Politicians get a bad rap, don’t they? Every mutterance and every action falls under intense scrutiny from the press and the public eye. If they make one wrong move, we’ll know about it and keep talking about it for ages too.



Maybe that’s why politicians go to such great lengths to win the people over. Like when Governor Carey of New York volunteered to drink a glass of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls - highly carcinogenic chemical compounds) to prove a state building was safe. 



It seems that drinking a cup of toxic liquid is the go-to political move. Punjab State Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, downed a glass of polluted water from a holy river in 2022 on the heels of a campaign to clean water bodies. He was hospitalised for 2 days. Then there’s the bizarre demonstration from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who allegedly drank fracking fluid in a ritual-like manner around a table. Bit culty.



While you could argue that demonstrations like these showcase leadership and a willingness to share risks with the public, they could also just be downright reckless and stupid. 





CHAPTERS:
00:00 Don’t put torpedos in your mouth
03:06 Mad Cow Disease: Putting beef to the test
05:47 President Obama drinks lead-lined Flint Water 
08:35 East Palestine toxic chemical water
11:58 The Fracking fluid ritual
15:41 Proving that New York Midtown is safe
18:41 Nuclear bombs are perfectly fine
20:35 Dining Dangers: From COVID to Cholera
25:38 Product safety testing downfalls
32:03 What’s next on the Wholesome Show



SOURCES:
Communications and Politics, in The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide: Leadership and  Management in Trying Times by Joshua M Sharfstein  
Ex-N.Y. Gov. Hugh Carey dies at 92, Politico  
Factiva archive 
 Food Irradiation by the CDC  
New York Times Archive 
Trove 
The cholera epidemic in Latin America, Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen  
What became of Cordelia Gummer, the Mad Cow girl?, Daily Express 
Vets dismiss fears of 'mad cat' disease, New Scientist  

Politicians get a bad rap, don’t they? Every mutterance and every action falls under intense scrutiny from the press and the public eye. If they make one wrong move, we’ll know about it and keep talking about it for ages too.
 
Maybe that’s why politicians go to such great lengths to win the people over. Like when Governor Carey of New York volunteered to drink a glass of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls - highly carcinogenic chemical compounds) to prove a state building was safe. 
 
It seems that drinking a cup of toxic liquid is the go-to political move. Punjab State Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, downed a glass of polluted water from a holy river in 2022 on the heels of a campaign to clean water bodies. He was hospitalised for 2 days. Then there’s the bizarre demonstration from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who allegedly drank fracking fluid in a ritual-like manner around a table. Bit culty.
 
While you could argue that demonstrations like these showcase leadership and a willingness to share risks with the public, they could also just be downright reckless and stupid. 
 
CHAPTERS:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">00:00 Don’t put torpedos in your mouth</li>
<li aria-level="1">03:06 Mad Cow Disease: Putting beef to the test</li>
<li aria-level="1">05:47 President Obama drinks lead-lined Flint Water </li>
<li aria-level="1">08:35 East Palestine toxic chemical water</li>
<li aria-level="1">11:58 The Fracking fluid ritual</li>
<li aria-level="1">15:41 Proving that New York Midtown is safe</li>
<li aria-level="1">18:41 Nuclear bombs are perfectly fine</li>
<li aria-level="1">20:35 Dining Dangers: From COVID to Cholera</li>
<li aria-level="1">25:38 Product safety testing downfalls</li>
<li aria-level="1">32:03 What’s next on the Wholesome Show</li>
</ul>
 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/37274/chapter-abstract/330513618?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Communications and Politics, in The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide: Leadership and  Management in Trying Times</a> by Joshua M Sharfstein  </li>
<li><a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2011/08/ex-ny-gov-hugh-carey-dies-at-92-060817">Ex-N.Y. Gov. Hugh Carey dies at 92,</a> Politico  </li>
<li>Factiva archive </li>
<li><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/food-irradiation.html#:~:text=Food%20irradiation%20is%20a%20food,federal%20agencies%20and%20intergovernmental%20organizations."> Food Irradiation </a>by the CDC  </li>
<li><a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/browser">New York Times Archive </a></li>
<li><a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/">Trove </a></li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1631846/#:~:text=Abstract,were%20hospitalized,%20and%202,906%20died.">The cholera epidemic in Latin America,</a> Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen  </li>
<li><a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/577667/Cordelia-Gummer-Mad-Cow-disease-BSE-scandal-25-years">What became of Cordelia Gummer, the Mad Cow girl?</a>, Daily Express </li>
<li><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12617170-500-vets-dismiss-fears-of-mad-cat-disease/">Vets dismiss fears of 'mad cat' disease,</a> New Scientist  </li>
</ul>

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Science stories for people who sit up the back of…

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