What is jawmaxxing?
With Garbage Day's Ryan Broderick
Happy Monday, Searchers.
We’ve got a new one for you.
The story of how an alternative theory of dentistry made its way from medicine's fringes to an audience of young men online. This week we try to make sense of jawmaxxing with help from internet culture reporter Ryan Broderick.
Panic World - Ryan’s podcast
Garbage Day - Ryan’s newsletter
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We’re finding interesting people and asking them both listener questions and questions of our own. First up is Alison Roman. We talk about Thanksgiving both as an enormous production day for her, but also the holiday. Family, adult singledom, the passage of time, and what it’s like to exist on the other side of a parasocial relationship. If you’re curious, sign up now and you’ll hear that episode this week.
If there are other people you’d love to hear us ask questions of, let me know. It could be a public person, it could be someone who has an interesting profession, like a firefighter.
Some music recommendations
I continue to enjoy the new Jamie XX album, which led me to this Spotify playlist that Jamie made that I’ve since been pillaging for new music, like this DJ Zinc track.
And then, a friend mentioned this old reggae album that’s also quite good.
Okay, one more. I’ve been on an Italo-Disco kick, and Sruthi recommended Self-Control by Raf. Doesn’t this feel like it’s one Stranger Things placement away from becoming an international earworm?
Alright that’s it from me.
The main show is off this week, concluding a seven-episode, no-breaks run (phew). We’ll be back next week with something new. In preparation of the holiday season, we’re investigating a very niche question we had about airports.
See you soon,
PJ
So let me get this straight.
The main evidence that these guys are wrong is... the guys who make money on them being wrong, the orthodonists, say they are wrong?
You can do a little better than this. "it's just your genes"? Seriously? C'mon.
I'm not a jawmaxxer, but... I read the NYT profile you mentioned. Before that, I had always thought it was pretty strange that we remove wisdom teeth. It doesn't make sense evolutionarily. Then I read that profile and it was like: Oh, maybe it's because we don't grow up like we evolved to grow up. That makes a lot of sense.
The journalism in this episode was... very not good. I needed to hear more about why this theory is wrong before I'll believe it.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is very clear on this: Paradigm shifts are always met by intense resistance by "The experts."
And, in this case, "the experts" are a whole industry that makes a very healthy living out of people NOT taking the Mews theory seriously.
I really expect better of this show.
I'm not a jawmaxxer. I can believe that chewing the ball doesn't work for an adult. But their theory makes me ask some pretty big questions about nutrition, food and childhood that I think are worth discussing.
I understand the that this a standard Brooklyn journalist friendship, but not enough is brought up about the unrepentant plagiarism.