In this episode, Dustin Gardner, land surveyor and folklorist, returns with the latest on his Creatures of the Compass game and Victorian-era book trilogy, offering deep insights into the folk magic and belief systems behind it all. If you love folklore, hidden histories, and speculative worlds, this episode is for you. During the conversation, Dustin explains how surveyors can become mediators "between worlds," why boundary stones matter, and how folklore, numerology, and folk magic shape his universe. Along the way, Dustin shares what recently changed in his day job, why he stepped away from the paperwork burden of running Caritas—a nonprofit benefiting children in foster care—and how he hopes to channel that energy into helping at-risk youth train for careers in surveying.

The honeybee hive mind is one of the most sophisticated thinking machines on the planet, and even compares favorably with the thinking machine between our ears. Hives store 50 pounds of honey in a season. To do this, hive workers complete about 4 million foraging trips, flying a total of 12 million miles. They systematically find dozens or hundreds of food patches, exploit them, and move on. This is sophisticated stuff, requiring coordination at a level of complexity approaching that of a human corporation. In fact, bee intelligence is even capable of solving a mathematical series; in one experiment, entomologists placed a bowl of sugar water outside a hive. Bees quickly found it. The next day, the bowl was moved twice as far away. Again, the bowl was found. This went on for several days, with the bowl being moved away from the hive in a geometric, not arithmetic progression. The experiment was supposed to study search efficiency, but after several days something unexpected occurred; when the experimenters went to place the bowl, the bees had anticipated them and were already on the spot! This is astonishing. There are, frankly, plenty of humans who have trouble with geometric progressions. How is it even possible for a hive to make this sort of calculation?

A 911 call now triggers a drone launch in under 90 seconds—and across Southern California, that speed is transforming emergency response in real time. In this episode, Ben Ernst of Octave and Kenyon Mossberg of the Ontario Police Department reveal how intelligent software, CAD data, and a direct API to SkyDio are giving dispatchers a faster, more reliable way to get eyes on scene before ground units arrive. If you care about public safety, smart-city operations, or the future of drone deployment, this conversation shows what happens when location becomes the common language for emergency response.

Amanda Manos, a pioneering surveyor and CEO of Darling Geomatics, shares her insights on technological advancements, industry challenges, and the future of land surveying. This episode explores how innovation and mentorship are shaping the profession. In a world where technology is rapidly evolving, Amanda Manos, CEO of Darling Geomatics, is pioneering a new era in land surveying. As a progressive firm based in the University of Arizona Tech Park, Darling Geomatics is not only embracing the latest technologies but is also reshaping what it means to be a surveyor.

I accepted my writer friend Craig Child's unusual invitation to spend a few days in a cornfield—in the middle of Iowa, in the middle of July, in the midst of what turned out to be an historic climax of heat and humidity called a 'heat dome'—not because I was in sympathy with his evident masochism, nor merely because I knew that he needed somebody to provide comic relief. In fact, I had reasons of my own going back to childhood trips with my parents, driving across America's corn belt in the heat of summer thru hundreds of miles of vast green fields, drowsy and bored, hallucinating really, wondering what it be like to wander off into those Midwest jungles, just walk in a dozen feet into corn taller than me and get turned around and disoriented and… be lost forever, I assumed, striking off into a heart of darkness and joining the Children of the Corn in their evil worship of He Who Walks in the Corn and dying there, my bones only found much later when they were ground up by the Reaper of All only to find their way in to a box of corn flakes… Well; I was a strange kid. Still, the fields of corn were scary to me and I stayed out them with superstitious caution. Foolish of me, perhaps—but I lived.

In this episode, Angus sits down with Tony Bauer and Ofri Lehmann of Exodigo to reveal how cutting-edge AI and geophysical sensors are transforming subsurface utility location. Instead of traditional, manual detection, Exodigo utilizes systemized data collection and advanced algorithms to map underground utilities with inches of precision, dramatically reducing accidents, delays, and costs. Ultimately, the company aims to allows engineers and contractors to safely "see" underground utilities and soil conditions without having to dig or drill.

In the century past, I was a committed and even a fanatical player of Dungeons and Dragons, and spent much of my time, especially classroom time, drawing dungeon level maps on graph paper, creating characters, I favored paladins, and memorizing arcane rule books, all so that I and friends could gather together around a table in some basement and roll dice together for a few hours. And why did I devote so much time to this classically geeky hobby? Because in many games, there would be a few magic moments when I would forget that it was a game and get so caught up in the play that my heart would pound as I contemplated the fate of some fictional character that I had created and nursed through several games. And those precious seconds not only made the hours of preparation worthwhile, it enlivened them. And frankly, I sometimes wish there was something in my life today that excited the same feverish passion.

Uncover the astonishing story of the last missing female pilot of World War II, Gertrude "Tommy" Tompkins, and how cutting-edge underwater technology might finally bring her home. In this episode, Angus and returning guest Pete Kelsey discuss how modern multi-beam sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles are transforming underwater archaeology and search-and-rescue efforts. They also address the fascinating engineering of UUVs (unmanned underwater vehicles): their capabilities, limitations, and the quest to identify aircraft wreckage in over 250 feet of water. Furthermore, the significance of artifacts like WWII oxygen tanks and how they lead to potential crash site discoveries—bringing both closure and celebration of the brave pilots who served. Perfect for history buffs, tech enthusiasts, and explorers at heart—this episode reveals how the convergence of science, storytelling, and relentless curiosity keeps history alive beneath the waves. Plus, Pete shares insights on future projects that leverage these innovations for preservation and discovery.

It is sometimes said that the only perfect circles available for the contemplation of early humans were the sun, the full moon, and the iris of the eye. I think this is overstated. The ripples formed by a pebble falling in still water come to mind as do the circles formed in the center of sunflowers, such as sunflowers. But still, the point stands. Perfect circles were unusual in the life of early hominids and seeing as how the best examples ruled the daytime and nighttime skies, circles must have seemed mystical and miraculous, almost godly, worthy of veneration. Since circles were also found in the very sense organ used to observe the perfect circles in the sky, it doesn't seem impossible that these theoretical early hominids might have felt connected to the mystical circles in the sky, part of the divine mystery in a way that plants and mountains and trees were not, as if we were reflections or extensions of the great sun god or wise moon goddess. So imagine the very first hominid, a Neanderthal or Denisovan perhaps, or perhaps it was left for a member of our own species, Homo sapiens, that discovered a method for reliably creating a perfect circle here on earth...

Most bridges are designed to be functional—this one was crafted to be a striking work of art that blends seamlessly with its natural surroundings. In this episode, Frank Artmont, PE, PhD a senior engineer at Modjeski and Masters, reveals the innovative design secrets behind the award-winning Hawk Falls Bridge in Pennsylvania's scenic state park. From the strategic use of weathering steel to complex hinged arch mechanisms, discover how this project balances aesthetics, engineering excellence, and environmental harmony over a decade-long journey.