News

Oct 05, 2023

Don't drink bleach, folks

If you're looking for a new podcast to binge, here's a great one. It's called Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure, and it tells the story of the Grenon family, who created the Genesis II Church of Health and

If you're looking for a new podcast to binge, here's a great one. It's called Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure, and it tells the story of the Grenon family, who created the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, which it used to create a massive multi-level-marketing scheme to sell Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS). MMS is chemically similar to bleach—it's toxic and has caused both illness and death. More specifically, Consumer Lab explains that MMS is:

a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water, often mixed with citric acid, that can become chlorine dioxide when ingested. Chlorine dioxide is used as an industrial bleach in water treatment and paper production, and the FDA has warned consumers that drinking MMS is the equivalent of drinking bleach. It can cause serious side effects such as nausea, severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure.

Sony Music Entertainment, which is one of the creators of the podcast (along with Neon Hum and Bloomberg), describes Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure:

This season dissects the story of a family that convinced tens of thousands of people across the world to buy a miracle liquid of poison, something that experts agree is toxic and for which family members are now being prosecuted . . .

The eight-episode series tracks the rise and fall of the group's dangerous scheme amidst a heightened misconception that bleach products reportedly cured COVID-19, as well as the rag tag activists and keyboard warriors who chased them down for years, known as "The Bleach Hunters."

Members of the Grenon family were recently indicted for promoting MMS as a cure for COVID-19. Consumer Lab explains:

Four Florida men have been indicted by a Miami federal grand jury on charges of fraudulently marketing and selling the toxic bleach solution Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) as a cure for COVID-19 and other serious medical conditions, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson's, and HIV/AIDS . . . The indictment charged that Florida resident Mark Grenon and his three adult sons, Jonathan Grenon, Jordan Grenon, and Joseph Grenon, manufactured MMS in a shed in their back yard, and sold tens of thousands of bottles of the product nationwide, receiving more than $1 million in sales. The men sold MMS under the entity Genesis II Church of Health and Healing ("Genesis"), which, according to the charging documents, Mark Grenon has "has nothing to do with religion," and that he founded Genesis to "legalize the use of MMS" and avoid "going [ ] to jail."

You'd think, then, that this dangerous fake 'cure' would be banned from shelves, right? Well, you'd be wrong. It's still widely available! Earlier this month, Fortune Well wrote:

Enter the term "Miracle Mineral Solution" into the search bar on Amazon.com, and, sure enough, there's a wide selection of products that online reviewers say cure everything from asthma to arthritis. The problem is that the cure-all potion commonly known as MMS is, in essence, industrial grade bleach. And selling this toxic and sometimes deadly chemical concoction as medicine is illegal.

It's true, I tried searching for it just now and lots of product kits consisting of sodium chlorite and hydrochloric acid, to be used for "onsite generation" of chlorine dioxide, popped right up. I can have these things on my doorstep in a matter of days. And from a quick glance at the reviews, lots of folks are still ingesting this dangerous solution. What's it going to take for it to be banned for good? I hope this podcast can help spread the news that this product is dangerous and that folks should not believe the bogus health claims still being promoted about it.

The Otherworld podcast is perfect for people with an interest in the paranormal. I've been searching for a podcast that covers the subject matter for a long time, and I… READ THE REST

Rainn Wilson, the actor who played Dwight Schrute on "The Office," is a deep thinker when it comes to spirituality. I recently listened to his interview with Rich Roll where… READ THE REST

Here's a great podcast that tells a bizarre, disturbing, and incredibly sad story. It's hosted by Pauline Dakin, and is based on her 2017 memoir, "Run, Hide, Repeat," which won… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. TL;DR: The Digi Pen for iPad and Tablets is… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. TL;DR: Get permanent access to up… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. TL;DR: Beat the heat and give yourself… READ THE REST