Speaker
Josh Clark
Appearances over time
4 episodes
Episodes
4
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Chopsticks are estimated to be between 5,000 and 7,000 years old, originally used as cooking tools — not eating utensils.
Enron posted a $14 million loss in its first year (1985), yet within 15 years reported $100 billion in annual revenue — almost entirely built on fraud.
About 6% of children born with a port wine stain birthmark develop Sturge-Weber syndrome, a neurological condition — but 100% of Sturge-Weber patients have the port wine stain.
Soul Train became the longest-running syndicated television show in TV history, airing from 1971 to 2006.
Despite chopsticks' age, the spoon — not the chopstick — was the dominant eating utensil across Asia for thousands of years while millet gruel was the staple food.
Three Enron traders who manipulated California's energy market pleaded guilty, costing the state an estimated $40–$45 billion in unnecessary electricity costs.
After a radio executive told him he had a great voice during a traffic stop, Cornelius quit being a cop and took a 3-month broadcasting course to launch his career.
In the 6 months before Enron manipulated California's grid, the state had 1 blackout; in the 6 months after, it had several dozen — all artificially created.
Having 6 or more café au lait birthmarks — especially if larger than a dime — may indicate neurofibromatosis (NF1), a nerve condition that warrants a doctor visit.
According to dermatologists, the medical community still does not know what causes most birthmarks; port wine stains are the closest to having a known genetic cause.
Meeting China's annual disposable chopstick production requires cutting down approximately 20 million 20-year-old trees every year.
Don Cornelius moved Soul Train to Los Angeles in 1971, where it became nationally syndicated while the original Chicago version simultaneously continued airing on local TV.
Of the roughly 40 billion chopsticks China exports annually, Japan alone consumes 77%, making it the world's largest importer of disposable chopsticks.
Researchers found a gene with a molecular switch locked permanently 'on' that is believed to cause port wine stain birthmarks.
Don Cornelius flew to LA every Friday to shoot 4 episodes over the weekend and then flew back to Chicago to host the local Monday show.
Blood is never blue — not even when deoxygenated. Veins appear blue because blue light can't penetrate as deeply as red light, so it reflects back to the surface. Red light goes deeper and gets absorbed, making deep tissue appear blue to the eye.
A Syrian child born with an axe-mark-shaped birthmark allegedly recounted memories of being murdered in a past life, naming the killer and the village. Village elders investigated, located the accused, and reportedly obtained a confession and found the buried remains. Documented or not, the story is hard to shake.
A UK birthmark support group described a mother who had explanation cards printed about her child's birthmark because she couldn't always handle strangers approaching to ask about her child's face. The real problem isn't the birthmark — it's everyone else.
Melanoma is widely written off as a minor skin issue you just get removed. In reality, it can spread through the body with terrifying speed and kill. Atypical moles are a key warning sign, and the cultural messaging around melanoma has badly failed the public.
Pulsed dye lasers target a specific wavelength of light absorbed by the pigment of a birthmark but not by the surrounding skin. That light energy converts to heat inside the birthmark, destroying the clustered blood vessels. Multiple treatments can eliminate port wine stains — though it feels like hot bacon grease on the skin.
Café au lait birthmarks — light brown spots that can appear anywhere on the body — are usually harmless. But having 6 or more, especially larger than a dime, may indicate neurofibromatosis (NF1), a nerve condition. It's not a death sentence, but it is a sign to see a doctor.
Port wine stains are the only birthmark type with a partially identified genetic cause: a molecular switch permanently stuck in the 'on' position. About 6% of cases are linked to Sturge-Weber syndrome, a neurological condition — and 100% of Sturge-Weber patients have the port wine stain.
Atypical moles are the ones you want a doctor to examine — they're amorphous in shape, have color gradients, and are associated with melanoma. Most people don't take melanoma seriously, but it can spread through the body faster than almost any other cancer.
Mongolian spots are deep-pigment birthmarks common in African, Asian, and Hispanic babies that appear as bluish-gray patches on the lower back and buttocks. They're easily mistaken for bruising and typically fade by ages 6–7.
The UK organization changingfaces.org advocates for people with facial differences by pushing back on society rather than the individuals. Their message: people with birthmarks or other facial differences aren't cognitively or physically impaired. The rest of society needs to adjust its reaction.
Birthmarks fall into two broad families: vascular (caused by clusters of blood vessels near the skin) and pigmented (caused by concentrations of melanin). Neither type is fully understood by science, but understanding the difference determines how doctors monitor and treat them.
In early 2001, Fortune journalist Bethany McLean published 'Is Enron Overpriced?' — among the first public challenges to the company's finances. Short-seller Jim Chanos had already been betting against Enron since 2000, having noticed that Enron's cost of capital exceeded its return on investment, making it mathematically not profitable. He made hundreds of millions shorting the stock.
While strangling California with fake blackouts, Ken Lay hosted a private meeting at the Peninsula Hotel in LA with Arnold Schwarzenegger — long before Schwarzenegger had declared any political ambitions. The resulting public fury over blackouts fueled a recall election that removed Governor Gray Davis and installed a governor far more friendly to Enron.
Enron began as a boring natural gas pipeline company formed from a 1985 merger, posting a $14 million loss in year one. Within 15 years, hiring Jeffrey Skilling and exploiting federal deregulation transformed it into a $100 billion revenue machine — almost entirely built on financial smoke and mirrors.
Because birthmarks have no known cause, cultures worldwide invented explanations blaming the pregnant mother. Being startled and touching her face, eating too many strawberries, drinking port wine, gazing at fire — all were supposedly capable of marking the unborn child. The X-ray version persisted into the modern era.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Society & Culture 25%
- Business 22%
- History 22%
- Health & Fitness 10%
- TV & Film 6%
- Science 6%
- Education 6%
- Government 3%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
