Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: PUMPKIN SPICE. Also, we have a patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/sciencefactionpodcast

Skepticism 101: We talk about how a helmet and a bullet-riddled plane perfectly demonstrates survivor bias. It's nice to keep your skeptic toolkit up to date and remember all the fallacies you shouldn't fall for.

https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/how-a-helmet-and-a-bulletriddled-plane-perfectly-demonstrates-survivor-bias/

I Can See Clearly Now: The largest space telescope in history is about to blow our minds. The James Webb Space Telescope will be 100 times as powerful as the Hubble. 7.8 feet to 21.3 feet, the mirror of the James Webb Telescope has more than six times the collecting area as Hubble. So cool! What should we point it at first?

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22664709/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-date-december-science-hubble

Science Fiction: First we chat about What If... Ultron Won to get it out of the way (it was a really good episode), then we get right into Foundation. We talk about the show, the main plot (with minor spoilers for the first episode) and our thoughts. We all pretty much loved it. Ben then takes the wheel and we talk about the Babylon 5 reboot, Farscape, and Masters of the Universe: Revelation. It's crazy but it's good.

This episode contains: Devon joins us from Texas! Steven and Ben talk about Chess and r/AnarchyChess. Steven reveals that this podcast is, indeed, a tragedy.

Snakes, Why Did it Have to be Snakes?: Modern snakes evolved from a few survivors of dino-killing asteroid. 'Creative Destruction' allowed snakes to diversify into new niches. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210914111218.htm

The arena is empty except for one man...: Self-sustaining solar house on wheels wants to soak up the Sun. The Stella Vita sports 17.5 square meters of solar panels on its roof. Amenities include a bed, a small fridge, a toilet, a couch, and a small cooking area. We talk about investing in solar technologies. 

Science Fiction: We talk about Star Wars Visions, just for Matt. Ben brings us on a journey to understand 'Where Pleasant Fountains Lie', the latest episode of Lower Decks. Ben and Devon have a serious chat about the Metroid series, and the recap that Devon gives is pure gold. Steven and Ben break down the first episode and the basic plot of Y the Last Man, both TV and comic.

This episode contains: We start this episode with hanitizer, staying up late, slick ps5 mentions, soda burps, and Brave New World.

Doom and Gloom: The warming climate is causing animals to 'shapeshift'. Several species of Australian parrot have shown a 4%-10% increase in bill size since 1871. Steven attempts to soapbox climate change again, but Skype has other ideas.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210907110718.htm

How Does It Feel To Treat Me Like You Do?: Hospital staff must swear off Tylenol, Tums to get religious vaccine exemption. Hospital staff in Arkansas are trying to get religious exemption from vaccinations, little do they know, they'll also have to swear off Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, aspirin, Tums, Lipitor, Senokot, Motrin, ibuprofen, Maalox, Ex-Lax, Benadryl, Sudafed, albuterol, Preparation H, MMR vaccine, Claritin, Zoloft, Prilosec OTC, and azithromycin for the same reasons: fetal cell lines.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/hospital-staff-must-swear-off-tylenol-tums-to-get-religious-vaccine-exemption/ 

Science Fiction: We talk about the first episode of Y the Last Man. Ben covers the latest episode of Lower Decks (Steven hasn't watched yet). Steven has been watching Red Letter Media's Star Trek The Next Generation best of lists and understands some of it. Ben covers the Star Trek: Nemesis Romulan Theory and Steven tries to keep up. Steven gives his thoughts (and a mini review) on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (no spoilers).

This episode contains: It's almost Devon's moving day, Ben has some bad luck, Steven visited Chicago.

Not Ponytails or Cottontails no, Ducktales. Woo-hoo: A duck named Ripper learned how to say “You bloody fool!” in 1987. In depth analysis of a recorded musk duck named Ripper reveals a shocking truth, he's probably lonely.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/confirmed-a-duck-named-ripper-learned-how-to-say-you-bloody-fool/

Math, Math, Math: A universal equation for the shape of an egg has been discovered. We discuss what it means to have this equation, and what it means for science. We also discuss the perfect shape.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210827133748.htm

Science Fiction: We didn't plan on it, but we talk about The Matrix: Resurrections trailer and how it may connect to the rest of the series. Ben has a lot to say about Star Trek Day, including information about re-released Star Trek games on gog.com, the cast of Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks. We talk about the latest episode of Lower Decks and talk too much about what a scant is. We all dive deep into the Rick and Morty season 5 finales. What does it all mean? What's the central finite curve anyway? Did Devon even like it? We wrap with some weird and amazing news about the band Our Lady Peace.

Break music was compiled using these songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zivl632phI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8X_DPy9KSU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLeNhr1J430
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lylzz8CeSNU

This episode contains: We talk about King's Cross Station and it's significance on September 1st. Steven and Devon hung out recently and played Dungeons and Dragons.

Try, try again: Firefly rocket explodes after launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Ben was watching the stream when the Firefly rocket launch went bad. Ben says science is failures and trying again.

https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/firefly-aerospace-to-launch-its-first-rocket-from-vandenberg-space-force-base

What the Actual F: Initial autopsy fails to reveal what killed a family and their dog on a hiking trail near Yosemite. Trail has been closed due to 'unknown hazards', we talk about possible reasons. 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/us/yosemite-family-death-trnd/index.html

Water Bear Don't Care: We talk about the physics behind a tardigrade's lumbering gait. Tardigrades evolved to walk just like insects that are 500,000 times their size. Perhaps water bears 'walk' just because of convergent evolution.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210827184153.htm

Science Fiction: We cover some listener comments and talk about Wizard magazine casting calls. We have a  long discussion about Star Trek: Prodigy, what the show is about and conjectures about what it might be about. We chat a bit about the Doctor Strange episode of What If...? We end the show with Devon and Ben taking polar opposite sides on the recent movie Reminiscence. Oh boy are their opinions different.

This episode contains: We recorded late this week, but we still have covid and cockroaches in our lives.

This Week in Space: Will it be safe for humans to fly to Mars? Mission would be viable if it doesn't exceed 4 years. We don't have a good way to shield cosmic radiation.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210826111716.htm

Objects in Mirror are Smaller than they Appear: Millimeter-tall 'mountains' are on neutron stars. We talk about how mountains could be formed, no matter how small, on the surface of a neutron star.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210718191425.htm

Science Fiction: We're looking forward to the second season of See, the third season of Doom Patrol and the premier of Foundation. Ben goes all in talking about the third episode of the second season of Lower Decks, We'll Always Have Tom Paris. Steven does a huge recap of the third episode of What If, The World Lost its Mightiest Heroes. We end the show with a huge spoilery recap of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Seriously, it's all the spoilers.

This episode contains: We talk about how crazy of a weep we've been having. Ben's son broke his arm, Steven went to a high school reunion and for some reason we're still teaching cursive writing in schools.

That is a Spicy Meatball: Humans just generated nuclear energy akin to a star. What can humanity accomplish with an abundance of laser beams and tiny hydrogen fuel pellets? Almost ignition. Also, the lab that did this was in Star Trek Into Darkness, so that's cool I guess.

https://www.popsci.com/science/nuclear-fusion-successful-ignition/

Perpetual Something: Cancer patients' own cells used in 3D printed tumours to test treatments. Some current science feels like future science to Steven. Bioprinting? Wow.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cancer-patients-own-cells-used-3d-printed-tumours-test-treatments-2021-08-18/

Science Fiction: Before we talk science we take a detour into screen shot tools, website problems, and technical stuff that Steven barely understands. Ben is the smart one? Outstanding. We have a chat about a listener response  (hi Renee!), and then get into the Lower Decks talk. Ben wants a Lieutenant Kayshon puppet. Steven and Ben then review episode 2 of What If...?. What if T'Challa became a Star Lord? We love it, such a cool show. Steven also responds a bit to the latest Eternals trailer.

This episode contains: Steven is not a robot, Devon saw some co-workers, and Ben is reading. Onward to science!

This Week in Space: The space station incident was far worse than NASA admitted, Russia’s newly-docked Nauka module accidentally fired its thrusters. NASA flight director Zebulon Scoville had to declare a spacecraft emergency. Everyone is fine now. How are you?

https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-station-incident-worse-nasa-admitted

Don't Stand So Close To Me: Emotion is a big part of how you assess risk. Risk is a function of logical and physical factors, both qualitative and quantitative. Emotions are why it is so hard to be objective about pandemic precautions. 

https://theconversation.com/emotion-is-a-big-part-of-how-you-assess-risk-and-why-its-so-hard-to-be-objective-about-pandemic-precautions-165917

Science Fiction: We have new Star Trek to talk about! We watched the first episode of the second season of Lower Decks, and Steven has some questions about Strange Energy for Ben. Steven watched A Quiet Place Part 2, and we have a nice spoiler filled discussion about it. Both Devon and Ben have fallen behind, but Steven watched the latest Rick and Morty episode,  Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort and talks about the bombshell dropped in that episode. We have a blast talking about The Suicide Squad and how great a job James Gunn did with it. Spoiler filled discussion, go watch it first! Steven and Ben talk about the first part of The Bad Batch finale. We chat a tiny bit about marvel's What If...? and if it's leading to another team up event.

This episode contains: Devon's opens up about a delicate operation he had performed, as well as something about himself that he has never told anyone, not even his wife!

Now Wouldn't You, Baraccuda: Giant sea bass are thriving in Mexican waters. Scientific research that found giant sea bass to be critically endangered stopped at the US-Mexico border. We talk about data, sampling errors and how much they can affect scientific studies.

https://theconversation.com/giant-sea-bass-are-thriving-in-mexican-waters-scientific-research-that-found-them-to-be-critically-endangered-stopped-at-the-us-mexico-border-165153

Brain Matters: 'Feel good' brain messenger can be willfully controlled, new study reveals. Mice can learn to manipulate random dopamine impulses for reward. We talk about why this would have evolved and how badly humans would use dopamine if they could directly control it.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210723121512.htm

Science Fiction: Steven read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and is so so so excited to talk about it. He and Devon succeed at a mostly spoiler free discussion regarding the structure of the story. Ben and Devon have been watching Schmigadoon! and tell Steven what it even is. Devon also name-checks Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. We round out the episode talking about the new Y the Last Man trailer that was revealed by FX Hulu. Steven and Ben compare it to and talk about the comic a bit.

This episode contains: We start this episode with quite a ramble. We cover Homestar Runner, the age of the internet, spotify, restaurants closing for covid, Mr. DNA, youtube comment sections, Devon committing 0 murders, and the delta variant. It takes us too long to get to the science.

I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you scientists!: Kids are using soft drinks to fake positive COVID-19 tests. We talk about how the lateral flow tests work and how important pH is. We really want kids to go to school, but Steven talks about how he was ground down in high school. Fun memories.

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-kids-are-using-soft-drinks-to-fake-positive-tests-ive-worked-out-the-science-and-how-to-spot-it-163739

Oops, there it is: 15,000-year-old viruses discovered in Tibetan glacier ice. We talk about the latest findings from ice core samples taken from 22,000 feet in Tibet. Scientists found 28 novel viruses that were completely unknown. It's crazy rad.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210720120538.htm

Science Fiction: We chat about the kerfuffle between ScarJo and the Mouse. Steven finally got around to watching that Lower Decks Season 2 trailer, and boy howdy, we get into it. After the Tamarian chat, we get into Tom Paris. Ben really knows his stuff. We dig deep. Steven finished the latest Bobiverse book, Heaven's River and recommends it to people who liked the other three Bobiverse books. The rest of the episode spawns from a comment a listener made about the X-Men and Storm. It devolves into a rant about how the MCU should introduce mutants and Steven thinks he has some pretty good ideas. Ben takes us through Powers of X and House of X and how Moira MacTaggart could be used as a framing device for the MCU.