The Reality Check

Darren explores how we might communicate about different and difficult subjects including race and policing, and things to keep in mind when doing so. Pat looks into suggestions that the supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park is overdue for an eruption any day. Adam asks whether Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are actually human.

Cristina looks into whether the new trend of copper face masks live up to their antiviral hype. Darren gives us a comprehensive breakdown of the many claims and conspiracy theories swirling around Bill Gates. Finally, Anime fan Adam finds a great way to sneak in his love of Sailor Moon when looking to answer a popular question he's heard over the years, 'why do anime characters look white?'

This week we bring you two great segments about recent news stories. First we are joined by our 5th Beatle, Dr. Stuart Robbins, who helps us to look into recent reports that NASA has discovered a parallel universe where time runs backwards. Next, Adam examines headlines suggesting that, despite coronavirus fears, cruise ship bookings are way up.

Adam looks into body language after a twitter user's viral claim that The Mountain from Game of Thrones is revealing "Beta Male" behaviour in a photo. Darren dives into the world of Cyber War with a great overview of The Perfect Weapon by David Sanger, and how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics. He also looks at Ronald Purser's McMindfulness, a razor-sharp critique of the mindfulness movement. Stay safe!

Darren takes on listeners' requests to do a segment on giving during a pandemic like COVID-19. Cristina looks behind an age old notion to find out whether our stomachs really 'shrink' when we diet. Adam rounds out the show by dissecting reports of cats catching the Coronavirus.

What would happen if the moon was made of cheese? Could you pop popcorn in space? We mastered the time zones and finally got our favourite two Stus together for a fun and informative show! Dr. Stuart Robbins is a research scientist who studies planetary geophysics and Dr. Stuart Farrimond is a medical doctor turned science communicator and expert on food science. We talk about food, we talk about space, and we talk about food in space.

Cristina examines why we didn't need to quarantine during previous outbreaks like SARS or the Swine Flu like we do with COVID-19. Adam answers a question on many people's minds right now...how is your phone being tracked? Does Sarah Connor's idea of putting a phone in a bag of chips to protect her from being tracked in The Terminator work? Finally, Darren tells us why we should all read Toby Ord's, "The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity" right now.

Let's take a break from COVID-19 and talk about space! This week we bring you a great interview with friend-of-the-show and our 5th Beatle, Dr. Stuart Robbins. Stuart is a research scientist who studies planetary geophysics and is part of a team looking into the feasibility and cost of a future Pluto orbiter mission.

Just can't get enough coronavirus and Animal Crossing talk? We've got you covered! This week Darren checks in on you and asks: what are the actual chances of dying from COVID-19? As usual, it's complicated. Next Adam looks into whether Tom Nook from the game Animal Crossing is a greedy capitalist villain, keeping players buried under ever-increasing debt.

Cristina looks into the proliferation of homemade hand sanitizer tutorials and whether it's safe to even be promoting the practice. Adam brings us a segment he planned to do during TRC's live show at Toronto Comicon this year...from a safe distance; how does the science in the latest Sonic The Hedgehog movie stack up? Finally, Darren answers a question from a cuboid who asks, 'is there an influenza virus separate from the influenza disease? Is calling COVID-19 a virus not accurate?