65 - That's How You Get Throat Gonorrhea, Kids (S16E19 Granting Immunity) - a podcast by Munch My Benson

This week’s selection is Law & Order: SVU’s swipe at the anti-vax movement—“Granting Immunity” (S16E19)—which puts the vulnerable Baby Doe in the path of a measles outbreak spawned by the casual dismissal of science by rich dick Tribeca parents who clearly know more than epidemiologists and have conspired to circumvent New York’s mandated vaccinations for all students. This leads the Munchie Boys to investigate just what started this anti-vax MMR-causes-autism nonsense that’s since metastasized in much more widespread and nefarious ways. Don’t worry, there’s also plenty of fun to be had, including (but not limited to) the virtues of Susie Essman, the horrors of opening montage music, the hilarious inappropriateness of filmed teenage sex parties, and the watercooler TV-watching habits of the dedicated detectives of the Special Victims Unit. Is this the scariest episode of SVU in Munchstory? Only one way to find out.

Sources:

Jenny McCarthy: anti-vaxxer, public menace - Los Angeles Times

Seth Mnookin: How the Vaccine War Has Changed - PBS

Hollywood’s Vaccine Wars: 20 Most Notable L.A. Schools at Risk of Disease - The Hollywood Reporter

Andrew Wakefield - Wikipedia

Reckless Endangerment in the First and Second Degrees - New York Lawyers dot Org

Music:

Divorcio Suave - “Munchy Business”

20:45 - Jamiroquai - “Scam” from The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994)

39:18 - Starland Vocal Band - “Afternoon Delight” from Starland Vocal Band (1976)

51:26 - Chris Isaak - “Somebody’s Cryin’” from Forever Blue (1995)

Next Week’s Episode: Season 4, Episode 5 “Disappearing Acts”

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