• 32 minutes 54 seconds
    River bomb archaeology, AI viruses and Viagra cancer cures

    This week’s science news is a perfect example of the universe having a weird sense of timing. The Danube River hits record low water levels and suddenly Europe starts coughing up skeletons, WWII war relics, and Roman engineering like it’s doing a historical clear-out. If you’re into archaeological discoveries, ancient history, and the climate change impacts hiding in plain sight, this episode will be right up your alley.

    We dig into what the shrinking Danube is revealing, from a Wehrmacht motorcycle and German military remains in Hungary to the reappearance of the Constantine Bridge foundations in Bulgaria. It’s fascinating, grim, and a solid reminder that extreme drought and low rivers don’t just change ecosystems; they change what history we can literally see.

    Then we jump straight into modern science fiction: AI-designed viruses. Researchers used artificial intelligence to design viral genomes, creating bacteriophages that target bacteria like E. coli, and a small number of those AI-generated viruses actually worked. It’s exciting for medicine and antibiotic alternatives, but it also raises big biosecurity and ethics questions about what happens when powerful biotech tools get easier to use.

    And finally, Viagra shows up with a surprise side quest into cancer research. Studies suggest Sildenafil may be linked to better survival outcomes in men who later develop cancer, especially when combined with statins, possibly by limiting cholesterol pathways cancer cells use to spread (but yes, it’s correlation, not a DIY treatment plan). So that’s the week: Danube archaeology, AI virus design, and Viagra in oncology conversations it was never meant to be part of.

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Introduction

    00:32 The Danube and Nuclear Plants

    04:04 Low River Reveals Mammoth

    04:31 Wartime Wrecks and Remains

    07:41 Constantine Bridge Unearthed

    11:31 Mohenjo-daro Inequality Math

    17:56 AI Designed Viruses

    23:53 Science Upside vs Risk

    28:37 Viagra and Cancer Link

     

    SOURCES:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    18 August 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 41 minutes 33 seconds
    Snakes have necks, giant sperm physics and fungus fashion

    Someone once described a snake as “a tail with a face”, and honestly, it’s hard to unsee it. Snakes look like pure commitment to the tube lifestyle, with very little going on besides forward motion and mild judgement. Except a 2015 study basically ruined the idea that snakes are neckless noodles by pointing out they do have a neck, it’s just short.

    From snakes we zigzag into sperm gigantism, which is exactly what it sounds like and exactly what you wish it wasn’t. Some species produce sperm so long it becomes a genuine physics and storage problem.

    Then we jump into the world of living textiles, where fungi are being used to create materials that can self-repair and transform. The star here is Cordyceps militaris, which already sounds like it should come with a hazard symbol.

    The pitch is genuinely cool. You can grow materials, engineer colour using yeast, and make textiles that biodegrade fast, like within 40 days in the right conditions.

    Still, the idea that your clothes could heal themselves is tempting. It’s just a shame the same feature might also mean they can quietly disappear.

    We finish with the global happiness report, because after snakes and sperm and fungus pants, we deserve a palate cleanser. And yes, Finland is back at the top because it’s an overachiever apparently.



    CHAPTERS

    00:00 Introduction

    02:03 Spine Regions Explained

    03:11 Snakes Are Not Tails

    08:23 Physics Of Giant Sperm

    14:09 World Happiness Rankings

    18:29 How Happiness Is Measured

    22:36 Trust and Lost Wallets

    24:02 Why Finland Wins

    26:46 Living Fungal Textiles

    32:27 Self Cleaning and Biodegrading Clothes

    36:55 Imaginarium of Tears

    40:49 Wrap Up 

     

    SOURCES

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    13 August 2026, 3:51 am
  • 36 minutes 47 seconds
    Cannibals, MRI snuggle sacks and sex inside a whale

    Is there any evidence-based reason cannibalism shouldn’t make a comeback? It’s a question that really should come with a warning label, but we couldn’t resist digging into it properly this week.

    We’ve got researchers running the numbers on human-eating, rats in MRI “snuggle sacks” while tripping on mescaline, ants living their best fake-queen lives thanks to a tapeworm, and an eel story that is both medically relevant and spiritually scarring.

    We also take a quick detour into the delicate art of scanning animal brains without turning the whole experiment into a panic response, plus a reminder that humans have always been weird about big animals (including the time people could literally walk into a whale’s mouth, until they ruined it for everyone).

    So that’s the week: cannibalism analysed like a spreadsheet problem, parasites cosplaying queens, and a cautionary tale that should permanently retire “DIY constipation remedies” as a concept. Stay curious, stay critical, and for the love of all that is holy, keep the eels in the water.

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Introduction

    00:28 Should We Be Cannibals?

    02:43 Math Model Approach

    04:11 Disease Chain Risks

    05:42 Kuru And Prions

    07:19 Limits And Social Payoffs

    08:34 Anthropic: Rare Books AI Scanning

    10:53 Destroying Books To Digitise

    14:59 Mescaline Rats In MRI

    20:52 Rats Head Posts Training

    22:36 Other Species Training

    24:57 Malm Blue Whale Exhibit

    30:10 Cordyceps Ant Zombies

    31:01 Tapeworm Queen Ants

    34:58 Orcas Fear Pilot Whales

    35:46 Eel Medical Oddity

     

    SOURCES:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    6 August 2026, 2:05 am
  • 46 minutes 45 seconds
    Invention of the wheelie suitcase, orphan-powered vaccines and the Barbie drug

    This week’s line-up is a reminder that humans will do anything except choose the obvious option straight away. We’ve got a wheelie suitcase that was probably invented by a woman, then ignored until a man made it respectable, plus a smallpox vaccine rollout that sounds like a historical thriller, and a drug that went from medical research to TikTok tan hack with a side of “please don’t”.

    First up, the wheelie suitcase. It’s such a simple idea you’d think it would have been embraced instantly, but apparently rolling your own bag was once seen as soft, feminine, and not what a “proper” man would do when he could haul it like a martyr. The suitcase didn’t change, the story around it did.

    Then we head into smallpox, where public health was never just science, it was logistics with a pulse. The Balmis Expedition kept cowpox alive across an ocean by passing it through a chain of orphan children, which is horrifying now and was still pretty intense then, but it helped deliver vaccination where refrigeration didn’t exist.

    And finally, the “Barbie drug”. Melanotan II was developed with a serious purpose, but online it got rebranded into a shortcut to a tan, complete with side effects that are not cute and risks that don’t fit neatly into an influencer caption. Different centuries, same theme: culture gets involved, and suddenly the obvious, the safe, and the sensible are no longer the default.

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Introduction

    00:28 Gendered Tech History

    01:55 Wheelie Suitcase Mystery

    06:16 Sexism Blocks Adoption

    13:17 Masculinity Shapes Innovation

    14:42 Smallpox Devastation

    19:58 Balmis Expedition Challenge

    21:26 Orphans As Vaccine Carriers

    25:08 Tokyo Half Pants Heat

    27:05 Speeding And Emissions

    29:11 Tanning Drug Priapism

    36:41 Influencer Surveillance Stunts

    39:09 Fitbit AI Coach 

    43:22 AI Health Advice Gone Wrong

     

    SOURCES:

    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variolation
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoculation
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Jenner
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpox
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeche
    • https://www.linkedin.com/in/bharat-jayaprakash-351b26159/
    • https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/08/could-your-smartphone-be-the-secret-to-cutting-vehicle-emissions-without-compromising-traffic-speed-or-safety/
    • https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/will-high-gas-prices-lower-carbon-emissions/
    • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19329842/
    • https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/07/obeying-the-speed-limit-would-save-57000-tons-of-carbon-a-day-it-would-cost-you-54-seconds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=heres-how-everyday-drivers-can-cut-tons-of-carbon-emissions-in-under-a-minute
    • https://www.nature.com/articles/s44458-026-00100-3
    • https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki/post/3mr4cworzeu2g
    • https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter
    • https://www.sciencealert.com/new-study-reveals-why-ancient-roman-concrete-keeps-getting-stronger
    • https://www.sciencealert.com/dermatologists-alarmed-by-concerning-injectable-tan-trend
    • https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/24/mystery-of-wheelie-suitcase-how-gender-stereotypes-held-back-history-of-invention

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    29 July 2026, 4:58 am
  • 43 minutes 22 seconds
    Pig Orgasms, Placebo Power and How iPhones are Ruining Sex

    This week we went from “surely that can’t be true” to “oh… that’s actually happening”. We fact check the legendary pig orgasm claim, then get weirdly hopeful about placebo pills that work even when you’re told they’re fake.

    From there, we look at research that points a finger at the iPhone era for a chunk of the fertility slide, and what that might really be measuring in modern life. Then we’re back on humanity’s favourite hobby, trying to control the weather, now rebranded as “weather jiu jitsu”.

    We finish with a satellite reality check, because apparently we’re speed running our way to a sky full of moving dots. If you like your science with a side of disbelief, this one’s for you.

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

     

    00:00 Wild Orgasm Facts

    01:05 Guinness Pig Claim

    01:45 Meet the Hosts

    03:03 Darwinian Doubts

    05:50 Fact Checking Begins

    06:08 Boar Taint Explained

    07:37 Collecting Semen Methods

    10:33 Four Ejaculation Phases

    11:44 Verdict and Takeaways

    12:42 iPhone Baby Bust

    14:55 How the Study Works

    19:00 Placebos and Aging

    20:25 Open vs Deceptive Placebo

    21:54 Open Placebo Ethics

    22:17 Study Design Breakdown

    22:43 Results That Shocked

    24:16 Why Placebos Work

    24:55 Open Placebos Everywhere

    27:26 Weather Control Obsession

    28:55 Weather Jiu Jitsu Explained

    33:17 Nudging Storms Risks

    35:50 Satellite Boom Warning

    39:19 Night Sky Light Pollution

    40:42 Governance and Fixes

    42:34 Wrap Up and Contact

     

    SOURCES:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJNwAKSL17s

    https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2607/

    https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000562&ref=404media.co

    https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0349765&ref=404media.co

    https://www.nber.org/papers/w35310

    https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1665

    https://apple.news/AtTrEygKCQkCxuXk4Sb6Ojg

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

    https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/animal/industries/pigs/breed/boars/collect

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    21 July 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 45 minutes 36 seconds
    Rod's Best Of: The Experience Machine, Havana Syndrome, Venting Makes you Angrier and Boring People

    Will’s gone walkabout, so Rod’s raided the archives and pulled out four of his favourite segments for you to enjoy.

    You’ll get a philosophical gut punch about the Experience Machine and why a perfect fake life still feels wrong, a genuinely weird global mystery with Havana Syndrome and the uncomfortable question of what’s actually causing it, plus the bad news that venting might be making you angrier, not calmer. Then we finish with the surprisingly brutal social cost of being labelled “boring”, and why that stereotype sticks harder than it should.

    Will’s back next week. Probably with a snake in one hand and a chunk of Antarctic ice in the other.

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Just Rod Here

    00:55 Nozick Experience Machine

    03:37 Would You Plug In

    04:50 Why Authenticity Matters

    08:50 Havana Syndrome Origins

    11:25 Weapon Theories and Reports

    14:41 Norwegian Microwave Test

    21:46 Official Flip Flops Summary

    23:25 Why Venting Feels Good

    24:25 Venting Myth Busted

    25:57 Meta Analysis Breakdown

    27:29 Calm Down Techniques

    28:48 Jogging Makes It Worse

    31:14 Why We Love Anger

    32:42 Playful Exercise Exception

    33:37 Boring People Study

    34:28 Boring Jobs And Traits

    36:29 Escape Boring Conversations

    40:57 Pay To Hang Out

    43:44 Stereotypes And Wrap Up

     

    SOURCES:

    https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/04/13/april-11-boring-day

    https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/Why-Is-April-11,-1954,-the-Most-Boring-Day-in-History#:~:text=Using%20an%20algorithm%20to%20scan,who%20was%20born%20that%20day

    https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/

    https://slate.com/technology/2014/07/rokos-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.html

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/

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

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/

    https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    14 July 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 39 minutes 12 seconds
    Fake Microplastics, Freaky Lovebirds, and Numbers Too Big For Humans

    Microplastics are everywhere. Birds are masturbating. A trillion dollars is still not a real number. And somewhere in the middle of all that, a mushroom case study pops up and reminds you Alzheimer’s is not just a punchline.

    This week, we ping pong between lab gear that can fake a crisis, wildlife behaviour that is way more common than we pretend, billionaire maths that breaks your sense of scale, and one weird medical result that is making researchers quietly lean in.

    Microplastics might be getting overcounted because of something painfully basic: lab gloves. University of Michigan researchers measured outdoor microplastics and got results about a thousand times higher than earlier studies, then did the sensible thing and assumed their method was being sabotaged. It was. Vibrational spectroscopy can mistake stearate salts from glove manufacturing for polyethylene, meaning the “plastic everywhere” signal can be partly your own equipment shedding junk into the sample.

    Then we swing to birds, because science loves a tonal whiplash. Bird masturbation is real, widespread across species, happens in both sexes, and is more common in the wild than in captivity, which flips the usual “it’s a stress behaviour” assumption. After that, we try to make a trillion dollars make sense, and mostly fail because human brains were not built for it. And finally, there’s a single Alzheimer’s case study where a woman reportedly showed unexpected cognitive improvement after a large dose of psilocybin, which is not a DIY cure, but is exactly the kind of odd result that makes researchers lean in and pay attention.

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Intro

    00:45 Microplastics Shock Study

    01:57 Lab Protocols And Jerkins

    03:46 Glove Contamination Twist

    05:40 How Bad Is Shedding

    07:11 Science Skepticism Lesson

    07:54 Onanism Bible Origin

    10:41 Animals Doing It Too

    13:38 Bird Masturbation Explained

    17:19 New Research And Takeaways

    20:18 Trillionaire Brain Melt

    21:38 Why Big Numbers Fool Us

    23:40 Time Scale Money Trick

    24:33 What Buys A Trillion

    27:07 Inequality Airplane Metaphor

    29:07 Mushrooms And Alzheimer Case

    32:44 Science Skepticism And Ethics

    38:06 Signoff And Ratings



    SOURCES:

    https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-a-big-problem-with-how-we-measure-microplastics 

    https://theconversation.com/scientists-may-be-overestimating-the-amount-of-microplastics-in-the-environment-and-the-culprit-is-lab-gloves-258545 

    https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d5ay01801c 

    https://theconversation.com/birds-masturbate-and-thats-perfectly-normal-284232 

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446 

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/15/can-you-spend-1-trillion-we-hand-you-musks-fortune-to-find-out 

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-brains-underestimate-elon-musks-wealth/

    https://futurism.com/health-medicine/elderly-woman-high-dose-psychedelic-mushrooms 

    https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531319-woman-with-alzheimers-starts-conversing-again-after-taking-psilocybin/ 

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    7 July 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 42 minutes 22 seconds
    Banned Baby Names, The Onion Gene, Hackable AI and Accidental World Kayaker

    Australia has a list of baby names you are not allowed to use, a church once removed a devil statue for being distractingly hot, and one German bloke accidentally kayaked from Europe to Australia. This week, Will and Rod bounce between naming laws, scandalous art, and a seven-year adventure that sounds fake, but absolutely wasn’t.

    We start with banned baby names and why governments step in when a name looks like it could cause harm, invite ridicule, or create a lifelong admin headache. Then we hit art history, where the Geefs brothers made the devil too handsome for church, plus Stendhal syndrome which is the idea that beauty can literally make you dizzy.

    Finally, we follow Oskar Speck’s kayak trip that escalated wildly, seven years, malaria, dangerous crossings, and prison camps, all because he was trying to outrun a collapsing economy. This week is a wild ride. 

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Banned Baby Names Setup

    00:33 Germany Name Ban Game

    01:50 Lucifer And Other Forbiddens

    04:13 New Zealand Weird Bans

    05:52 US Rules And Santa Claus

    06:58 Australia Banned Names List

    09:43 Name Roast Side Hustle

    10:34 Hot Art Hospitalization

    14:17 Stendhal Syndrome Explained

    18:26 Hacking AI Agents

    20:41 Prompt Hacking Agents

    22:59 Ethical AI Sabotage

    23:20 Nutrition Study Pitfalls

    24:25 Genes As Diet Proxies

    27:40 Onion Gene Surprise

    30:22 Ice Cream Taste Debate

    30:59 Button Sewing Fails

    32:03 Kayaking To Australia

    39:54 Just Do Stuff Mindset

    41:30 Wrap Up 

     

    SOURCES:

    https://bsky.app/profile/caesarion10.bsky.social/post/3mnxix4uu7k2r

    https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220110-stendhal-syndrome-the-travel-syndrome-that-causes-panic

    https://maritimeheritage.org.au/documents/MHA%20September%202007%20journal.pdf

    https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.24245

    https://www.404media.co/it-is-trivially-easy-to-use-reddit-to-manipulate-ai-search-research-suggests/?_bhlid=efba6cdec7cbc45e0cd89dc96464988b2cd3bdd2

    https://www.parents.com/banned-baby-name-in-germany-8779188

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/todd-carney-wants-to-call-his-son-king-daryl-problem-is-it-s-one-of-89-banned-baby-names-20260225-p5o596.html

    https://www.sciencealert.com/your-taste-for-onions-may-reveal-something-about-your-future-health

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

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    30 June 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 33 minutes 44 seconds
    Titanium Exosuits, Iceman Sourdough & Pokemon Spyware

    A robot exosuit now costs more than most people’s houses, scientists are pitching a telescope built from the solar system itself, and Pokémon Go has somehow ended up feeding the war tech pipeline. This week, Will and Rod bounce between expensive robotics, slow burn space ambition, biosecurity chaos, and a 5,000 year old gut microbe that can still create great beer.

    We start with a little shoutout. Unitree’s GD01 exosuit, a titanium priced reminder that “the future” is now a product page. It can move on two legs or four, it has onboard AI control, and it looks like it would smash through a wall just to prove it can. At around 650K USD, it is not exactly a casual purchase.

    Then we zoom out into gravitational lensing and the plan to use the sun as part of a giant telescope to see distant exoplanets in far more detail. The catch is the timeline, because the mission could take around 60 years, which is either inspiring or mildly depressing, depending on your mood.

    Finally, we hit Australia’s illegal cockroach trade, Pokémon Go scans being repurposed for drone navigation, and Ötzi the Iceman’s preserved gut yeast still being useful for baking and brewing. It’s a jam-packed episode that will leave you gasping at every turn. 

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Killer Exosuit Reveal

    01:00 Meet the Hosts

    01:45 Robot Reactions and Jaegers

    02:55 Better Future Space Lens

    04:24 Solar Telescope Challenge

    07:08 Electric Sail Breakthrough

    07:58 Seeing Alien Continents

    09:13 Illegal Cockroach Bust

    13:39 Why People Buy Roaches

    15:19 Biosecurity Debate and Cleanup

    17:27 Pokemon Go Tangent

    18:15 Pokemon Go Scans

    19:37 Drones Without GPS

    21:25 Niantic Weapons Pipeline

    22:50 Scientists Eat Headlines

    25:26 Otzi Microbiome Bread

    29:19 T Rex Leather Bag

    32:48 Wrap Up And Sign Out

     

    SOURCES:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOyUMJWptc

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/05/live-cockroaches-seized-nsw-breeder-australia

    https://futurism.com/science-energy/scientists-lab-grown-trex-leather

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117726007660?ref=404media.co

    https://dronexl.co/2026/06/09/pokemon-go-scans-niantic-vantor-military-drone-navigation/?_bhlid=59ba01ca00448ec948f397365da76b6ba3febdae

    https://bsky.app/profile/paulisci.bsky.social/post/3mnnanoe3d22y?_bhlid=f589393b1087d6a8bc116f8d50ae811790ddc525

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    23 June 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 31 minutes 30 seconds
    Mosquitoes Got Smarter, Mutant Pigs, Cows Know You And So Does Your Router

    Mosquitoes are learning how to ignore your repellents, cows can recognise human faces on TV, and Wi Fi can identify you through a wall with the help of AI. This week, Will and Rod flick between animal intelligence, ocean weirdness, and technology that is getting a little too confident. 

    We start with mosquitoes and conditioning, because apparently even the most annoying creature on Earth can learn, grow and develop. Then we move to cows, who can tell familiar from unfamiliar human faces even when those faces are shown on a screen, and seem especially curious about strangers.

    Finally, we head underwater for remoras and their bizarre cloacal diving behaviour with manta rays, before finishing with the creepiest story of the week: Wi Fi signals paired with AI that can identify people through walls. That isn't worrying at all...

     

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Animals That Learn

    00:35 Mosquito Study Teaser

    01:00 Show Intro And Segments

    01:44 Arctic Trip And Flower News

    02:41 Why Mosquitoes Bite

    04:12 DEET Basics And Mysteries

    05:13 Mosquitoes Adapt To DEET

    06:06 Training Mosquitoes To Like DEET

    09:12 Remoras And Host Hitchhiking

    11:29 Cloacal Diving Explained

    14:41 Can Cows Recognize People

    15:07 Do Cows Recognize Us

    15:59 Cows Watching Human Faces

    16:50 What The Study Found

    17:38 Mutant Super Pigs Explained

    20:22 Where Is Your Self

    21:34 Head Versus Heart Research

    23:56 Touch To Shift Thinking

    25:19 Wi Fi Privacy Shock

    27:43 AI Identifies People Via Wi Fi

    29:34 No Privacy Future Wrap Up

    30:35 Final Recap And Sign Off

     

    SOURCES:

    https://www.newscientist.com/article/2526370-where-do-you-think-your-self-is-your-answer-is-revealing/

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446

    https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/onanism

    Speedy’s Big O video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSfLKTTxtc

    https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-smell-of-deet-with-a-blood-meal-new-study-283695

    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.73548

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/fukushima-nuclear-disaster-tsunami-radioactive-37180117?_bhlid=82764a8d956c8f1927ebd802c09640e569aeaaf9

    https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329529&ref=404media.co

    https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3719027.3765062

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    16 June 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 47 minutes 26 seconds
    Real Life Good Will Hunting, Suspicious Scientist Deaths, and The Runit Dome Is Leaking

    A relaxing trip to Japan turns into an accidental run down a double black diamond, a mathematician solves “impossible” problems because nobody told him they were impossible, and missing scientists get pulled into UFO flavoured rumours. This week, Will and Rod bounce between snowboarding psychology, statistical legend, conspiracy culture, and the strange ways expectations shape what we think we can do.

    We start on the slopes, where fear is sometimes just signage, then jump to George Dantzig, who solved famous unsolved statistics problems after mistaking them for homework. Same theme, different setting: not knowing the odds can be a weird kind of advantage.

    Then things get darker with disappearances, military secrecy, and the internet’s favourite genre, plus a look at the gluten conundrum and why non coeliac gluten sensitivity is still messy science. Bodies are complicated, and belief can play a bigger role than people like to admit.

    Finally, we head to the Marshall Islands, where a concrete dome covering radioactive waste from US nuclear testing sits in the Pacific like a “temporary” fix that has to survive storms, rising seas, and time.

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Science Snack Intro

    00:43 Snowboarding The Hard Way

    02:48 Expectations And Limits

    03:16 Dantzig And The Simplex

    06:02 Accidental Unsolved Problems

    09:26 Never Tell Me The Odds

    10:04 Missing General UFO Links

    12:52 List Of Scientist Cases

    16:28 Politics And FBI Probe

    18:07 Conspiracy Dots And Anti Gravity

    21:05 Flood The Zone Meteorology Tease

    22:10 Hurricanes Go Backwards

    23:02 Weather Control Conspiracies

    25:02 Meteorologists Under Threat

    27:47 Lessons From Misinformation

    28:40 Nuclear Tests In Paradise

    30:34 Inside The Runit Dome

    34:20 Cracks Leaks And Sea Rise

    36:57 Good Gluten News

    40:19 Gluten Sensitivity Reality Check

    42:35 Nocebo FODMAPs And Advice

    46:16 Wrap Up And Listener Callout

    SOURCES:

    https://futurism.com/conspiracy-meteorologists-hurricanes

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/07/marjorie-taylor-greene-hurricane-helene

    https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/hurricane-milton-misinformation-meteorlogist-death-threats-1235130352/

    https://futurism.com/space/fbi-investigating-deaths-disappearances-top-scientists

    https://futurism.com/space/another-military-ufo-guy-died

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fbi-investigating-possible-links-between-deaths-and-disappearances-of-at-least-10-scientists/

    https://www.sciencealert.com/this-infamous-radioactive-tomb-is-leaking-and-experts-are-worried

    https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    9 June 2026, 5:00 pm
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