Critical Nonsense

Why do people love rituals so much? 

This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about medicine, Lunar New Year, habits, disease, leg washing, and flossing. They don’t talk about Jane's Addiction. 

references 

• twitterpated 
• Yale School of Medicine: Phenylephrine, a Common Decongestant, Is Ineffective, Say FDA Advisors. It’s Not Alone 
• Gregorian calendar 
• Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies by Colin Renfrew 
• National Geographic: "Why do humans embrace rituals? Disease and danger may be at the root of the behaviors." 
• cephalocaudal 
• Gonggong 
• Not-so-late-breaking: OSU microbiologists propose updates to the Linnaean System 
• Recapitulation theory 

What can we learn about reality from aquariums? 

This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about Barbie, virtual reality, augmented reality, Sphere, interactivity, and raccoons. They don’t talk about Phish. 

references 

• BBC: Aquariums 'deliver significant health benefits' 
• Sphere 
• This Is Water by David Foster Wallace 
• Disney Imagineer Makes History 

When should we change the target? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about SATs, grade inflation, games, goals, dating, and wine. They don’t talk about French Kiss. 

references 

• Joey missed you. 
• The New York Times' The Daily Podcast: The Messy Fight Over the SAT 
• @AnthonyLeeZhang on former-Twitter discussing the Goodhart Overhang 
• vintner 
• Concord grapes 
• How Save Scumming Makes Baldur's Gate 3 Better 

When is it okay to correct someone? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about Vander-ism, otaku, pedantry, language, Ryan-ing, and comments sections. Thankfully, they don’t talk about the Oxford comma. 

references 

• Otaku 
• Corrections Department (because of course): Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland 
• easter eggs 
• propinquity 
• Merriam-Webster on X 
• Seth Meyers' Corrections on Late Night 

How did our predictions play out in 2023, and what's to come in 2024? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess serve a combo platter of Wild Prognostications, reviewing nogs past from Episode 206 and progging forward into the new year. They talk about influencers, chickens, stuffies, egg nogs, algae, and AI hardware. They don’t talk about quail eggs. 

references 

• Happy New Year for Cutie 
• Puffer Onesie 
• Omlet 
• solidwiggles 
• The New York Times: The Secret Weapon of Celebrity Stylists? Comfortable Shoes. 

Thank you for the love and support you've shown us in light of Alain's passing. If you want to make a donation in Alain's memory, his family suggested they be made to the following organizations: 

• Family Defense Practicum at Main Street Legal Services (write "Family Defense Practicum" in the Additional Comments section) 
• Anseye Pou Haiti 
• Haitian Education Leadership Program 

Typically, we close the year with our Wild Prognostications year in review, instead, we just wanted to leave you with a light-hearted episode to counter the heaviness with a bit of whimsy. 

When did we stop inventing sports? 

This episode, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Cher, sports, spectators, Esports, cyberwarfare, and The Ocho. They don’t talk about the Techno Parrot. 

references 

• I Hope You Dance with the Scatman 
• Echolalia 
• Channeling Emerson 
• Future Tense Fiction: Stories of Tomorrow 
• Battlestar Galactica's Pyramid 
• Pickleball 
• Quidditch (real-life sport) 
• Mayan Ball Game 
• Calvinball 
• Jai alai 
• Armada by Ernest Cline 
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 
• ESPN8 The Ocho 
• блядь 
• North Figueroa Bookshop 
• This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves 
• The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks 
• Thank U 

How do we loosen the reins? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about latchkey kids, parenting, protectiveness, perfectionism, social narrative, and lawnmowers. They don’t talk about driveways vs. parkways. 

references 

• Latchkey kids 
• "Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Wellbeing: Summary of the Evidence" (PDF) 
• Science Daily: 'All work, no independent play' cause of children's declining mental health 
• Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant 
• Parental rights movement 

How much is too much, and how far do you take it for your pets? 

This week, special guest Amanda Medina joins Joey and Jess to talk about chicken tenders/tendies (again), dogs in baby-carrying apparatuses, therapy, working dogs, diets, and parenting. They don’t talk about pet chickens. 

references 

• Eater: A New Hampshire Restaurant Says it Invented Chicken Tenders in 1974 
• Belgian Malinois 
• anthropomorphize 

Where are you sourcing your criticism? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about critics, movie reviews, Dan Gilbert, unintentionally laxative candy, mind bleachers, and overcorrecting. They don’t talk about criticizing nonsense. 

references 

• The Aaron and Joey of Wine 
• Norio Ohga 
• Plain English podcast: Disney’s Downfall: The Rise and Fall of an Entertainment Giant 
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert 
• Daniel Gilbert Ted Talk: The surprising science of happiness 
• Vox: Stop watching movie trailers 
• BuzzFeed: Sugarless Haribo Gummy Bear Reviews On Amazon Are The Most Insane Thing You'll Read Today 
• Call Me Al(ain) 

Where haven't we unlocked the fifth gait?

This week, Jess and Joey talk about Icelandic horses, Stardew Valley, Japanese craftsmanship, molecular gastronomy v. farm to table, biohacking, and "the source code." They don’t talk about how galloping is an elongated canter, because we only just found this out.

references 

• The fateful non-conversation about bracts.
• American Museum of Natural History: Horse Gaits
• "The Five Gaits of the Icelandic Horse" and this generously paced video version to see for yourself
• Lil' Sebastian in the tribute song "5000 Candles"
• Jess's favorite, Plato's Allegory of the Cave
• The fifth gait of puzzles: Magic Puzzles
• Achieving Perfection in Stardew Valley
• CBS: Is licorice (ammonium chloride) the sixth taste?
• DOC, AOC, and many other foods aiming for protected status
• Time: Bryan Johnson's Quest for Immortality
• Sorry, Github.