Third Space Podcast

Bennett divulges a dubious dating drama to Daniel, we wonder about the whereabouts of words like wheelbarrow in another Adventures in Etymology, and finally we fantasize about the fraught future of phones and how terrific or terrible two-way telepathic telecommunication might be were it to become reality.

In the introductory small talk section of this episode, Daniel and Bennett appropriately discuss small talk and its possible utility before quickly getting to the level 8 (!) Superpowers and Drawbacks promised in the last episode. Finally, we round off the podcast with a discussion on creativity. What is it, exactly? Can animals have it? What about machines? This leads us into discussing consciousness and AI and other similarly enjoyable rabbit holes.

This is a podcast filled with experience: Bennett's recent solo ski trip, a Christmas break where Bennett and Daniel both caught Covid, and a New Year where Bennett and Daniel got to hang out and play lots of VR games. We discuss the pros and cons of VR, the Oculus Quest 2 in particular, and some of the games on it, then we talk about whether catching Covid lived up to the hype, and we comment on how the world collectively responded.

It's been a few weeks since the last episode, during which time Daniel and Bennett both got a year older, and Bennett moved some 2000+ miles across the US. We kick things off by talking about these things, including B movies, midget wrestling, VR headsets, cowboy roadblocks, and more. Then Bennett tests Daniel's hip hop acuity by having him try to guess whether certain verses are from real rap songs or fake ones written by Bennett, AKA Lil' Bennett, reminiscent of Episode 8: Hereditary Poetry.

After some introductory minutiae about sleep and video game emulation, Daniel and Bennett discuss Bennett's impending cross-country move, his packing process, and how (un)stressful it is to him. Then, Mind Your Morals makes an appearance, this time involving a one-way wormhole and its potential uses as an alternative to current methods of capital punishment.

This episode kicks off with some musing on fear responses. What makes people startle easily? And can a person's susceptibility to jump scares depend on their class or even the surrounding technology? Then, Superpowers and Drawbacks returns with a delightfully-ranked set of level 2 choices, and we round the episode off by imagining what the world would be like if we had devices that could near-instantly replenish our sleepiness.

Are you ready for an adventure? YEAH! And Adventure in Etymology? Y-yeah! Adventures in Etymology returns with a few common idioms, then Daniel and Bennett discuss organization and efficiency for a bit before questioning the culture of tipping. Why do we tip, and should we continue to? An age-old debate sure to annoy waiters and waitresses everywhere (or maybe convince them).

This episode covers a wide range of topics, including Daniel's experimentation with a juice cleanse, another rendition of Bennett Fixes Sports with the timely subject of the Olympics, and a discussion about nostalgia, fantasy, and classic video games.

How much should those in a conversation consider their audience? Is it permissible to behave dis-harmoniously for audience benefit? How was Daniel's recent trip to Alaska? And, primarily: Bennett tries to present an argument against the claim that the world would be a better place with more empathy, and that instead sympathy is the better response to suffering.

After a four episode absence, Superpowers and Drawbacks returns to its level 1 roots with an enjoyably named set of options, and then Daniel and Bennett imagine a world where humanity has invented refrigerator-sized consumer teleportation devices. What would happen to shopping trends, vacationing, education, crime, and more with the restrictions of proximity broken?