Falken's Maze: An 80s Guide to History

In this episode, we explore ouija boards, their history, and the possibility that they may open a portal to the beyond. We also wonder at the seeming immortality of David Coverdale.

In this one shot episode we explore the border between the real and the fake. Between fact and fiction. Between the ghostly paranormal world that we’re going to spend the next few weeks talking about and the concrete, solid world we all think we live in.

In this final episode in our series on computing, we blow out information theory and apply it to how the internet works, how it enables the promise of open, free communication, and how it has enables the worst of humanity to shine through.

Pull out your old cassettes and 8-tracks as we explore analog vs. digital signals and the development of packet-switched networks. It's all starting to come together now. You'll be a bona fide computing history expert at the end of this series!!

In this episode, we continue our discussion of binary and boolean logic and their fundamental importance to the history of computing. More importantly, we learn that tough guys don’t do math, tough guys deep fry chicken.

In this episode, we explore how Claude Shannon's marriage to a computer created information theory and launched the digital age.

The history of computers is filled with liars, hustlers, tragedy, and genius. In this episode, we discover a tale of incest and betrayal that sets the stage for the birth of the modern computer.

We explore the intense competition between the US and the Soviets to launch humans into space, ultimately to the moon, and then return them safely home. Kinda like the contest between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. No really, it's just like that!!

Ever want to be an astronaut? In this episode, we explore what it takes to become one and what happens when those requirements go awry, including when they result in an attempted murder and kidnapping. We also discuss diapers. Yes. Diapers.

As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo lunar landing, we delve into the dangers of space exploration, including those that are surprisingly earthbound. We also discuss the relative merits of not filleting your wife.