The Infectious Myth

The Infectious Myth - Judy Mikovitz on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Autism, Viruses and Medical Corruption Summary - 05.23.17

Judy Mikovits is a PhD scientist who was worked for government and drug companies studying viruses. She crossed some powerful people and ended up in jail for mysterious reasons. Did this have something with her persistence in saying that a virus might be involved in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Autism? But, unlike most virologists, she also believes that toxins play a large role. For example, a large outbreak of CFS at a Los Angeles hospital in the 1930s – only among staff – might have been due to the fact that they were being experimented on my the experimental Brodie polio vaccine. If virology confuses you, this discussion might make clarify some things.:

Judy Mikovits is author, along with Kent Heckenlively, of the new book, “Plague”. Find out more at: http://tmarcinc.org

The Infectious Myth - Cultivating Vegetables and Souls in the Inner City with Michael Ableman - 05.16.17

David talks with Michael Ableman, a long time organic farmer and the founder of Sole Food Farms, that operates in vacant lots in the terribly poor downtown eastside of Vancouver. The farm not only cultivates many tons of vegetables and fruit, but also people. Many of the workers are homeless drug addicts who often find new meaning in their life through contact with the soil, and by bringing food to life. This is neither a normal, profit-making business, nor is it a charity. It is a working farm. But how does this work with people who might be picking peas one day and relapsing the next? A fascinating discussion that covers the challenges of urban agriculture to how our society produces such dramatic economic differences and can both produce hope and despair.

The Infectious Myth - Melania’s Plagiarist. Does She Exist? - 05.09.17

In episode 141 David talks with Brian Friedman, a New Orleans journalist, in his quest to find out whether Meredith McIver, the woman who took the blame for the plagiarism of Michelle Obama in Melania Trump’s RNC speech, is real. She has rarely been heard from. The last time was 10 years ago when Donald Trump blamed errors in two of his books on the woman he called his ghost writer. Friedman is not just concerned about whether the Trumps have an imaginary friend to blame things on, but also how compliant the mainstream media has been in accepting the story of the invisible woman, without verifying it, even though clues to her existence mean that for a news organization it would not be difficult to find her if she’s out there. It’s an interesting discussion about how we can distinguish truth from fiction. Because in this case it is not clear that we can.

 

The Infectious Myth - False Confessions with James Trainum - 05.02.17

David talks with James Trainum, a former Washington DC police detective about false confessions. Apart from studying them, he admits that once he obtained a false confession in a high profile case, so he understands just how easy it is for a policeman to fall into this trap. Apart from describing how false confessions can be obtained without any physical abuse of a suspect, he also describes how they can be avoided, such as by ending the use of the Reid technique and moving to the PEACE technique, developed by the British police after a raft of false confessions. Trainum is author of, “How the Police Generate False Confessions”: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442244658/How-the-Police-Generate-False-Confessions-An-Inside-Look-at-the-Interrogation-Room

- David

The Infectious Myth - Bail Reform with John Raphling of Human Rights Watch - 04.25.17

David discusses bail reform with John Raphling. Even though his new report covers only California, his findings have applicability to all of the USA. According to him bail creates a huge barrier to justice for the poor. Among other problems, judges have a very different attitude to someone who shows up in prison garb versus someone who comes showered and suited, having been able to investigate their own case and even start working on the problem that got them into trouble in the first place (such as drug or alcohol use). The privatization of bail in the US has also created a huge financial industry that preys upon people not wealthy enough to raise the entire bail amount themselves. Some supposed solutions to the problem, such as profile-based risk assessment aren’t real improvements, according to John. And he explains why eliminating bail entirely isn’t a problem-free solution either. It’s a surprisingly interesting topic, and the discussion is thought provoking. On the positive side, there is a growing desire across the political spectrum to improve the situation.

The Infectious Myth - Pesticides and GMOs with Sheryl McCumsey - 04.18.17

David talks with Canadian pesticide activist Sheryl McCumsey about Roundup, other pesticides, agricultural practices, the influence of the chemical industry, and GMOs.

The Infectious Myth - George Kent, Is there a human right to breastfeeding? - 04.04.17

David talks with George Kent, an emeritus professor at the Universityh of Hawai’i, who has long studied and advocated the human right to food. According to him, this includes the right of infants to breastfeed, and his new books, “Governments Push Infant Formula” and “Caring About Hunger” discuss this issues. How is that a man becomes an advocate for breastfeeding, how do governments overtly, covertly and accidentally promote formula over breastfeeding?

The Infectious Myth - Rights after Serving Time with Desmond Meade - 03.28.17

David Crowe talks with Desmond Meade about restoring the right of felons in Florida who have completed their sentence (including probation) to vote. But this is not the only right they lose. Desmond served time in his youth for drug and robbery offences, but even after he got his life together, and got a law degree, he cannot practice in the State of Florida. The discussion covers the specifics in Florida, as well as the general situation in the United States where the justice system discourages reintegration into society. For more information on his Florida Rights Restoration Coalition see http://floridarrc.com.

The Infectious Myth - Episode 135: Shaken Baby Syndrome with Mary - 03.21.17

David discusses Shaken Baby Syndrome with “Mary” (not her real name) whose daughter-in-law served 2 years in jail for manslaughter when a Shaken Baby conviction was rammed through, ignoring evidence that the dead baby’s mother was far from a perfect caregiver, and ignoring the possibility of any medical crisis (such as an adverse reaction to a vaccine or medication). Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case, and some caregivers have been punished much more stringently. Yet science is slowly realizing that this syndrome is probably completely imaginary, and that babies that die without external evidence of abuse probably did not die of abuse.

For more on Shaken Baby Syndrome see http://onsbs.com, https://www.innocenceproject.org/shaken-baby-cases-to-be-reviewed/ and http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/2016/12/20/shaken-3/

The Infectious Myth - Indigenous diet and health with Philip Brass - 03.14.17

David discusses the diet of indigenous people on the prairies before and after the invasion of Europeans with Philip Brass, a member of Peepeekisis First Nation in Saskatchewan, who works on community health, local food initiatives, traditional practices, and ceremonies. They discuss the reasons why the health of so many indigenous Canadians is worse than average. They delve into the history of colonization including forced removal to reserves, the old pass system that prevented them leaving the reserve, and the residential schools What are the challenges to reclaiming the indigenous knowledge about local foods for nutrition and for medicine?