Superduperstitious

It’s a whole episode about the biology of The Last of Us in an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist! What’s the deal with Cordyceps? Could this happen in real life? Are we doing SEO right??

*Originally scheduled for release BEFORE the start of our whole March Madness series

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

FILL OUT YOUR MARCH MADNESS BRACKET HERE: https://superduperstitious.com/march-madness

Sources

Basic fungal biology: http://bit.ly/3ZRi4ie

Cordyceps controlling a cicada: https://youtu.be/FAVAVHAptyQ

Cordyceps controlling a beetle: https://youtu.be/EBQNpyAdmfc

Entomophthora muscae example: https://www.flickr.com/photos/anxoresua/6867594070

Entomophthora muscae and its released spores: https://bit.ly/3EV6pXJ

Entomophthora muscae range map: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?kind=Entomophthora+muscae

Snail with nematode parasite (PRETTY GROSS): https://youtu.be/Go_LIz7kTok

Parasitic barnacle: https://youtu.be/sCvTHrzI-Sk

Body temperature vs. fungi: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19827944/

Climate change is selecting for heat-resistant fungi: https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mBio.00061-10

Climate change is increasing fungal infections: https://www.wired.com/story/fungi-climate-change-medicine-health/

Not a lot of medical solutions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6549129/

We breathe a lot of spores and it’s okay: http://bit.ly/3JusTkR

Most fungi aren’t infectious: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5453709/

No spores for the show: http://polygon.com/entertainment/23562421/last-of-us-cordyceps-spores-tv-show-hbo

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No podcast about the strange and unusual would be complete without a month-long, four-part tournament of 32 different cults competing head to head! NOT ONE SUCH PODCAST. Here’s the first of those four parts!

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

FILL OUT YOUR MARCH MADNESS BRACKET HERE: https://www.superduperstitious.com/march-madness

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our ultimate March Madness cult competition, the WCCW, begins March 9th!

Submit your predictions here: https://www.superduperstitious.com/march-madness

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Momo money, Momo problems.

(Also Wyatt talks about Ohio.)

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Jake’s story

Missouri Folklore Society on Momo: https://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/home/society/notes/momo/

Legends of America: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/momo-monster/

Missouri Department of Conservation: http://bit.ly/3YG2Lc1

Columbia Tribune: http://bit.ly/3lMfift

Old FATE Magazine article: http://bit.ly/3IyiKmR

Momo song: https://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/files/2015/06/Momo-the-Monster.mp3

Wyatt’s stories

Helltown: https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/helltown

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Stuff dies all the time, and sometimes those dead things are weird looking! This is two of those times.

Wyatt leads with the Rhodope skull, the mysterious bone specimen that folks were only too excited to immediately label an alien. And don’t get him STARTED on the Adygea skulls! Jake then hops on the alien train with the Kovahsi creature, also known as Kesha. What’s little and desiccated and doesn’t have wings, no matter how many publications say otherwise? Google Translate will save us!

“Horn core” is pretty fun to say. And that’s about all I’ve got left in the tank for this episode description.

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Wyatt’s stories

Ancient Code: https://www.ancient-code.com/the-rhodope-skull-the-mysterious-cranium-of-a-real-life-alien/

Rhodope skull explained: http://bit.ly/3YeiCO9

Jake’s story

Russian newscast video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UWUdNXrIX4

Image of Kesha: https://mustorage.blob.core.windows.net/images/2015/09/size-570x520.jpg

Russian chupacabra article: https://www.fern-flower.org/en/news/mythical-chupacabra-boguchany-was-st

Mysterious Universe article: https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/09/strange-tiny-being-puzzles-scientists-and-scares-russians/

Daily Mail article: http://bit.ly/3jmnBO3

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Boy howdy, if this were the sort of podcast that had separate seasons, this episode sure would be the start of a new one! But it isn’t, so it’s not. Instead, enjoy two timely takes on some pervasive immunity myths! If you want to eat a lime or something, that’s fine.

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Jake’s story

Lymph: https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/difference-between-blood-and-lymph.html

Lymphatic system: https://theodora.com/anatomy/the_lymphatic_system.html

Immune system overview: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/immune-system-overview

Refuting the myth of “immunity debt”: https://bit.ly/3wtMdra

Unraveling the logic: https://bit.ly/3kKt8hS

RSV spikes: https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/research/rsv-net/dashboard.html

Episode 107: https://www.superduperstitious.com/episodes/107-preventative-measures

Transfer of immunity at birth: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12727640/

Recent strep throat deaths: http://bit.ly/3Dif05P

COVID before RSV: https://twitter.com/DFisman/status/1602423960246829058

COVID’s effect on immune systems: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-021-01113-x

Wyatt’s story

Linus Pauling’s vitamin C madness: https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7547741/vitamin-c-myth-pauling

Some of Pauling’s beliefs: http://www.paulingtherapy.com/

Cancer treatment claims: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC431183/

But actually no: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/384241/

For real, no: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25601965/

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October finally comes to an end, and holy wow another guest?! It must be time to celebrate Halloween the Superduperstitious way: by talking about apples!

Join the boys and special guest Casey Simpson of Artifact Cider Project to hear all about Jake’s regional seasonal frustrations, canals, and flashlights – the perfect Halloween trifecta! Oh and also a whole thing about the haunted house Casey’s grandparents owned for years, if you’re into that kind of thing.

All that, plus a surprise visit from Drew, a continuous dog presence, and all the weird clicking noises you could ever ask for! Stop reading this description and just listen already!!

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Artifact Cider Project: https://www.artifactcider.com/

Bateleur eagle photo #1: https://live.staticflickr.com/8587/28759004652_9edc13dfab_b.jpg

Bateleur eagle photo #2: https://bit.ly/3sHywmL

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In spite of others’ efforts to the contrary, October just keeps happening! And so, too, do the guests (which are, yes, still of the special variety).

The final guest before Halloween is none other than the founder of Four Phantoms, the groovy brewery in western Massachusetts that combines— you know what? You probably know all that by now. In that case, grab a beverage of your choosing, don’t get your leg exploded, and learn all about the man responsible for this dumb show having an actual sponsor! (And don't worry, there's ghosts AND science in this one.)

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October continues! And the guests? Oh they’re special all right.

This week, the boys are joined by two thirds of the delightful podcast Monster Movie Happy Hour! Listen to four nerds talk about the spooky media that brings them the most joy, from classics of the silver screen, to camp-tastic sci fi offerings of the more recent past.

And be sure to follow the link below to check out the show! Get to know Scott Chesebrough, Dave Geister, and the unfortunately-dead-to-us Mary Challman as you enjoy a cocktail and learn what it truly means to be a monster kid. Cheers!

EPISODE LINKS

Monster Movie Happy Hour: http://www.monstermoviehappyhour.com/

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 168 – Survival of the Storytelling-est (feat. Christa Adams)

October begins, and with it, a whole month of special guests! How else would we make this month stand out?

This first episode features the fantastic Christa, who weaseled her way into a podcast appearance by sheer will! Luckily she makes up for it with a fantastic discussion of the anthropological functions of scary stories and storytelling in general. So don’t pretend like this isn’t still a science show!

Grab some candy corn or whatever and buckle in, because October starts… a few days ago!!

EPISODE LINKS

All-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/links

Four Phantoms email: [email protected]

Four Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/

Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/

Christa’s sources

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari: https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens-2/

The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris: https://bit.ly/3M6sncw

“The Last Human” (from Kurzgesagt): https://youtu.be/LEENEFaVUzU

“When Time Became History” (from Kurzgesagt): https://youtu.be/CWu29PRCUvQ

“hahahrawrrahaha” (Ian Malcolm remix by FLIPSHOT): https://soundcloud.com/flip-shot/hahahrawrrahaha

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.