Don't Do That Podcast: Slaying The Internet's Wildest Myths

 In Germany, around 1440, the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press, which started the Printing Revolution. Human civilization had waited for nearly 600 years to discover a way beyond print to access the wealth of information Available about...well, everything.

What did we get for our long vigil? The internet? That's like children waiting all year for Santa Claus and receiving coal in their stockings, but the coal is disguised as a diamond. 

In August, podcasting has been at the spear's edge of contesting conspiracy theories, misinformation, and myths. First, podcast fans received Conspiracy, She Wrote, a historical memoir of conspiracy theories. 

Then, podcast fans welcomed Don’t Do That , a podcast that tackles the internet’s wildest myths and provides an antidote to the bonkers life hacks clogging up our feeds.

 Each week, host the U.K's Julia Webster, a podcast producer and journalist, acts as a factual tour guide, wading through these myths to separate fact from fiction, one trend at a time.

There will be a debunking of viral trends and a reality check on the latest ‘miracle cures’ floating around TikTok and Instagram. With a sharp wit and a degree in biology, Julia Webster combines her scientific knowledge with her journalistic flair to dive deep into these trends.

Joining her for episodes along the way will be a range of resident experts, from Urologists to eye doctors and specialists in alternative medicines, together they’ll form a panel to call out the nonsense.

Topics covered in series one include:

Rosemary oil for hair growth. The single study people base their claims on is a scam, according to Webster and her experts.

Ear seeds: the scam that broke Dragon’s Den. After Giselle Boxer sold her pitch to all six dragons, everyone wanted to know what ear seeds were. In that episode, find out how ear seeds are not ancient nor Chinese, and are certainly no panacea.

Mouth Tape. Some say it helps you sleep better, children on TikTok say it can give you a more ’snatched’ jaw line. 

Perhaps the two most frightening episodes are the eye color surgery show and the penis enlargement show. 

The show notes for Permanent Eye Color Surgery explain: "Who wouldn’t want piercing blue eyes, or a dark, smoldering gaze? What if I told you there were optical surgeons prepared to give you just that? The only catch? You might go blind."

Webster says: "So, is permanent eye color surgery right for you? Check out this episode and find out whether that elusive stare is worth all the knives and lasers." This episode features corneal expert and Medical Director at Laser Eye Clinic in London, Mr. Fadi Kherdaji, and corneal specialist and NHS Ophthalmic Surgeon Mr. Ankur Barua.

Are piercing blue eyes worth having your eyeball pierced by a "surgeon" from another nation, who cuts into your eye? 

For me, I'll stick with shoe leather brown eyes.  

In the second episode of the show about jelqing, Webster describes the wet dream of many men -- besides returning to the 1950s when women were third-class citizens -- which is enlarging their penis size. It may be the only activity / aspiration that tops the fantasy football draft.

Webster advises: "Don’t try anything that says it will add inches to your member. Stretching, vacuuming, jelqing; these techniques are no laughing matter. These techniques can even lead to injuries resulting in smaller penises. This once viral meme is still a serious point of discussion in manosphere circles across the internet. Why are men so consumed with their size when it seems their partners are perfectly satisfied? In this episode, I speak to Men’s Health specialist, Dr. Justin Dubin."

Check out Don't Do That. It's written, produced, and hosted by Julia Webster, who brings a lot of energy, absurdist humor, and piercing one-liners to these examples of internet insanity. 

More importantly, Webster's advice could save you from risking blindness to change your eye color, or endangering your manhood with a risky, stretching procedure.