Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: This is a podcast about Science and Science Fiction, but when the world is on fire, we have to talk about it. We start this episode talking about the coup / insurrection attempt by Trump.

You Spin Me Right 'Round Baby, Right 'Round: What happens when your brain can't tell which way is up or down? Scientists used virtual reality to test the brain and how it acts when it's perspective is 'wrong'. We also quickly talk about how there is an AR Mario Kart coming to Universal Studios.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210107125312.htm

Robot Overlords: World's fastest optical neuromorphic processor has been created. The neuromorphic processor operates faster than 10 trillion operations per second, which is fast. Really fast. It's made of micro-combs, which act like a rainbow made up of hundreds of high-quality infrared lasers on a single chip. But can it run DOOM?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210107112418.htm

Hello Internet, This is your Dad Speaking: We talk about how to mitigate the impact of a lockdown on your mental health. Almost 10,000 people from 78 countries participated in a study about mental health in a lockdown. Having support, education, and flexibly adapting to the pandemic have improved mental outcomes. Ben is the Internet's dad. He's looking out for all of us.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210107112430.htm

Science Fiction: Steven talks a bit about his new hobby: 3D printing and upgrading his printer. We then talk about two episodes of Star Trek Discovery, 'Su'Kal' and 'There is a Tide...'. There is a lot of ground to cover, but we get through it. Final verdict? We're a bit disappointed. Ben gives us a run-down of the first season of The Leftovers, and recommends it. Steven finished the 3rd Bobiverse book, of course he loved that one too. Steven just started reading Light of the Jedi the first High Republic Star Wars book, he gives some initial impressions. Ben gives us the final wrap up of Alien Worlds, and oh boy does he recommend it.

Devon says some stuff.

This episode contains: We three hosts are here! Ben’s wife is having another birthday, but don’t worry it’s not 40 gifts over 40 days all over again. She wants to have a “Fat Girl Sunday” (not a Sundae) where she eats and drinks with friends, super chill. Ben’s happy to be a cabana boy for it. Devon starts talking about food and now we’re hungry... but I guess we have to record a podcast! Steven’s youngest had her birthday party, and I guess they’re not little kids any more. What will you miss when you don’t have little kids around? Birthdays during the summer are tough, but around our parts, Hops Bounce House has got you covered (what’s up Hops!). Steven’s got a secret 3d printing project (TELL US STEVEN), but instead of talking about secrets Steven’s 3d printed some props for some Ahsoka cosplay, and I guess he’s watching Black Sails. Ben makes a clever Starz joke. Ben and Devon wax poetic about One Piece (is it really just Farscape?). Ben prefers the anime of One Piece to the live action, though he’s watched 60 episodes of the anime and 1 episode of the adaptation... maybe a larger sample size is needed. Ben’s super excited for season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix this week.

https://trekmovie.com/2024/06/30/catch-up-on-star-trek-prodigy-with-season-1-recap-and-season-2-preview/

Let’s go way back: The Acolyte episodes 1-5. Steven’s gotta talk about Star Wars, and we’re here for it. There was a great Red Letter Media review about The Acolyte’s first five episodes and you should watch it... maybe after you finish this episode. After watching that Red Letter Media review, Devon’s intrigued and might actually watch... Farscape (DO IT! but wasn’t this about The Acolyte?). The Acolyte is something new for Star Wars, which can be rare in this day and age. Forget the haters. Live long and prosper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-6WBWmoVEY

Multiverse of Madness: In defense of Madame Web. Imagine the Spiderverse with dialogue written by Tommy Wiseau, which actually isn’t that bad, especially when compared with other superhero stinkers (looking at you every Fantastic Four film so far). Ben and his eleven year old really enjoyed the campiness of Madame Web, and we’re kinda bummed they’re not gonna make the sequels they were totally setting up.

Book Club: The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor (part of Amazon’s Black Stars collection of scifi short stories). A solid 4 out of 4 stars this week, but was it scifi? Or was it modern mythology? A djinn is reborn into an iPad app after her book is burned in an al-Qaeda raid on an ancient library, and the boy carrying the iPad is now way in over his head. This story has got so much going for it in 31 pages, and y’all should read it if you haven’t already.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098T11H5Qhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58647675-the-black-pages

In two weeks, Book Club will return with a longer novella. We’ll be reading All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

https://www.amazon.com/All-Systems-Red-Murderbot-Diaries/dp/0765397536

This episode contains: Steven and Ben take the reins while Devon is off at his son’s birthday party. We discuss relaxing mornings, and delightful dinners. Shout out to Barley & Boar which has some high end, delicious food and phenomenal drinks. Also, make sure to ask for the specials. Steven spends the Christmas cash that was burning a hole in his pocket. He bought Castle Panic and Core Space.

(https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43443/castle-panic)

(https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/240271/core-space)

Ben tells us about his new book design. Also, check out Ben’s poetry reading on January 20, 2024 at 2 p.m. in the SLO Library Community Room at 995 Palm Street in downtown San Luis Obispo. Ben is very excited so you better attend!

Magic Time!: Largest diversity study of 'magic mushrooms' investigates the evolution of psychoactive psilocybin production.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240109183555.htm

I Brake for Machine Learning: Why autonomous trucking is harder than autonomous rideshare. Freeways were supposed to be easy. What happened?

https://kevinchen.co/blog/autonomous-trucking-harder-than-rideshare/

Science Fiction: We discuss the trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Kingdom, Beacon 23, For All Mankind (including discussion of the final episode with SPOILERS and were the show might go in the next season), and Star Trek in For All Mankind. And of course, so much more!

This episode contains: Devon, Ben and Steven are here this week to give you live coverage of the Super....nah, just kiddin'. We do talk about the Super Bowl though, and with that comes Taylor Swift talk, becuase of course it does. Ben chats about roller derby practice and Devon wonders why us Californians get extra days off of school. We also talk about the death of baseball as it pertains to Star Trek Deep Space Nine. There is also some cricket talk and what would this episode be if we didn't talk about Bluey? Before we get to the science, Ben and Steven recount a gaming experience they had with The Zone RPG.

https://play.thezonerpg.com/

We were not DISAPPOINTED.

Ben is The Password Fairy: I Know What Your Password Was Last Summer... and we talk about why. Ben tells us of old passwords, how they are typically cracked and why having passwords at all is not a great idea. We talk about password creation, and the different options available to have super secure passwords that you would never have to memorize.

https://labs.lares.com/password-analysis/

Don't Worry, This Is Not A Threat: Low voice pitch increases standing among strangers. According to researchers, if you're looking for along-term relationship, or to boost your social status, lower the pitch of your voice. Researchers found that lower voice pitch makes women and men sound more attractive to to potential long-term partners, and lower pitch in males makes the individuals sound more formidable and prestigious. Devon tells us about Elizabeth Holmes from Theranos, and how she lowered her voice as part of her schemes. Steven and Ben had no idea who she was, and Devon was shocked.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/02/240208142418.htm

Science Fiction: Ben is ready to talk about B words! We start of with a lengthy chat about Barbie, which Ben just watched, and we talk about which awards it was nominated for (and which it was snubbed). Ben then once again talks some Beacon 23, which we recommends. Finally, we get a chat about Babylon 5 and Ben tells us the plans for season 4, and how that impacted season 5.

Book Club: We're starting a book club, kinda! Steven recently found some amazing short fiction, and we've decided to start a sort of book club. Our first story that we're going to read id "Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin. It can be found as part of the Forward Collection on Amazon Prime. If you're Devon, you can pay extra for the audio version, or just use the kindle app and get it for free (with Prime of course).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WK7PVFT?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1707678484&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin

We'll have a spoiler filled discussion on this story next week and announce the next title to read. Join the discussion! Read a Book!

This episode contains: We talk about King's Cross Station and it's significance on September 1st. Steven and Devon hung out recently and played Dungeons and Dragons.

Try, try again: Firefly rocket explodes after launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Ben was watching the stream when the Firefly rocket launch went bad. Ben says science is failures and trying again.

https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/firefly-aerospace-to-launch-its-first-rocket-from-vandenberg-space-force-base

What the Actual F: Initial autopsy fails to reveal what killed a family and their dog on a hiking trail near Yosemite. Trail has been closed due to 'unknown hazards', we talk about possible reasons.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/us/yosemite-family-death-trnd/index.html

Water Bear Don't Care: We talk about the physics behind a tardigrade's lumbering gait. Tardigrades evolved to walk just like insects that are 500,000 times their size. Perhaps water bears 'walk' just because of convergent evolution.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210827184153.htm

Science Fiction: We cover some listener comments and talk about Wizard magazine casting calls. We have a long discussion about Star Trek: Prodigy, what the show is about and conjectures about what it might be about. We chat a bit about the Doctor Strange episode of What If...? We end the show with Devon and Ben taking polar opposite sides on the recent movie Reminiscence. Oh boy are their opinions different.