Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: We record right after the 4th of July. Find out how we spent Independence Day.

Pray: Praying Mantises eat a lot of different things, including birds and frogs! We also get side tracked by talking about the cray plot of Happy Feet.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170704093815.htm

Gwyneth Paltrow is a Whack-Job: Gwyneth Paltrow’s company, Goop, is promoting a sticker that supposedly uses NASA space suit tech to change your bodies “frequency.” NASA calls bullshit.

http://gizmodo.com/nasa-calls-bullshit-on-goops-120-bio-frequency-healing-1796309360

Sci-Fi: There’s a trailer for Rick and Morty season 3! We take it apart scene by scene. Steven then tells as about 10 Cloverfield Lane, no spoilers. Devon saw The Belko Experiment, which was just okay. Devon then talks about how much he likes Tom Cruises recent sci-fi movies. He tells Steven to watch Edge of Tomorrow. We also discuss Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Steven thinks Devon should have a movie podcast, Devon think’s they’re a dime a dozen.

This episode contains: Devon is buying a condo, and we chat about how difficult it is to sign your WHOLE NAME. So much mortgage talk, you should probably fast-forward through it. Steven is still working on his car, and Devon visits Texas!

The Sea be a Harsh Mistress: Great White Sharks have been washing ashore in Africa with certain organs removed. Turns out that Orcas may be to blame. We talk about this and why Jaws hasn't has a reboot yet. Devon then talks about what Steven calls a fever-dream: Shark's Tale.

http://gizmodo.com/killer-whales-eat-enormous-great-white-shark-in-south-a-1795016535

Oh no, we're all going to die, some more: A huge chunk of the Antarctic ice shelf is melting. 300,000 square miles in fact. We talk about glaciologists and the potential sea rise if all of this ice melts. Steven talks about his "wobbling trend" theory and the duo prepare for Waterworld.

http://gizmodo.com/why-did-an-enormous-chunk-of-west-antarctica-suddenly-s-1796152023

SciFi: Steven has been reading! Finally! He talks about "The Aeronaut's Windlass" the new book by Jim Butcher. We talk about the buzz around Spider-Man: Homecoming and how Marvel has retroactively added Peter Parker to Iron Man 2. We end the show chatting about how Ron Howard will indeed helm the young Han Solo movie.

This episode contains: The heat is terrible. Listen to us complain about it. Devon is in the process of buying a condo, we talk about the why's and how's. Steven doesn't even lift anymore, but is replaying Mad Max on his Xbox.

Brain Matters: A new study covers how language alters our experience of time. People of different languages will describe the same tense of time in different ways. We talk about Swedish, Aymara, English and Mandarin. We bring up The Simpsons and their Bart in France episode. How accurate is it? (Probably not very.)

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/language-alters-our-experience-of-time/

Keep That Body Moving: A meta study finds that 19 year old and 60 year old have the same level of sedentary. Since this is a meta study, we talk about the red flags involved. Our discussion devolves into whether or not being chained to a desk is a good thing to strive for and what can be done in our schools to remedy the situation. Steven is stuck on wanting people to follow their dreams and Devon is adamant that "not everyone can follow their dreams". What a ruiner.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170615142701.htm

SciFi: We talk a bunch of stuff this week, starting with "Oh, Hello" the non-scifi Netflix show. Devon really likes it. We also mention how crazy TJ Miller is. What is going on with the young Han Solo movie? We discuss and wonder about the likelihood of Ron Howard taking over for director. Devon is re-watching Battlestar Galactic with his wife Jen. We wax poetic about the ending and Steven reminisces about hoe he and Devon watched it together many (many) years ago.

This episode contains: Devon talks about maybe having to “get rid” of his dog, admitting that he will cry if that happens. Steven is ridding solo as a parent as his wife is out of town.

Run for Fun? What The Hell Kind of Fun is That?: An exoskeleton/exosuit has been designed to lessen the energy used by a person when running. Devon wants the opposite so he can do less running. The suit is based on computer modules to help a person move, rather than mimicking natural design.

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170531143634.htm

This Week in Space: We thought we solved the Wow Signal, but now we’re not so sure. An astronomer thought a comet could explain the Wow Signal, however, that theory does not answer all the questions raised by the Wow Signal.

https://www.livescience.com/59442-astronomers-skeptical-about-wow-signal.html

Sci-FI: Devon saw Wonder Woman and liked it, even though it still ended with a typical comic book battle. We’re still skeptical about Justice League. Devon tells us a story about how dumb he can be. We then talk about Frank Miller’s Holy Terror comic book. Steven has been playing a lot of Assassin’s Creed. Devon has one of the Assassin’s Creeds but doesn’t know which one. We then talk about what makes a good side quest. There’re new xboxs coming out but still no VR.

This episode contains: Steven won’t let go of the fact that Devon saw Alien: Covenant. Are super heroes sci-fi? Devon went camping. Devon loves swimming but sometimes has to do it alone. Steven is working on his Mustang.

Rrrrrrrr!: T-rex did not actually have feathers. Surveys of T-rex ancestors indicated they had feathers, however, there is no evidence that T-rex actually had feathers. Dinosaurs were around for a very long time. Devon mentions he is reading Guns, Germs and Steal.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t-rex-skin-was-not-covered-feathers-study-says-180963603/

Getting Down to Bees-ness: Bee keepers lost 33% of bees, which is actually better than before. The rate of loss of bees has been decreasing. There were multiple factors that cause bee populations to decrease.

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170525100249.htm

Sci-Fi: Steven finally saw the Simpsons/Family Guy crossover. He also saw Alien: Covenant so we can talk about it with SPOILERS. Steven feels the movie was too predictable. We predict what will happen in the next Alien movie. Steven then gives us his review of Wonder Women. We then discuss Baby Driver. Then we talk about whether our kids will be watching the same kids movies we are.

This episode contains: Devon is massive liar… he saw Alien: Covenant. More on that later. Devon is going camping and Steven had a fancy dinner in Carmel by the Sea.

Time to Drink: Health benefits of moderate drinking may have been overstated. Light to moderate drinking is defined as 6 drinks a week. These studies do not always take into account other risk factors. This study also takes smoking into account. Devon thinks it’s pretty safe to say no drinking is still the best choice for your health.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170524131146.htm

Lazy Listicle: We look at a few health myths. These include MSG, coffee stunting growth, staying warm to not catch a cold, turkey making you sleepy, daily multivitamins, beer or liquor first, losing body heat, eating gum, detox, vaccines, probiotics, cracking knuckles, drinking milk and eating food with fat.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/24-health-facts-that-are-actually-wrong/all/

Sci-Fi: Devon saw Alien: Covenant for his birthday and didn’t hate it. Devon gives us a non-spoiler review. We then talk about how Star Wars: Clone Wars are not in chronological order. Steven considers watching them in order. Steven is reading a lot of books but not getting anywhere. He also put together a lot of Legos. Mark Hamill disagrees with what they’re doing with Luke in the new Star Wars movies.

This episode contains: We have an interview with John Eder, the man behind the podcast: To The Manor Borne by Robots. This is on the second half of the show.

Steven is experiencing the terrible twos with his daughter. Devon still claims he won’t see Alien: Covenant. Before we get to the science, Devon has to explain the “catch me outside” girl to Steven.

This Week in Space: Planetary Harmonies around TRAPPIST-1 save it from destruction.  There are 7 planets that are orbiting in close proximity but are in stable orbits. This is due to a rhythmic repeating, or harmony, that keeps them stable. Astrophysicists were able to test this using computer models.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170510115235.htm

The Sea is a Harsh Mistress/Evolutionarily Speaking: Whales only recently evolved to their gigantic size, which was likely due to climate change. Prior to the last ice age, food was evenly dispersed, then nutrients would only come from land during certain seasons and so the food was concentrated and far apart. This led to larger whiles surviving as they could eat more at one time and travel further to other food sources.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170524110024.htm

Interview: We talk to John Eder about his podcast, To The Manor Borne by Robots, as well as podcasting in general, his photography, trying to become a writing, movies, comics, and much more!

http://www.tothemanorbornebyrobots.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ttmbbr/

https://twitter.com/ttmbbr

This episode contains: Devon is still playing Armada, and getting his butt beat. Steven is playing the Star Wars RPG. Steven has so much Sci-fi to talk about he had to take notes.

Sneaky, Sneaky, No Peaky: Holographic image using wi-fi data can be used to track people. This is just like in the Dark Knight! Still won’t work as well as X-ray specks. This could be used for many things, including robots being able to maneuver in their environment, and government spying on citizens.

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170504110559.htm

Biological Imperative: 3-D printed ovaries produce healthy offspring, sort of. Scientists printed more of a scaffolding that facilitated reproductive activity in a mouse. Not as crazy as the headline suggested, but still an important development! We also discuss how useful it would be to have a cheap source of new healthy organs, that’s not also a human rights violation.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170516121650.htm

Sci-Fi: Rick and Morty sold out to Alien: Covenant. We’ve both seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. We both found it odd and Devon liked it more than Steven did. And Steven didn’t like dancing Groot (he has no soul). Jeff Goldblum will be in the new Jurassic World movie. A full trailer for Star Trek: Discovery was released. Devon is glad they improved the ship from the teaser trailer. Overall it looks promising. And there’s a new trailer for Orville, a Star Trek parody. There’s also a new (and final) trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes!

This episode contains: Devon had to hold down the ol’ science fort while Steven was livin’ it up in Hawaii. Devon may have made some mistakes but he didn’t really care. Steven then tells us about his drinkin’ trip and Devon tells us about his anniversary before we get into the science.

The Seas is a Harsh Mistress: Scientist revise recommendations for first-aid for Man O’ War “Jellyfish” stings. The old way of treating these stings actually makes the pain worse and had no scientific basis. Now, the treatment should be the same as it is for other jellyfish stings.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170502164801.htm

Sci-Fi: Steven has also read Mort(e) by Robert Repino so we do a minor spoiler review. We loved the premise and it started great, but was a little bit of a let down by the end. Steven feels like there were some cool parts of the story that were skipped over and could have been fleshed-out. Devon has also read Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray, in an attempt to get some more context for The Force Awakens. The book had locks of politics, but in good way, not like the prequels. We try to put together some of the events between Jedi and Force Awakens. Overall we still do not have a lot of information about the First Order, New Republic or The Resistance. Steven is also reading a comic about the events after Return of the Jedi. We discuss the importance of trees in Star Wars.

Hey guys, Steven was out of town this week so no new episode. Listen in to find out why and listen to some awesome promos from the BS Podcast Network!