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The Role of Frogs in Parasitizing Plants
Frogs are almost entirely predatory. They have not been involved in this arms race with plants for hundreds of millions of years. One out of 4,500 5,000 species of frogs could be pollinating insects that are in flowers and they end up doing pollen.
In this 182nd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.
In this episode we discuss the herbicide atrazine, its effects on reproductive development in amphibians, its persistence in the environment, its safety testing, and its valorization by the New York Times and the CDC. We also discuss male nipples—why do they exist?—and the CDC’s ongoing capitulation to stupid with its glossary entry on chestfeeding.
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Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at
Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org
Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com
Locals: https://darkhorse.locals.com/support
Find more from us on Bret’s website (https://bretweinstein.net) or Heather’s website (http://heatherheying.com).
Become a member of the DarkHorse LiveStreams, and get access to an additional Q&A livestream every month. Join at Heather's Patreon.
Like this content? Subscribe to the channel, like this video, follow us on twitter (@BretWeinstein, @HeatherEHeying), and consider helping us out by contributing to either of our Patreons or Bret’s Paypal.
Looking for clips from #DarkHorseLivestreams? Check out our other channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAWCKUrmvK5F_ynBY_CMlIA
Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.
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Q&A Link:
Mentioned in this episode:
EPA on atrazine: https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/atrazine
Hayes et al., 2002. Hermaphroditic, demasculinized frogs after exposure to the herbicide atrazine at low ecologically relevant doses. PNAS 99(8): 5476– 5480: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.082121499
Reeder et al 1998. Forms and prevalence of intersexuality and effects of environmental contaminants on sexuality in cricket frogs (Acris crepitans). Environmental Health Perspectives, 106(5): 261– 266: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/pdf/10.1289/ehp.98106261
Jablonowski et al 2011. Still present after all these years: persistence plus potential toxicity raise questions about the use of atrazine. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 18: 328-331: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-010-0431-y
NYT: 5 Noteworthy Falsehoods Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has Promoted: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/us/politics/rfk-conspiracy-theories-fact-check.html
Gammon et al 2005. A risk assessment of atrazine use in California: human health and ecological aspects. Pest Management Science: formerly Pesticide Science, 61(4): 331-355: https://onlineli
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