Episode 195: Natalists, Outliers, and MAID for Podcasters with Meghan Daum

Episode 195: Natalists, Outliers, and MAID for Podcasters with Meghan Daum

Writer [https://www.meghandaum.com/writing], podcaster [https://www.theunspeakablepodcast.com/], teacher [https://theunspeakeasy.com/], thinker, public discourser, and friend of the pod’ Megan Daum [https://www.meghandaum.com/] joins the Dorx to discuss 80’s music [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqDjMZKf-wg] trivia. After which we talk about natalism: pro, anti, soft anti-, demi-, and a-. How wrong was Paul Ehrlich [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00939-5]? Is the Demographic Transition Theory [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11618374/] true? How has our understanding of (over)population changed? Are people better off having kids? Who will wipe our butts when we get old? What wallpaper goes with suicide? Were we really that clever and interesting in our 20’s, or just cute? And most importantly, WHAT IF?? Links: The Unspeakeasy podcast: https://www.theunspeakablepodcast.com/ [https://www.theunspeakablepodcast.com/] Unspeakeasy Retreats & Workshops: https://theunspeakeasy.com/ [https://theunspeakeasy.com/] J. Geils Band: Centerfold [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqDjMZKf-wg] Peter and the Wolf [https://youtu.be/oZ5WMZUbKy4?si=q_LfErg6H2RAdPEi&t=124] Unspekeasy Lionel Shriver interview: https://www.theunspeakablepodcast.com/p/lionel-shrivers-most-problematic [https://www.theunspeakablepodcast.com/p/lionel-shrivers-most-problematic] Nina’s abandoned late 1990’s/early 2000 antinatalist documentary Thank You For Not Breeding: Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: https://www.meghandaum.com/selfish-shallow-self-absorbed [https://www.meghandaum.com/selfish-shallow-self-absorbed] Paul Ehrlich: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00939-5 [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00939-5] Demographic Transition Theory: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11618374/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11618374/] Virginia Abernethy - Population Politics: https://www.routledge.com/Population-Politics-The-Choices-That-Shape-Our-Future/Abernethy-Hardin/p/book/9780765806031 [https://www.routledge.com/Population-Politics-The-Choices-That-Shape-Our-Future/Abernethy-Hardin/p/book/9780765806031] Deluded and Immature by Nina (contains all the things I wanted to say on this podcast but didn’t): https://ninapaley.com/2022/10/04/deluded-and-immature/ [https://ninapaley.com/2022/10/04/deluded-and-immature/] The Baby Boon by Elinor Burkett: https://archive.org/details/babyboonhowfamil0000burk [https://archive.org/details/babyboonhowfamil0000burk] Get full access to Heterodorx Podcast at heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe [https://heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 194: Veganism and Apostates

After talking about health as we always do because we’re old, we pivot to diet — specifically veganism. Cori, who has never cared about animal rights, gamely steel-mans an argument in favor, while Nina, whose bleeding heart has caused anemia and possibly brittle bones [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21855-osteopenia], fearfully argues against. Along the way we cover tribes, rituals, purity, CRISPR [https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/06/stanford-explainer-crispr-gene-editing-and-beyond], evolution, Lierre Keith [https://www.lierrekeith.com/book-ex_the-vegetarian-myth.php], lactose tolerance, lactation intolerance, the Bible, abattoirs, eggs, nuts, Jordan Peterson [https://liondiet.com/the-diet-updated-march-2018/], cults, The Liberation Pledge [https://veganfta.com/blog/2022/11/16/what-is-the-liberation-pledge-and-how-hard-is-it/], and how Nina accidentally killed [https://www.ebay.com/itm/377068143635] a bat when she was 17. Since recording this on Passover 2026 (release delay 85% Cori’s fault) Nina worked through more of her apostasy, first writing The Law of Conservation of Evil [https://ninapaley.com/2026/04/04/the-law-of-conservation-of-evil/] and then Vegan Appreciation Day [https://ninapaley.com/2026/04/09/vegan-appreciation-day/]. She’s done now. Links: The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith: https://www.lierrekeith.com/book-ex_the-vegetarian-myth.php [https://www.lierrekeith.com/book-ex_the-vegetarian-myth.php] Soylent (Creamy Chocolate is the only good flavor): https://www.amazon.com/Soylent-Chocolate-Protein-Replacement-Bottles/dp/B08H6FB43L?th=1 [https://www.amazon.com/Soylent-Chocolate-Protein-Replacement-Bottles/dp/B08H6FB43L?th=1] Nina’s Fecebook solicitation: https://www.facebook.com/nina.paley/posts/pfbid0EcMpKSUVyGm6356iEw8VeJXzRJhSP5X3YyVZkDKrUAVrMrYC4oUR3fMriQ8vA2xtl [https://www.facebook.com/nina.paley/posts/pfbid0EcMpKSUVyGm6356iEw8VeJXzRJhSP5X3YyVZkDKrUAVrMrYC4oUR3fMriQ8vA2xtl] Nina’s poll on Spinster: https://spinster.xyz/@ninapaley/posts/B4tQFS5G2srXYSm1Lc [https://spinster.xyz/@ninapaley/posts/B4tQFS5G2srXYSm1Lc] Nina’s poll on Twitter: Jordan Peterson’s Lion Diet: https://liondiet.com/the-diet-updated-march-2018/ [https://liondiet.com/the-diet-updated-march-2018/] The Liberation Pledge: https://veganfta.com/blog/2022/11/16/what-is-the-liberation-pledge-and-how-hard-is-it/ [https://veganfta.com/blog/2022/11/16/what-is-the-liberation-pledge-and-how-hard-is-it/] Vegan TERFFles (out of stock) (password: vegan): https://store.ninapaley.com/product/vegan-terffles/ [https://store.ninapaley.com/product/vegan-terffles/] Vegan Appreciation Day: https://ninapaley.com/2026/04/09/vegan-appreciation-day/ [https://ninapaley.com/2026/04/09/vegan-appreciation-day/] The Law of Conservation of Evil: https://ninapaley.com/2026/04/04/the-law-of-conservation-of-evil/ [https://ninapaley.com/2026/04/04/the-law-of-conservation-of-evil/] Get full access to Heterodorx Podcast at heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe [https://heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 193: Ex X; X, Why?

After obligatory discussion of the weather and other old people stuff, Cori lulls Nina to sleep with tales of AI: training software developers to use Claude Code [https://claude.com/product/claude-code], how one set of commands yielded 20 results, and other top-tier content. Then he relates his entire social media history from college onwards, culminating in his decision to leave X [https://x.com/] 2 weeks ago. Nina recalls her incarcerations in Fecebook Jail but can’t remember what funny intro she was gonna use this week. Plus: ramen shivs, Twitter fights, the algorithm and the app, titration [https://chem.libretexts.org/Ancillary_Materials/Demos_Techniques_and_Experiments/General_Lab_Techniques/Titration], vegan Terffles, and more! Links: XX-XY Athletic Wear: https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/ [https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/] Sora AI generated cat videos: Sora: https://sora.chatgpt.com/ Grok Imagine: https://grok.com/imagine Anheiser-Busch Superbowl ad: Lierre Keith’s The Vegetarian Myth: https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Myth-Food-Justice-Sustainability/dp/1604860804 [https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Myth-Food-Justice-Sustainability/dp/1604860804] Get full access to Heterodorx Podcast at heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe [https://heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 192: Bicycle Dreams

Recording shortly before Cori deletes his X account [https://x.com/heterodorx], the Dorx discuss chometz [https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1742/jewish/What-Is-Chametz.htm], pre-Pesach [https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/871715/jewish/What-Is-Passover-Pesach.htm] purging, and locking breakfast cereal in the basement. Nina feels “more Zionist than usual” and Cori criticizes Israel. Then Nina nerds out on recumbent bike history and describes the DREAM BIKE [https://ninapaley.com/jackalope-in-progress/] she is finally designing, dropping names like Craig Calfee [https://calfeedesign.com/about-us/], Gardner Martin [https://www.bentrideronline.com/?tag=gardner-martin], Fast Freddy Markham [https://newatlas.com/world-human-powered-speed-record-5343-miles-in-an-hour/5830/], Tom Teesdale [https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/2014/07/22/west-branch-framebuilder-tom-teesdale-dies-ragbrai/13002205/], and AD Carson [https://sites.google.com/site/recycledrecumbents/home], while only hinting at frame-builder she’s collaborating with, Davis Carver [https://carverbikes.com/frames/custom-titanium/]. Cori wakes up from his nap and recalls searching “Death Before Detransition” on BlueSky [https://bsky.app/], finding an unhinged rant by a “Silence-of-the-Lambs-level crazy” trans-identified male and likely future mass shooter (audio included). Plus: the Troon-to-Jew Pipeline, front- and back-end geometries, connecting supply chains with a jackshaft, Joscha [https://joscha.substack.com/] Bach [https://x.com/Plinz/status/2028383061713604903], Detransition Awareness Day [https://genspect.org/detrans-awareness-day-2026/], LiDAR [https://opentopography.org/lidar_basics], and Cori’s Substack [https://substack.com/@corinnacohn]. Jesus! Links: Cori’s Substack: https://substack.com/@corinnacohn [https://substack.com/@corinnacohn] Nina’s dream bike blog page: https://ninapaley.com/jackalope-in-progress/ [https://ninapaley.com/jackalope-in-progress/] Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy: https://margepiercy.com/gone-to-soldiers [https://margepiercy.com/gone-to-soldiers] Champaign in the Bible: https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Champaign [https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Champaign] The Economist: “At Last, A Just War” by Yair Lapid: https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2026/03/01/at-last-a-just-war [https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2026/03/01/at-last-a-just-war] Michigan synagogue attack: https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-synagogue-attack-police-respond-to-shots-fired-truck-crash/ [https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-synagogue-attack-police-respond-to-shots-fired-truck-crash/] Get full access to Heterodorx Podcast at heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe [https://heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 191: Iran So Far Away

Nina is a Certified Food Handler [https://aaafoodhandler.com/illinois/food-handler-card/], Cori is a Certified Ball Handler, and “bureaucracy just hasn’t been done right yet”. We helplessly learn about learned helplessness and why our episodes are so few and far between. Plus anomia (anomic aphasia [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/anomic-aphasia]), lesbian comedians, Robby Hoffman [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O00TMcoLUNQ], rumination, and Iran. Why is the Islamic regime firing on its neighbors? Is this the beginning of World War 3? Is Nina emerging from cancellation? Why is Cori boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning NYC? If you can make it through all the distracting cat antics, you might hear some answers! Links: Iran So Far Away: Food Handler Certification: https://aaafoodhandler.com/illinois/food-handler-card/ [https://aaafoodhandler.com/illinois/food-handler-card/] Disabling Impairments cards: https://store.ninapaley.com/product/disabling-impairments/ [https://store.ninapaley.com/product/disabling-impairments/] Discount card sets: https://store.ninapaley.com/product/playing-cards-double-decker/ [https://store.ninapaley.com/product/playing-cards-double-decker/] Local non-woke bike shop: https://bakersbikes.com/ [https://bakersbikes.com/] Robby Hoffman “No Backsies!” Janet McNamera: Not Smart Enough: Our Zartosht Soltani interview: Get full access to Heterodorx Podcast at heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe [https://heterodorx.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]