#quackery

Jilly Juice: Jillian Mai Thi Epperly claimed drinking sixteen cups of her super salty cabbage concoction each day could regrow missing limbs and cure everything from cancer to homosexuality. In reality, overdosing on so much salt caused followers a host of health issues that Epperley dismissed as "healing symptoms."

Nonhuman Body Hoax: Jaime Maussan attempted to pass off mummified human remains as nonhuman beings to the Mexican government. (This isn't even Maussan's first hoax, by the way. He has a history.)

Love Has Won: Amy Carlson, a woman who'd walked out on her own children, started a New Age cult in which she presented herself as "Mother God," the creator of the universe. She claimed to be in contact with dead celebrities and alien beings, and taught a conspiratorial worldview. As her health declined, she attempted to treat herself with colloidal silver and alcohol, and her behavior became increasingly abusive. When she finally died, her followers sincerely believed she would return to life and kept her body in a sleeping bag. (She did not return to life.)

Seed Faith Offerings: Reverend Gene Ewing came up with the perfect get-rich-quick scheme to prey on desperate Christian believers: tell believers that if they "sowed seed" by giving money to him, God would bless them with even more money in the future. He made millions of dollars from these donations, while most of his followers never saw the miraculous returns they were promised.

William Walker Atkinson: In the early 20th century, William Walker Atkinson wrote around one hundred books, many of which he wrote under various pseudonyms. Some of these pseudonyms included alleged Hindu mystics. That's right - this guy was practicing literary brownface to sell his mystical ideas.

The LDS Church: In the 19th century, a man named Joseph Smith claimed that an angel had told him where to dig up a set of golden plates that were supposedly written by ancient Hebrews who'd come to North America. Smith even had eleven close associates who vouched for the plates' existence. Yet the script they were allegedly written in bore no relation to actual ancient scripts of the Near East, and the the names the locations in the books he "translated" were very obviously derived from placenames he would have been familiar with. (For example, Oneida/Onidah.) Oh, and actual archaeology and DNA studies have discredited pretty much everything from this guy's weird racist narrative.

Fake Cancer, Fake Cure: Wellness entrepreneur Belle Gibson claimed that she'd cured her brain cancer with natural remedies. Gibson never actually had cancer in the first place.

Medbeds: Back in 2020, QAnons and QAnon-adjacent people started circulating claims that a new form of healing technology was about to become available to the public within the next several months or so. Depending on who you asked, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and even the Galactic Federation of Light were involved. The time of their supposed unveiling came and went, and what do you know, there are still no functioning medbeds used in actual medicine.

COVID Vaccine Zombies: Conspiracy theorists have been claiming the government practices high-tech mind control for ages now. One recent iteration of this is a conspiracy theory claiming that people who'd received COVID vaccinations would have malicious DNA code activated by 5G on October 4, 2023, turn into zombies, and riot. The time came and went, and no zombie outbreak happened.

The Wonderful Magneto-Galvanic Batteries, 1881

Face-Bra

People who don't vaccinate their kids are idiots as well as bad parents.

It doesn't take a huge decline in vaccination rates to set off an outbreak.

Health officials in South Carolina are warning that the highly infectious measles virus is spreading undetected in communities in the northern part of the state, specifically Spartanburg and Greenville counties. Last week, officials in Greenville identified an eighth measles case that is potentially linked to the outbreak. Seven outbreak cases had been confirmed since September 25 in neighboring Spartanburg, where transmission was identified in two schools: Fairforest Elementary and Global Academy, a public charter school. Across those two schools, at least 153 unvaccinated children were exposed to the virus and have been put in a 21-day quarantine, during which they are barred from attending school, state officials said in a press conference. Twenty-one days is the maximum incubation period, spanning from when a person is exposed to when they would develop a rash if infected. [ ... ] In the past five years, vaccination rates in South Carolina have slipped from over 95 percent to 93.7 percent, while religious exemptions have risen. Both trends have played out across the country as anti-vaccine rhetoric, misinformation, and disinformation have taken hold. The latest data indicates that the MMR vaccination coverage for US kindergartners was just 92.5 percent in the 2024–2025 school year, down from 95.2 percent in 2019–2020. Non-medical exemptions are now at 3.4 percent, an all-time high. Relatedly, the US is experiencing its highest measles case count in 33 years, stretching several years past when the virus was declared eliminated from the US in 2000.

Matt Davies : @MatttDavies :: Slayin' 'em. http://Newsday.com/matt

* * * *

Fire Robert Kennedy Jr.!

August 29, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

Aug 28, 2025

The CDC is coming apart at the seams. Highly qualified career professionals with deep medical and scientific expertise are resigning rather than participate in or give cover to the massive fraud that is about to be perpetrated on the American people.

Here is what those resigning are saying: Robert Kennedy and his antivaxxer allies are requesting the underlying data on studies conducted over the last several decades. And Kennedy has promised to announce “the cause” of autism in September.

The most logical inference from those facts is that Kennedy will use magical thinking instead of the scientific method to override the conclusions of those studies, which uniformly concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism.

But Kennedy is on a crusade and will not be stopped—unless the public demands that Trump fire RFK Jr. It is unlikely that Trump will do so, but the demand “Fire RFK Jr.” should appear in every pro-democracy rally, town hall, and freeway overpass ASAP. And we must keep it up until Republicans turn on Kennedy just to shut down the chants and make the signs disappear.

Senator Bill Cassidy, who was the key vote in Kennedy’s confirmation, has called for the cancellation of the CDC’s September meeting on vaccine recommendations. Cassidy is angry that Kennedy lied to him during Kennedy’s confirmation hearing.

In unusually blunt language, Cassidy called for the cancelation of the APIC September meeting until a Senate committee can understand the turmoil at the CDC. See Newsweek, Republican Senator Issues Warning as Leaders Depart RFK Jr.'s CDC.

Per Newsweek, Cassidy said,

"Serious allegations have been made about the meeting agenda, membership, and lack of scientific process being followed for the now announced ACIP meeting. These decisions directly impact children's health and the meeting should not occur until significant oversight has been conducted. [Cassidy] continued that if the meeting proceeds, any recommendations should be "rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership."

The key phrase in Cassidy’s call for cancellation of the APIC meeting is that its recommendations will “lack legitimacy.” That criticism is about as serious as it gets from a member of the president’s party attacking a cabinet secretary.

Tens of millions of Americans will be put at risk by Kennedy’s refusal to allow the newest COVID-19 vaccines to be administered to adults under 65. When Kennedy announces in September that autism is “caused” by vaccines, tens of millions of Americans will believe him—to the detriment of their children, who will be exposed to serious childhood diseases that have been nearly eradicated.

The chaos at the CDC makes all Americans less safe. The CDC chaos is immediately understandable in a way that other actions by Trump are not. People know whether they can get a COVID or flu shot, and whether their children’s classmates have been immunized against measles and mumps.

Americans are fed up with being lied to by their representatives in Congress. In three GOP town halls this week, crowds of constituents have booed and jeered when representatives repeated Trump’s lies. See, e.g., The Daily Beast, Republican Hit With Furious Boos at Town Hall Disaster in JD Vance’s Backyard, and The New Republic, Susan Collins Drowned Out in Boos as Protesters Disrupt Ceremony.

The tide is shifting. Americans are fed up. The pundits are gazing at their spreadsheets and missing the real story—the efforts by tens of millions of Americans who will decide the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Do not be distracted by the naysayers and data masseuses. You have the power to shape the outcome of America’s future, even amidst the chaos being created by Trump and his cabinet of dunces.

This time Cody and Garth take a crack at setting the story straight in regards to a fairly controversial topic. This'll be a divisive one involving: a ghost, murder, cults, conspiracies, legal precedence, strange technologies, lawsuits, severe bodily injury, a whole lot of money, and just maybe some "medicine". So have a good stretch, get comfortable, and buckle up! This is a wild ride.

Join the episode discussion on Discord!

Support us on Patreon!

Follow us on Tumblr!

Support The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline!

Enjoy the episode images below!

Daniel David Palmer, aka "D.D." (1845-1913) "Inventor" of Chiropractic Medicine. He tried his hands at many different careers early in his life, including as a "Magnetic Healer" and Osteopath. In 1895, he claimed that the spirit of deceased physician named Dr. Jim Atkinson told him how to cure people of illness and malady through the use of his hands, and manipulating the spine. After claiming to cure a man of his deftness (he did not) by striking him in the back of the neck, per the spiritual instructions from the ghost doctor, D.D. had an idea: What if 95% of all health problems can be solved by cracking a person's back or joints?

The skills taught to D.D. by the ghost of Atkinson was given a name, Chiropractic. From the Greek for "Hand Practice". He used the story of curing the deaf man, who for the record was never deaf, as a way to advertise his skills. With his son B.J. he opened The Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport Iowa. The College would teach other people how to be chiropractors and spread the word of D.D.'s miracle skill. (Note the radio tower in the background of this postcard. The College owned two radio stations, WHO and WOC on which they broadcasted pro chiropractic advertising and media along with music, news, and sports.)

B.J. Palmer (1882-1967). Son of D.D., and his first student. It was BJ who really saw the financial potential of Chiropractic. He viewed it as strictly a business. D.D. however, maintained that it was a spiritual and almost religious thing. This disagreement on how Chiropractic would be handled caused a split between father and son...

The "sacred" text of the Palmer School, Philosophy of Chiropractic.

A classroom of Chiropractic students. ca. Early 1900's. The college was turning out thousands of chiropractors a year. They would then go out into the world to practice and in turn inspire others to come to Davenport Iowa and become chiropractors themselves. Business was good.

Soon Chiropractors came under fire from the American Medical Association, state, and federal regulation. Chiropractic was not recognized as actual medicine, or at least that chiropractors were not doctors. Also, they were practicing medicine without a license. D.D. himself was arrested and spent 17 days in jail before paying a fine and being released. At this time D.D. began writing about organizing chiropractic as a religion in order to acquire a religious exemption to the requirement for a medical license.

"... we must have a religious head, one who is the founder, as did Christ, Muhammad, Jo. Smith, Mrs. Eddy, Martin Luther and other who have founded religions. I am the fountain head. I am the founder of chiropractic in its science, in its art, in its philosophy and in its religious phase" -D.D. Palmer

It seems that Chiropractic was heading in a very culty direction.

In 1913, during a homecoming parade for the chiropractic college, D.D. Palmer was struck by a car which was driven by his son B.J. D.D. survived the incident, but died a few weeks later. His cause of death was listed as "Typhoid Fever" but on his death bed D.D. made it clear that he blamed his son. Going so far as to say, "It was D.D. who did this to me."

B.J. sued in court against an associate of his father's who repeated the claim that B.J. had intentionally struck his father with the car in order to murder him and seize control of the chiropractic empire. There was conflicting testimonies. Some said that B.J. struck his father with a car, while B.J.'s supporters claimed that there never was a car involved at all, and that D.D. had merely tripped and stumbled. But now, B.J. was in control of the family business. And what a business it was!

Devices were invented and patented for use in chiropractic medicine. Including this little doo-hickey. It claims to measure the subluxation (misalignment) of the spine. In reality it is a thermometer and the needle is moving due to temperature variations.

By the 1930's the issue with the American Medical Association had only gotten worse. Chiropractors across the united states were getting arrested as an act of protest. They had the battle cry, "Go To Jail For Chiropractic!"

One chiropractor of note who was also a science fiction author and inventor, was Volney Mathison (1897-1965).

In 1950, he attended a lecture given by another science fiction author and friend. The Speaker was lecturing about his new scientific religion and how humans have a spiritual energy within themselves. This made sense to Mathison since as a chiropractor he believed in the power of D.D. Palmer and the spiritual aspects of chiropractic. He was inspired to build a device that could detect this energy, and maybe use it in his chiropractic practice.

This was the E-Meter. And the speaker who was giving the talk that inspired him?

L. Ron Hubbard! And that scientific religion? That's right! Scientology and Dianetics.

Mathison shared his invention with Hubbard who quickly made it a core componant of his new religion. For the record, the E-Meter itself was not a new invention at all. Mathison just stole the earlier Wheatsone Bridge, which was invented in 1833, and is merely a circuit that detects electrical resistance. Volney Mathison, chiropractor, inventor- would be an early convert into the church of scientology. And this would not by any means be the end of the connection between chiropractic and scientology…

In 1976 chiropractor Dr. Chester A. Wilk filed a lawsuit against the American Medical Association under the auspices of The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.

In the early 1970's The Church of Scientology carried out Operation Snow White which to date is the largest infiltration of government agencies by a non government organization. Scientologists were placed in all levels of employment in various US Government agencies to spy and collect information about the government that could be used for the benefit of the church. One such sub operation was Operation: AMA Doom. In Operation: AMA Doom, scientologists gained access to the headquarters of The American Medical Association as secretaries, data clerks, and cleaning staff. They stole and or copied private documents about the workings of the association as well as medical files of individuals. They uncovered that until 1974 The AMA had a committee on "Quackery" that was actively monitoring Chiropractic with the addressed goal of "hindering or destroying it."

This information was given to Dr. Wilk by an operative codenamed: Sore Throat. Wilk lost the trial. The jury felt they could not decide if legally chiropractic was legitimate or not.

In 1983, Wilk appealed. And in 1987 he won in the seventh circuit court of appeals.

It was decided by the judge that as the law is written, yes, the American Medical Association had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by conspiring to stifle competition in the form of Chiropractic Medicine. This court case is why today most insurance plans will cover Chiropractic. But what was in it for The Church of Scientology? Precedent. By using chiropractors to bring this suit, it set legal precedent that could in turn protect The Church of Scientology. This was their plan all along. To use chiropractic as a pawn in their own chess game against regulation.

Today Chiropractic is the third largest branch of the American Healthcare Industry. In fact Chiropractic is a very powerful political lobby that makes significant political donations.

In an AARP article on medical insurance fraud within the Chiropractic field, it was found that, "Health insurance fraud costs the U.S. economy an estimated $36.3 billion annually, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an advocacy group comprising government agencies, insurance organizations, district attorneys, consumers and others. " The largest source of this fraud? Chiropractic.

And yes, people have died from Chiropractic. It is actually a very dangerous thing to try and manipulate a person's spine. A quick internet search will easily reveal a long list of documented deaths directly caused by chiropractic procedures.

In Summation: Chiropractic makes dubious claims that medical science cannot corroborate or support. Scientific evidence has shown that the results of chiropractic intervention can be explained through placebo effect, or the positive effects of massage that is part of the treatments. However sublaxation of the spine has never been medically documented in the way that Chiroractic claims. Also, it came from a conman talking to ghost, starting a pseudo cult of personality, who then was possibly murdered by his son. It then became inexplicably intertwined with The Church of Scientology, has killed people, has caused irreparable physical harm to people, and is one of the leading causes of medical insurance fraud. In short, it ain't all it's cracked up to be.

GARTH'S CORNER!! GARTH'S CORNER!! GARTH'S CORNER!!

On example of cult owned and operated radio stations is KVAN from Arizona. It is owned and operated by the Global Community Communications Alliance. The founder of the cult and radio station and originator of CosmoPop, Gabriel of Urantia, died in August 2025 and in this interview author Joseph L. Flatley talks about his book on Gabriel and the impact he had on Arizona.