Rise of the Cosplaymanauts: The 272nd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

This week in women: the UK Supreme Court declares that transwomen are not women, and women are lauded for putting on matching jumpsuits and being launched into space for a minute. In Britain, rapists can no longer pretend to be women; in the United States, we are asked to celebrate one of the oldest plays in the book—attractive woman attaches herself to wealthy man and attains power—and pretend that it represents female empowerment, while conveniently forgetting actually skilled women who have come before. Also: a hostage situation in Podcastistan: in which we explore the strange about-face of some prominent free speech warriors. Finally: the amazing institution that is Ralston College, whose themes are truth, freedom of inquiry, beauty, and fellowship.

*****

Our sponsors:

Timeline: Accelerate the clearing of damaged mitochondria to improve strength and endurance: Go to http://www.timeline.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse for 10% off your first order.

ARMRA Colostrum is an ancient bioactive whole food that can strengthen your immune system. Go to http://www.tryarmra.com/DARKHORSE to get 15% off your first order.

Brain.fm: intense music that boosts productivity. Unlock your brain’s full potential free for 30 days by going to http://brain.fm/DARKHORSE

*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

Thumbnail courtesy of Blue Origin.

*****
Mentioned in this episode:

How women won the gender wars, by Kathleen Stock: https://unherd.com/2025/04/how-women-won-the-gender-wars/

Rapists aren’t women in the UK: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/18/trans-rapists-can-no-longer-claim-to-be-women/

Federal contracts to SpaceX, ULA & Blue Origin: https://spacenews.com/spacex-ula-blue-origin-win-13-5-billion-in-u-s-military-launch-contracts-through-2029/

Best shot at space for Amanda Nguyen: https://www.thecut.com/article/amanda-nguyen-blue-origin-space-flight-controversy.html

MIT research team: https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/amanda-nguyen-carries-mit-research-projects-into-orbit/

Former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, in Ebony: https://www.ebony.com/black-women-technology-nasa/

Douglas Murray in the New York Post: https://nypost.com/2025/04/17/opinion/douglas-murray-so-called-israel-hamas-ukraine-war-experts-spew-false-info-on-joe-rogans-podcast-there-has-to-be-a-standard/

Ralston College: https://www.ralston.ac

Support the show