Science... sort of

265 - Road Killing It

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan and Ben are joined by Dr. Rachel Brown Reid to tell us about her work with road killed coyotes. But first, we have to make sure Ben is up to speed with the basics of stable isotope analysis. Rachel and Ryan do their best to explain. 00:32:56 - Now that we've supped from the font of knowledge, how about just having some sips of a normal drink? We make the mistake of letting Ben go first. He's having some sort of nonsensical overly complicated health drink. Whatever. Rachel keeps it local with a 2011 B.C. India Style Brown Ale from Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, her favorite brewery in a region with lots of good options. Ryan rounds out the segment with a Tart Mango Cart from Golden Road Brewing given to him by listener and pickle-friend of the show Jerrold D. 00:44:19 - Rachel just had a paper come out, which you can read for free from PLoS One where she's analyzed stable isotopes of scat from road killed coyotes. What did she learn? Listen and find out! Also, sometimes coyotes and badgers team up and we think that's great. Also also, be sure to check out episode 206 which features Rachel's husband talking about his ecology research in Costa Rica. 01:22:13 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like coyotes: they're tricksters. Ben begins by thanking Randy D. for becoming a Gravity Pusher patron on Patreon, which means he gets a thesis title. The title of Randy's research is: Temporally-integrated listening habits of mesopredator canids under SO31 transformation. Thanks, Randy! Ryan fields some lightsaber questions from new listener ToRy, with Ben's help of course. Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon! Music for this week's show:Old Coyote - The WeepiesForgot About Dre [Feat. Eminem] - Dr. DreCoyotes - Don Edwards

264 - The Devil Gets Crabs

00:00:00 - We are stoked to have returning guest Daphne Pringle back on the show! And while it's not the most upbeat topic, she is indeed here to talk about cancer. Turns out, cancer evolves just like any other organism, but we don't always study in the same way. Maybe we should? Discussion ensues based on the following papers: Cancer as an evolutionary and ecological process Metastasis as an evolutionary process And somehow: Sweaty T-Shirts and Human Mate Choice 00:36:34 - Nothing like talking about cancer to make one want a carcinogen. Daphne reps her local scene with a Tastes LIke Citrus from Two Row Brewing. Ryan has a Brazilian beer called Belô Petroleum: The Great Discovery, which gives him a chance to rant about the North Dakota Access Pipeline. Charlie honors our Utahn guest with his choice of a Uinta Hop Nosh IPA.  00:50:36 - We try to be the science podcast that actually follows up on stories from time-to-time, so it's well past time for us to update y'all on what's going on with the Tasmanian devil face cancer epidemic, first discussed in episode 21. Turns out there is some good news (source 1 and source 2), thanks to evolution if you even believe in that. But they're not out of the woods yet, so if you'd like to help conservation efforts you can do so by donating to the Save The Tasmanian Devil Program. If you'd like to help cancer research more generally, you can donate to the American Associate for Cancer Research.  We're now on Patreon! Please consider supporting us financially there and get cool rewards for doing so. Music for this week's show:Countdown (Sick For The Big Sun) - PhoenixRoyal Oil (Live) - The MIghty MIghty BosstonesKiss The Devil - Eagles of Death Metal

263 - Firefox

00:00:00 - First up, Ryan, Abe, and Joe discuss some research showing that arctic foxes inadvertently grow herbivore-friendly gardens above their dens, making them ecosystem engineers, which is pretty freaking cool.  00:20:45 - Arctic foxes bring the produce, but we bring the drinks. This time Joe is enjoying a Sprecher Cherry Cola. Abe is all about his Fancy Pants V3 from Jessup Farm Barrel House, complete with fox logo. Ryan tries out his Spanish to describe a Vieja Compa Picante (or Spicy Old Pal) made with Dominican Bermudez Aniversario 1852 and Habanero Bitters. 00:27:45 - After reading Catching Fire (not that one) geographer Michael Medler had an idea about humans and volcanoes. A map of volcanoes in the African Rift Valley where humans first evolved suggests that maybe our first fires came from lava, allowing us to cook our food and get big brains. Also, ravens (and corvids generally) are super smart, but the Canary Islands are named after dogs. You're welcome. 01:00:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanoes, easier to run away from than you might expect. Abe begins with a donation from Matthew J. who felt bad that his recurring payment fell out so he tosses us a lump sum. Thanks, Matthew! Next up, former guest of the show and current Paleopatron Dr. John Pohl MD has signed up to support us on Patreon and has earned himself a fake thesis title. John's title is: Applications of the Bristol Stool Scale to Winter Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) Fecal Production and Deposition. Lastly, Joe shares a 5-star iTunes review from nh800.  We're now on Patreon! Please consider supporting us financially there and get cool rewards for doing so. Music for this week's show:Garden - Miike SnowSour Cherry - The KillsWe Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel 

262 - Howling at the Soon

00:00:00 - Kelly Weinersmith is here and she's got a book coming out co-written with some dude named Zach Weinersmith, whoever that is. The book is called Soonish, it's coming out soon, but you can pre-order it now. Pre-ordering is super important for their rankings on the sales charts, plus you get super cool rewards so get on it!  00:21:48 - One thing we hope doesn't change anytime soon is our enjoyment of delicious beverages. Ben has some "Boss Coffee" which Kelly and Ryan thought was a joke, but it's apparently not. Next up, Ryan gets bitter thanks to his wife. Seriously, she bought him some Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters added to some fine St. Lucian rum. Kelly unwittingly makes a London Fog with some Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme tea. 00:33:37 - Wolves are known for many things: pack mentality, becoming dogs, and howling. Tourists really like the howling part, including faking it to get the wolves to howl back. But how does that make the wolves feel? For the first time, a team in Canada has checked to make sure that induced human howling isn't messing with the way wolves use the space. The good news? It's not, the wolves clearly don't care, which is good, but also good that someone thought to double-check.  00:45:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wolves: they do move in herds. Now that we're on Patreon, if you support us at the Avogadro's Army level or higher, we will make up a fake thesis title for you. Our first recipient of this reward goes to Becky Wertz and her thesis is titled: Stochastic methods for testing differences in adhesion between lingually wetted stamps versus sticker stamps. Thanks, Becky! Next up, Bob M. has some words about Lagrange as discussed in some of our AGU coverage. And finally, Kelly reads a glowing 5-star iTunes review from Susie Haupt, aka Ryan's mom.  We're now on Patreon! Please consider supporting us financially there and get cool rewards for doing so. Music for this week's show:The Future Soon - Jonathan CoultonLondon Calling - The ClashDela (I Know Why The Dog Howls At The Moon) - Johnny Clegg & Savuka

261 - Agents of G.I.R.L.

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Rachel Silverstein (@irrelephantidae) and Marina Chanidou (@marinaloveschem) who were featured by Marvel as the inaugural Agents of G.I.R.L. In the first segment, we chat about Rachel's proboscidean paleontology at the Saltville Valley site, and Marina's work using chemistry to figure out what food was kept in very old pots.  00:21:32 - In the past, both elephants and ancient people had drinks, so let's keep the tradition alive! Rachel stays responsible with some water. Marina enjoys some Bramble Scotch Liqueur. And Ryan tries to keep things thematic with a Prop Culture from Odell. 00:30:46 - The reason this interview came about was because of comics, so we can't help but have a free-wheeling discussion about how Rachel and Marina wound up in Marvel's The Unstoppable Wasp #1, representation, and comics we love. The list of comics mentioned or discussed includes: Princeless Motor Crush The Secret Loves of Geek Girls Chew Saga The Autumnlands Black Road Heathen Unfollow The Flintstones (Yes, it seriously is good.) Welcome Back 01:08:54 - A quick PaleoPOW to thank Maria C. who gave a one-time PayPal donation to help make this show possible. If you'd like to support the show, consider checking out our recently launched Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/sciencesortof Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show:I Am Chemistry - YeasayerScience/Visions - Chvrches Hank Pym - Adam WarRock (Free album, click here)