Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: Join Steven and Ben this week but not Devon, who is on vacation. We chat a bit about dad stuff and video games w/ the kids. Steven has gotten back into 3D printing. Ben wants a better way to sort his games on Humble Bundle.

Never Swallow the Dentic: Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth. We chat about magnetic fields to direct the motion of a robotic microswarm. Then we detour and talk about our own dental hygene and health.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220705194142.htm

Man's Best Friend: Ice Age wolf DNA reveals dogs trace ancestry to two separate wolf populations. We chat about when and where wolves were domesticated and how we know that. And we reiterate: we do not deserve dogs.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629121135.htm

Science Fiction: Steven didn't do his Star Trek homework, as always, Ben picks up the slack and talks about the season finale to Star Trek Strange New Worlds. This is a spoiler filled chat, so beware. Steven talks about Stranger Things season 4, and rounds out something that he thought worked really well. We also touch on The Boys but not enough, so tune in next week.

This episode contains: Best friend of the show Matt was mauled by a dog, so Ben took him to the ER. A WILD STORY. "They don't give ice cream in the ER?" asks Devon. Shout out to team "Dad Bod" on season 2 of Floor Is Lava. Get new shirts guys.

There are no words: People are getting explosive gastroenteritis at the Grand Canyon. Amazing story full of poop jokes about the Grand Canyon by Beth Mole for Ars Technica. Thanks for the chuckles and the coverage of norovirus, Beth! Turns out if you vomit at the Grand Canyon, you gotta take it out with you. Steven isn't impressed by erosion, but Ben loved seeing the Grand Canyon.  

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/the-grand-canyon-is-brimming-with-norovirus-sickening-over-150/   

This week in space: Surprise solar storm with 'disruptive potential' slams into Earth. A G1-class solar storm hit earth at 1.57 M miles per hour on 6/25, disrupting satellites and creating strong auroras as south as Oregon. Possibly unrelated: there was a giant sunspot in June, 2.5 times the size of earth. How do EMPs make electronics turn off? We'll look it up later.

https://www.livescience.com/surprise-solar-storm-hits-earth

Science Fiction: Need a Lola 3D printed from Kenobi? Renee found it for us on Thingiverse. We suggest a few kid-friendly podcasts instead of our show. For All Mankind episode three was exactly what Ben wanted from the show.
Devon wonders why For All Mankind had a ship spinning while engaging engines. Literally unwatchable. SEND ALL THE POETS TO MARS! YES! In case you missed it: watch the alternate-history news reports between seasons 2 and 3. Steven and Devon speculate who'll be POTUS in later seasons. We talk about three episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds this week. Steven continues to exploit his greater knowledge of Futurama over Ben. Devon remembers more of early Star Trek: The Next Generation than Ben. Devon kinda likes Stranger Things season 4, after the overhyped season 1. West World season 4 has low ratings, probably because of lack of advertising. Out of context, West World season 4 sounds bonkers, but Ben is in for it. Ms. Marvel is a great show: culturally, stylistically, and cinematographically. Steven talks about what to expect from the upcoming film The Marvels. Maybe next week Devon will talk about The Orville... or maybe not.

On Patreon-only: Ben sings the Skype song mashed up with A-Team theme. Book recommendations for roadtrips, Devon's noises, blinking and all about Memphis.

This episode contains: We get together on a Sunday to discuss how our weekends are going. Devon had a pool party and Ben is sick. Steven celebrated his kid’s birthday. Anyway, science:

Big Fish, Small Pond: New bacterium roughly the size, shape of an eyelash smashes size record. The discovery greatly expands the scope of known microbial diversity.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/new-bacterium-roughly-the-size-shape-of-an-eyelash-smashes-size-record/

This Week In Space: Scientists release first analysis of rocks plucked from speeding asteroid. Samples from asteroid Ryugu suggest it's leftover from formation of the Sun billions of years ago. Scientists have now begun to announce the first results from the analysis of a handful of dirt that Hayabusa2 managed to scoop off the surface of a speeding asteroid. What they found suggests that this asteroid is a piece of the same stuff that coalesced into our sun four-and-a-half billion years ago.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220609195011.htm

Science Fiction: We discuss the final episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ben gives us his review of Lightyear, Devon gives his review of this season of The Boys, and more!

This episode contains: We have a full on dadcast this week. We talk about our respective Father's Days and then Ben talks about linux for a while.

You know that old friend who always got you in trouble...: The ghost of Internet Explorer will haunt the web for years. Internet Explorer is finally retired. We talk about why it stuck around for so long, and how it's maiming the internet.

https://www.wired.com/story/internet-explorer-dead-security-risks/

This Week in Space: NASA Insists All Is Well as the Webb Telescope's Mirror Gets Dinged. The Webb Space Telescope has taken damage but it should still be okay because of the forward thinking designs of it's creators.

https://time.com/6188507/webb-telescope-mirror-damage-nasa/

Science Fiction: Steven gives his review and spoiler filled rendition of Jurassic World Dominion. He gets into the weeds and doesn't really get out. We chat about the first two episode of the third season of For All Mankind. We're split on how the show is doing post Ronald D. Moore. Steven asks Devon about Top Gun Maverick and Devon talks more that he has in the past 5 episodes combined. Oh boy does he like Top Gun. We round out the episode with Ben giving us his review and recommendation of Calls, the Apple TV award winning original.

This episode contains: Extra Super Special Guest Tim Barnes joins Ben and Steven this episode. While he's here to push his new show Maurice on Mars on Comedy Central, we talk about a ton of stuff he's done, like writing for Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the new All That on Nickelodeon and also Warped! (Not to mention his podcast Yub Nub where he talks Star Wars with his co-hosts.)

Lend Me Some Sugar, I Am Your Neighbor: NASA plans to get Ingenuity through the Martian winter. We talk about just how cold it gets on mars and how that will affect Ingenuity.

https://www.wired.com/story/nasas-plan-to-get-ingenuity-through-the-martian-winter/

Robot Overlords: Google engineer put on leave after saying AI chatbot has become sentient. A Google employee thinks that their AI has the ability to express thoughts and feelings equivalent to a human child. We talk about some of the stuff the AI chatbot said, and the ramifications of creating true AI.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jun/12/google-engineer-ai-bot-sentient-blake-lemoine

Science Fiction: Tim Barnes tells us all about Maurice on Mars, the animated show he wrote and does voice work for. We talk about it's creation, influences, and about how quickly history can be erased. Then it's on to Episode 4 of Obi-Wan Kenobi! Steven does a recap and everyone else has to listen. Ben give us the low-down on Strange New Worlds and another classically animated Trek, this time tackling Voyager. https://trekmovie.com/2022/06/12/watch-star-trek-voyager-in-the-style-of-the-animated-series-creator-interview/ 

Don't forget to click these links!

Tim Barnes: https://www.timbarnescomedy.com/

Maurice On Mars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju1jaIzmEZw&t=9s 

Uncertain Life: https://www.uncertainlifecomic.com/

Yub Nub Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/yub-nub/id1544376247

This episode cotnains: We make episode 404 and didn't make a FILE NOT FOUND joke. FAIL. Ben finds podracing engines at an airplane museum. A new droid in Galaxy's Edge!? Steven's got the scoop on the C units. Did you know Chopper was cursing a bunch in Star Wars Rebels? Check out the newest ice cream flavor: The Wrath of P'Khan!

In the immortal words of Outkast: What’s cooler than being cool? Researchers Made Ultracold Quantum Bubbles on the Space Station. Scientists have produced tiny bubbles of extremely cold gas atoms on the ISS. NASA is able to take quantum paradoxes and make them visible to the naked eye. When rubidium cools to absolute zero, they become a new state of matter. Steven doesn't believe that the Magnetic Fields are a band. Is Baby Universe a really cool indie band? We don't look it up.

https://www.wired.com/story/researchers-made-ultracold-quantum-bubbles-on-the-space-station/

Take that, pig! Confused Cops Stop Driverless Car. San Francisco police pulled over a driverless car, but didn't file a citation. Give us driverless cars? Yes please! What kind of license is necessary for a driverless car? Most driverless car errors are actually human errors. If our roads were suddenly filled with driverless cars, it'd be super safe.

https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2022/04/14/confused-cops-stop-driverless-car/

Science Fiction: Steven does a light review of the first episode of season 2 of The Wilds. Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 has been super good. The first episode of The Orville: New Horizons could have cut 25 minutes. Let's talk about the 848th episode of Star Trek. Spock Amok! It was great! Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part III spoilers this episode and whoo-ee, this was great. James Earl Jones was Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part III, but got help. Steven gets excited about the glow and reflection off lightsabers.

Patreon-only content: Extreme parenting! Ben's designed 65 books since 2005. Heteronormativity in The Power of Now. The rituals we use to get to sleep. Dot-matrix printers and zen. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. Space Boy!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-404-67330237

This episode contains: All three amigos are present this episode. Devon talks about his birthday, and Ben and Steven had a BBQ. Welcome to summer, I guess.

Welcome to the Desert of the Real: Haptics Device Creates Realistic Virtual Textures. USC Viterbi computer scientists have created a user-driven haptics method. We talk about potential uses.

https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2022/05/virtual-textures-i-cant-believe-its-not-wood/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220521093332.htm

A Few Centuries Ago in Space: Rare Book From 1698 Reveals Belief In Extraterrestrial Life On Saturn And Jupiter. We talk about how Christiaan Huygens used logic of the time to figure out what alien life could be like.

https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/rare-book-from-1698-reveals-belief-in-extraterrestrial-life-on-saturn-and-jupiter/

Science Fiction: We talk about the first two episodes of the Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's filled with spoilers, so beware. We also talk about how the show Ahsoka is pretty much going to be live action Rebels. We then chat about the episode Momento Mori from Star Trek Strange New World, and the Gorn. We wrap things with talking about Love Death and Robots episodes and what we liked. Oh that Jibaro is amazing.

This episode contains: This week we have the entire gang together recording on a Saturday night. Devon is recording form a thunder storm, Ben is drinking Liquid Death, and Steven has to step away to deal with kids.

Science: We plan on doing science but get totally side tracked with Ben’s attempt to get another Covid vaccine booster. This turns into a conversation of the state of the pandemic in general.

Science Fiction: Ben tells us about the trailer for season 3 of The Umbrella Academy. Steven has watched a couple of the new episodes of Love, Death and Robots. Steven and Ben give us their review of the most recent episode of Strange New Worlds. We then talk about one of the best new shows: Severance. Steven then raves about the Chip ‘n Dale movie.

(There isn't any vasectomy talk on the episode proper, go to patreon.com/sciencefactionpodcast to hear that bit!)

This episode contains: We record in the daytime for the first time ever, except for the last time. Do Texans eat lunch at 3 in the afternoon? We ask Devon. He never answers. How much do we love brisket tacos? We drink more Liquid Death: Berry It Alive and Mango Chainsaw. So good. Steven doesn't want to drink water that tastes like farts.

Fly Me to the Moon: Plants will grow in lunar regolith, but they don't like it. Steven and Ben both picked the same science news to share this week. Lucky pick! Kinda like in The Martian, plants are able to grow in lunar regolith. JSC-1A is the NASA-developed material meant to simulate lunar soil.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220512121840.htm
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/05/plants-can-grow-in-lunar-soil-but-very-poorly/

Science Fiction: What did Devon think of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds? He is hopeful and blase. And I quote: "Why is everyone an alcoholic in StarTrek now? Where's the hope?" Steven liked the second episode of Strange New Worlds more than the first. "When you answer a problem with math and music, you got good Star Trek." George Samuel Kirk is immortal until pancakes hit him in the face! Compare dinner party scenes from Strange New Worlds and Discovery, and choose your flavor of NuTrek. We go over major Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spoilers. Do we talk about that thing? Of course we do. We saw the trailer for Season 3 of The Orville... What? No jokes? Devon drops the mike.

Alternate title: LET'S GO!!!!

This episode contains: Ben wrote his mother a poem for Mother's Day and he shares with us. Have your tissues handy. Steven went to Hawaii and only had a moderatly good time. No tears for him. Ben gives us an update on the xenoplantation we reported on a few weeks back.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/6/23060519/pig-virus-heart-transplant-xenotransplantation

Gas On The Moon: Lunar soil has the potential to generate oxygen and fuel. Chinese scientists are designing a system to use lunar soil and solar radiation for oxygen and fuel. For better success, they may try melting the lunar soil into a nanostructured high-entropy material. Cool.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220505114655.htm

What do you hate? Passwords. When do we hate them? All the time: Apple takes the first steps to a password-less future, and Google and Microsoft are along for the ride. We talk about passwords, authentication methods and FIDO.

https://sixcolors.com/post/2021/06/wwdc-2021-apple-takes-the-first-steps-to-a-password-less-future/

Science Fiction: We talk about the latest trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi and discuss how we feel about another Kenobi / Vader fight. Does it break cannon? Do we care? We spend a lot of time covering the first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. We were both pretty taken with it. Lastly, we chat about Star Trek: Picard and... let's just leave it at that.