Is it Sunset for Sunscreen? The 331st Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

On this, our 331st Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss sunscreen and vegans. It’s Summer, and the sun is out! Should you slather yourself in sunscreen, stay indoors, or seek moderate exposure to the sun that grows in intensity that more your skin becomes acclimated to the season? The last, of course. Research has found that sunscreen use may be positively correlated with skin cancer, but a) “sunscreen” is not just one thing, and most but not all sunscreen is positively toxic, and b) all cause mortality is lower in people who get regular (non-sunscreened) sun exposure, so even if sunscreen does lower your risk of skin cancer—the sun is protecting your health in other ways. Also consider ditching the sunglasses, and donning a hat. Then: even the New York Times can’t figure out whose team they’re on, as a vegan in Portland tries to get Oregonians to outlaw hunting, fishing, animal research, conventional livestock production, and “lethal pest control.”

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Music: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
This track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.net
Free License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net

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Mentioned in this episode:

Hulscher’s substack: https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/study-finds-sunscreen-use-linked

Jeremian et al 2023. Gene–Environment analyses in a UK biobank skin Cancer cohort identifies important SNPs in DNA repair genes that may help prognosticate disease risk. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 32(11): 1599-1607: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10840669/pdf/nihms-1929398.pdf

Nicholson & Exley, C 2007. Aluminum: a potential pro-oxidant in sunscreens/sunblocks? Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 43(8): 1216-1217: https://www.ovid.com/journals/frbm/abstract/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2007.07.010~aluminum-a-potential-pro-oxidant-in-sunscreenssunblocks

Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

NYT in Oregon: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/21/us/politics/animal-rights-cruelty-oregon.html

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