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Willamette Week reporters spend a lot of time writing stories that answer questions. Big questions about policing, city government, homelessness. But sometimes, a topic comes around that is so intriguing, so divisive, so strange that even the best writers are left with questions of their own.
Anthony Effinger wrote this week’s cover story about one of the most controversial topics in the news right now. No, not Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend. It’s ivermectin, the drug that vaccine skeptics are using to ward off COVID-19. While a few studies have shown that ivermectin—often used to kill worms in animals and humans—can have positive effects when fighting coronavirus, these studies have been disputed, and the CDC and the FDA warn people against taking ivermectin. People have been misdosing themselves and ending up in the hospital taking this stuff. And the leading proponent of ivermectin dosing? A Portlander named Bret Weinstein.
So as you can imagine, this kind of topic may lead to more questions than answers. We invited Anthony on the show to give us some answers to our lingering questions. But he had questions of his own—including the one he most wishes he could ask Weinstein.
You will be an expert on this story and all the biggest stories in Portland after just one 20-minute podcast. How cool is that? Twenty minutes makes you an expert. Malcolm Gladwell thought it took 10,000 hours to become an expert. That’s 30,000 podcasts. We are only on Episode 38.
Anywho, give our show a listen. Right here.
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