Science Faction Podcast

Here’s the second half of our two-week ep. Last ep was all science so this one is all sci-fi. We briefly discuss the Emmy results (go GOT!). We talk about Game of Thrones, Atypical, Jane the Virgin, Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Castle Rock, Stephen King, The three Body Problem, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Devon needs glasses, our gaming weekend two weeks ago, Dead of Winter, Scythe, X-Wing Miniatures 2.0 and that’s all folks!

We start off discussing prime numbers. A very well preserved ice age wolf pup and caribou calf were unearthed in Canada. Scientists determine four personality types based on new data. New technology could make deep fakes even better. Join us next week for the sci-fi portion of this episode...

We talk about our non-special lives. Steven is playing Star Wars: Destiny and has bought a lot of packs of cards. We look at 1970's predictions of medical advances by the year 2000. The central valley of California is sinking. We look at the same 1970 predictions and discuss how those same medical technologies may improve in the future.

Devon and Steven are dear friends. We start talking about sci-fi then decide to make it an all sci-fi episode. Devon discuss his frustration with the new Star Wars trilogy and his skepticism of episode 9. We also talk about Star Wars over-saturation. Steven just finished rereading Harry Potter and Devon is currently going through the series on Audible. Steven is now reading a new Stephen King book: The Outsider. We then consider if we’re living in a sci-fi dystopia and who we are in that world.

Life is pleasantly mundane for the most part. Scientists have created a biosynthetic spider silk that behaves like the real thing. Our perception is actually an illusion as our brain changes from a wide focus to narrow focus four times a second. There’s some new Star Wars: Armada news. Star Wars: X-Wing is also still going strong with 2nd Edition. Devon has finished Ball Lighting by Cixin Liu and really enjoyed it. We then review the new Netflix show Disenchantment.

Devon’s drinking again. Steven is drinking more. Elephants have a “zombie gene” that appears to protect them from cancer. Some people find it harder to turn off a robot that is begging for its life. Devon explains why DS9 is the best, but strangest Star Trek. Devon has finished Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egan. Steven has not seen Castle Rock. Steven tells us about the Star Wars Destiny card game that sounds pretty cool. We talk about the Samantha Bee report on Asgardia.

Devon has gotten the hard stuff out of the way so is a bit “jolly.” Ford is using passive exoskeletons to help it’s works in their factories. Researchers inadvertently found twitter bots conducting a crypto-currency scam. Robots are getting small, and spider shaped. We go over recent Star Wars news about Ep 9. Our reading of the Asgardian Constitution then gets in to a surprising long discussion of political philosophy.

California is on fire again. Devon tells us about his 6-month-old son’s first swim lesson. AI can predict your personality. A study used statistical analysis of Beatles songs to determine who wrote In My Life. There’s a pic from the new Terminator movie. We’re not excited. They’ve announced a new Star Trek series about Picard, which will star Patrick Stewart. We are excited. We then talk about the new The Expanse tabletop game. Devon then tells about Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egan.

Devon makes it just in time after selling a table. He then makes his wife finish the job while he podcasts. Steven is still dadding it up, and finally saw IT. There’s more water on Mars! Turns out there’s a lake under the southern ice cap. We take a look at recent developments in the Atacama Mummy story. It was Comic-Con last week so there’s a lot of new sci-fi stuff to talk about: Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Clone Was is back! Devon is reading: Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill.

We’re back after Steven’s paternity leave! Jupiter has ten new moons! Mice and rats also commit the sunk cost fallacy. Steven gives us his review of Ant-Man and Wasp and SPOILS the post credit scene. Steven also saw Jurassic Park V: Jurassic World II: Fallen Kingdom. He was a little disappointed.