometer_FullReport.pdf
Putting these all in one place
In case you didn't see these before, here are four great articles that independently discuss people walking away from the Democratic Party or intolerably leftist institutions:
Opinion | How School Closures Made Me Question My Progressive Politics - POLITICO
COVID School Policies Made Me Sour on the Democrats - The Atlantic
Another Resignation: Read Tara Henley on Why She's Leaving Legacy Media (substack.com)
Jordan Peterson: Why I am no longer a tenured professor at the University of Toronto | National Post
This is what it's come to
Denver Public Schools preparing to shut schools due to fewer students
https://www.denverpost.com/2022/01/20/denver-public-schools-close-schools
I've Been Wondering
Listener asks by test: What's the story with the TV station logo in the corner?
I dig this story because it's almost 30 years old, from right around the time the "bugs" started: THE TV LOGOS THAT WON'T GO – Hartford Courant
Digital on-screen graphic - Wikipedia (look at the part for the United States...and anything else that catches your fancy.)
Today's Videos
OK, the first of these relates to my guest Steve Shippy and the new documentary exploring the true story behind the "Scream" movies. And the second is just ridiculous. I'm glad nobody got seriously hurt in the making of either video.
Producer Dragon (before his 150 pound weight loss) with Louie Anderson. Just a couple of happy guys.