Bonus Sample: The Wellness Civil War

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Podcast: Conspirituality

Hosts: Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
Episode: Bonus Sample: The Wellness Civil War
Date: September 29, 2025

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Episode Overview

This bonus episode tackles the eruption of a "Wellness Civil War" online following controversial claims that Tylenol (acetaminophen) may be linked to autism. Host Derek Beres analyzes how wellness influencers and alternative medicine figures disseminate and amplify conspiracy theories related to public health, using the most recent Tylenol-autism allegation as a case study. The episode critiques both the influencers perpetuating misinformation and the lack of accountability among them, while also noting encouraging signs that some audiences and personalities are pushing back.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Wellness Grifters and Misinformation (00:03 – 01:25)

• Distortion of Medical Information:
  • Derek Beres criticizes wellness figures for "distorting information about a safe medicine to promote fear mongering" and making unsubstantiated claims connecting Tylenol to autism.
• Lack of Professional Accountability:
  • Beres points out that figures like Will Cole, who "has a bunch of certificates in functional medicine" but "no ethics boards or state medical board accreditations," operate without oversight:
    • "What, is Mark Hyman gonna finger wag at him? Doubtful. Especially since the man is close friends with RFK Jr. And I've never seen any real criticism coming from Hyman about anything that Kennedy claims." (00:36)
• Community Pushback:
  • Some online followers are "absolutely hammering" wellness influencers for sharing the debunked Tylenol-autism link:
    • "A few people like Will Cole and Dave Asprey and Austin Lake, they got absolutely hammered by their followers on social media for sharing this supposed link between acetaminophen and autism." (01:12)

2. Misuse of Correlational Research (01:25 – 01:44)

• Correlation vs. Causation:
  • Beres clarifies that the research cited by conspiracists shows "a possible association, a correlation," not causal proof—emphasizing the importance of scientific literacy in public discourse.

3. Political Amplification and Influencer Dynamics (01:44 – 02:30)

• Trump's Public Health Recklessness:
  • Quoting Donald Trump:
    • "Don't take Tylenol, there's no downside. Don't take it. You'll be uncomfortable. It won't be as easy, maybe, but don't take it if you're pregnant. Don't take Tylenol and don't give it to the baby after the baby is born." (01:44)
  • Critiques the impact of such statements and compares it to other infamous moments of public health misinformation (e.g., "inject a light or use bleach to treat Covid").
• Allegiance Among Influencers:
  • Highlights how figures around Kennedy and Trump (including Bhattacharya, Macquarie, Oz) rarely dissent:
    • "Kennedy has demanded the same sort of blind allegiance from those around him. Bhattacharya, Macquarie, Oz. And they've all delivered. Just as Kennedy has to Trump this Thursday" (02:16)

4. Social Media Trends and Wellness Grifts (02:30 – 03:29)

• Immediate Grifting After Misinformation:
  • Plans to analyze how "wellness grifts...launched immediately after the announcement that acetaminophen is implicated in autism."
• TikTok Trends:
  • Teases a segment with Mallory DeMille to break down a TikTok trend connected to the controversy.

5. Episode Intent and Final Thoughts (03:29 – 03:50)

• Episode Structure:
  • The episode promises a review of Kennedy’s press conference and a deep dive into responses from the wellness community—some echoing and others rejecting conspiracy claims.
• Defending Science:
  • Beres expresses cautious optimism at seeing some critical response within influencer communities, contrasted against the prevailing tide of conspiratorial thinking.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On influencer ethics and accountability:

  • "What, is Mark Hyman gonna finger wag at him? Doubtful. Especially since the man is close friends with RFK Jr. And I've never seen any real criticism coming from Hyman about anything that Kennedy claims." — Derek Beres (00:36)

• On community backlash:

  • "A few people like Will Cole and Dave Asprey and Austin Lake, they got absolutely hammered by their followers on social media for sharing this supposed link between acetaminophen and autism." — Derek Beres (01:12)

• On scientific standards:

  • "All the supposed gold standard research...shows a possible association, a correlation which is important to note, but not definitive proof of a causal relationship." — Derek Beres (01:25)

• On political misinformation:

  • "Don't take Tylenol, there's no downside. Don't take it. You'll be uncomfortable. It won't be as easy, maybe, but don't take it if you're pregnant..." — Donald Trump (01:44)

• Commenting on influencer loyalty:

  • "Kennedy has demanded the same sort of blind allegiance from those around him. Bhattacharya, Macquarie, Oz. And they've all delivered." — Derek Beres (02:16)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:03: Introduction; critique of Tylenol-autism fearmongering and lack of influencer accountability
• 01:12: Social media backlash against wellness influencers
• 01:25: Explaining the difference between correlation and causation
• 01:44: Trump’s comments and comparisons to past public health gaffes
• 02:16: Loyalty among wellness leaders; groupthink in conspiratorial communities
• 02:30: Preview of TikTok trends and wellness influencer responses
• 03:29: Episode structure overview and final thoughts

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Conclusion

This episode of Conspirituality provides a timely critique of how conspiracy theories about public health proliferate through the wellness sector. By spotlighting the Tylenol-autism controversy, the hosts demonstrate the harm caused by unregulated and ethically unmoored influencers, juxtaposed with rare encouraging moments of community backlash and critical thinking.

Transcript

[A]

This is absolutely disgusting. Distorting information about a safe medicine to promote fear mongering. Autism has been around well before Tylenol and any of y' all legitimizing anything this administration is doing needs to be reported to your board. Well, I'm not sure what board Will Cole would have to answer to. His primary medical training is in chiropractic, but I'm not aware of him practicing that anymore. He's got a bunch of certificates in functional medicine, but since there's not any sort of ethics boards or state medical board accreditations, what, is Mark Hyman gonna finger wag at him? Doubtful. Especially since the man is close friends with RFK Jr. And I've never seen any real criticism coming from Hyman about anything that Kennedy claims. I'm not gonna lie, I'm actually a bit heartened seeing some of the feedback to the claim that Tylenol may cause autism. I mean, some of it is completely conspiratorial, which is to be expected at this point. But a few people like Will Cole and Dave Asprey and Austin Lake, they got absolutely hammered by their followers on social media for sharing this supposed link between acetaminophen and autism.

[B]

And.

[A]

And for good reason. All the supposed gold standard research on the White House's page about this link shows a possible association, a correlation which is important to note, but not definitive proof of a causal relationship. So when Donald Trump stands up and.

[B]

Blurts out don't take Tylenol, there's no downside. Don't take it. You'll be uncomfortable. It won't be as easy, maybe, but don't take it if you're pregnant. Don't take Tylenol and don't give it to the baby after the baby is born.

[A]

I mean, look, no one is expecting Trump to do science, but there is a world of difference between Deborah Birx's horrified face while her boss stands there and says, we can inject a light or use bleach to treat Covid, or what we saw last week with the Maha Jack. He's standing stoic behind the man while he rattles off his latest word salad. Kennedy has demanded the same sort of blind allegiance from those around him. Bhattacharya, Macquarie, Oz. And they've all delivered. Just as Kennedy has to Trump this Thursday, Mallory DeMille returns to break down a TikTok trend around the Tylenol announcement. And we're going to look at the wellness Griffs that immediately launched after the announcement that acetaminoph is implicated in autism. Today for this bonus episode, I want to review what Kennedy himself said during the press conference. Then I'm going to get into the responses to the wellness folks, some of which were toeing Kennedy's line and some of which were like, calling bullshit on him. I'm Derek Barris and you're listening to a Conspirituality bonus episode, the Wellness Civil War. Let's get into it. You've been listening to a Conspirituality bonus episode sample. To continue listening, please head over to patreon.com conspirituality where you can access all of our main feed episodes ad free, as well as four years of bonus content that we've been producing. You can also subscribe to our bonus episodes via Apple subscriptions. As independent media creators, we we really appreciate your support.

[C]

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