About this episode
In this episode of Fighting Matters, hosts Stephan Kesting and Steve Kwan engage with Derek Beres, a health and science journalist and co-host of the Conspirituality podcast. They explore the role of RFK Jr and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement's role in promoting conspiracy thinking, inaccurate health narratives, and spreading of misinformation about vaccines. Stephan, Steve and Derek examine the historical roots of the anti-vax movement, the role of individualism in health conspiracies, and the influence of wellness culture on public health. They discuss the challenges of misinformation, the financial motivations behind health narratives, and the need for systemic change in health policy. 00:00 The Intersection of Conspiracy and Wellness Culture 06:04 The Deep Historical Roots of the Anti-Vax Movements 08:50 COVID Denialism and Its Roots 11:40 The Role of Individualism in Health Beliefs 14:47 How MAHA Has Dismantled Health Tracking Data 17:40 Data Integrity and COVID Death Counts 23:37 Why RFK's approach Is a Disaster for People Who Aren't Rich 26:42 The Profit Motive in Wellness 37:57 The Ethics of Supplement Marketing 41:34 The Dangers of Misinformation in Health 45:46 Contradictions in MAHA and MAGA Public Health Messaging 51:54 The Role of Personal Responsibility in Health 56:20 The Impact of Wellness Influencers 01:01:22 The Appeal of Common Sense Solutions 01:03:55 The Challenge of Misinformation Follow the Conspirituality Podcast on all channels or go to https://www.conspirituality.net Keep up with Derek's analyses of the situation at https://www.derekberes.com or at https://bsky.app/profile/derekberes.bsky.social