Reply All: #156 The Cure for Everything

January 30, 2020 5:16 AM

PJ and Alex open up the hotline again to tackle listener problems and mysteries, no job too weird. This time – a Waze vortex, a tribunal for HawtNugz, and a powerful mystery cure that could topple the world into dystopia. www.helpwiththecure.com
posted by Tevin (18 comments total)

This baldness question is infuriating and I'm about to unsubscibe because the Reply All team thought this was something listeners needed to hear.
posted by Tevin at 5:19 AM on January 30, 2020 [9 favorites]

The mystery cure call(s) just went on and on and oooooon saying the same stuff over and over. Did they need to fill time or something?
posted by Karmakaze at 6:26 AM on January 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

It was definitely a windup without a punchline if we don't get the answer. Even then I could see some people hating it. I knew it was bad but I was also laughing and grinning throughout, but that was anchored in the fact that I trusted them to have a payoff - and it didn't really get there.
posted by yellowbinder at 7:16 AM on January 30, 2020

It's absolutely some sort of edible.
posted by maxsparber at 11:11 AM on January 30, 2020

Popular Internet theory is that it's placenta.
posted by chrchr at 3:42 PM on January 30, 2020

Placenta is rich with iron.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:59 PM on January 30, 2020

Placenta wouldn't limit its access to rich people. Everybody gets 1!
posted by Maecenas at 5:51 PM on January 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh dear. I really hope it’s not placenta.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:03 AM on January 31, 2020

Menstrual blood would have been my first guess before the break, placenta would have also been my guess after the break (before reading the comments).

Mostly though, the caller came across as slightly exhausting and tech-bro'y for me.
posted by bigendian at 5:04 AM on January 31, 2020

Exactly. And all this secrecy for fear of the unfairness that would be caused by loads of rich men having monopoly on these “exotic” elixirs of fertile women to solve their anxieties about losing their hair is just a level of problematic nonsense that I can’t even. If that is what it is, I’m glad it was bleeped out but I’m annoyed that this was indulged in to begin with. And with contracts even.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:12 AM on January 31, 2020 [3 favorites]

Reply-All is phishing. There was a call about Facebook phishing in the same episode.
posted by whuppy at 7:37 AM on January 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

Also, I knew long ago that Waze re-routing would lose its advantages by blowing up the spot.
posted by whuppy at 7:40 AM on January 31, 2020

Whuppy, a long-phishing con actually makes much more sense to me. I can understand letting the call stay in the episode, but then to go the extra step to have the website and the email address? Feels like A Lot. I hope that's right, because otherwise I'm not really sure how to feel about giving this guy so much attention.
posted by Tevin at 11:42 AM on January 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

My gut feeling on this episode is that they fell for a scam and I am somewhat surprised that a show with so much focus on phishing let themselves be taken advantage of in this way. (Even advertising his hair loss cure email address? Really!?)

But more importantly I am really bummed to hear that Alex Goldman has been depressed and is going through a hard time. Alex, if you are reading this, you are an awesome guy and I hope things get better for you soon!
posted by insoluble uncertainty at 3:38 PM on January 31, 2020

It kinda seems like a sunk cost fallacy thing, where they spent a ton of time on the hair loss scam and had to make podcast grist out of it to justify the amount of time they wasted on it.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:24 PM on February 1, 2020

i think its ground up bugs
posted by rebent at 9:00 PM on February 2, 2020

The argument against placenta is that we're told you go to an existing store and pay thousands of dollars for it. I imagine there are ways to buy placenta, but I'd guess it's a lot more under the table.

I'm guessing it's something closer to tiger penis. Giving the scam artist a platform is an odd choice.
posted by eotvos at 8:38 AM on February 11, 2020

Could it be something rare, like saffron? Or something wasteful, like pigs ears? Or maybe... Batteries?
posted by rebent at 7:45 PM on February 12, 2020