Science... sort of

319 - Standing up to Satellites

00:00:00 - We welcome back our old buddy Jacob Stump as he joins to discuss the evolution of the human big toe, which is more interesting than you might think because it showed up sort of lake to the walking around on two feet party. 00:30:21 - Using circular logic we have reason to celebrate with a drink because Joe is having a drink! A White Russian, to be precise. Jacob extols the virtues of Aldi, including their version of a Blue Moon. And Ryan is having a beer for charity in the form of Lifesaver from Solace Brewing Company, and a portion of the proceeds are going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 00:42:26 - and how Elon Musk is single-handedly ruining the night sky for astronomers (sounds absurd, but it's true). That plus the usual segments coming your way soon! 01:23:18 - PaleoPOWs mix it up by putting the Patron thesis last, for reasons. So instead, Jacob reminisces about Science… sort of Theater with an e-mail from Cameron L. M. about how much those episodes made him laugh. Joe then reads a followup e-mail from Andrew S. some of the dark decisions that might have to be made regarding interstellar generation ships. Finally, we award Benajmin K. a BSso with a thesis entitled: Transmitted Olfactory Emissions (TOE): Using Satellite Uplinks to Distribute Smellular Data. Thanks, Benjamin! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Sneaker Chase - Podington Bear

318 - The X-Men Files: A Star Wars Story

00:00:00 - Asher Elbein (@asher_elbein) is still back but this time he and Ryan get really nerdy (if you believe that’s even possible after the last episode). The first half of super nerd talk begins with a brief remembrance of Tom Spurgeon, who passed away last year. But it is mostly about the new status quo regarding the X-Men, which kicked off with Johnathan Hickman’s House of X and Powers of X. Ryan has also discussed this topic over on iFanboy. 00:30:28 - Time is a flat circle so Ryan is still having the Thai spice teas from Running Byrd Tea Co. Tweet about your first tea with hashtag #firsttimeteatime, for some reason. 00:31:47 - In the second half of their chat (or really, the fourth quarter if you think about it), Asher and Ryan dig deep on some Star Wars (this was recorded just prior to the release of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker). It gets real, feelings are felt. 01:04:03 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wars in the stars, they can sometimes end in disappointment. But no disappointment today because we have a lovely 5-star iTunes review from Crue Taylor. Thanks, Crue! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Not The Droid - Podington Bear

317 - Wild Hogs Can't Be Broken

00:00:00 - Asher Elbein (@asher_elbein) is back to talk about feral hogs! If you listen to Reply All you may have already heard some of his reporting on the issue, but we were able to dig deep and really get it into. 00:14:54 - Drinking alone means making healthy choices (sometimes), like this nice bottle of Thai spice tea Ryan has from Running Byrd Tea Co. Free ad for some fine tea. 00:16:40 - We keep it invasive in part two of my chat with Asher where we talk about ‘invasive’ donkeys on public lands. Are they really invasive? Who decides and then who decides what to do about it? 00:48:21 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like interviews, they can go on longer than you expect. But not this episode, this time because we just have a quick iTunes review from isisddog. Thanks and tune in soon for part two of my chat with Asher. Also, Flowers in the Gutter, the book by former guest Kristina Gaddy, is now available for purchase. Check it out! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music Credit: Sage the Hunter - Blue Dot Sessions

316 - Message in a Rocket

00:00:00 - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to the show to talk about his new book, Letters from an Astrophysicist. In addition to book chat, he and Ryan also touch on the culture growth of pseudoscience such as people who believe the earth is flat, and 1960s sci-fi films like 2001 and Planet of the Apes. 00:26:46 - We have a segment for drinks. This is that segment. Abraham keeps it on topic with an Orbital Tilt IPA (Citra) from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. Joe is back onto the Rocket Fizz with a Gene Autry Root Beer, which leads to a discussion of root beer rankings. Ryan philosophizes about west coast IPAs thanks to a gift from Abe in the form of Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing. 00:36:57 - In part two of their chat, Ryan and Dr. Tyson talk about his philosophy regarding Twitter, and how he learns from making online mistakes. As well as why an espoused liberal scientist might work for a conservative presidential administration. And, finally, how science has and hasn’t progressed in terms of recruiting and retaining underrepresented minorities and women. In addition to the new book, you can find Dr. Tyson on Twitter, his podcast, and his website. 01:00:59 - PaleoPOWs are delightful. ‘Nuff said. We begin with a voicemail from Alex K. about veganism, which leads to a discussion about yards and archery. It follows, we promise. Ryan reads an e-mail about Robin Hood cameos in literature from Rose E. And we double down on Patreon theses for Jerm (because we failed to remember that they got a thesis last episode) so Jerm’s extra major was completed with a thesis entitled: Pierced with rejection: Archery Implemented Relays (AIR) Mail as a low-carbon method for feedback delivery in the scientific peer-review process. Thanks again, Jerm! Thanks for a great year, looking forward to next year where you’ll get a whole lot more SCIENCE… you know the rest. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!

315 - Planetary Growing Pains

00:00:00 - For our first topic, Ryan, Ben, and Joe explore the theory that the oddly-shaped space rock Oumumua is actually an alien reconnaissance ship. Seriously. 00:23:38 - If the threat of alien invasion doesn’t make you want a drink, then we applaud your restraint. But it makes Ben want to hydrate and have sugar, so he’s having some homemade sports drink. Which causes things to go more off the rails then one might expect. Ryan is finally getting around to the Beyond Resin IPA from Upland Brewing Company, which leads to a much more expected discussion on hop varietals. A brief cut later and Joe tells us that he’s having a Butterbeer from Ozark Mountain Bottleworks. Which is “very butterbeer-y”, according to Joe. 00:35:51 - Next, we talk about how busting apart asteroids, a la Armageddon, is actually a tougher job than we thought because of a pesky little thing called gravity but we’re going to test some other asteroid deflection techniques with the upcoming DART mission, so don’t despair yet! 00:55:22 - Finally, the PaleoPOW where we get feedback and give it back to you! First up is a thesis for the enigmatic Patreon supporter jerm, but that doesn’t stop us from coming up with: Nascent Insterstellar Hyperbolic Aloha Orbits (NIHAO): DART-ing bye to say hello. Thanks, jerm! Next, Ben reads a Canadian iTunes review from Hawkbox which makes us feel good, so that’s nice. And finally, Ryan has an e-mail from Rober Z. about gaming, because games are fun. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Ben Tippett and his ukulele