Science... sort of

00:00:00 - Jorge Cham, of PhD Comics, joins the Paleopals to discuss his comic, his time in academia, and the path he took to transition to full time artist.

00:27:27 - Scholastic achievement makes people thirsty. Thus the Paleopals imbibe. Patrick pulls out a rye beer he'd been saving. Ryan thinks his Sour Apple Saison is thematic. Kelly eschews alcohol for Italian sodas and rockets. While Charlie is back on the IPA wagon with Widmer Falconer.

00:33:48 - In a first for Trailer Trash Talk, we cover a film not just with our guest, but by our guest. Jorge Cham sticks around to talk about his new indie movie based on his very own comics: The PhD Movie. Potentially screening at a university near YOU!

00:52:22 - We 'end' the show with an extended PaleoPOW featuring questions regarding school from the Paleoposse! Kelly reads an e-mail Catherine asking how we each entered our respective fields. Ryan talks for too long. No one is surprised. Chad read an article in the NY Times about how we teach math in the US and wants to know what the Paleopals think. Ben's answer is available on the blog. And finally, Steve wants to know if the Paleopals are worried about over-specialization in science.

Thanks for listening, our blog has content which you can get at Paleocave.com!

Music for this week's show:

Lessons Learned - Matt & Kim

The Season - Matt Costa

Dropping Out of School - Brad Sucks

00:00:00 - This week the Paleopals are joined by Giacomo Bernardi from UCSC. He filmed fish using tools for the very first time, and is happy to tell us all about just why that's so awesome. Make sure to watch the video on our site and experience the glory for yourself!

00:34:04 - Tool use is not just required for cracking clams, but also for cracking open cold ones, even if Patrick is the only one with a beer. Charlie and Ryan bourbon each other while Kelly tries to make due without her usual bartender.

00:40:33 - It's all for one and every Paleopal for themselves with this week's trailer, The Three Musketeers in 3D! Will it live up to the 1993 classic?

00:53:49 - Patrick reports on his trip to the annual meeting of the GSA (not Gamers Sitting Around), the Geological Society of America (though some would argue it should be Geologic Society of America). He gave a talk, but you listen to him talk just about every week, so we thought we'd give some other people a chance. He mixed it up in the poster sessions and interviewed a bunch of undergrads and grad students about their research in a range of topics, from the timing of glacial retreat in the Himalaya to the best way to paint rodent teeth. Small warning: audio quality is maybe not all that it could be given that Patrick is waking around a giant concrete floored hall with geologists drinking and talking in the background.

01:36:43 - PaleoPOWs are lot like poster sessions. Crowded, loud, and full of lingering doubts. Patrick has a website comment from Hannah concerning last week's Kraken discussion. Kelly has an e-mail from John about catching up on the show and collective nouns for mascots. Ryan has a tweet from @DocBuckets about the Podcast Awards (still some time left to vote!) concerning conflicting podcast interests. And Charlie has a voicemail from the Pangster who still can't tell the difference between Charlie and Patrick.

Charlie is going to be on The Weekly Weinersmith! Ryan did an iFanboy special edition show! We're everyone! But our home is the Brachiolope Media Network, so stop by anytime.

Music for this week's show:

Come Together - Blur

Big Eyed Fish - Dave Mathews Band

The Night and the Liquor - Elvis Perkins

No I in Threesome - Interpol

Posters - Jack Johnson

00:00:00 - The scientific world was 'rocked' when news came out of GSA reporting a giant hyper-intelligent cephalopod discovered in the Triassic. But does the story hold water? (hint: NO) The Paleopals are joined by former cast-member Justin to break down this prehistoric cryptid!

00:18:28 - Their first story took place deep in the drink, so the Paleopals decide to dive in too. Justin has scotch, Kelly celebrates Ben's PhD with mangosteen juice (and a backup for her tastebuds), while Charlie has yet to make his Campari (it's made of bugs!) and soda, and Ryan presumes he's keeping it thematic with New England rum.

00:24:28 - Ryan is convinced he'll get a thumbs up from Kelly in Trailer Trash Talk this week where the team discusses Being Elmo. Does he succeed? You must listen to know for sure.

00:33:54 - People often complain about the age we live in, how it was better before, etc. But what age are we living in exactly? Apparently it's not obvious, even to the committee tasked with figuring it out. Is the Holocene over? Has the Anthropocene begun? We need to know now! Or soon, probably, guess we'll wait and see...

01:02:37 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Krakens, potentially very scary but seldom seen. This week Kelly cannibalizes an iTunes review from her new show written by Sam A. Charlie plugs The Podcast Awards being tirelessly promoted by Pang. It'd be cool to win, I guess. And finally Ryan has some instant feedback from@JustinDMcDonald about the Anthropocene.

That's it for this week, thanks for listening! If you need more sci-goodness check out The Weekly Weinersmith, a proud member of the Brachiolope Media Network and recently written up on our blog the Paleocave!

Music for this week's show:

Giant Squid - RJD2

Scotch & Soda - Joe Ferrara

Street Fame - 2pac

The Modern Age - The Strokes

00:00:00 – The Ig Nobel awards were a surprise to Sean Williams, and he blames Ryan. Thus Ryan concoted a game to tell the truly ignoble from the simply ficticious, and he forces Charlie and Jacob to play a round of Ig Nobel or Ig Know Not?!

Topics covered include but are not limited to:

• Homosexual necrophilia in Mallard Ducks
• Collection of whale snot with remote controlled helicopters
• Wasabi-based fire alarms
• Beetle larvae tricking then eating frogs(with special help from Michael C.)
• Contagious tortoise yawning
• Fruit bat fellatio (NSFW?)

Congrats to all the 2011 Ig Nobel winners for making science just that much zanier!

00:20:57 – Drinks. When done correctly they go down smooth. This week Jacob succumbs to the marketing powers of AB InBev with a Leffe, is the flavor worth the sacrifice? Ryan undergoes a gluten-free beer experiment with mixed results. And Charlie has a red wine too difficult to spell here, but he liked it.

00:30:45 – This week Trailer Trash Talk attempts to unpack everything happening in the trailer for the remake of the 1984 classic Footloose. Can is possible live up to the original? Probably not, but Ryan tries his best. Plus Jacob and Charlie share their thoughts on Terra Nova in the wake of Special Edition 4!

00:49:20 – Ryan's gluten-free beer experiment continues while government computers controlling killer-drones get infected with keylogging viruses. Vectors of infection, trailers in Nevada, and the future of warfare are discussed.

01:08:54 – PaleoPOWs are at lot like viruses, they arrive in unexpected ways with devastating results. Charlie has some follow up from Sam O. about Episode 95's singularity discussion about robot vs. robot crime. Ryan recites the 3 Laws of Robotics from memory then talks pyschohistory. Asimov for the win! Ryan giggles his way through the absurdity of our Facebook page reaching 1,000 fans then immediately dropping to 999. We have a bit of a buffer now, but no reason not go join the fun, right? And Jacob deals, via an e-mail from Kendal T., with the 'controversy' surrounding bad headlines pitting gamers and scientists against each other in the struggle to cure aids. The Paleopals set things straight!

Thanks for listening! Make sure to check out Kelly's new venture The Weekly Weinersmith, a proud member of the Brachiolope Media Network!

Music for this week’s show:

What You Know – Two Door Cinema Club

Fields of Gold – Celtic Dreams

Let’s Hear it For the Boy – Deniece Williams

Virus Human – The Ponys

00:00:00 - This week we are joined by the wonderful Jacquelyn Gill to talk about mammoths and the spores found in their poop! Jacquelyn does a ton of outreach with her blog and twitter, so support the effort by checking them out, ok?!

00:23:53 - Drinks. They're what happens when it's too late in the day for coffee. Ben is having his final Sussex Golden Ginger Ale, since it's only available in one part of Canada. No one has the heart to explain FedEx to him. Jackie is treating herself to a New Glarus Raspberry Tart float, which is just insane but probably delicious. Ryan goes to Hog Heaven. And Patrick has the spiciest of all wines, and likes it!

00:30:26 - Trailer Trash Talk is celebrating Jackie Chan's 100th movie which happened in 1911. Not as much to say about this particular Asian War Epic, other than the fact that everyone but Ryan seems to love them and Jackie Chan can sing.

00:39:56 - Mammoth hemoglobin might help your limbs keep oxygenated in the cold. Finally, paleontology put to good use!

00:57:53 - PaleoPOWs are like mammoths, hunted to extinction. Ryan gets and e-mail and donation from Eric W. But the money demands physics answers from Ben concerning faster-than-light neutrinos. Ben travels to the UK for an iTunes review. And Patrick has yet another donation from Kendal (male pronouns) that comes with a few caveats.

Thanks for listening! Check out Ryan on the latest episode of Inside the Atheists Studio if you're not sick of hearing him talk yet.

Music for this week's show:

Mammoth - Interpol

Fruit Machine - The Tink Tinks

Random Jackie Chan Song - Not available on Amazon, but here's a video of him singing live

Fresh Blood - Eels

Brian Switek joins Ryan, Patrick and Ben to play Odd Man Out with the premiere of Terra Nova. Physics, dinosaurs, Spielberg; oh my! Will the Paleopals pass on the new show? Or did the antics of a family in the Cretaceous win them over? Tune in to find out!

Hear more with Brian in our full length interview fromEpisode 59 - Psi-Fi and Switek!

Also be sure to check out Brian's text review of the episode on the Smithsonian Magazine Blog (where he even embedded the trailer, our kind of guy!).

00:00:00 - Will having a few drinks prevent you from getting malaria, or make it more likely in the first place? The Paleopals discuss the pros and cons of boozing it up near infected mosquitoes.

00:20:26 - Fortunately the Paleopals live outside the range of malaria, thus their drinks are relatively risk free. Patrick expects condemnation from Ryan for his Kona but Ryan is too busy spilling La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin all over himself. Kelly shows up with another custom cocktail from Zach, this time called The Honey Rumple (milk, honey, rum; mix to taste).

00:26:34 - Johnny Depp has also developed a taste for rum as he returns to the world of Hunter S. Thompson in the trailer for The Rum Diary, as discussed in this week's installment of Trailer Trash Talk!

00:39:27 - Even though the females are bringing the parasites the males are bringing the sperm to the next generation of the little buggers. But a new study has successfully eliminated the sperm without eliminating the male's sex appeal. Cool? Yes. Labor intensive? Also yes. That's why Kelly prefers the laser system that blasts female mosquitoes out of the sky! PEW PEW!

00:52:02 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like mosquitoes, they can really get under your skin if you let them. Ryan tries to clear up some Costa Rican iguana confusion from Randall H. Ryan knew them only as ctenosaurs ("comb-lizard"), which is probably a cooler name anyways. Patrick has an iTunes review from Hanna S. who thinks we're "great for an average science nerd." Hey! Who is she calling average?! And finally, Kelly deals with a pronunciation pet peeve brought to her by Avi M. Dear Avi, we promise to do better, try harder, speak more correcter, etc. starting tomorrow... probably.

Thanks for listening! Paleocave.com is our blog, it's probably what you should read until we put out another show next week.

Music from this week's show:

Mosquito Song - Queens of the Stone Age

Honey - The Hush Sound

In this Diary - The Ataris

I Just Had Sex - The Lonely Island

00:00:00 - This week we talk to Abraham Padilla about his work studying the volcanoes of Iceland. We barely scratch the surface of this topic, but that's probably a good thing because any deeper and we'd hit lava.

00:25:17 - Libations are an integral part of our podcast, thus we sup. Abe brings Ryan two types of tequila, one especially dark reposado and another a sensual triple distilled reposado. The bottle is supposed to be sensual (see for yourself), but your results may vary.

00:36:42 - Butch Cassidy rides down ole South America way for his final adventure as previewed in the trailer for Blackthorn.

00:48:48 - There was no electricity in the US Southwest for a bit last week. Some guy was working on it and it just plumb went out. Well this brings up quite a few issues about security, reliability, and energy production, which Charlie is on top of.

• Ryan also referencesSGU #317 when they talked about Sicilian time offsets due to grid fluctuations.
• And see our very ownEpisode 4when we talked about the US needing an EMP-hardened smart grid.

01:08:46 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanoes, hard to predict. Abe talks about how hard it is to find time to listen to podcasts. Charlie rejoices in two donations from Rebecca B. and Chuck Z. Thank you so much! Ryan has a new addition to the Brachiolope gallery from his old pal Jesse G. Thanks, Jesse! And finally, Kelly has an inspiring iTunes review left by the Frenzy of Tongs.

Thanks for listening! Check out our blog at Paleocave.com. You might just find a manifesto... sort of.

Music for this week's show:

Between An Erupting Earth And An Exploding Sky - Los Campesinos!

The Milky Way Home - Sonny Landreth

That Much Further West - Lucero

The Grid - Daft Punk

00:00:00 - The Paleopals are joined with an old friend (similar yet distinct from a Paleopal) Jered Karr! Jered is a paleoentomologist at UCSC but he's also one of the top contributors to The Paleobiology Database, which he's here to tell us all about! What is it? How can it be used? How does he use it? And how long until I can put myself in there as a fossil?

00:21:21 - Even if they couldn't wait to start Patrick and Jered are still expected to explain their drinks. Charlie sticks with a classic. And Ryan attempts an audio hi-jink that may or may not have worked to get him a Manhattan. You decide!

00:31:14 - But it's up to the Paleopals to decide how they feel about this week's trailer, which is Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. It's another case of a bait-and-switch trailer, even though Ryan thinks this one should have been a bit more obvious. Will the guys go for satirical redneck antics? Or will they side with the douchey city-slickers?

00: 44:50 - The earth has a bit of junk in her orbit. Charlie explains the ins and outs of what goes in and out of our atmosphere. Basically everyone is making a mess and no one is willing to clean it up.

00:59:53 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like messes, no one wants to be at fault but there's always someone to blame. This week Patrick fields a funding comment left on the website by Rusty. Ryan reads a lengthy e-mail about elephant seal behavior (as mocked in a recent show) sent in my John H. of Santa Cruz, CA! And Charlie ponders zebra mathematics in the absence of Ben for the benefit of Randall.

That's all for this week, thanks for listening! Our intermittent musing can be found on the metaphorical cave wall that is our blog, the Paleocave.

Music this week provided by:

Dig (Future Evolution Remix) - Mudvayne

Manhattan - Kings of Leon

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Santa Esmeralda

Float On - Modest Mouse

00:00:00 - Mars just keeps better, this time because it's a bit wetter. Charlie explains the science behind the discovery, especially how we were able to taste something on another planet.

00:16:43 - Patrick keeps his beverage dark and Cascadian, Charlie searches for a glass (why didn't he just check our store?) and Ryan is feeling dark and stormy.

00:23:02 - Trailer Trash Talk is looking to take a nice country drive. But that's not what Drive is about at all. Does the trailer live up to the poster? Does it even live up to the font? And what are driving gloves even for? Find out!

00:38:59 - Science is under threat! The threat of the 'decline effect.' Jonah Lehrer wrote about it and the Paleopals discuss his findings. Ironically, they find less significance in the decline effect, which kind of makes sense if you think about it...

• Check out the RadioLab episode also on this subject
• Plus one of Jonah Lehrer's books Proust was a Neuroscientist

01:05:48 - PaleoPOWs are fortunately not subject to the decline effect. They just keep getting better! This week is no exception. Ryan has donations from Sarah B., a possibly forgotten Gaylen, and both (that's right, both!) his parents. Thanks everyone! You're keeping the lights on and the mics hot! Charlie gets more ethanol feedback (the story that just won't die) from Midwesterner Jeff! And finally, Patrick has a lengthy e-mail from Jesse C. about radio and forensics. Just how the heck are those two related?! Tune in to find out!

Thanks for listening! Our blog has saltwater in it too, check it out at Paleocave.com!

Music from this week's show:

Will There Be Enough Water? - The Dead Wate

Raise Your Glass - Autopilot Off

Drive - Matt Costa

It's Coming Down - Cake