Paper Boys

Join us this new year as we discuss the best science of 2019 that we never got to present on Paper Boys!

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(WARNING: Do not listen with young children!!) For Christmas Eve, the Paper Boys tackle the everlasting mythos of Santa Claus. Why do parents encourage kids to believe? What reactions do kids have when they learn the truth? How far do some parents go to keep the dream alive? Do parents know how upset kids really are to learn the truth? Join us as we dive into a doctoral dissertation (with references all the way back to 1896!) exploring all these questions and more.

P.S. we made this episode to come out on December 26th originally, but we’re releasing on Christmas Eve as an early present - so forgive our endless Boxing Day references!

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Jupiter’s moon Europa garners a lot of attention for its potential to house life, particularly thanks to what are predicted to be vast oceans beneath the planet’s icy crust. From past observations made by the Galileo spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope, we’ve witnessed large plumes erupting from the surface. But what are these plumes made of? Are they made of liquid water or other materials? Join James and Charlie this week as they dive into ground breaking new research that confirms that composition of these plumes.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists for its unique features and potential for life. Despite its far distance from the sun, a vast ocean exists under its surface, and geyser-like jets regularly shoot water vapor into its atmosphere and space. For many years, planetary scientists have wondered how four deep, nearly parallel trenches formed near the planet’s south pole. Join us this week and Charlie and James nerd out on an excellent paper that digs into this mystery of Enceladus’ “tiger stripe” trenches.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Food has a big impact on the world. What we eat can drastically affect our health. It can also have major consequences for the environment. But is there any link between the health and environmental impacts of food? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into research that seeks to determine whether eating healthy is also better for the planet.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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With winter setting in, it’s easy to wonder why we humans can’t simply hibernate. How is it that animals like bears can simply bypass eating and drinking for such a long time? Join us this week as Charlie and James dive into new research investigating the genetic mechanisms of hibernation in bears!

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Certain languages have reputations for speaking faster. But, over the same amount of time do these languages actually convey more information than other slower languages? Would a slower, more complex language convey more information still? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into new research that seeks to compare the amount of information transmitted by 17 different languages.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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With their habitats heavily dependent on sea ice, Emperor penguins are extremely impacted by climate change in Antarctica. The 2015 Paris Climate agreement sought the commitment of nations to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees centigrade, but how would this level of warming impact emperor penguin populations? Join us this week as Charlie and James explore a new paper that sees if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are enough to save the penguins.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Cell phones, tablets, home assistants, and even cars are leveraging voice control technology to add convenience to our lives. But are our voice controlled devices at risk for being hacked...by lasers? In an interesting new study, researchers figured out how voice controlled devices could be hacked inconspicuously using laser pointers. Join James and Charlie this week as they dive into the science and implications of the strange weakness in voice controlled systems.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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In a new paper in Nature, Google recently claimed that they achieved "quantum supremacy," or using a quantum computer to achieve a task that a classical computer could not. However, not everyone agrees with Google's results. IBM released a paper at nearly the same time that scrutinizes Google's calculations. Listen as Charlie and James dive into this week's paper and unpack this interesting debate on quantum computing research!

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!