Science Faction Podcast

Pre-pod for our Patreon-only crew: Ben's been kicked from the podcast. How quickly the tides have turned. Steven spits some hot knowledge. Remember how fire the Mortal Kombat song was? Steven's kid noped out of Prehistoric Planet pretty quick. Super scary.

This episode contains: We got a storm on the Central Coast, a week after we were burning to death. This episode, Ben accidentally calls Devon "William." Steven won't stop with the joke. Another branch from the same oak tree falls on Steven's house. "I'm not talking unless it's on the podcast & I'm getting paid for it." - Devon

Previously on... THE SOLAR SYSTEM: Lots of strange things about Saturn can be explained by a destroyed moon. Saturn's axis wobbles around dramatically. Scientists hypothesize a moon of Saturn scraped the surface and created the rings. How many moons does Saturn have? 83, with two more unconfirmed. Small moons are condensing out of Saturn's rings. On a galactic timescale, Saturn is violently changing right now. Saturn's rings are theorized to only be 100 million years old. Saturn may be in an orbital resonance with Neptune, they get weird together. Jupiter has 80 rings. Devon's noticed that number keeps going up. Saturn is the ringleader of this whole "Solar System" operation.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/09/lots-of-strange-things-about-saturn-can-be-explained-by-a-destroyed-moon/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220721101508.htm

Blacked Out: Emergency Text Alert ‘Saves’ California From Blackout. Steven thinks 78˚ F is still way too hot. A Flex Alert SMS went out to ask Californians to conserve energy. Ben would like to think that better energy infrastructure is being developed. Things don't change for the better unless we get a little uncomfortable. Stopping reliance on fossil fuels is imperative. Not everyone in CA will get electric cars on the same day, so calm yourself. Nuclear power is green energy. We should not have abandoned it in the 70s. What if solar power got so efficient a house wouldn't be connected to the grid?

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62832775

https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2022/09/09/emergency-text-alert-saves-energy-supply/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzfpyo-q-RM&ab_channel=Kurzgesagt%E2%80%93InaNutshell

Science Fiction: Flamin' Hot Mountain Dew, and the things it leads to, By Dr. Suess. Ben didn't totally hate Flamin' Hot Mountain Dew. Steven thought it's like whiskey without getting drunk! We talk about character generation in Travellers. Ben's character in Travellers is named Bucket "Buck" Hahn. Very well educated. The hosts reminisce about playing Fiasco, an amazing DM-less RPG. Devon's rewatching the original Quantum Leap. Is ye olde Quantum Leap now called "The Original Series?" or "The First Leap?" In TOS, was Hikaru Sulu originally an Astrobotanist or a Physicist? Answer: He was Head of the Physics Dept. They gave Pavel Chekov the Monkees haircut originally for sex appeal. Are the people making Lower Decks super horny? Towels and underwear and sex everywhere. "We got an ancient mask situation over here!" Not a new thing on Star Trek. "Bonks" are where humans used to keep their money. Devon and Steven get way into the ethics of holodecks. Ben brings the popcorn. Devon and Steven use a lot of euphemisms for sex in the episode.

Post-show for our Patreon-only crew: The new Quantum Leap looks kinda basic, but we'll give it a chance. Just give us Quantum Leap with a labrador as the main character. It's weird that the weird future in original Quantum Leap was 1995! When Quantum Leapers touch each other, they discover their true selves. New Quantum Leap has a Ghostbuster AND Firefly's engineer? Sign me up. If holodecks existed, we'd just live in there forever.

This episode contains: Why is Ben under the weather? Why does Devon think he can play full court basketball? Why doesn't Steven talk about his vacation?

https://www.amazon.com/Millies-Natural-Organic-Gluten-Free-Vegetable/dp/B075JQRZ34/

Wheels Driving Around My Brain, Driving Me Insane: Bridgestone has put more than $100M into eco-tires made of shrubs. Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) is better than typical petroleum-based rubber. We're super excited about this, because no matter what powers your car, it's gotta have wheels.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/09/bridgestone-has-put-more-than-100m-into-eco-tires-made-of-shrubs/

It wasn't me!: Stone age surgery: Earliest evidence of amputation found. There was a successful leg amputation 31,000 years ago. Oh, and Australian scientists like to pull pranks, apparently.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220909160834.htm

Science Fiction: Steven breaks down the first episode of the sixth season of Rick and Morty. Ben tells us all about the 856th episode of Star Trek, which is an episode of Lower Decks. Devon takes a deep, deep breath and talks about his re-watch of Star Trek The Original Series. Oh man, is he excited about it. We even plan a bonus episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D9c3bY2UrA  Rick and Morty S6E1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qikSy3oGE6I  Lower Decks intro comparison

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/These_Are_the_Voyages_(book_series)

This episode contains: Steven and Ben are doing okay despite the current heatwave. Ben introduces the grandfather paradox to his son while Steven worries about his chickens. Now, science!

Smell Ya Later!: Scent of a friend: Similarities in body odor may contribute to social bonding. An electronic nose relying on body odor chemistry may predict whether we are likely to 'click' with a stranger. Researchers have found that people may have a tendency to form friendships with individuals who have a similar body odor. The researchers were even able to predict the quality of social interactions between complete strangers by first 'smelling' them with a device known as an electronic nose, or eNose. These findings suggest that the sense of smell may play a larger role in human social interactions than previously thought.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627125010.htm

Double Meat Burgers: How sustainable are fake meats? Checking whether plant-based burgers may have lighter environmental footprints.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/09/how-sustainable-are-fake-meats/

Science Fiction: We discuss: Lower Decks, The Sandman, See, She-Hulk, House of the Dragon, and Rings of Power. The brevity of these notes brought to you by: sick Devon.

This episode contains: Ben Lawless here to talk about the 4,747 ep of Star Trek... NOPE! Not this time! An episode with just Devon and Steven. Ben's out cause he was tired. Waah-waah. Apparently American Standard Toilets have a 3-inch hole. That's news to Devon. Devon & Steven have been fixing house stuff, flinging $%^* across the bathroom. Bob Villa was a real guy, Steven. He also was Tim's nemesis on Home Improvement. We're not the DIY House Podcast. This is a podcast about science & science fiction.

Aw, Trippy, Man: Man's Digits Turn Blue Due To Rare Side Effect Of Heavy Cannabis Use. Cannabis arteritis causes necrosis after heavy cannabis use, but is very rare. There's been only 50 cases between 1960 and 2008. If you start getting gangrenous fingers, consider stopping using cannabis.

https://www.iflscience.com/mans-digits-turn-blue-due-to-rare-side-effect-of-heavy-cannabis-use-65022

Existential Crises: Risk of volcano catastrophe 'a roll of the dice', say experts. Nice use of dice rolling sound effects by Steven. Forget asteroid collision. You may die from a large volcanic eruption. The world is unprepared. There is a Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge. Whoa. The CSER says we have been underestimating the risk of volcano eruptions. 1815 was the year without summer, after a magnitude 7 eruption in Indonesia. Just another thing to add to your list of existential crises to worry about. Volcanic Devastation is still a pretty cool band name.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220817135557.htm

Science Fiction: Still just Steven and Devon during the science fiction portion. House of the Dragon seems like a good mix of early and latter Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon is an adaptation of a book with unreliable narrators and has a narrower focus than Game of Thrones, to it's benefit. The Sandman is high concept weird stuff, but SOOO GOOD. Steven says Devon would love The Sandman just for the visuals, and so would you. Why can't She-Hulk look as good as The Sandman? Is She-Hulk just a cameo show? There's something missing. Devon liked Pam & Tommy on Hulu, with Lily James, Sebastian Stan & Seth Rogen. Somehow, Devon's on a real Home Improvement kick this episode. Will Ben ever forgive us for talking about Star Trek without him? Boimler works at a raisin vineyard?! Star Trek Lower Decks has amazing writing. Rick and Morty is returning soon! Devon enjoyed rewatching the last 2 seasons. Devon says Beavis & Butthead Do The Universe is... not bad? Devon is really enjoying Little Demon on FX, with Danny DeVito and Aubrey Plaza. Steven and Devon don't know how to end the show without Ben there.

This episode contains: We gather in the morning this week, have a cup of coffee and discuss our lives. Ben's house is being destroyed on purpose, Devon languishes about Chuck E Cheese and their non-ticket tickets and Steven is less full of hate...but time will tell.

Here in my car, I feel safest of all: Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds. Tests were performed to pit touch screens against physical buttons while driving. Spoilers: physical buttons appear to be safer.

https://www.vibilagare.se/nyheter/physical-buttons-outperform-touchscreens-new-cars-test-finds

Beliefs?: We talk about why belief in conspiracies is sometimes adaptive and logical. Belief in conspiracies may be justified and adaptive in war, occupation or colonialism but maladaptive in times of prosperity and peace. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/finding-new-home/202208/why-belief-in-conspiracies-is-sometimes-adaptive-and-logical

Biologically speaking: Scientists change blood type of kidney, offering new hope for thousands of transplants. If the wrong blood markers enter our systems, they'll be attacked by our natural defense mechanisms. Using a normothermic perfusion machine, an enzyme snipped away markers that defined the kidney's blood type. So cool.

https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-change-blood-type-of-kidney-offering-new-hope-for-thousands-of-transplants-64931

Science Fiction: Devon talks to us about finally watching Prey. We talk a bit about our likes and dislikes, but we generally recommend it. Devon also watched Predator 2... and we also talk about our likes and dislikes but can't really recommend it. Devon laments watching Alien too young. Ben tells us some Picard season 3 news, and brings a whole bunch of hope. We have a general chat about the state of Trek, old vs. new and also Spock casting. Steven HAS to talk about She-Hulk, and while he can't really recommed it yet, the series does show promise, to the initiated. It won't change anyone's mind. Ben ends the episode talking about I Am Groot and the darkness hiding within Groot.

This episode contains: Devon’s back so we have a full house on this ep. Steven is not in the best of moods, Devon is just chillin’ and Ben is not comfortable with where this podcast is going. Devon tells us about his recent trip to Maine and rock climbing. Ben and Devon also compare their track balls.

Does it still whip the llama's posterior?: Winamp, the best MP3 player of the 1990s, just got a major update. 5.9 RC1 Build 1999 focuses on modernizing Winamp's foundation for more features.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/winamp-of-all-things-gets-its-first-update-in-4-years/

https://webamp.org/

https://butterchurnviz.com/

Yucky Batteries: The bacteria powering a truly green revolution in personal electronics. Team engineers biofilm capable of producing long-term, continuous electricity from your sweat.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220802153311.htm

Science Fiction: We discuss the new season of Bluey, briefly. Devon then gives us his review of this season of the Orville (mostly positive). Devon was going to watch Prey but decided to just watch the Red Letter Media review instead. Steven is not happy about this. Steven tells us about Paper Girls and we discuss the conclusion of season 3 of For All Mankind.

This episode contains: A 9 year old trash-talked Ben's Mario Kart skills. Steven went to a climbing gym with his daughter and he's still alive! The auto-belay is an awesome piece of rock climbing tech. Belaying is just Batman-ing in reverse.

Mechanical advantage: A 'nano-robot' built entirely from DNA to explore cell processes. Did Yoda write this article? How cool is DNA? It's the coolest. 1 piconewton is a trillionth of a Newton: the force of a finger clicking a pen. Steven can't find a clicky pen to save his life.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220728075911.htm

Here's one for all the kids who set the toy aside to play with the box it came in: DIY Tinycade aims to bring Alt Ctrl games to the masses. Make your own game controllers with items you can find in a grocery store. Love Nintendo Labo but don't want to spend $70 USD? Check out Tinycade. The controller makes the game, dictates how you interact with it. 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/08/make-your-own-cardboard-diy-arcade-games-with-tinycade/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRSNbrCEmE https://www.perryowens.com/tinycade

Science Fiction: Steven thinks Lightyear was weird, but super good and enjoyable. Buzz is a broken man, his friends growing beyond his mistakes. Ben watched Rambo, Alien and Terminator way too young.  Does Ben's therapist listen to our show? She could take good notes. We talk about Prey, originally titled "Eat Prey Love", the Predator prequel. Spoiler alert: Prey is about the Predator hunting things. Beautifully shot. We wonder what Devon will complain about regarding Prey. Ben loved The Wilds Season 2, but the cliffhanger was meh. Bummer it's canceled. Do a graphic novel or an audio drama to end The Wilds, please and thank you. Turns out episode 9 of For All Mankind season 3 was not the finale. Huh. Danny went through so many emotions in 5 seconds when he wasn't blamed for the Martian drilling accident. Can For All Mankind season 3 end progressive? A gay POTUS should be celebrated. Filming has begun on Furiosa! We're stoked.

This episode contains: Steven and Ben rule supreme this episode. Ben walks us through birthday twins and Steven talks about rolling 2D6, whatever that means. Ben also talks about some games he's been playing while recoving from some very minor surgery. Oh and we look at some Webb telescope images and compare them to Hubble.

https://www.webbcompare.com/index.html

Oh god, oh god why?!: Researchers turn dead spiders into 'necrobotic' grippers. Spiders don't have bones and muscles, but hydraulics and blood, and when that blood is replaced (via scientist) with air, the legs become grippers. It's a whole thing, and you probably shouldn't watch the video.

https://www.cnet.com/science/biology/researchers-turn-dead-spiders-into-necrobotic-grippers/

Blue moon, I saw you standing alone: UCLA scientists discover places on the moon where it’s always 'sweater weather'. People could potentially live and work in lunar pits and caves with steady temperatures in the low 60s. We talk about the possibilities of living on the moon in these temperate pits.

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/places-on-moon-where-its-always-sweater-weather

Science Fiction: We talk about Nichelle Nichols and her lifetime achievements. Ben thinks season 3 of Picard looks good. Steven spoils/spills the beans on the Fallout tv show. Ben gives us some details on the second season of Babylon 5. Steven tells us all about Paper Girls. Ben has really enjoyed the second season of The Wilds. Of course we talk about the latest episode of For All Mankind, The Sands of Ares.

This episode contains: Steven and Devon have been playing D&D. Ben’s son has discovered his love for the ocean. Devon is home alone and is dealing with a multi-week long ear infection. We discuss the Google researcher who was fired for claiming Google has achieved AI.

https://www.engadget.com/blake-lemoide-fired-google-lamda-sentient-001746197.html

Robot Overlords: Robot dog learns to walk in one hour. Like a newborn animal, a four-legged robot stumbles around during its first walking attempts. But while a foal or a giraffe needs much longer to master walking, the robot learns to move forward fluently in just one hour. A computer program acts as the artificial presentation of the animal's spinal cord, and learns to optimize the robot's movement in a short time. The artificial neural network is not yet ideally adjusted at the beginning, but rapidly self-adjusts.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220718122229.htm

This Week in Space: The inner solar system spins much more slowly than it should. Now, scientists may know why. The researchers used computer models to simulate an accretion disk of 1,000 charged particles colliding with 40,000 neutral particles in magnetic and gravitational fields. They found that the interaction between the neutral atoms and a much smaller number of charged particles results in positively charged ions, or cations, spiraling inward and negatively charged particles, or electrons, moving outward toward the edge of the accretion disk. Meanwhile, the neutral particles lose angular momentum and spiral inward to the center.

https://www.space.com/inner-solar-system-slow-spin-explained?fbclid=IwAR3RXpCw7dpkPDMUmTg05Ag8P3sCgSjF2p7n6MT-GEzBk9-1V6ng5lfY1kw&mibextid=ZSqbUZ#l604vby6mix8hsozg2

Science-Fiction: We discuss For All Mankind, The Orville, Marvel Phase 5 and 6 reveals and Star Trek announcements at the San Diego Comic-Con and more!

This episode contains: Asheville, NC is called The San Francisco of Tennessee. Devon ventures into the Biggest Bass Pro Shop, a pyramid in Memphis. Steven isn't going if there's no LEGO store. Ben's kid and Steven's kid are both going to the same summer camp. AWKWARD. Ben got a wetsuit and has been boogie boarding, lots of happy endorphins. Steven doesn't get a "runner's high." He gets cranky, tired and angry. DO NOT SWIM IN THE ALGAL BLOOM. Do NOT let your kid play in it!

Maybe today you could put the past away: New ‘988’ mental health crisis hotline launches Saturday. Dial 988 for mental health help. No busy signal, no hold. Just help. Mental health crisis calls shouldn't go to 911. Use 988 instead. Text too. Local mental health help is far better than nationwide help. 988 replaces the old National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/15/23219962/988-mental-health-crisis-suicide-hotline-lifeline

Monkeying around: Monkeypox Is Continuing to Surge Across the U.S. There have been over 10K monkeypox cases worldwide, and 1,400 in the US alone. "Have we learned nothing?" - Steven. Monkeypox infection has flu-like illness followed by contagious rashes.

https://gizmodo.com/monkeypox-is-continuing-to-surge-across-the-u-s-1849183213

The most amazing thing that happened all week: First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b MAY HAVE H20 WATER!!! Thanks Webb Telescope!

https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages

Science Fiction: Steven wasn't as into Ms. Marvel as Ben. Of course Ben loved it. He's a child. Marvel is taking their time getting to the X-Men in the MCU. Ben schools Steven on proper pronunciation of characters in the MCU. Who cares? Ben tries to convince Devon to watch Ms. Marvel using reverse psychology. A spoiler-filled discussion of Thor: Love and Thunder this week. "Thor: Love and Thunder was a decent, if janky movie." - Steven. There's a good edit of Thor: Love and Thunder, but it's not in theaters. We talk about New Eden, the 6th episode of For All Mankind. Remember when Danielle and the Soviet commander wrestled to be first on Mars? The kerfuffle about the astronaut who comes out on Mars is super interesting.