Bret Weinstein

American podcaster and author

Bret Weinstein

Weinstein in 2022

Born|

Bret Samuel Weinstein

(1969-02-21) February 21, 1969 (age 55)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Education| University of Pennsylvania
University of California, Santa Cruz (BA)
University of Michigan (MA, PhD)
Occupation(s)| Author, podcaster
Spouse| Heather Heying
Relatives| Eric Weinstein (brother)
Scientific career
Fields| Evolutionary biology
Thesis| Evolutionary Trade-Offs: Emergent Constraints and Their Adaptive Consequences (2009)
Doctoral advisor| Richard D. Alexander[1][2]
Website| bretweinstein.net

Bret Samuel Weinstein (/ˈwaɪnstaɪn/; born February 21, 1969) is an American podcaster, author, and former professor of evolutionary biology. He served on the faculty of Evergreen State College from 2002 until 2017, when he resigned in the aftermath of a series of campus protests about racial equity at Evergreen, which brought Weinstein to national attention. Like his brother Eric Weinstein, he is considered part of the intellectual dark web.[3][4] Weinstein has been criticized for making false statements about COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, and for spreading misinformation about HIV/AIDS.

## Education

[edit]

Weinstein, a native of Southern California,[5] began his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. As a freshman, he wrote a letter to the school newspaper that condemned sexual harassment of strippers at a Zeta Beta Tau fraternity party.[6] After experiencing harassment for the letter, he transferred to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he met his wife, Heather Heying, and completed an undergraduate degree in biology in 1993.[7][8][9] Weinstein went on to earn a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan in 2009.[9][10][2]

## Career

[edit]

Weinstein holding a TEDx talk at Evergreen State College in 2012

### Evergreen State College

[edit]

Until 2017, Weinstein was a professor of biology at Evergreen State College in Washington State. In 2002, he coauthored an article on "The Reserve-Capacity Hypothesis", which proposed that the telomeric differences between humans and laboratory mice have led scientists to underestimate the risks that new drugs pose to humans in the form of heart disease, liver dysfunction, and related organ failure.[11][12][13]

#### Evergreen State College Day of Absence

[edit]

In March 2017, Weinstein wrote a letter to Evergreen faculty in which he objected to a suggestion pertaining to the college's decades-old tradition of observing a "Day of Absence", during which ethnic minority students and faculty would voluntarily stay away from campus to highlight their contributions to the college. An administrator had suggested that for that year white participants stay off campus, and were invited to attend an off-campus program on race issues.[14] Weinstein wrote that the change established a dangerous precedent:

> There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space to highlight their vital and underappreciated roles ... and a group encouraging another group to go away. The first is a forceful call to consciousness, which is, of course, crippling to the logic of oppression. The second is a show of force, and an act of oppression in and of itself.

> — Bret Weinstein, in a message to event organizer, Rashida Love[15]

The event organizers responded that participation was voluntary and that the event did not imply that all white people should leave.[16] The Washington Post reported that racial tensions had been simmering at Evergreen throughout 2017.[14]

In May 2017, student protests disrupted the campus and called for a number of changes to the college. The protests involved allegations of racism, intolerance and threats; brought national attention to Evergreen; and sparked further debate about free speech on college campuses.[17] During the protests, protesters entered one of Weinstein's classes (which he had held in a public park) and confronted him, loudly accusing him of racism, demanding that he resign, and forcing the class to break up.[18][19] Weinstein was advised by the Chief of Campus Police to temporarily stay away from campus for his safety.[20]

Weinstein and his wife, Heather Heying, brought a lawsuit against the school, alleging that the college's president had not asked campus police to quell student protesters.[21][22] Weinstein also said that campus police had told him that they could not protect him, and that they had encouraged him to stay off campus. Instead, Weinstein held his biology class that day in a public park.[23][24] A settlement was reached in September 2017 in which Weinstein and Heying resigned and received $250,000 each, after having sought $3.8 million in damages.[17]

### Post-Evergreen activities

[edit]

Weinstein in 2018

Following his resignation from Evergreen, he appeared on the podcasts of Sam Harris[25] and Joe Rogan on many occasions. He moderated two debates between Harris and Jordan Peterson.[26] He appeared in the documentary No Safe Spaces, which documents the Evergreen incidents.[27] Weinstein's brother Eric coined the term "intellectual dark web" and described Bret as a member. The term refers to a group of academics and media personalities who publish and debate outside the mainstream media.[28][29][30][31]

In June 2019,[32] Weinstein began the DarkHorse Podcast on his YouTube channel,[33] which is usually co-hosted with his wife Heather. Their first guest was Andy Ngo,[34] and guests have also included Glenn Loury, Douglas Murray, Sam Harris, John Wood Jr., Thomas Chatterton Williams and Coleman Hughes. Topics for the podcast often center on current events, science, and culture.[35]

Weinstein was a 2019–2020 James Madison Program Visiting Fellow at Princeton University, which continued for the 2020–2021 year.[36][37]

In 2021, Weinstein and Heying's book, A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century, was published. The book reached the New York Times Best Seller list for October 3, 2021, at No. 3 for Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction and No. 4 for Hardcover Nonfiction.[38] The hardcover listing was marked with a dagger, indicating that some retailers had reported receiving bulk orders.[39] Reviewing the book for The Guardian, psychologist Stuart J. Ritchie wrote that the authors "lazily repeat false information from other pop-science books", and that overall the book was characterized by an annoying, know-it-all attitude.[40]

## Personal life and views

[edit]

Weinstein is married to Heather Heying, an evolutionary biologist who also worked at Evergreen. Heying resigned from the college along with Weinstein and took a similar position during the Day of Absence controversy.[17][clarification needed]

Weinstein describes himself as politically liberal, progressive,[41][42] and left-libertarian.[43] He appeared before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on May 22, 2018, to discuss freedom of speech on college campuses.[44][45] In 2020, he announced Unity 2020, a plan to nominate for the upcoming US presidential elections a pair of suitable candidates, each associated with one of both major political parties, to govern as a team.[46][47] As of early 2024, he has favoured Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the 2024 United States presidential election.[48]

Weinstein has lived in Portland, Oregon, since 2018.[34]

### COVID-19

[edit]

Further information: COVID-19 misinformation and Ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Weinstein made several public appearances advocating the use of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin to prevent or treat the disease and downplaying the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.[49] David Gorski, in Science-Based Medicine, described Weinstein as a prominent "COVID-19 contrarian and spreader of disinformation", and "one of the foremost purveyors of COVID-19 disinformation", citing his appearances on Joe Rogan and Bill Maher.[50][34] Sam Harris criticized Weinstein's advocacy, stating that he "consider[s] it dangerous".[34] Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine, described Weinstein's position on mRNA vaccines as "totally irresponsible. It's reckless. It's sick. It's predatory. It's really sad."[34] Assistant clinical professor Christopher Dainton has characterized Weinstein as one of the "intelligent misinformers" - someone whose academic and presentational skills gives their medical misinformation a "superficial air of credibility".[51]

Weinstein has made erroneous claims that ivermectin can prevent or treat COVID-19, calling it "a near-perfect COVID prophylactic".[52][50] There is no good evidence to support such claims.[53][54][55] Weinstein hosted ivermectin advocate Pierre Kory on his DarkHorse podcast to discuss the drug,[56][57] and advocated for the use of ivermectin on other podcast and television news appearances.[58][59] Weinstein took ivermectin during a livestream video and said both he and his wife had not been vaccinated because of their fears concerning COVID-19 vaccines.[60] YouTube demonetized the couple's channels in response to their claims about ivermectin. Afterward, Weinstein and Heying moved their subsequent broadcasts to the fringe alternative video sharing platform Odysee.[56] In August 2021, Weinstein said he had misstated that a study had shown a 100% effective ivermectin protocol for the prevention of COVID.[53][61] Weinstein considers himself a supporter of vaccines in general; he believes mRNA vaccines have promise despite what he claims are "some clear design flaws".[41] Weinstein has falsely claimed that the spike protein produced by or contained within COVID-19 vaccines is "very dangerous" and "cytotoxic".[62][63][64] Weinstein has said that ivermectin alone is "good enough to end the pandemic at any point" and claimed that the drug's true effectiveness against COVID-19 was being suppressed in order to push vaccines for the financial benefit of Big Pharma.[65] He has told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that if ivermectin functioned as he thought it did, then "the debate about the vaccines would be over by definition."[66]

### HIV/AIDS

[edit]

Further information: HIV/AIDS denialism

Appearing on a Joe Rogan podcast in February 2024, Weinstein erroneously stated that some people with AIDS were not infected with HIV and that he found the idea that AIDS was caused by party drugs such as poppers, rather than the HIV virus, "surprisingly compelling". The American Foundation for AIDS Research reacted to the podcast, saying "It is disappointing to see platforms being used to spout old, baseless theories about HIV. ... The fact is that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), untreated, causes AIDS. ... Mr. Rogan and Mr. Weinstein do their listeners a disservice in disseminating false information ...".[67][68]

## Selected publications

[edit]

* Heying, Heather; Weinstein, Bret (2021), A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life, Portfolio, p. 320, ISBN 978-0593086889
* Weinstein, Bret S. (January 2009). "Evolutionary Trade-Offs: Emergent Constraints and Their Adaptive Consequences" (PDF). University of Michigan.
* Lahti, David C.; Weinstein, Bret S. (January 2005). "The better angels of our nature: Group stability and the evolution of moral tension". Evolution & Human Behavior. 26 (1): 47–63. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.09.004.
* Weinstein, Bret S; Ciszek, Deborah (2002). "The reserve-capacity hypothesis: Evolutionary origins and modern implications of the trade-off between tumor-suppression and tissue-repair". Experimental Gerontology. 37 (5): 615–627. doi:10.1016/S0531-5565(02)00012-8. PMID 11909679. S2CID 12912742.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Weinstein, Bret S. (2009). Deep Blue, University of Michigan Library. (September 3, 2009). "Evolutionary Trade-Offs: Emergent Constraints and Their Adaptive Consequences". Retrieved February 26, 2020 (Thesis). Deepblue.lib.umich.edu. hdl:2027.42/63672?show=full. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
2. ^ a b Bret Weinstein|Edge.org. Retrieved February 26, 2020
3. ^ French, David A. (May 11, 2018). "Critics Miss the Point of the 'Intellectual Dark Web'". National Review. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
4. ^ Sommer, Will (October 10, 2018). "Intellectual Dark Web Frays After Jordan Peterson Tweets Critically About Brett Kavanaugh". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
5. ^ Herzog, Katie (May 23, 2018). "After Evergreen". The Stranger.
6. ^ Bartlett, Tom (June 5, 2017). "The Professor Who Roiled Evergreen State Is No Stranger to Campus Controversy". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
7. ^ "About Dr. Bret Weinstein". Dr. Bret Weinstein. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
8. ^ The Rubin Report (May 30, 2017), LIVE with Bret Weinstein: Evergreen State College Racism Controversy, retrieved July 5, 2018
9. ^ a b Effinger, Anthony (September 15, 2021). "A Progressive Biologist From Portland Is One of the Nation's Leading Advocates for Ivermectin". Willamette Week. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
10. ^ Weinstein, Bret (2009). "Evolutionary Trade-offs: Emergent Constraints and Their Adaptive Consequences" (PDF). Doctoral Dissertation, Library of the University of Michigan. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
11. ^ Weinstein, Bret S; Ciszek, Deborah (2002). "The reserve-capacity hypothesis: Evolutionary origins and modern implications of the trade-off between tumor-suppression and tissue-repair". Experimental Gerontology. 37 (5): 615–27. doi:10.1016/S0531-5565(02)00012-8. PMID 11909679. S2CID 12912742.
12. ^ Zimmerman, Michael (March 19, 2012). "Unseen Dangers in Laboratory Protocols". HuffPost.
13. ^ Weinstein, Eric (February 19, 2020). Episode 19: The Prediction and the DISC. The Portal.
14. ^ a b Svrluga, Susan; Heim, Joe (June 1, 2017). "Threat shuts down college embroiled in racial dispute". The Washington Post.
15. ^ Correspondence Between Bret Weinstein and Rashida Love, 2017, retrieved November 6, 2019
16. ^ Hartocollis, Anemona (June 16, 2017), "A Campus Argument Goes Viral. Now the College Is Under Siege.", The New York Times
17. ^ a b c "Evergreen settles with Weinstein, professor at the center of campus protests". The Olympian.
18. ^ Pemberton, Lisa (September 23, 2017). "A school year of events that led to chaos at The Evergreen State College". The Olympian. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
19. ^ Tan, Anjelica (June 15, 2019). "Oberlin College case shows how universities are losing their way". The Hill. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
20. ^ Mikkelsen, Drew (May 27, 2017). "Professor told he's not safe on campus after college protests". King 5 News. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
21. ^ Jaschik, Scott. (May 30, 2017)."Who Defines What Is Racist?", Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
22. ^ Richardson, Bradford (May 25, 2017). "Students berate professor who refused to participate in no-whites 'Day of Absence'", The Washington Times. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
23. ^ Weinstein, Bret (May 30, 2017). "The Campus Mob Came for Me—and You, Professor, Could Be Next". The Wall Street Journal - via www.wsj.com.
24. ^ Volokh, Eugene (May 26, 2017). "Opinion: 'Professor told he's not safe on campus after college protests' at Evergreen State College (Washington)". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
25. ^ Harris, Sam. "#109 – Biology and Culture: A Conversation with Bret Weinstein play audio Play Episode Download Back iTunes". Making Sense. Sam Harris. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
26. ^ Ruffolo, Michael (June 26, 2018). "Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson waste a lot of time, then talk about God for 20 minutes". NationalObserver.com. National Observer. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
27. ^ Fund, John (November 3, 2019). "In No Safe Spaces, an Odd Couple Teams Up to Fight Free-Speech Bans". National Review.
28. ^ Weiss, Bari (May 8, 2018). "Opinion: Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
29. ^ Verbruggen, Robert (May 9, 2018). "Re: The 'Intellectual Dark Web'". National Review. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
30. ^ Murray, Douglas (February 21, 2018). "Inside the intellectual dark web". Spectator Life. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
31. ^ Bonazzo, John (August 5, 2018). "NY Times 'Intellectual Dark Web' Story Savaged on Twitter—Even by Paper's Staffers". The New York Observer. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
32. ^ Weinstein, Bret. "DarkHorse Podcast: Benjamin Boyce – Bret Weinstein's DarkHorse Podcast #2 on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
33. ^ Weinstein, Bret (June 30, 2019). "Bret Weinstein: Evergreen, Project Veritas, & Censorship with Benjamin Boyce". DarkHorse Podcast Episode No. 2. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
34. ^ a b c d e Anthony Effinger (September 15, 2021). "A Progressive Biologist From Portland Is One of the Nation's Leading Advocates for Ivermectin". Willamette Week. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
35. ^ "Bret Weinstein DarkHorse Podcast". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
36. ^ "The James Madison Program announces 2019–20 fellows". Princeton University. April 12, 2019. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
37. ^ "Current Visiting Fellows | James Madison Program". jmp.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
38. ^ "Best Sellers: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times. October 3, 2021. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021.
39. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Nonfiction". The New York Times. October 3, 2021. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021.
40. ^ Stuart J. Ritchie (September 26, 2021). "A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century review – self-help laced with pseudoscience". The Guardian (Book review).
41. ^ a b Sharir, Moran (July 16, 2021). "'There's an undercurrent on the American left that regards Jews as suspect'". Haaretz.
42. ^ Weinstein, Bret (August 17, 2018). "The Phenomenon of Left and Right". The Jewish Journal.
43. ^ Episode 970: Bret Weinstein. The Joe Rogan Experience. June 2, 2017.
44. ^ Vazquez, Joey (May 23, 2018). "Congressional hearing explores freedom of speech crisis on college campuses". Washington Examiner.
45. ^ "Hearing – Challenges to the Freedom of Speech on College Campuses: Part II". United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on December 22, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
46. ^ Bitton, Matt (July 30, 2020). "The Unity 2020 Ticket: An Interview with Bret Weinstein". National Review.
47. ^ "Articles of Unity 2020: A Plan to Save Our Republic". Articlesofunity.org. Unity2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
48. ^ Bret Weinstein (February 13, 2024). "RFK Jr. is fighting to restore the consent of the governed—a central pillar of the West. His battle with corruption has led to vicious slanders against him, which some in the Kennedy family have joined and amplified. He doesn't owe them an apology. He is fighting for them too". X/Twitter.
49. ^ Baker SA, Maddox A (2022). "From COVID-19 Treatment to Miracle Cure: The Role of Influencers and Public Figures in Amplifying the Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin Conspiracy Theories during the Pandemic". M/C Journal. 25 (1). doi:10.5204/mcj.2872.
50. ^ a b Gorski DH (June 21, 2021). "Ivermectin is the new hydroxychloroquine, take 2". Science-Based Medicine.
51. ^ Dainton C, Wong J (March 2022). "Repairing our broken relationship with the vaccine hesitant: Empathy, compassion, and humility are needed". Can Fam Physician. 68 (3): 211–213. doi:10.46747/cfp.6803211. PMC 9833200. PMID 35292461.
52. ^ Goldhill O (July 26, 2022). "Encouraged by right-wing doctor groups, desperate patients turn to ivermectin for long Covid". STAT News.
53. ^ a b Paolo W (August 2, 2021). "Ivermectin is the new hydroxychloroquine, take 4: Bret Weinstein misrepresents meta-analyses". Science-Based Medicine.
54. ^ Bartoszko, Jessica J; Siemieniuk, Reed A C; Kum, Elena; et al. (April 26, 2021). "Prophylaxis against covid-19: living systematic review and network meta-analysis". BMJ. 373 (n949): n949. doi:10.1136/bmj.n949. PMC 8073806. PMID 33903131.
55. ^ World Health Organization (2021). Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline, 6 July 2021 (Report). World Health Organization (WHO). hdl:10665/342368. WHO/2019-nCoV/therapeutics/2021.2.
* "Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline". World Health Organization.
56. ^ a b Merlan, Anna (July 1, 2021). "The Ivermectin Advocates' War Has Just Begun". Vice. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
57. ^ Gonzalez, Oscar (July 9, 2021). "Can ivermectin be used to treat COVID-19? What you should know". CNET. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021.
58. ^ Bolies, Corbin (July 16, 2021). "Tucker Carlson Hyped These Fringe COVID Theories. The Science Just Fell Apart". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
59. ^ Gertz, Matt (July 16, 2021). "A big study supporting ivermectin, Fox's latest miracle COVID treatment, was just retracted". Media Matters for America. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
60. ^ Merlan, Anna (June 24, 2021). "Why Is the Intellectual Dark Web Suddenly Hyping an Unproven COVID Treatment?". Vice.
61. ^ Bret Weinstein, Heather Heying (August 28, 2021). "Bret and Heather 94th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: Is it Later Than We Think?". YouTube (Podcast). YouTube. Event occurs at 29:55. "...because it reported 100% success at preventing COVID in those who were treated, it does have some impact on the question "is there a prophylactic protocol that would be so highly effective?" and we have to assume the answer is "no" until we see evidence otherwise... Initially when I spoke of this study I described it as a suggesting there was an Ivermectin protocol that was 100% effective, that was never implied by the study, because the study was a combination of Ivermectin and Carrageenan… And now at this point I would says, no weight should be given to the study at all."
62. ^ "PolitiFact – No sign that the COVID-19 vaccines' spike protein is toxic or 'cytotoxic'". PolitiFact. 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
63. ^ "Fact Check-COVID-19 vaccines are not 'cytotoxic'". Reuters. June 18, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
64. ^ "What do we know about the toxicity of spike proteins made from COVID-19 vaccines?". health-desk.org. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "False claims about the toxicity of spike proteins from COVID-19 vaccination often misinterpret studies, and fail to take into account how spike proteins from COVID-19 vaccination behave differently than the spike proteins from natural COVID-19 infection."
65. ^ Kelsey Piper (September 17, 2021). "The dubious rise of ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment, explained". Vox.
66. ^ Mark Pengelly (August 23, 2022). "'You are not a horse': FDA tells Americans stop taking dewormer for Covid". The Guardian.
67. ^ Al-Sibai, Noor (February 17, 2024). "Joe Rogan's Idiotic New Theory: AIDS Is Caused by Poppers". Yahoo News.
68. ^ Merlan A (February 15, 2024). "Joe Rogan and Bret Weinstein Promote AIDS Denialism to an Audience of Millions". Vice.

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