It Could Happen Here Weekly 197

This special edition of ICHH Weekly compiles the complete Anti-Vax America series by guest host Steven Monacelli. - Viral Texas - Anti-Vax Genealogy - God's Will - Soft Eugenics - Could It Happen Here? You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/05/20/measles-updates-texas-cases-pass-700-as-illness-reported-in-30-states/ https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-measles-outbreak-in-west-texas-and-beyond https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2025/03/24/data-these-charts-show-how-measles-vaccination-rates-declined-in-texas-public-schools/ https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/03/24/too-good-for-this-earth-parents-of-child-who-died-in-measles-outbreak-say-no-to-vaccine/ https://www.verywellhealth.com/measles-outbreak-texas-11682808 https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8828106/ https://www.latimes.com/newsletters/la-me-ln-essential-california-20190507-story.html https://slate.com/technology/2025/04/measles-cases-epidemic-worst-case-vaccine.html https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/rfk-jr-plandemic-funding-1235173801/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1200696/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8802588/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1123944/ https://time.com/7205900/anti-vaccination-movement-history/ https://historyofvaccines.org/getting-vaccinated/vaccine-faq/vaccination-exemptions https://historyofvaccines.org/blog/timeline-of-vaccination-mandates https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68106-1_2 https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/rfk-jr-plandemic-funding-1235173801/ https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-02/rand-paul-on-vaccines-most-of-them-ought-to-be-voluntary- https://time.com/5175704/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-autism/ https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-evidence-on-vaccines-and-autism https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-bombastic-19th-century-anti-vaxxer-who-fueled-montreals-smallpox-epidemic/ https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/plague-the-red-death-strikes-montreal-feature https://www.cascadepbs.org/2020/05/seattle-always-had-anti-vaxxers-even-during-smallpox https://www.cascadepbs.org/mossback/2025/02/history-vaccine-skepticism-1920s-seattle-rfk-jr https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/03/texas-measles-outbreak-death-family/681985/ https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/03/24/too-good-for-this-earth-parents-of-child-who-died-in-measles-outbreak-say-no-to-vaccine/ https://www.christianitytoday.com/2013/09/measles-outbreak-megachurch-kenneth-copeland-vaccines/ https://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217746942/texas-megachurch-at-center-of-measles-outbreak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUGuJkVgXNA https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kenneth-copeland-blow-coronavirus-pray-sermon-trump-televangelist-a9448561.html https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2025/03/04/west-texans-mennonites-at-center-of-measles-outbreak-choose-medical-freedom-over-vaccine-mandates/?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/12/measles-vaccinations-texas-pastor-revels-in-schools-state-low-rates/81975293007/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19602363/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11700278/ https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/timelines/eugenics https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/29/politics/abbott-migrant-transport-order-covid https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/racist-covid-infection-theories-arent-just-wrong-they-are-deadly/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/measles-maha-and-soft-eugenics/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/maha-and-soft-eugenics-revisited-the-autism-tsunami-dr-oz-and-your-patriotic-duty-to-stay-healthy/ https://www.nsdoku.de/en/groups/educational-program/the-nazi-society-of-exclusion http://www.worldofinclusion.com/res/qca/Lest_We_Forget.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20250213085155/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/11/19/anti-vaxxers-try-rewrite-history-truth-nazis-vaccination-not/ https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/health/hhs-cdc-vaccines-autism https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5383172/rfk-jr-placebo-vaccine-testing-studies https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9577438/ https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/04/10/1168141163/the-dream-of-wiping-out-polio-might-need-a-rethink https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250427/Measles-could-return-to-endemic-status-if-US-vaccination-rates-fall-further.aspx https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/health/polio-vaccine-outbreaks.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Juni 2h 47min

The gang discuss Israeli attacks on Iran, tragedies at Trump’s military parade and the No Kings Protests, the sale of public lands, and the Supreme Court ruling on trans healthcare for minors. Sources: https://hellgatenyc.com/brad-lander-detained-by-federal-agents/ https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/congress-making-more-250-million-acres-public-lands-available-sale https://subscriber.politicopro.com/eenews/f/eenews/?id=00000197-7b7e-dfde-abd7-7fffacc70000 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/30/2025-02009/protecting-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety https://www.npr.org/2025/06/09/nx-s1-5427998/trump-travel-ban-countries-immigration-enforcement https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/after-two-day-manhunt-suspect-charged-shooting-two-minnesota-lawmakers-and-their-spousesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Juni 35min

As anti-vax beliefs become increasingly widespread, and vaccination rates drop, the greater the risk of some sort of massive viral outbreak or the return of horrific illnesses such as polio. This episode will explore what could happen if anti-vax beliefs spread further into United States politics and culture. Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9577438/ https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/04/10/1168141163/the-dream-of-wiping-out-polio-might-need-a-rethink https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250427/Measles-could-return-to-endemic-status-if-US-vaccination-rates-fall-further.aspx https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/health/polio-vaccine-outbreaks.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Juni 25min

Anti-vaccination rhetoric is often framed by proponents as a sort of medical freedom, the ability to decide what one wants to do with their own body. It’s an argument that can appeal to crunchy granola types and religious zealots alike. But there is also a darker side to this rhetoric that reveals an embrace of eugenic ideas among anti-vax advocates, whose preferred “herd immunity” approach to outbreaks subordinates the interests of older people, those with disabilities, and members of minority groups to others. This episode explores the history of eugenics as it relates to vaccines and unpacks how modern anti-vax politics tends towards eugenic responses to viral pandemics. Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19602363/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11700278/ https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/timelines/eugenics https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/29/politics/abbott-migrant-transport-order-covid https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/racist-covid-infection-theories-arent-just-wrong-they-are-deadly/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/measles-maha-and-soft-eugenics/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/maha-and-soft-eugenics-revisited-the-autism-tsunami-dr-oz-and-your-patriotic-duty-to-stay-healthy/ https://www.nsdoku.de/en/groups/educational-program/the-nazi-society-of-exclusion http://www.worldofinclusion.com/res/qca/Lest_We_Forget.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20250213085155/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/11/19/anti-vaxxers-try-rewrite-history-truth-nazis-vaccination-not/ https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/health/hhs-cdc-vaccines-autism https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5383172/rfk-jr-placebo-vaccine-testing-studiesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Juni 41min

For Peter, the father of the deceased child and a member of a Mennonite community in West Texas, the death of his child was God’s will. Many in the Mennonite communities of Texas and across the United States do not vaccinate their children, and their anti-vaccination stance is in line with their general religiously informed practice of eschewing modernity and its technological advances. But it is not merely the few sectarian Mennonite communities that still exist in the United States that have taken a stance against vaccination. Mainstream evangelical and charismatic congregations that embrace much of the modern world have also embraced anti-vaccination beliefs. This episode explores the relationship between conservative Christianity, anti-vaccination beliefs, and contemporary right-wing politics. Sources: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/03/texas-measles-outbreak-death-family/681985/ https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/03/24/too-good-for-this-earth-parents-of-child-who-died-in-measles-outbreak-say-no-to-vaccine/ https://www.christianitytoday.com/2013/09/measles-outbreak-megachurch-kenneth-copeland-vaccines/ https://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217746942/texas-megachurch-at-center-of-measles-outbreak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUGuJkVgXNA https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kenneth-copeland-blow-coronavirus-pray-sermon-trump-televangelist-a9448561.html https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2025/03/04/west-texans-mennonites-at-center-of-measles-outbreak-choose-medical-freedom-over-vaccine-mandates/?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/12/measles-vaccinations-texas-pastor-revels-in-schools-state-low-rates/81975293007/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

18 Juni 34min

For many years, the threat of measles, a deadly disease that spreads more rapidly than COVID and regularly took thousands of lives a year, had been effectively eradicated in the United States due to the widespread acceptance of vaccination. The death of a child from measles in West Texas was the first in over a decade and it came as a shock to the American medical establishment that is now grappling with a disturbing reality: the chief public health bureaucrat is a bonafide anti-vaxxer. This episode will explore the genealogy of anti-vaccination beliefs in the United States and how they spread into mainstream politics. Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1200696/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8802588/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1123944/ https://time.com/7205900/anti-vaccination-movement-history/ https://historyofvaccines.org/getting-vaccinated/vaccine-faq/vaccination-exemptions https://historyofvaccines.org/blog/timeline-of-vaccination-mandates https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68106-1_2 https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/rfk-jr-plandemic-funding-1235173801/ https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-02/rand-paul-on-vaccines-most-of-them-ought-to-be-voluntary- https://time.com/5175704/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-autism/ https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-evidence-on-vaccines-and-autism https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-bombastic-19th-century-anti-vaxxer-who-fueled-montreals-smallpox-epidemic/ https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/plague-the-red-death-strikes-montreal-feature https://www.cascadepbs.org/2020/05/seattle-always-had-anti-vaxxers-even-during-smallpox https://www.cascadepbs.org/mossback/2025/02/history-vaccine-skepticism-1920s-seattle-rfk-jrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Juni 32min

The viral measles outbreak that began in West Texas has taken the lives of two children and one adult, and has reached over eight hundred cases, with thousands potentially exposed to the disease. This episode serves as a deep dive into the outbreak, when it started, how it spread, and will set the stage for the remaining four episodes. Sources: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/05/20/measles-updates-texas-cases-pass-700-as-illness-reported-in-30-states/ https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-measles-outbreak-in-west-texas-and-beyond https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2025/03/24/data-these-charts-show-how-measles-vaccination-rates-declined-in-texas-public-schools/ https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/03/24/too-good-for-this-earth-parents-of-child-who-died-in-measles-outbreak-say-no-to-vaccine/ https://www.verywellhealth.com/measles-outbreak-texas-11682808 https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8828106/ https://www.latimes.com/newsletters/la-me-ln-essential-california-20190507-story.html https://slate.com/technology/2025/04/measles-cases-epidemic-worst-case-vaccine.html https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/rfk-jr-plandemic-funding-1235173801/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Juni 33min

Margaret reads you a story about what it takes to break from society in disgust. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Juni 27min