Science... sort of

00:00:00 - As winter ends the Paleopals pay tribute to the snowy north that is Canada. And what better way to celebrate the world's 2nd largest country than by talking about it's favorite fictional son, Logan the Wolverine? Ben, Patrick, and Ryan interview Sigrid Alvarez and Emma Conway who have written a "totally real" paper about Logan's healing abilities (get the PDF here) and why Logan may be more amphibian than mammal. Want to learn more about Wolverine? Why not check out this graphic novel?

00:33:48 - James Howlett is known for excessive drinking, but the Paleopals try to promote responsibility. Ben has some Canadian water, because he's the most responsible of us all. Patrick snubs Canada with a Koko Brown Ale from Kona Brewing out of Hawaii, possibly the least Canadian state in the entire US. And Ryan has a cerveza Atlas, yet another in his series of Panamanian brews.

00:39:41 - Much as Ben may try to derail the conversation with proclamations of Canadian superiority, Patrick and Ryan see some hard truths (especially in light of some real enigmatic malware) in the preview for Goodbye World in this week's Trailer Trash Talk!

00:55:25 - A group of Canadian scientists have worked very hard to create a system to send text messages via alcoholic mist because of... reasons. The Paleopals grope for a good explanation of this system's utility, but absent even that can agree that the idea itself is quite neat.

01:05:06 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like mist-based text messages, no one is quite sure of their purpose but we're pretty sure they matter on some level. Ben is cut off from answering an e-mail about Canadian libraries from Andie H. (though he did speak to the issue on the LASER podcast) and is forced to confront some harsh criticism from Steven S. Sorry, Steven, but Ben's fans are legion, so he'll have to stay. Patrick has an e-mail from Juliana F. about the difficulties of teaching math in a modern world. And Ryan has a lovely valentine and potential future donation from artist Sonya Andrews. Check out the valentine in the literally illustrious Brachiolope Gallery.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Old Man Logan - Adam WarRock (24 Hour Rap-A-Thon)

Canada - Five Iron Frenzy

Farewell, So Long, Goodbye - Jackie Greene

Test Transmission - Kasabian

00:00:00 - Contrary to what cryptozoologists would have you believe, scientists don't often find new large species, which is what makes this new tapir so very exciting! But does this discovery help or hinder bigfoot's chances of existing? Listen in and find out...

00:16:35 - We may not have built-in face-straws, but that doesn't mean the Paleopals can't enjoy a drink! Patrick learns a lesson from his father and enjoys some Evan Williams 10-Year Single Barrel bourbon. Abe classes it up with the authentic Orval Trappist Ale. And Ryan continues his tour of Panamanian beers with a refreshing Balboa.

00:25:02 - Patrick can't quite understand the excitement Abe and Ryan have for LEGO: The Movie, possibly because as a parent he might have to watch it roughly 1,000,000 times, but that doesn't prevent them from discussing it on this week's Trailer Trash Talk!

00:35:51 - As if volcanoes weren't already scary enough, now new research is suggesting that magma can move a lot faster than we thought. So, y'know, duck or run or something.

00:56:34 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanoes, unpredictable and potentially catastrophic. Patrick announces a new recurring donation from Kristie G. Thanks, Kristie! Sinni B. e-mails in asking how to get their science mojo back, suggestions include some of the following: The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan (as well as watching the original Cosmos), the courses provided by Coursera, and the plethora of videos available on Ted-Ed. Sinni also wants to know our thoughts of Australia's anti-science policies being implemented by their new prime minister. Ryan ends things with a wonderful iTunes review left by flotsamlee.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

New Kid (On The Block) - Barenaked Ladies

Conquering Fools - OAR

Old Yellow Bricks - Arctic Monkeys

Highway to Hell - AC/DC

00:00:00 - Charlie and Ryan are joined by Chad Jones, the host of the newest show in the Brachiolope Media Network, The Collapsed Wavefunction! Our first topic is about modifying the surface of the planet to run experiments about sand dune formations. It's possibly the most excited Charlie has been on the mic in a long time. Plus, Chad informs us about hydrophobic sand, which sounds dangerously fun.

00:18:55 - The drinks too, must flow. Charlie has the very proprietary Rogue Chocolate Stout. Chad, clearly worried he won't be invited back anytime soon, doubles down with a Jone's Soda and a Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer. Ryan begins his local beer journal with the totally expected Cerveza Panama.

oo:24:55 - Trailer Trash Talk goes tactical (whatever that means) with the preview for the all-new but not really new at all remake of the 80's 'classic' Robocop.

00:36:09 - Robots may not sweat, but people do. People also need drinking water. Well now some nerds have made a machine to turn human sweat into drinkable water. Refreshing, or just gross?

01:01:09 - PaleoPOWs are a lot drinking your own sweat; self-involved and perplexing to others. Charlie thanks Kris T. for a nice e-mail and hefty donation. Thanks, Kris! Ryan fields a correction about gender vs. sex from Episode 183 sent in by Liam T. (not from England). And Chad thankfully knows the answers to Liz C.'s questions of chirality and sugar substitutes. Be sure to bug Chad on Twitter and tell him about the chemical topics you want to hear on his podcast!

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Dune Buggy - Presidents of the United States of America

Panama - Van Halen

I Am Not A Robot - Marina and the Diamonds

Don't Drink the Water - Dave Matthews Band

00:00:00 - Don't look now, but crocodiles have learned to hide themselves using sticks. You see that stick over to your left? Well that's actually a crocodile. You almost got eaten just now. We saved you. You're welcome. Keep listening.

00:13:50 - We can't promise that drinks will keep you safe from sneaky croc attacks, but if you're going to get eaten you might as well enjoy yourself until then, eh? Patrick enjoys a Fireside Chat that he's disappointed to learn has already been consumed by Ryan. Ben forgot his drink. Ryan kills the last of some old bourbon paired with an Ale8One in preparation for heading to Panama.

00:22:15 - Speaking of Ryan's last days in the United States, the preview for this week's Trailer Trash Talk purports to show the titular The Last Days On Mars, which don't seem to be going that well if space zombies are any indication. This reminds Ryan of his friend's blog, and Patrick of an old game. Good times.

00:33:11 - To escape space zombies, it could be necessary to leave the galaxy altogether, but what would such a journey require? Ben schools us all on the speeds necessary to escape the Milky Way itself.

00:47:07 - As far as the Paleopals are concerned, PaleoPOWs pull as hard as the galactic core. Ryan starts with a new recurring donation from Rebecca C. Thanks, Rebecca! Patrick has a longer missive from Tamsen P. about Alaskan fossils, naming new species, and flyers posted around UCSC. Ben ends with an awesome note from Angie W. about her nonverbal autistic daughter Sarah, who has the good taste to enjoy our silly little podcast.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Somewhere to Hide - Matt Nathanson

Too Little Too Late - Bare Naked Ladies

Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

Great Escape - Moby

As is tradition around these parts, we like to dedicate one show of the year towards thanking you, the loyal listeners of the Paleoposse. This year we're 1) a bit late, sorry, and 2) doing it a bit differently by thanking specifically those who have donated to the show and have sent in a question we might be able to take a crack at answering. Yes, one of the questions is a repeat, we're not sure why we're terrible at this, we just are and people donate anyways. We think it best not to question these small miracles.

00:00:00 - Our first batch of donations come from Danielle N., who gets her voicemail about self-driving cars and traffic answered for a second time but with a refreshingly different answer. That's followed up by Christopher L., who reminds us about a term we taught him in the first place, completing some sort of twisted cycle of knowledge. And we end the segment with a query from Joseph T., who needs ammunition to argue about whether or not something can be "more evolved" than something else. It's a good question, followed by a good discussion.

00:21:39 - Next, we toast our donors with a drink. Charlie re-caffeinates with some Earl Grey. Patrick is let down by an apparent macguffin in the form of Sweet Baby Jesus Peanut Butter Port by Duclaw. And Ryan enjoys a Wipeout IPA from his good friend Shelly. Thanks, Shelly!

00:26:15 - Much like hoards of teenagers, the Paleopals have all read The Hunger Games trilogy of books, and share their thoughts about the trailer to the 'upcoming' sequel film Catching Fire in this week's Trailer Trash Talk!

00:33:53 - We end the show with more feedback! This round comes from Keith K., who asks us a physics question he sounds better qualified to answer than any of us. Fortunately, a remote answer from the physics-bot Ben arrives in the knick of time. Next, Sarah J. confirms that Ryan's afternoons of posting Science... sort of flyers around UCSC were not spent in vain. And finally, a voicemail from Billy Nitro(!) asks a question that seems tricky, but might have a fairly simple answer.

Now, for some plugs:

• Patrick appeared on a recent episode of The Collapsed Wavefunction (our network's newest member, if you didn't know)
• Ryan has been on the Deconstructing Comics podcast to talk about Chew
• Ryan also interviewed former guest of the show James Robinson about his upcoming Fantastic Four run for Marvel.com
• And some of Ryan's research was written up in the The Economist, no big deal

Thanks again to everyone who listens and contributes to the podcast. We literally couldn't do it without all your support and look forward to another excellent year of spreading the science love all around the world wide web! Be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

I Don't Wanna Stop - Good Charlotte

Jesus Is Just Alright - The Byrds

This Fire - Franz Ferdinand

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan take a moment to tell everyone about an upcoming event. You can get tickets for our 2014 DC Meetup here.

00:01:59 - Two of long articles (here and here) about reproducibility in science leads to a long discussion. Everything from different types of errors, biases to only research certain types of questions, and attempts such as the Reproducibility Initiative to fix it are covered.

00:24:16 - Drinks are easy enough to reproduce, but we strive for novelty in this segment with Ben having black cherry flavored Canada Pure Sparkling Refresher. Ryan gives the Blood Orange Imperial IPA from Freedom's Edge Brewing Company a try. And Jacob has a glass of water, which brings about a discussion of hardness and how you can test your own taps for hardness. SCIENCE!!

00:29:18 - Trailer Trash Talk rolls its eyes at "Based on true events" tag in the preview for Skinwalker Ranch, a place so steeped in mystery that Brian Dunning already did a Skeptoid episode on it.

00:42:38 - In a shocking turn of events, it turns out a sample from a yeti is actually a bear. In an actual shock, it's a pretty cool bear sample worthy of discussion in its own right.

00:53:26 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like ancient bear specimens, held sacred and worshipped until further analysis shows their truth worth. Ryan has a recurring donation from Moe S., who would like to fund the end of the Timer Duck. We don't think that's quite fair to the original sponsor Christina H., but want to hear from her and others about how to handle the duck's fate. Ben has a correction about something with physics from high school student Tyler V. And Jacob, in convenient timing with a discussion at the office, is asked about dinosaur size from Chris B.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin

Two Rocks and a Cup of Water - Massive Attack

Intro (Body Snatchers) - The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker

The Bear and the Maiden Fare - The Hold Steady

00:00:00 - Joe Batwinis, from our sister show Technically Speaking, joins us to discuss whether or not we should drop the S (for science) from STEM education as the hard work to earn the degree doesn't seem to be paying off for most graduates.

00:16:42 - Regardless of their major, many college students enjoy a drink. We're not in college anymore, but we do our best. Joe enjoys a Raspberry Brown from the Lost Coast Brewery but Patrick thinks his Rogue made Mocha Porter is superior. Ryan avoids the fray with a cocktail called the "Gentle Giraffe" invented by former guest of the show Willow Belden. To make one for yourself and a friend, simply combine in a shaker:

• 2 shots of good aged rum
• 1 shot Maraschino liqueur
• 6 ozpineapple juice

00:22:40 - You should never drink and drive. You can, however, drink and discuss movies about driving such as Rush which this week gets the Trailer Trash Talk treatment!

00:33:21 - Photographing lions is both risky and difficult. Two intrepid photographers build some robots to help them out, which makes both the tech and bio nerds quite happy.

00:46:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like modifying cameras, they're both likely to void your waranty. Joe begins with a voicemail from Danielle N. who wants to know, based on previous discussions of robotic cars, if removing humans from the equation will eliminate traffic jams. Ryan receives a delightful donation (Thanks!) from Michael M. along with an e-mail about 3D modelling of the complicated skulls of animals like crocodiles and fish for the purposes of research. Patrick suggests winning an award, and Ryan suggests following some relevant folks on Twitter. Patrick finishes the show with an e-mail from Jaroslav T. who has spotted some bigfoots (or is it bigfeets?) in the wilds of Louisiana, and thought we should know. We agree that this is indeed important information, but are more concerned with how to refer to the beasts in the plural form. Help us out in the comments!

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Career Day - The Format

Who told ya? - The Woody Pines

Don't Rush - Tegan and Sara

Remote Control - The Clash

00:00:00 - New planets may be starting to seem like old hat, but this time we're using Ben's favorite fundamental force, gravity, to find them! Charlie also enlightens us on the BEER method for detecting planets.

00:14:55 - Speaking of BEER... Ben has a grass jelly drink, which brings up the topic of hippos spraying their poop somehow. Ryan is enjoying a Cerahopsian IPA given to him by Paloeposse member extraordinaire, Danielle. N. Thanks, Danielle! And Charlie is having an appropriately titled Stark Raving Red wine.

00:20:28 - Revelations as surprising as those made in the story itself are discussed alongside the trailer for the controversial Ender's Game.

00:36:43 - Given the right circumstances, you can turn your own digestive system into a very tiny brewery, which is exactly what has happened to one man in Texas.

00:49:44 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like breweries, they smell like bread and are lots of fun. Ben has a question from Luke J. about the mechanics surrounding Krypton's distance from Earth, including Neil DeGrasse Tyson's contribution to that mythos. Ryan presents a new iTunes review AND a recurring donation from Dave M. Thanks for being a double-threat, Dave! Charlie answers a question from Amy H. about tidal locking, with some contribution from Ben.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Everlasting Light - The Black Keys

Driving Me Mad - Neil Finn

Instant Karma - John Lennon

Brewer Fever - Former Milwaukee Brewers Theme Song

Live from the Jurassic... sort of. Ryan sits down with the manager of University of Wyoming's Geological Museum Kelli Trujillo to watch Allosaurus: A Walking With Dinosaurs Special featuring the museum's very own Big Al! Whilst sipping on a Smoky Hollow Scotch Ale from El Segundo Brewing Company. Will the facts outweigh the fiction? Will Big Al find true love? Will the dinosaurs survive? Listen and find out!

If you don't already have the DVD, you can stream the whole thing on Amazon here. Come see Big Al in the bones at the museum for free Mon - Sat 10am - 4pm and follow him on Twitter @BigAlWyo and like the museum on Facebook!

Music for this week's show:

Hurt Like Mine - The Black Keys

00:00:00 - Returning guest Kevin Uno drops by to tell us about his research into tracking the age of elephant ivory using leftover atoms from nuclear bombs tests. Who'd have thunk it? Kevin and his collaborators, that's who!

00:24:53 - Kevin, like an elephant, remembers well the drinking segment and comes armed with a dark and stormy. Ryan has the hard to explain Homefront IPA from Left Hand Brewing. And Patrick sups outside his comfort zone with a Out Of Your Gourd pumpkin porter.

00:32:17 - Life during armageddon can be tricky, but it helps to have a friend. Or does it? The topic is explored in the upcoming indie flick Best Friends Forever, the subject for this week's Trailer Trash Talk!

00:41:43 - And because you can never have too much elephant science, Wyoming Public Radio reporter Willow Belden joins us to talk about her recent trip to South Africa to learn more about why a country would want to castrate their elephants, including some bonus content about how scientists and reporters communicate. Her trip, of course, necessitates another tasty beer. This time, unlike the dour Patrick, Willow and Ryan greatly enjoy a Pumpkin Porter from Alaskan Brewing Co.

01:36:30 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like sexually frustrated elephants, large and potentially destructive. Ryan celebrates a new recurring donation from Andrew O. Thanks, Andrew! And Patrick has an update from everyone's favorite Poopsmith, Brandon B.

We'd also like to announce the newest member of the Brachiolope Media Network Astrarium! Download, look up, and listen hard.

For Android users, consider checking out all of our Network's shows on Podiversity. It's another great way to support your favorite group of science podcasts.

And finally, we now have a mailing address where you can send us actual packages!

Science... sort of514 Grand AveBox 312Laramie, WY 82070

Can't wait to see what you send us!

Music for this week's show:

Arc of Time (Time Code) - Bright Eyes

When the Leaves Begin To Fall - Freakwater

Everlasting Friend - Blue October

Kids Don't Stand A Chance (remix) - Vampire Weekend VS Miike Snow