That's Nice, Grandma

On the final episode of both our four-part planetary exploration and the first season of the podcast, Rhiannon covers Uranus and Neptune. We hear a bit about the Roman myths and discuss why Roman deities might be the ones used for our planets’ names. Rhiannon signs off for a brief summer vacation.

In the third of four installments of our planets series, Rhiannon discusses various names for Jupiter and Saturn. While the social planets tend to have fewer associated myths compared to the inner ones, as a rule, that doesn’t mean we lack interesting topics to cover. We explore just as many different faces of the planets as we did in the first two episodes. We leave the asteroid belt behind us and finally get planets with a significant number of moons!

In part two of our four-part planet series, Rhiannon gives us mythological tales from around the world associated with Earth and Mars. We have a grand time with the remaining two inner planets, learning some scientific facts, complaining about auto-correct, and finally encountering planets that have moons.

This week, we kick off a four-part exploration of the names of the planets. Rhiannon’s first installment covers Mercury and Venus. We look at the mythology behind four different names applied to each of these two heavenly bodies. Don’t worry, we still get our weekly fix of science and etymology!

Rhiannon still hasn’t learned Old English, but this week, she uses it to bring us a neologism. We learn about the etymology of “lord” and “lady”, and learn about their gender-neutral third variant that was lost to time. After reviving a more inclusive honorific, we head down the rabbit hole once again.

On today’s special birthday episode, Rhiannon discusses the history of cake frosting and cakes in general. We explore the different kinds of confectionary toppings and take a trip down the rabbit hole.

Rhiannon had a shower thought that, surely, treadmills began as a torture device. Rhiannon was correct. This week, we discuss the origins and development of the treadmill, hear about their benevolent use in areas like physical therapy, and head down the rabbit hole to learn about a variety of things that are definitely 100% not at all euphemisms. (Also: Rhiannon finally figures out how to adjust the gain while recording…)

Our first-ever guest interview is a mega-episode! This week, Rhiannon is joined by Tay Clarke, a choral educator and all-around wonderful human, who gives us some insight on the history of choirs and choral music. We begin in Ancient Greece, discuss some important developments throughout the centuries, and talk about the choir scene these days. Many thanks to Tay for agreeing to come on the tell and talk to me!

Your wish is my command, listeners. Enjoy this quick bonus episode telling you the story of Lilith!

Royalty-free music courtesy of pixabay.com.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

Today we let the Random Article algorithm provide us with Rhiannon’s episode topic. It did not disappoint, leading us to Irene D. Long. Dr. Long was the first African American woman to be appointed Chief Medical Officer at the Kennedy Space Center. Hear about her life, career, and research in this mini-episode.