We Nearly All Died Out, But We Survived ... to Create Barbie!

2023-09-10

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After some discussion of one of the lesser-known markers of climate change (sticky leather seats), we kick off this episode by introducing you to a new guest host: Hondo! Then it's on to the question of how we endure crises. First, the unfortunate recent diarrhea incident that forced a Delta plane to turn around. Then, we talk about a recent study in the journal Science that posits the human population went through a bottleneck such that we were down to fewer than 1,300 people. That the...

After some discussion of one of the lesser-known markers of climate change (sticky leather seats), we kick off this episode by introducing you to a new guest host: Hondo!

Then it's on to the question of how we endure crises. First, the unfortunate recent diarrhea incident that forced a Delta plane to turn around. Then, we talk about a recent study in the journal Science that posits the human population went through a bottleneck such that we were down to fewer than 1,300 people.

That the modern human is the product of pretty serious inbreeding guides us straight into a new segment: a game show! Stephen runs the gauntlet of "Journos in the Hot Seat" to learn all about how, after the success of "Barbie," the toy company Mattel is itself trying to evolve its products into 45 upcoming movies. (Some creative inbreeding seems inevitable.)

Join Stephen (and Hondo) in ... the Hot Seat!

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