Vultures and the Public Health: The 323rd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

On this, our 323rd Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss vultures, politics, and complex systems. Vultures, which have evolved multiple times (like mangroves, poison frogs, and “trees”), specialize on carrion. In India, a painkiller commonly used in people but toxic to vultures, diclofenac, came out of patent, began to be used in cattle, and the vast majority of vultures in India died. Downstream effects include the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and tens of billions of dollars in economic losses. Now in Africa, vultures are being poisoned intentionally, and a similar devastation is likely to happen. Vultures are ugly, smelly, and gross…and utterly central to the health of not just their ecosystems, but the people who live in and near them. Welcome to complex systems. Also: Katie Wilson, the mayor of Seattle, seems to be engaged in a kind of “scientific socialism,” akin to “scientific racism,” in which quasi-scientific ideas are used to justify (bad) policy. ***** Our sponsors: Lovebird: Delicious, nutritious cereal made with real ingredients. Go to use code DARKHORSE for 25% off your first order. Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping. Xlear: Xylitol nasal spray that acts as prophylaxis against respiratory illnesses by reducing the stickiness of bacteria and viruses. Find Xlear online, or at your local pharmacy, grocery store, or natural products store. ***** Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (

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Vultures and the Public Health: The 323rd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying is an episode from Bret Weinstein | DarkHorse Podcast by Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying.

This episode is 93:25 long.

This episode was published on Apr 30, 2026.

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