Author: iHeartPodcasts

Cheese Out asks whether humans need to kill AI to understand it. Dandy Granny raises concerning points about the childhood of super soldiers. Paul prompts a conversation about Maine's food sovereignty. Potatoes Gun asks for more information on "Big Storage." All this and more in this week's listener mail segment.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Although most people may not notice this, the living world is rife with an everpresent, invisible chemical conspiracy: pheromones. These chemicals can warn of danger, entice mates, mark territory and produce sophisticated behavioral changes in every species they touch -- but what about humans? Conventional science has argued humans don't play the pheromone game, but as Ben, Matt and Noel learn in tonight's episode... there may be more to the story.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We all know weather can affect a person's mood, but just how far does it go? Could the activity of the sun be driving widespread human conflicts throughout history? In tonight's Classic episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the bisarre theory Alexander Tchijevsky stumbled across when he found wars across the planet seem to coincide with solar cycles. This prompted him to ask: Is human civilization enslaved to the sun?

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Despite numerous earlier statements, the US Department of Justice and FBI officially concludes that notorious human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had no client list -- spoiler, chaos ensues. Akon's planned utopian city falls through. Elon Musk's Grok chatbot courts controversy as it makes pro-Nazi statements and (for unrelated reasons) is also banned in Türkiye. Akon's utopian city is abandoned. A 'click-to-cancel' rule is blocked, prompting questions about the influence of big business. All this and more this week's strange news segment.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Are we living in a simulation? What's the future of AI? How can humans understand the past, present, and future of the universe -- assuming, of course, that time exists? In this interview segment, Ben, Matt and Noel welcome special guest Dr. Jorge Cham, the creator of the new hit podcast ScienceStuff, and pick his brain about some of the biggest questions in all of human civilization.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Sloth inspires a round-up of recent news stories from the world of birds. Fae shares a story of real-life bars inside gas stations. Kevin prompts an exploration of hidden history -- the earth shaking Battle of Blair Mountain, and the resulting cover-up from the Powers That Be. Plus puns. All this and more in this week's listener mail segment.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's an open secret that not everything is as it seems in the world of diplomacy -- a great many individuals operate with some degree of subterfuge and invisibility. So what happens when things go wrong, and these often disturbing, unseen things become visible? Tonight's story takes us to Lahore, Pakistan: on January 27, 2011, CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis found himself in a brutal firefight in traffic. What follows becomes an international scandal reaching all the way to the President of the United States. Join Ben, Matt and Noel to learn more.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Make no mistake -- being a farmer is hard work. Farming outfits often have to carry a huge amount of risk from one season to the next, and any number of things may ruin their prospects, from unexpected weather, market volatility and so on. To mitigate these dangers, world governments often provide funding, or subsidies, to agribusiness in order to lower risk and increase chances of farmers staying in business. In the US, these subsidies are a multi-billion dollar industry... but where does all that money actually go?

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Australia is astonished as a full one-third of all residents of Tuvalu apply for the new, limited 'climate visa,' sparking concerns about the future of islands nations amid the global sea level rising. Chinese manufacturers are in hot water over an international scheme to flood markets with 'used' electric vehicles. A guy commits robbery dressed as Scooby-Doo, and studies prove cheese can give you nightmares. All this and more in the week's strange news segment.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Guest host Dana El Kurd, Palestinian researcher and writer, provides an overview of Palestinian politics, explains the legitimacy crisis within Palestinian politics, and outlines the impact international actors have had on Palestinian leadership and strategy. She highlights how these issues affect ending the war on Gaza, and the future of Palestine more broadly.  

Sources:

Raz Segal on genocide - https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide

Omer Bartov on genocide – https://www.democracynow.org/2024/12/30/omer_bartov_israel_gaza_genocide

Amos Goldberg on genocide - https://thefirethesetimes.com/2025/05/25/intent-holocaust-studies-and-the-gaza-genocide-w-amos-goldberg/

Khaled Elgindy on Biden’s “bear hug” - https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/10/biden-israel-hamas-war-gaza-us-policy/

Bezalel Smotrich on population transfer - https://www.timesofisrael.com/smotrich-says-gaza-to-be-totally-destroyed-population-concentrated-in-small-area/

Nissim Vaturi on population transfer - https://www.timesofisrael.com/occupy-expel-settle-minister-mks-at-far-right-rally-call-to-empty-gaza-of-gazans/

Arab Peace Initiative - https://www.kas.de/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=a5dab26d-a2fe-dc66-8910-a13730828279&groupId=268421

Arab Center Washington – “The Biden Administration and the Middle East in 2023” - https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-biden-administration-and-the-middle-east-in-2023/

Mike Huckabee on Palestinians - https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/12/politics/mike-huckabee-palestinian-comments-trump-israel-ambassador

Steve Witkoff making deals with Hamas - https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-says-witkoffs-gaza-ceasefire-proposal-must-lead-end-war-2025-05-31/

Adam Boehler “we are not an agent of Israel” - https://www.axios.com/2025/03/09/adam-boehler-hamas-israel-talks

Philippe Lazzarini on Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-commissioner-general-gaza-aid-distribution-has-become-death-trap

Doctors without Borders on Gaza Humanitarian Foundation -  https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/siege-gaza-msf-denounces-new-aid-mechanism-proposed-us-and-israel

Jake Woods, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, resigns - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/26/gaza-humanitarian-foundation-aid-group-jake-wood-resigns

Saudi Minister on Two-State Solution - https://www.mofa.gov.sa/en/ministry/news/Pages/His-Highness-the-Foreign-Minister-A-Two-State-Solution-is-the-Only-Path-to-Achieving-a-Just-and-Lasting-Peace-in-the-Regio.aspx

France & Saudi sponsor peace conference - https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-855969

Qatari foreign minister on Saudi sponsored peace conference - https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250613-qatar-france-fms-underscore-importance-of-upcoming-un-two-state-solution-conference-as-real-opportunity-for-peace/

The Oslo Accords and the Palestinian Authority background - https://www.palquest.org/en/highlight/31121/x-oslo-process-and-establishment-palestinian-authority

Yitzhak Rabin’s final address to the Knesset - https://www.palquest.org/en/historictext/24965/yitzhaq-rabin%E2%80%99s-address-knesset-after-israeli-palestinian-agreement

Mapping Palestinian Politics – European Council on Foreign Relations - https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/plo/

“Abbas is America’s Man” - https://jewishcurrents.org/abbas-is-americas-man

Tariq Dana – “Lost in Transition: The Palestinian National Movement After Oslo” - https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/from-the-river-to-the-sea-9781978752658/

Wendy Pearlman – “Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement” - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/violence-nonviolence-and-the-palestinian-national-movement/0F8D188C7D514D49F68D827066E0FABD

BDS call - https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi/pacbi-call

Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research – September 2023 poll - https://www.pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/Poll%2089%20English%20Full%20Text%20September%202023.pdf

Interview with Ukrainian outlet “Commons” - https://commons.com.ua/en/intervyu-z-danoyu-el-kurd/

Protests against Hamas – July 2023 - https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/07/30/thousands-of-marchers-in-gaza-in-rare-public-display-of-discontent-with-hamas_6073136_4.html

Protests against Hamas - https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/25/middleeast/anti-hamas-protests-gaza-intl-latam

Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research – May 2025 poll - https://www.pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/Poll%2095%20press%20release%206May2025%20ENGLISH.pdf

Changes in PLO structure and new Vice President role - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/08/palestinians-leader-mahmoud-abbas-president

Polling on Hussein Al-Sheikh - https://pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/Poll%2092%20English%20full%20text%20July2024.pdf

Palestinian National Conference - https://ncpalestine.org/

A Land for All - https://www.2s1h.org/en

Israeli backed gangs in Gaza - https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-abu-shabab-meet-the-gaza-gangster

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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