Foreign correspondent Tony Five covers the following offbeat stories: Tom Kerridge's over £195 beef Wellington; and What actual witches think of theWicked movie. Behavioral geneticist Dr. Laura Wesseldijk explains how your musical tastes affect your well-being. Cybersecurity expert Francis Syms goes over the following stories: Cloudflare outage knocks out parts of the internet; and Microsoft warns that Windows 11's agentic AI could install malware on your PC. Sparked by Pierce Brosnan reconciling with his estranged son after twenty years, addictions and counseling expert Yonah Budd and David discuss estrangement and reconciliation. Biology professor Sara Brownell reveals how one sentence can make classrooms more inclusive. On ⁠Noah vs. The Unknown⁠, TV host ⁠Noah Cappe⁠ tries to convince David that we've been visited by extraterrestrials using Brazil's Varginha incident⁠ as evidence.

Segments:

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Kinesiology and neuroscience professor ⁠Craig Chapman⁠ explains how ⁠lack of touch impairs hand-eye co-ordination⁠, and how his research sets the groundwork for VR and prosthetics that feels real.

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Economics professor ⁠Søren Leth-Petersen⁠ reveals ⁠how mothers think they will return to work quickly after maternity leave, but then how the reality is different⁠.

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Lichenologist ⁠Diane Haughland⁠ gives details of ⁠the thirteen new species of fungi newly discovered in Alberta, Canada⁠.

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Workplace psychology professor ⁠Craig Jackson⁠ touches on the following:

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Criminal justice and criminology professor ⁠Amelie Pedneault⁠ conveys ⁠how college women face a 75% higher risk of sexual violence than non-students⁠.

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Dr. Laura Duvall⁠ and ⁠Linhan Dong⁠ from the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University share ⁠how altering mosquitoes' internal clocks stops them from biting⁠.

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Chaotic foreign correspondent ⁠Tony Five⁠ descends on the program and tells David about ⁠a Florida man arrested after a chicken-egg argument ended in gunfire outside of a pub⁠. Tony talks about visiting Canada.

If you have suggestions about what Tony should do in Canada, email ⁠[email protected]⁠.

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Chaotic foreign correspondent Tony Five descends on the program and tells David about a Florida man arrested after a chicken-egg argument ended in gunfire outside of a pub. Tony talks about visiting Canada. (If you have suggestions about what Tony should do in Canada, email [email protected].) Kinesiology and neuroscience professor Craig Chapman explains how lack of touch impairs hand-eye co-ordination, and how his research sets the groundwork for VR and prosthetics that feels real. Economics professor Søren Leth-Petersen reveals how mothers think they will return to work quickly after maternity leave, but then how the reality is different. Dr. Laura Duvall and Linhan Dong from the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University share how altering mosquitoes' internal clocks stops them from biting. Lichenologist Diane Haughland gives details of the thirteen new species of fungi newly discovered in Alberta, Canada. Criminal justice and criminology professor Amelie Pedneault conveys how college women face a 75% higher risk of sexual violence than non-students. Workplace psychology professor Craig Jackson touches on the following: Committed a workplace gaffe? You will survive it (and you may even get promoted); and Do weighted blankets work for anxiety? Here's what the evidence shows.

Segments:

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It's The Science Appliance with bat biologist Dan Riskin – a Last Show podcast-only special! Dan and David chat about rare insults, a midwifery conference, and the Sleeping Beauty problem. After executing one of the best "radio teases" of his career, David explains the finer points of obscenity, indecency, and profanity to Dan. Even with all of that, the two find time to cover the following science news stories:

⁠⁠Sign up for Dan's weekly science newsletter The Bat Signal⁠ by clicking here⁠⁠.

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