DEEKAST

Tania Israel is a Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Tania's book Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work (APA, 2020) grew out of Dr. Israel’s skill-building workshop that she developed and delivered to hundreds of participants following the 2016 election. Dr. Israel’s honors include 2019 Congressional Woman of the Year (CA 24th District), Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Award for Excellence in Mental Health from the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, and Emerging Leader Award from the APA Committee on Women in Psychology. Tania and I discuss debating topics with people on social media, trust and relationships, vaccine hesitancy, abortion, polarization in 2021, the history of conflict and polarization, stress caused by political division, the media and it's influence on division, political extremes and the center, and more topics. To learn more, visit taniaisrael.com or connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram (@BYBDialogue)

Dr. Jonathan Howard is a neurologist and psychiatrist based in New York City who has been interested in vaccines since long before COVID-19. He works treating MS and on the neurology and psychiatric wards at Bellevue Hospital, the oldest public hospital in the United States.   We discuss Myocarditis (from Covid-19 vs Vaccines), vaccine eligibility in ages 0-12, bias among average citizens vs doctors, triaging at hospital ICUs based on vaccination status, similarities between Covid-19 and the 1918 pandemic, children & Covid-19 and the law of large numbers, vaccine mandates, COVAX/GAVI and vaccine boosters, and more topics.   He can be found on twitter at @JHowardBrainMD

Scott Flansburg is from upstate New York and he is known worldwide as the Human Calculator. He holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest mental calculation after adding the same number to itself more times in 15 seconds. He is also an annual host and founder of The National Counting Bee, a fast-paced annual competition to find the fastest human counters.  Flansburg discovered his mental calculation ability at the age of 9 when his maths teacher asked him to add four numbers. He can mentally add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers with the accuracy of the calculator naturally. In 1990, he started using his abilities in the education and entertainment industry. To date, he has published books like Math Magic and Math Magic For Your Kids. Scott has been featured in popular shows around the world like The Ellen Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, USA Today, BBC breakfast, ESPN, History Channel, and many more. We discuss how he discovered his abilities, learning 0-9 instead of 1-10, numerology, how kids should or shouldn't learn math, democratic schools, and more! He can be found at @HumanCalculator on social media or at www.humancalculator.com

Yuri Deigin is a Russian-Canadian biotech entrepreneur and life extension activist whose primary area of expertise lies in the field of drug discovery and development. He wrote a 16,000 word essay on Medium where he argued that the Wuhan Lab Leak theory of Covid-19's origins has strong evidence for it. Many virologists disagree with this sentiment, but Yuri doesn't think it should be dismissed. He has also been vocal on Twitter against Bret Weinstein and his Dark Horse Podcast regarding Bret's encouragement of Ivermectin use and anti-vaccine rhetoric.   We discussed life extension goals and challenges, gene therapy, ivermectin, vaccines, the Wuhan lab leak and Covid-19's origins, as well as the current state of geopolitics regarding Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan this week following the US military leaving the country.   Yuri can be found on Medium and on twitter at @ydeigin

Andre Pineda is a Scientific Advisor and Communicator, he holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and is based in New York but originally from Hamilton, Ontario. Andre and I discuss science communication, legal scientific advisory, scientific literacy, public trust / trust in experts, challenging beliefs and worldviews, and we tackle some Covid-19 misinformation surrounding viral load, what causes variants, and immunization records / vaccine passports. Andre can be followed at @DreTheScientist

Lalo Dagach is the 'Chilean Palistinean', and he hosts the Lalo Dagach podcast. Lalo has appeared on shows like the Dave Rubin show and has a prominent twitter following.  We discussed Chilean history, the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, Chilean politics and the election in 2021, Venezuela, the Iraq War, and a bit about Covid-19 and vaccines including mandatory vaccines / vaccine passports, vaccine hesitancy and efficacy and more.  Follow him at @LaloDagach on all platforms.

Erick Galindo is a Telly Award and James Beard Foundation-winning Latino filmmaker, journalist, and culture writer who has published and produced work for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, KPCC/LAist and more. Erick is the host of “WILD,” a new podcast from LAist Studios about perseverance in the face of moments that feel too big to overcome but end up changing the trajectory of our lives forever. The first season features optimistic stories from the time spent at home the past year and a half, focusing on how that time has shaped us in the present as the world begins to reopen. Erick and I discussed the personal side of the pandemic, the stories he explores on WILD, getting tired of data and headlines from the pandemic news cycle, living through the current 'event horizon' of the end of the pandemic, vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, american individualism, growing up as an immigrant in south-east LA, and more! Listen to 'WILD' wherever podcasts are found. Twitter @ErickGEEE // Instagram @erickgalindo

Mick West is a British-American science writer, skeptical investigator, and retired video game programmer. His book is Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect.  Kevin M. Folta is a professor of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. Kevin hosts the Talking Biotech podcast.  Lalo Dagach is the Chilean Palestinian and the host of the Lalo Dagach podcast. He has appeared on the Rubin Report, and has studied film and politics.   **********************   In Deekast #94 we discuss with Mick, Kevin and Lalo: the Covid-19 origins investigation by the WHO, the possible outcomes and rejections or acceptance the outcomes will face, as well as the potential outcomes of the Pentagon's upcoming UFO/UAP disclosure report. We also discuss topics like zoonotic viruses, vaccines and lockdowns in Chile, gain of function research, the Wuhan Lab, wet markets and their history and economics, China and political secrecy, Twitter as a platform for conspiracy theories and as it relates to converting or convincing people, skepticism, rationality, scientific literacy, media literacy, the media 'getting it wrong', how to know which sources of news to trust, the degradation of various popular media outlets integrity over time, and many more topics. ********************** Follow @MickWest, @kevinnfolta, and @LaloDagach on twitter for more!   Visit metabunk.org, or listen to Tales from the Rabbit Hole, the Talking Biotech podcast, or the Lalo Dagach podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Lorenzo Hagerty is the host of the Psychedelic Salon podcast, he is an author and formerly an attorney, U.S. Naval officer, electrical engineer, motivational speaker, and corporate geek. We discuss Lorenzo's past as an attorney in Texas, his first time trying MDMA, resorting to dealing MDMA to support a failing computer company being run out by IBM, psychedelics, the war on drugs and current drug laws, Terrence McKenna, Ram Dass, J. Krishnamurti and more. @PsychedelicLozo on Twitter www.psychedelicsalon.com

Dr. Dan Wilson holds a PHD in molecular biology and hosts a YouTube channel called Debunk the Funk. His latest series called Debunking the Disinformation Dozen tackles a specific group of anti-vaxxers and covid-deniers who have been shown to produce 65% of all anti-vaccine misinformation posted online. He uses plain English and logic to examine various claims made on their videos and interviews. We discuss conspiratorial thinking, science communication and literacy, rhetoric and debate techniques like gish galloping, the concept or defense of 'questioning things', we break down various myths and debunk specifically: the Wuhan lab leak theory, event 201, death certificates and doctors receiving extra funding to lie about death causes, co-morbidities, the 6% myth, should young healthy individuals get vaccinated and why, counter-factuals and examining consequences of taking no action against covid19, the concept of forced vaccines and vaccine passports, vaccine patents, past warnings of pandemics and warnings for future ones, among other topics. Check out Dr. Wilson on twitter at: @Debunk_the_Funk And his YouTube channel at 'Debunk the Funk'

Michael Gelbart is a Montreal-born comic living in LA. He is known for his work on The Latest Buzz (2007), Radio Free Roscoe (2003) and Pet Project (1996). Michael and I discuss his new special Michael Gelbart: All New Smash Hits, live vs recorded comedy, confidence vs comfort, his entry into comedy and performing, the pandemic and it's effects on comedy, admitting we as average citizens don't know more than experts about viruses, being labelled the Canadian Seinfeld, opening for Norm MacDonald, and what's next for social media and the world.   @MichaelGelbart on Twitter @RealGelbart on Instagram   His new special is 'Michael Gelbart: All New Smash Hits ' Available on Amazon Prime now!

In this episode I talk with Ron Butler (@ronmortgageguy) from the Greater Toronto Area. We discuss the history of mortgages, the stark rise in Canadian home prices since the year 2000 and especially in the past few years, possible solutions to the problem, low interest rates, Quantitative Easing and inflation, foreign investors in Canadian homes, money laundering in Canada, building homes in Canada and red-tape, Ontario's debt, Modern Monetary Theory, and more topics.

Frankie MacDonald (@frankiemacd) is a Canadian amateur meteorologist from the Whitney Pier area of Sydney, Nova Scotia. MacDonald, who has autism, is known for his boisterous online weather forecasts. Frankie records meteorologist reports then he posts the videos to his YouTube channel, under the handle of dogsandwolves.   Joey Only (@InteriorWeathe1) runs a group called interior and weather wilderness watchers in British Columbia that has over 6,000 members. Joey and Frankie produce a show together that will be airing on the radio every Saturday mornings on CFU Radio in Prince George in B.C.   Dylan Atack (@ticatsfan7) is from Hamilton, Ontario and he works with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Hamilton Ticats and also has Autism. Dylan produces a show with Frankie MacDonald called The Dylan and Frankie Show available on livestream every Thursday at www.Cable14.com where they interview celebrities, professional athletes and politicians.   Frankie, Dylan and Joey did a video about Autism for World Autism Day which was April 2nd, 2021. The video can be seen here: https://youtu.be/O9Wrw9k_QJ8   Frankie, Joey, Dylan and I discuss each of their backgrounds, Frankie's weather reporting, Frankie's YouTube achievements, Frankie's book and action figure, avalanches in B.C., autism and bullying, Covid19 and more.

Alex is a Medical Lab Technician at a large mid-Atlantic USA teaching hospital lab with a COVID test volume of about 300 daily. We discuss how PCR tests work, their efficacy in detecting Covid-19, qualitative and quantitative testing, false-positives and false-negatives, public vs private labs, the working conditions in med labs, pharma advertisement in the USA, politics in med labs and more.

In episode 87 of the Deekast I am joined by Nicholas Picholas the former host of Video & Arcade Top 10. Nick hosted the show from 1991 to 2006. It was the longest running Canadian Kids Game Show on Television. Nick and I discuss his radio and DJ career, the origins of Video & Arcade Top 10 and how he got to host the show, the show as a precursor to e-sports, violence in video games and how the show handled it, the crappy prizes on the show, Nick breaking records for US airplay by Canadian artists such as The Barenaked Ladies, Alanis Morisette and Tom Cochrane, the possibility of a new form of Video & Arcade, and Ramakers (The Dutch Store). Follow Nick @nickinbuffalo

Lalo Dagach is the Palestinian Chilean. His tweets are commentary on international politics, culture and religion.  He was born in LA, lives in Chile and has Palestinian heritage. He's lived in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and has studied Film and International Politics.   We covered Palestinians living in Chile and Arab populations in Chile, cancel culture and the firing of Mandalorian actress Gina Carano, big tech censorship and the banning of Trump from Twitter, Maajid Nawaz and his efforts to reform islam, and why Maajid may not be exactly what he seems, The Heaven's Gate cult, systematic abuse of women in USA gymnastics, and more topics.

Mick West is a science writer, skeptical investigator, and retired video game programmer who co-founded Neversoft (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater). He is the creator of the websites Contrail Science and Metabunk, for which he investigates and debunks pseudoscientific claims such as chemtrails, UFOs, and conspiracy theories, and has appeared in various media as an expert analyst and science communicator. Mick hosts a podcast called 'Tales from The Rabbit Hole' and has a book out called 'Escaping the Rabbit Hole'. We discussed Covid19, the navy UFO videos, the general rise of conspiracy beliefs in 2020/2021. The capitol building insurrection, the Intellectual Dark Web's political shift, The concept of the Great Reset, Bill Gates, Social Media's Influence on conspiratorial beliefs, and more.

Frank Nitt is a rap artist from Detroit Michigan who is 1/2 of the rap group Frank n Dank. Frank is a childhood friend and long time collaborator of J Dilla and is hosting the upcoming event DillaFest Digital on Feb 6th, 2021 commemorating the 20th anniversary of Welcome 2 Detroit (Dilla's first major album release). We discuss the history of Frank n Dank, Frank's story of meeting Dilla, the artist Amp Fiddler who originally introduced Dilla to the MPC as well as connecting him with Q-Tip. We uncover the true story behind the Frank n Dank album 48 hours, how a studio session with Dre influenced Dilla's decisions on samples vs instruments on the production of that album. Dilla's work ethic and creativity, and more. Follow @dillafest for all the updates for the event! Follow @franknitt on Instagram and Twitter

Dr. Kevin M. Folta is a professor of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. He has studied biology and agricultural biotechnology for over thirty years. He hosts the Talking Biotech Podcast which explores a variety of topics and promotes science communication.  In this episode we talk about Covid19, Viruses, Vaccines, and Public Health. We touch on topics like current case and death counts, the 6% myth, Comorbidities, dying 'with' and 'of' Covid19, PCR tests and thresholds, Dr. Kary Mullis, the origins of the Sars-Cov2 virus and why we know it was not made in a lab, the effectiveness and safety of Vaccines, vaccine distribution and logistics, MRNA, vaccine side-effects and their rarity, Vitamin D and why it probably doesn't prevent Covid19, misinfo and disinfo on Covid19, predictions for the end of Covid19, the concept of mandatory vaccinations, the efficacy and dangers of lockdowns, and why Bill Gates is the largest farm landowner in the USA, among other topics.   You can follow Kevin at @kevinfolta or Subscribe to the Talking Biotech podcast wherever you get your podcasts.   Shownotes:  Why we know Sars-Cov2 was not created in a lab in Wuhan: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/gk6y95/covid19_did_not_come_from_the_wuhan_institute_of/   Timeline of Wuhan Lab origin theory claims: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/05/10/a-timeline-of-the-covid-19-wuhan-lab-origin-theory/?sh=7e9406615aba

It's Dice Raw of the Legendary Roots Crew. Dice Raw is a Rapper, Songwriter, Playwright, and Producer from Philadelphia. You will know his voice from iconic verses and hooks on many Roots albums and songs such as Here I Come, Lighthouse and more. I caught up with Dice while he was cooking dinner. So you could say we 'chopped it up'. I asked Dice about his background, his musical influences and preferences, how big the song Here I Come was, who is really a Money Makin Jam Boy, how the Roots sessions go down, a funny Schooly D story, and his new comedy album available now called CANCELLED. RAW LIFE BLACK INK!

Dr. Channa S. Prakash, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Tuskegee University (USA) where he has served on faculty since 1989, is professor of crop genetics, biotechnology. Dr. Prakash’s research expertise is on genetic improvement research on food crops of importance to developing countries. His lab was among the first to develop transgenic sweet potato and peanut plants and conduct pioneering genomic studies on the peanut.   We discussed Biotech broadly, food security in developing nations, the movie 'Percy', Trump's 2019 executive order on Biotech approval regulations,  Covid19 tests, Crispr technology, Science literacy and more!   Follow him on twitter @AgBioWorld!

Abhijit Chanda is a skeptic blogger, podcaster and YouTuber based in India. He hosts the Rationable Podcast and the YouTube channel Rationable.   We discussed Covid19 in India, The 2013 murder of Indian skeptic and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. Godmen and faith healers in India such as Sathya Sai Baba and Ram Bahadur Bomjon (The Buddha Boy of Nepal), Breatharians, the religious makeup of India, the Caste system. We also touched scientific topics like can you boost your immune system, and do lockdowns hurt our immune system, detoxes, tumeric, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in India, the Keto diet and other fad diets, vitamins, and other topics. Visit www.BeRationable.com Follow @berationable on Twitter Visit Rationable on YouTube (and subscribe!)

Richard Saunders is a skeptic and professional origamist from Australia and host of the Skeptic Zone podcast. The podcast can be found at www.SkepticZone.TV Richard and I discussed UFOs, the paranormal, 911 Truthers, Hypnosis, Uri Geller and spoon bending, Power Bands / Power Bracelets, Dr. Steven Greer's 2017 'Unacknowledged' Documentary among other topics.

Zain Velji returns! We speak about Political Strategy broadly, Trump's Tulsa Oklahoma rally, voter suppression and voter fraud, Gerrymandering, Electoral Reform, 'Covid as Cloud Cover' for politicians, getting involved local and state politics in today's world, Biden's ultimate strategy for beating Trump in November and more.   Zain is a political strategist specializing in campaign strategy, grassroots advocacy and behavioural economics. Zain is the co-creator and host of the highly-rated political podcast, The Strategists which dissects the strategies of political campaigns, parties and governments. Zain brings more than a decade of public policy, political strategy and technology experience, while holding senior positions on several political campaigns in Canada and in the United States, while also working on the campaigns of Naheed Nenshi, the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns and the 2012 campaign of US Senator Elizabeth Warren.   The new podcast 'You the People' with a more US focused approach also featuring The Strategists Corey Hogan and Stephen Carter comes to all podcast platforms soon.   Zain's Twitter: @ZainVelji The Strategists Podcaster Twitter: @strategistspod

Today Nick and I spoke about a bad customer service experience I had at McDonalds, and what McDonalds has really done to their burgers to make them 'BETTER'. Also we speak on Kevin O'Leary's boat crash,  the local Homestead Donuts break-in, Trump pardoning aides who break the law to build the wall, whether Trump is a useful idiot or Russian agent, will Trump drop Fox News for OANN as his propaganda mouthpiece? White Supremacy and KKK membership in 2019, and do you need to be broke just to live in Ontario, Canada in 2019? Also we look up a local St. Catharines Neo-Nazi on Facebook who was just dropped from the People's Party of Canada, you won't be surprised by his musical interests.

Sean & Karl joined me in studio to discuss their podcast turned broadcast 'One Dish One Mic', indigenous issues in Canada, racism and anti-racism, the upcoming elections, and some current events. You can find these two thoughtful gentleman on their website/twitter below, or tune in to 610 CKTB Niagara every Sunday at noon to hear them broadcast live! http://www.1dish1mic.com/ @SeanVanderklis @KarlDockstader

Lalo Dagach is the Palestinian Chilean. He hosts the Lalo Podcast and has appeared on The Rubin Report. His tweets are commentary on international politics, culture and religion. He was born in LA, lives in Chile and has Palestinian heritage. He's lived in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and has studied Film and International Politics.  We covered Palestinian migration abroad, abortion laws in Chile, Hugo Chavez and Venezuela, Trump stepping into North Korea, the generalization of Muslims from various countries, issues with the modern political spectrum, selective empathy, social media addiction, reading books vs the news, and much more.

Terry McDermott is a journalist who served as a national correspondent with the Los Angeles Times and is author of Perfect Soldiers: The 9/11 Hijackers, Who They Were, Why They Did It, an investigative non-fiction book profiling the hijackers of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as well as the Al-Qaeda leaders who planned and orchestrated the attacks. In addition he has authored another book entitled The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Terry's Website: https://tmcdermott.com/ Terry's Twitter: https://twitter.com/terrymcdermott

Nick Carr returns to talk about Big Macs, Hideo Kojima, Roman Raines, Shoots and Works and more.

Ed the Sock is a Canadian television personality who first appeared in the 1990s. He is best known for his appearances hosting programming on MuchMusic and his own talk show, Ed's Night Party. Liana K is a Canadian YouTuber, television host, writer and producer. She co-hosted the final season of the variety show Ed & Red's Night Party with Ed the Sock. Her YouTube content is all about asking tough questions about women in gaming in a fun, open-ended way. They are currently traversing Ontario for their War on Stupid comedy tour and stopping in Niagara Falls Thursday night. Ed the Sock has been working on the FU Network, an online media outlet featuring a variety of in-house produced shows and podcasts in an effort to bring some of the spirit back that was lost during the downfall of MuchMusic and Canadian TV in the 90s/2000s. We spoke about the news of the day such as the SNC Lavalin scandal, current political discourse on the right and the left, sensitivity in politics and culture, and more! Ed's website: www.edthesock.com FUNetwork: www.funetwork.tv Ed's twitter: @edthesock Liana K's twitter: @redlianak Liana K's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxeNJdOLFPqIHjuZRpEgfTQ FUNetwork Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLhz56vNMS-JzFlyrHcfT6Q

Brian Dunning is an American writer and producer who focuses on science and skepticism. He has hosted a weekly podcast, Skeptoid, since 2006, and he is an author of a series of books on the subject of scientific skepticism, some of which are based on the podcast. Skeptoid has been the recipient of several podcast awards such as the Parsec Award. Dunning has also created the Skeptoid.org spin-off video series, inFact, and The Feeding Tube both available on YouTube. Brian's website: http://www.Skeptoid.com Brian's upcoming documentary Science Friction: https://www.sciencefriction.tv/ Brian on Twitter: @BrianDunning

Matt Christiansen is a YouTuber and podcaster talking politics and culture from the refuge of a wilderness fortress in Bozeman, Montana. His YouTube videos are fairly popular, his account having close to 185,000 subscribers. He creates regular videos dissecting current events and politics in the US as well as hosting a weekly stream call-in-show with co-host 'Blonde'. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxeY-wRrb65Jt37QHa5xMog Website: https://www.mattchristiansenmedia.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLChristiansen

Kevin M. Folta is a professor and chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. From 2007 to 2010 he helped lead the project to sequence the strawberry genome, and continues to research photomorphogenesis in plants and compounds responsible for flavor in strawberries. He is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and hosts his own podcast called Talking Biotech. +++ @kevinfolta on Twitter www.talkingbiotechpodcast.com www.kfolta.blogspot.com +++ @Deekatello www.deekast.ca Subscribe on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify & more.

Mick West is a science writer, skeptical investigator, and retired video game programmer who co-founded Neversoft (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater). He is the creator of the websites Contrail Science and Metabunk, for which he investigates and debunks pseudoscientific claims such as chemtrails, UFOs, and conspiracy theories, and has appeared in various media as an expert analyst and science communicator. +++ @mickwest on Twitter MickWest.com Metabunk.org Contrailscience.com +++ @Deekatello www.deekast.ca Subscribe on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify & more.

We've been low key for awhile but getting back on the mics to talk 9/11 17th Anniversary, Doug Ford and the Notwithstanding Clause, Chinese indoctrination camps, PokemonGo not being dead, Celebrity stalkers, GunZ: The Duel, and some other stuff.

DEEKAST #48 We're back after a hiatus. Just catching up with you guys. Gotta have your news salad, can't just eat one piece of the same lettuce over and over again.

DEEKAST #47 Marko Dieckmann is a game developer in Berlin, founder of Ion Lands which has newly released 'Phoning Home' on Steam. He was previously the founder of Duplex Systems which created the epic sandbox MMORPG 'Face of Mankind' circa 2005. Christian 'NoFL' Oesch based in Switzerland was the lead artist on the game developing many of the maps and environments. I spoke to them to talk about Face of Mankind because it was an immensely enjoyable and unique gaming experience. The game was an indie development initially and went through various phases and changes through it's lifetime. The game is now history but it will forever be with me and the others who played it. Please google or YouTube face of mankind to learn more. Follow @ionlands ‏on twitter.

DEEKAST #44 Kevin M. Folta is a professor and chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. From 2007 to 2010 he helped lead the project to sequence the strawberry genome, and continues to research photomorphogenesis in plants and compounds responsible for flavor in strawberries. Dr. Folta hosts the Talking Biotech podcast: A weekly podcast about genetic improvements in plants, animals, microbes and medicine. Available on your favourite podcast app. His blog can be found at kfolta.blogspot.com. On twitter he is @kevinfolta

DEEKAST #43 David Robert Grimes is a physicist and cancer researcher at the University of Oxford. He also writes for The Irish Times and The Guardian. In 2014, he was a joint winner of the John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science. In 2016 he wrote a paper showing how unlikely conspiracy theories are to be true based on the amount of people involved and how long it would take before a secret would get out. His twitter account is @drg1985

DEEKAST #41 Marty Allen is a Niagara born recording artist. Marty writes original honky-tonk and rockabilly music and also performs Johnny Cash cover tunes in and around the Niagara Region. His music and show dates can be found at www.martyallenband.com

DEEKAST #40 James Townsend is a rap artist who goes by the name of Jack $%#&&. He has many rap battles under his belt in KOTD and has been working on an album for some time. His latest video 'The Screening' by PaperCutsRock (one of his groups) can be found on YouTube.

DEEKAST #39 DDS is a hip-hop producer who is best known for his billboard charting song with artist Dej Loaf entitled 'Try Me'. He offers information and feedback to producers and artists through his YouTube channel and often makes use of livestreams when making beats. DDS can be found on twitter and instagram at @DDS825.

DEEKAST #38 In this special mid-week episode, I share some DEEKAST stats, review a recent Hip-Hop show in St. Catharines, and Nick Carr and I discuss Sean Spicer's comments today about Hitler, as well as the general Syria picture. Nick Carr says the Trump administration is George Bush term 5. Is he right? Has the deep serpentine state gotten to Trump? Also we talk about Kendrick Lamar meeting with the Honourable Minister Farrakhan, and other stuff.

DEEKAST #37 The DEEKAST took to the stage at Local Media Matters 2017 fundraiser hosted by the Niagara Podcasters Network. You can visit them at www.niagarapodcasters.org

DEEKAST #36 Pete Voynavich is a professor of graphic design at Niagara College. He was slightly abusive to me during my time under his rule but it was my fault for using red and black colour schemes too often. Pete likes 90s hip-hop, baseball, and illustration.

DEEKAST #35 St. Catharines Collegiate and Sir Winston Churchill high school students will tell you Bill Huizer is a legend of a teacher. He is also referred to as Mr. Huizer Jr. out of respect for and so not to be confused with Mr. Huizer Sr. Mr. Huizer Jr taught me english in gr 11 and 12. He also teaches math. I asked him about the goods and bads of the Ontario education system. Doesn't all that memorization and testing numb our brains or something? Mr. Huizer Jr lets us know, and cautions us about using Ted Talks as a magic pill for education.

DEEKAST #30 DJ Frank Vinatra is a DJ from Toronto who DJs from the 416 to the 905. He can be heard every long weekend on 93.5 WBLK. He's worked with artists such as French Montana, Akon, Beenie Man, PartyNextDoor and Tory Lanez. He has been a staple of St. Catharines party life for some years and is my favourite DJ to turn UP to. Check out his website at www.thisisfrankvinatra.com

DEEKAST #26 St. Catharines resident, graphic designer, artist, costume design hobbyist and "Squirrel Mom" Lisa Mancini (@lisa.mancinerh) discusses the gifts and curses bestowed upon her by squirrel mother nature. Lisa recently had a video of her and her adopted squirrel go viral on the internet receiving 16 million hits. It all started in Montabello Park. Lisa also designs and sells clothing and other artwork on Etsy (SaltyMermaidDesign).

DEEKAST #24 Jacob Bergsma (@Mr_Bergsma) is a comedian, rapper, actor, and former backyard wrestler. He is the front man of the Canadian brass-hop band My Son The Hurricane who just finished a nation wide tour. We chit chat about everything from side-chain compression to ice wine. Be sure to let him know on Facebook or Twitter what your pick is for best niagara music release of 2016 as he will be broadcasting the 2nd annual Niagara Music Year in Review on local 610CKTB AM over the holiday season.

DEEKAST #23 Mike Soltys (@Darminian) returns to the Deekast to talk some PC gaming, Hideo Kojima, white privilege, feminism, racism, when anti-racism becomes racism, weed legalization, Trudeau, and other stuff we barely know about. Why is it a coincidence that people who want less guns are seemingly pro-choice. Why are people who deny climate change's impacts called racist often, because of their views on immigration. Why do we lump all climate change denial into one camp of 'idiocy'. Are there arguments to be made on the severity of climate change, or how much is man-made, or how imminent the problem is? Why does Al Gore own an ocean-side mansion and fly a private jet?