Science... sort of

00:00:00 - Researchers have determined that if you want one big skip instead of many little skips you should select a potato-shaped rock instead of a flat one . If that’s what you’re into…

00:23:00 - Another way to enjoy a day on the river is with a beverage. Patrick is back to basics with a Guinness . Charlie is legally enjoying a Rogue Ginger Yuzu CBD Seltzer . And Ryan is recovering with some maximum-strength cold medicine.

00:31:45 - In the war between astronomers and lightning , the astronomers are now fighting back by using lasers to steer lightning across the sky !

00:51:25 - The PaleoPOWs are a lot like lightning, we’re never sure where it’s going to hit but we can hope to guide it. First up, Patrick provides a Canadian Apple Podcasts Review from Peachy🍑Jess, who was kind enough to give us 5 stars! Next up, Charlie has an e-mail from Gerrit B. who provides some neat updates after listening to episode 342 and provides the following links:

American Solar Challenge

Inside the First Solar-Powered Flight Around the World

US Navy synthesizes jet fuel solely out of seawater; costs $3-6 gallon

Missing Link to a Livable Climate: How Hydrogen-Enabled Synthetic Fuels Can Help Deliver the Paris Goals

​​​​​​​​​​​​Fission Battery Initiative​​ Workshop

And finally, Patron Adrian K. has earned their BSso by submitting for our consideration a thesis entitled: Ballistics and Skip-tistics: Laser-guided manufacture of fulgurite skipping stones . Thanks, Adrian!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Smooth Stone - Blue Dot Sessions
Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by cookbook author and YouTuber J. Kenji López-Alt to discuss his latest book The Wok: Recipes and Techniques , available wherever fine books are sold including our own page on Bookshop.org . Can you ruin your wok your first time using it? Is carbon steel superior to cast iron? Can you poison your guests with hot peppers? Tune in to find out!

00:26:40 - Ryan enjoys an Americano made using Worka Sakaro beans roasted by Night Swim Coffee in Charlotte, NC.

00:30:15 - Part two of Ryan’s hard-hitting no-holds-barred discussion of the wok with Kenji continues!

00:58:30 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like cooking with woks: if you get all your ingredients together beforehand you’re done before you know it. This episode features three comments from the world of Facebook by Tom V. , Shawn G. , and Mike B. , respectively. Thanks, guys!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Juparo - Broke for Free
Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - Manly Ryan North (@ryanqnorth ) returns to the show to talk to Ben and Handsome Ryan (not a self-selected nickname) to talk about his new book, How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain , available now wherever fine books are sold!

00:36:00 - Taking over the world is thirst work. Fortunately, we came prepared. Ben is enjoying some burdock tea , which comes from the roots of a bush. Ryan is having the debatably thematic Thespian Espionage by Weathered Ground Brewing.

00:44:59 - The discussion with Ryan North continues. Learn more at supervillainbook.com or snag your own copy via our Bookshop.org affiliate page !

01:25:56 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like supervillains, you want to trust them, but should you? Ben starts off with an e-mail from Brandon who enjoyed the live show where everyone met Ben in person, or were they only meeting a satellite android body of an AI still hanging out on a computer in a garage? Ben claims quantum computer-hood in response. Ryan then presents a 5-star Apple Podcasts review from RJM544. Thanks, RJM544! Finally, Patron Rj M. has earned a BSso by writing a thesis entitled: Applications of N.E.M.O. (Northern Ermergent Monstrous Occurrences) and their use in acquiring federal funding to topple city-states: A case study in training a Chessai (Chesapeakus monstorius) to commit villainy on behalf of coercive doctoral research. Thanks, Rj M.!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Villano - Blue Dot Sessions
Audio Production: Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are thrilled to be joined by her friend and colleague, Dr. Andrew Forbes ! He’s a parasitic insect kind of guy (not meant as an insult!) and we discuss his journey a bit before diving into some recent and exciting research!

00:35:37 - It could be argued that parasites drink the lifeforce of others, but hopefully that’s not the case with us. Ryan doubles down with an Americano using Jorge Raul Rivera Pacamara Honey #96 beans from Chalatenango, El Salvador via Black & White Roasters , which is delicious. Kelly doesn’t have a beer so is settling for a lactose-free White Salamander after wrapping up season 1 of her new project D.O.R.K.S. Andrew is enjoying some aged beer to celebrate the birth of his son in the form of a 2008-vintage Bigfoot Barleywine from Sierra Nevada. And Ryan comes back around to finish the segment with bourbon-barrel aged elderberry infused cider from Hawk Knob

00:46:46 - We continue our conversation with Andrew, including a discussion of these two (open access!) papers:

Quantifying the unquantifiable: why Hymenoptera, not Coleoptera, is the most speciose animal order

Ormyrus labotus (Hymenoptera: Ormyridae): Another Generalist That Should not be a Generalist is not a Generalist

For more parasitic insects in your life, you can follow Andrew on Twitter @Lord_Forbinton

01:19:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wasps; they can sting more than once and still survive. First up, Ryan and Kelly tackle a question from Brett H. about hyperparasitoids on Finnish islands (if you believe that Finland even exists ) and then they come up with a BSso for patron Roberta A. R. who has impressively completed a study entitled: VESPA (Variability of ectoparasites on species of pollinating Apoidea): A study of a very cool wasps that infect bees then manipulate bee behavior to bury themselves underground so the temperature is better or something see the rest of the thesis for the details. Thanks, Roberta!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Flutterbee - Podington Bear
Audio Production: Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Time for a special edition Science… sort of Book Club! Ryan, Joe, and Tim all read Andy Weir’s new novel Project Hail Mary . What did they think of it? How was the science? Should Andy Weir design escape rooms? All this, and more, is discussed!

To buy the book, we recommend using our affiliate program with bookshop.org/shop/sciencesortof , we get a small percent for sending you there and the book will be sent to you by a local bookshop. Win win!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Ave Maria - Podington Bear
Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - There’s a new telescope in town to look out of town and see exactly what’s going on in this here galaxy. Introducing… the James Webb Space Telescope ! What can it do? Where can it do it? And did we name it after a not so great dude ? All this and more are discussed!

00:36:36 - Drinks are any beverage that are consumed. Here, we talk about them. Joe is having tea with lemon and honey to help with a cough. Ryan recommends even fancier tea . Ryan waxes poetic about a Herkenrode Abbey Vesper (typical). Charlie is double fisting some red wine and a Rogue CBD seltzer , balancing the blend perfectly.

00:47:26 - Trailer Trash Talk returns again to discuss the much-maligned but fun-looking Moonfall .

01:00:57 - Climate Change is definitely a thing that is happening, we’ve known about it for awhile, but just how long? Turns out some folks as far back as the 1800s were figuring out the connection between carbon dioxide and atmospheric warming and we just haven’t been listening.

01:23:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like… something. Listener feedback, probably. Teemu A. wants to know what we think about the geology/biology of the video game The Witness . Elizabeth D. wins a copy of Life’s Edge by Carl Zimmer for submitting her pick for weirdest life from (see episode 337), the sea salp ! And Patron Bruce Haupt gets a BSso thesis for the second time, and that thesis is: SCRUB: SCUBA Carbon Removal Underwater Bioremediation - Using Sea Salps to sequester carbon in oceanic basins using a human propelled delivery mechanism. Thanks, Bruce!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: The Green Room - Blue Dot Sessions
Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - Joe and Ryan are excited to be joined by Craig Welch and Sam Howe Verhovek who each have articles in the October 2021 issue of National Geographic “The Revolution is Here ” which is all about the future of non-fossil fuel transportation. Craig wrote the article “The future of driving is here–and it’s electric ” and Sam wrote the article “How green can we make air travel? And how soon? ”. Discussion ensues.

00:40:41 - Discussion pauses so Joe and Ryan can have a drink. Can’t let oneself get too parched. Joe was having a latte during our initial conversation, but is now enjoying some eggnog with brandy. Ryan is having a Class III Whitewater IPA from Screech Owl Brewing, which leads to a discussion about the many uses for spent beer grain, but mostly pizza dough .

00:51:03 - Part two of our conversation with Craig and Sam! Craig is on Twitter @CraigAWelch and you can find more of Sam’s work on his website jetagebook.com .

01:06:49 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the future of transportation; they’re both going places! Ryan begins with a Facebook comment from Mike B. praising the book featured in episode 338. And we bestow a BSso upon patron Bounce B. who has turned in a tome entitled: Hop To It: A Novel Implementation of a Jump-based method for transitioning from terrestrial to aerial transportation using a methanogenic bladder derived from fungal fermentation of organic biofuels . Thanks, Bounce!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Airliner - Podington Bear
Audio Production: Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Joe and Ryan are joined by their friend Dr. Antonio “Tony” Munoz , who tells us about his work as a scientist and his journey from the world of research to the world of consulting. Tony’s open access papers for those who want to learn more:

Free energy calculation of modified base-pair formation in explicit solvent: A predictive model

Active yeast ribosome preparation using monolithic anion exchange chromatography

Structural Changes Enable Start Codon Recognition by the Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Complex

Conserved residues in yeast initiator tRNA calibrate initiation accuracy by regulating preinitiation complex stability at the start codon

Coordinated Movements of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factors eIF1, eIF1A, and eIF5 Trigger Phosphate Release from eIF2 in Response to Start Codon Recognition by the Ribosomal Preinitiation Complex

00:36:38 - Joe managed to bring drinks for everyone, but now they’re not in the same place so that’s odd. Joe is having some homemade mead from a friend, and its first mead experience which incurs the cost of viking toast. And Tony and Ryan are enjoying the Snakeden Saison from 7 Locks Brewing as provided by Joe.

01:10:59 - In our second segment we talk about cars. A sort of “Car Talk”, if you will, which we’re pretty sure is a completely original idea to the audio format. We tackle the myth that electric cars are actually worse for the environment than internal combustion (spoiler: they’re not) , but also some of the challenges that come with an electric future and the impact that our need for certain minerals can have on the health of the planet .

01:56:48 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like roads, you should look both ways before crossing them. Joe has a tweet lauding him for comparing the UK to TX, but what we’re really here from is to hand out a BSso thesis for Patron Eric P. He has a thesis titled: Swinging for the electric fences: An electric vehicle charging solution utilizing molecular biophysical properties of Electrophorus fish in an in situ aquatic reservoir . Thanks, Eric!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Electric Car - Podington Bear
Audio Production: Rob Heath

00:00:00 - In which Ryan introduces the concept of this type of episode… for the last time. (But which can be previously heard in episodes 266 , 282 , 326 , and 332 .)

00:05:23 - Zootopia and Disney Lemming Myths

00:10:51 - Bio bios: Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus )

00:16:06 - The Drake Equation tries to answer "Are we along?”

00:21:23 - Drake Equation "results " hint at a crowded galaxy

00:22:30 - Then where is everybody? Fermi's Paradox weighs in

00:27:03 - To prove the show hasn’t lost a step, Ryan has a Knotty Pine double IPA from Country Boy Brewing. Predictable, but delicious.

00:28:56 - Night Hag : The Inception

00:32:31 - My experience with the Night Hag

00:34:55 - Science of the Night Hag

00:40:08 - Wait, how is the Night Hag aliens ? Culture and Sleep Paralysis

00:43:16 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the end of the year, they lead us to something new. This episode we have an e-mail from Brandon M. asking how to get access to the whole back catalog of Brachiolope Media shows (and the answer is Soundcloud , with more updates to come).

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Solitude - Broke For Free

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Megan Johnson (@mmjohnso ), Becca Van Hoeck (@becca_vanhoeck ), and Caitlin Bergstrom (@caityydid ). Megan and Becca are Ph.D. researchers working on the environmental engineering of the atmosphere around wildfires and fish ecology using marine soundscapes, respectively and in the first segment they tell us a bit about their awesome research.

00:30:16 - Drinks are a bit like wildfires and marine ecosystems: they're wet but they burn. Megan is enjoying a Left Hand (Chai) Milk Stout . Becca is working on some chilled white wine from a subscription service she used to stock up in the early days of the pandemic. She thinks it’s a Pinot Grigio. Caitlin is drinking a Juicify IPA by Lakefront Brewery from WI, where she went to school and was surprised to find in DC. Ryan goes big with a Megalodon Imperial Coffee Porter , gifted to him by Abe, naturally.

00:36:51 - Caitlin is a Science Policy Analyst for the American Geophysical Union, and the reason we were all chatting is because Megan, Becca, and I were an AGU Voices for Science (Policy Track) cohort. So we chat a bit about Megan and Becca's research, and then we chat about the Voices for Science program and what we were able to accomplish in what ended up being a far from traditional year of science policy advocacy and outreach!

01:20:59 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like outreach, in that I think they literally could be considered a type of outreach. For this episode, we want to thank Terry R. for a recurring PayPal donation and their continued support over the years. Thanks, Terry!

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Do Better - Podington Bear
Audio Production by Rob Heath and Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - Dr. Arik Kershenbaum (@arikkershenbaum ) stops by to talk about his new book, The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal about Aliens—And Ourselves , AKA the fastest we’ve ever said yes to an interview.

00:27:50 - Both life and beef requires water, so let’s talk about what we’re drinking. Patrick has a perfectly adequate Punk AF from BrewDog, Ryan is also having a non-alcoholic Upside Dawn Golden Ale from Athletic Brewing. It is also fine.

00:36:29 - Part 2 of our discussion with Arik Kershenbaum is the second part of our conversation about his book. Please enjoy!

00:58:04- PaloePOWs are a lot like alien life: is it really out there? Ryan begins with a 4-star Apple Podcasts review from Entertaining, but… who is frustrated by politics creeping into the show, which prompts a hopefully helpful discussion about what exactly this sort of criticism might mean. Patrick finishes with an e-mail from Peter C. about classifying human species as we colonize other planets based on the game Stellaris , but of course Ryan can’t help but bring up The Expanse . Discussion ensues.

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Alien Language - Podington Bear
Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Carl Zimmer (@CarlZimmer ) has returned to the show to talk to us about his new book, Life’s Edge: The Search For What It Means To Be Alive . While it may be hard to define life, we can provide definite timestamps for the first part of our conversation about the book!

00:26:16 - Having access to liquid is an essential part of life, which includes drinks. Ryan pontificates about his Hoplark HopTea with Spruce Tips which is surprisingly refreshing. After a digression, Patrick gets to reveal that he is also enjoying the nearly non-alcoholic Nanny State from BrewDog.

00:36:52 - Part 2 of our discussion with Carl Zimmer is the second part of our conversation about his book. Please enjoy!

00:57:42 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like life, hard to define but you know it when you see it. Ryan insists that Patrick reconciles with Jeff' S’s e-mail responding to our previous dismissal of 3D in movies by pointing out the Spy Kids franchise as a counterexample. Ryan then reads an e-mail from Bob M. about some previous confusion regarding ungulates and notoungulates referred to in a previous episode . The best resource we know of is the Tree of Life Project , but please get in touch if you know of others!

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: A Beautiful Life - Broke For Free
Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Returning guest Jen Gallagher (@yeastychic ) has brought along two former students to talk about their continued research into the world of yeast! We’re excited to be joined by Matt Winas, currently the lead scientist at Imperial Yeast Labs, and Postdoctoral Research Apoorva Ravishankar. First up, we chat with Matt about his work on sake yeast hybridization and how yeast respond toxic metallic nanoparticles .

00:28:21 - Yeast make all manner of drinks so let’s talk about that. Apoorva eschews the yeast theme with a hot cup of coffee (with cream and sugar) and the gang reminisces about the coffee shop closest to their lab at WVU. Matt is enjoying a Suss It Out rye IPA from Level Cross Brewing Company, one of the perks of working for a yeast company. Jen is honoring her scientific progeny with a Baby Cakes stout from Tribus Beer Co. Ryan had a different beer lined up but is instead going with a Hop Farmin Miner from Weathered Ground Brewery in WV.

00:37:26 - Next we chat with Apoorva about her research on exactly how yeast responds to glyphosate-based herbicides , which are heavily used in agriculture and gardening and how a chemical designed to control/kill plants can have some dramatic responses on yeast.

01:05:09 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like yeast, you can wake them up with a little bit of warm water and sugar. First up, we thank George H. for being a recurring PayPal donor to the show . Thanks, George! And we wrap up by letting Jen respond to her own feedback regarding the sequencing of mitochondrial DNA mentioned in episode 331 . Always good to get extra clarification from an expert!

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Budding - Broke For Free
Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are psyched to be joined by Gina Zwicky (@GinaGoesOutside ) to talk about all things herps (amphibians + reptiles)! We begin with a discussion about Gina’s work the immune system of Caribbeans lizards, specifically the major histocompatibility complexes of the Saban’s anole using the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) awesome genetic database . And Ryan transitions the group to the next segment but half remembering a cool project on the island of Dominica that will be a joint rum distiller and sea turtle conservation hub. Neat!

00:27:08 - Amphibians need to stay near water, and much like them we also enjoy a drink. First, Gina shares her LaCroix habit, lime at the moment but ranking of flavors is involved. Kelly takes a break from red wine with a warm, relaxing cup of chamomile tea. And even though nobody asked, Ryan is having a Black Rock Milk Stout from Devil’s Backbone Brewing in Kelly’s neck of the wood AKA East Virginia. We also talk a bit about what it means to be a super taster and how to test yourself to see if you are one too.

00:37:39 - In the second segment, we talk about Gina’s work with Frog Watch , an AZA accredited program to get folks outside in their area to monitor frog populations. Gina runs tours in her neck of the woods in souther Louisiana, but if you’re in the US there may be a similar program nearby so go and check it out where you live and see if you can go listen to some cool frogs!

01:02:21 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like frog watching, they’re both mostly about listening. First, we thank Amanda B. for becoming a recurring PayPal donor (again!). Thanks, Amanda! And another round of our thanks goes out to @z_dieg for tweeting about how much he liked our AGU episode helmed by our very own Tim Dobbs. Great job, Tim!

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Frogs in Tuxes - Podington Bear
Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00 - The Triassic Period was clearly a tough time to be alive, since a lot of things kept dying. Researchers have recently uncovered a potentially new extinction that happened during the Triassic, and another team has uncovered more evidence of what cased the extinction we already knew about at the end of the Triassic. The culprit in both cases ? Volcanoes! Abe and Ryan try to co-explain.

00:29:05 - Like volcanoes, beers also release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Abe is eager to go first with Science Is Crushable IPA by Benchtop Brewing Company. Charlie features a beer sent by a buddy as part of a winter beer exchange, a Tired But Wired by Anchorage Brewing Company featuring some excellent label art by Woflskulljack . And Ryan is excited to try a Kitty Claw clarified cafe milk punch from Mercy Me in D.C.

00:37:31 - Ryan already had the chance to talk about this story once before on the Undisciplined: November Science News Roundup , but he’s too excited to not bring it up again because researchers have found that female mongooses start turf wars on purpose for access to males outside their main group to prevent inbreeding. The paper is open access , please go and watch the videos, they’re quite a thing to see.

00:51:45 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like mongoose battles; they both have an ulterior motive. Charlie has a comment from Travis about enjoying and learning from our interview with Maya Becker in episode 320 , which prompts Charlie to offer to take Ryan glacier camping. Abe has a Patreon comment regarding using comics to explain science as discussed in episode 308 , including letting students answer questions with a drawing instead of text. Finally, we bestow a BSso thesis to Patreon supporter Tyson G., and that thesis title is: Finding new berth in old miseries by outrunning magma: Novel habitats provided by Large Igneous Provinces induces turf wars in genetically drifted expanding mongoose populations. Thanks, Tyson!

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Looking For Trouble - Podington Bear
Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00 - Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the AGU Fall Meeting had to go all online, but that didn’t showing up and recording some interviews. But plot twist! This year we sent Producer Tim Dobbs to do the interviewing and Ryan is just along for the ride. In his first interview, Tim talks to Amato Evan about his work looking at how dust clouds from the Sahara in Africa have climatic affects as far away as the other side of the Atlantic AKA Godzilla Dust Storms!

00:33:18 - A little dust in the throat goes away with a quick drink. This episode, Ryan is amazed by the color of his Kyoto Bakushu Matcha IPA (seriously, clickthrough on the link to see it). Whereas Tim is trying to figure out what to do with his bottle of BarMatt Equatorial Ceylon Tea Liqueur . Ryan provides suggestions.

00:42:33 - Tim’s next chat is with Joshua Bregy , who, no joke, uses wood from old coffins to asses past climate. It’s as cool as it sounds. What more even needs to be said here? Just go and listen already. You can check out Josh’s data on Github .

Tim and Ryan wrap up by discussing some of the ins and outs of a year of all online meetings. As well as talking briefly about their own poster that they presented in a session about helping scientists get better at communicating. Go figure. Ryan also mentions AGU’s Voices for Science program, which he’s been participating in the last year and they’re accepting applications for next year’s cohort. If you’re an earth scientist interested in communicating science or science policy, go apply!

01:19:06 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like dust storms; they get everywhere. First, we thank Rohit R. for being a recurring PayPal donor. Thanks, Rohit! Then we have a voicemail from Richard P. who has an excellent question about why rodents are so nibbly? You’ll have to listen to find out the answer, but it is an area of active research believe it or not. Lastly, go check out Tim’s BioArtBot project !

You can support us and local bookstores by shopping at our store on Bookshop.org and even more cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Dust In Sunlight - Podington Bear
Audio Production by Tim Dobbs (@TimSDobbs)

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Jesse B. Grove V to discuss the highly anticipated sci-fi action thriller, Christopher Nolan’s TENET . Jesse is drinking an Outer Realm from Original Pattern Brewing Company and Ryan is drinking The Magic Touch by American Solera and they are both IPAs because that’s the kind of guys they are. Be sure to check out the Sator Square and here is a link to the graphic timeline mentioned towards the end of the episode.

Tune in to find out just how much they did, or didn’t, or did like the film! You can also follow Ryan (@haupt ) and Jesse (@LintonFellows ) on Letterboxd.com to keep up with their movie-watching habits.

And apologies to Doughboys for riffing on their format.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00- We're doing another Anchor-themed clip show! Following up on episodes 266 , 282 , and 326 we have another round of short audio clips that Ryan created for the podcast startup Anchor under the banner of Organized Curiosity (explanation of the name here ).

00:01:43 - Ryan explains the ‘Up-Goer Five’ challenge , reads an abstract he wrote using the Up-Goer Five Text Editor , tries to explain what the abstract actually means, and then shares some thoughts on whether or not this exercise is effective.

00:17:57 - News you probably cannot use: Cheerios included some seeds in their cereal boxes to help folks grow flowers for the bees. A nice idea, but unfortunately still might do more harm than good .

00:23:22 - It’s the holidays so Ryan is drinking glögg and eating raisins. It’s tradition. Make your own glögg AND make your own raisins so you can enjoy some too.

00:24:50 - Q&A: Paul from Cork, Ireland calls in to talk about how he hopes his daughter takes an interest in science (us to!) and to talk about whales. Ryan then tells the tale of the time he met a wild humpback , which was amazing but smelly.

00:31:20 - A new study suggests a pretty fundamental shakeup of the dinosaur family tree. First, he explains how dinosaur diversity was previously organized . Then he explains what the new study actually found.

00:40:40 - Bio bios: dog (Canis lupus familiaris )

00:45:44 - Q&A: Tachi calls in to leave some comments about the “Up Goer Five” challenge, Ryan responds. Also, go read The Elements of Style , it’s great.

00:47:10 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like clip shows; they comfort you in dark times. In this episode, we thank Zachary G. for his recurring donation via PayPal . Thanks, Zachary! Ryan also appeared on the podcast MonsterTalk to talk about the Loveland Frog so go check that out.

Thanks for getting through 2020 with us, see you on the other side.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Golden Hour - Broke For Free

00:00:00 - Abe and Ryan are joined by paleontologists Lindsey Yann and Advait Jukar (@amjukar ) to talk about all manner of proboscideans! First up, hundreds of mammoth fossils have been found underneath the construction site for a new airport outside Mexico City. An amazing find with some similarities to the Waco Mammoth National Monument where Lindsey was just hired as the park’s first in-house paleontologist . And as the park’s paleontologist, she is actively soliciting new research projects so if you have ideas get in touch!

00:26:05 - We may not have built-in straws but we can still enjoy a beverage. Ryan heeds Advait’s advice and grabs a bottle of Old Monk Very Old Vatted XXX Rum , which has expanded Ryan’s view of the diversity of beverages available from the subcontinent. Advait himself is enjoying a pilsner from East Rock Brewing Company from his new hometown of New Haven, CT. Whereas the only paleontologically-themed beer in Abe’s fridge was a Tyrannosaurus Flex from New Real Brewing Company . And in exploring Waco’s brewing scene, Lindsey scored the perfectly appropriate Hidden Herd from Brothwell Brewing .

00:38:14 - Next, Advait explains some of the key differences between the sometimes-confused mammoths and mastodons. A new study of the latter looking at the mitochondrial genomes of different groups of mastodons suggesting they migrated with the ice . It’s a very cool way to determine how these massive animals moved around their environment.

01:08:15 - PaleoPOWs also move in herds. First up, Abe thanks Jesse O. for a recurring PayPal donation (a much-appreciated holdover from the pre-Patreon days). Thanks, Jesse! And Ryan thanks former guest of the show Alex Hastings for a shoutout in the Star Tribune . Thanks, Alex! Alex also has his own podcast now called Squabbling Squibs , check it out!

Ryan has also recently appeared on the iFanboy Pick of the Week Podcast #754 talking about comics (obviously) and AGU’s Third Pob From The Sun talking sasquatch and ground sloths, because why not?

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath
Music credit: Lakeside Path - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - Researcher Daniel Katz and journalist Lucas Joel (@LucasVanWykJoel ) join Ryan to talk about Dan’s research into Detroit’s pollen problem . Too many vacant lots means a lot more ragweed for the residents of the city to deal with. Want to get involved with Dan’s research? Check out his citizen science project Pollen Tracker !

00:41:26 - After the allergy-inducing first segment, a drink is enjoyed by all. Ryan Escapes with the help of Offshoot Beer Co. Lucas is having his very favorite South African rooibos tea. And Dan is having Electric Jellyfish from Pinthouse PIzza which isn’t thematic but “oh well”.

00:54:14 - Some recent fossil finds in Burmese amber have been making the news , but unfortunately, it’s unclear if the amber is being ethically sourced and it may even be funding the genocide of Myanmar’s Kachin Christian minority . Is it ok to be publishing on specimens obtained this way? What does it mean when the studies get quickly retracted ? And how are scientific societies addressing the issue? A sobering but important topic.

01:37:31 - A quick PaleoPOW to thank Dan K. for his continuing support via PayPal . Thanks, Dan! And if you’re in the US, go VOTE !

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath
Music credit: Detroit - Podington Bear

00:00:00 - Joe begins the show by explaining how we all just nearly died last month but didn’t as an asteroid had the closest flyby of Earth ever detected thanks to some pretty cool new observation tech at the Zwicky Transient Facility in CA paired with machine learning.

00:23:08 - After a near-miss of an asteroid impact, it’s only natural to want a drink. Ryan begins with some Still Hollow Spirits unaged corn whiskey, aka moonshine. Joe corrects the record on his White Russian recipe by making another White Russian according to the recipe posted from the last time he had a White Russian . Abe enjoys some Triple Space Diamonds from Other Half Brewing Co.

00:37:15 - Winter is coming, so have a nap. A new analysis of the Therapsid Lystrosaurus comparing African specimens to those from Antarctica suggests that the more southerly critters may have hibernated much as their mammalian relatives do today. Torpor for the win!

01:00:42 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like torpor, sometimes it’s the best way to survive. Ryan reads a castigation from Zoll S. regarding improperly categorized literature in episode 117 . An e-mail from Jeff S. prompts a discussion of whether or not it was aliens aka the origin of the gray alien mythos. And we team up to bestow a BSso on Patreon supporter Josh R. who has written up a thesis entitled: Underneath Falling Objects (UFO): A Novel Method for Surviving Extraterrestrial impactors via a state of torpor modeled after Antarctic Lystrosaurs . Thanks, Josh!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath and Ryan Haupt
Music credit: Between Stones - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - Phosphine has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus, where it shouldn’t exist . How could it have formed in detectable quantities? One explanation could be microbes living in a habitable zone high in the Venusian atmosphere , so that’s neat.

00:25:00 - Drinks would not exist for long on Venus due to the extreme heat, but here on Earth they go down just fine. Ben has a horchata-flavored drink which sounds delightful. Charlie has some coffee roasted by a buddy of his who is now selling his beans online at The Deer and the Bear , check it out! And Ryan has The Great Return IPA from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery which helps support restorations efforts of the James River in Richmond, VA, so that’s good.

00:32:53 - Our moon is a notably dry place with no oxygen, but an Indian probe recently detected hematite, aka rust, at the lunar poles . How could rust form in such an environment? Orbital dynamics and Earth’s magnetotail may provide the answer.

00:46:29 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like rust on the moon, you’re surprised to find it and not sure what to do with it now that you have it. First, Ryan thanks Rocky LaDuque for reposting Episode 77 to his own SoundCloud page , didn’t even know that was a thing but very grateful for it! Next, Charlie reads an e-mail from Stephanie from Travelcraft Journal who found us because we used her photo (with credit) when talking about the science behind spilled lattes . Finally, we come up with a BSso thesis for longtime supporter and homebrewer Richard P. who has earned his fake degree with a thesis entitled: Random Underdeveloped Simulation Test (RUST): Density and Temperature Gradient Stratification of S. cerevisiae during the fermentation of beer as an analog model for Phosine-generating microbial life in the atmosphere of Venus. Thanks, Richard!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath
Music credit: Tentative Cloud - Podington Bear

00:00:00 - Charlie, Abe, and Ryan are joined by Sommelier Kristy Wenz because we’re talking about wine! Why wine? Stay tuned to the drinks segment to find out! But first up, they discuss the effects of geology, soil pH, and precipitation on the quality of wines from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

00:20:04 - This episode What Are We Drinking is sponsored by Glasses Up Social , a service that sends wine to you and your friends and sets up a group chat for you all to enjoy the wines together! It solves the issue of ending every call with “We should do this more often!” but never actually doing it. Plus you get try boutique wines from wineries you probably can’t currently visit. Our listeners get 20% off their first month, just use the coupon code SCIENCESORTOF at checkout. This episode, Kristy talks the boys through a dry riesling from Three Brothers Wineries & Estates in New Yorks Finger Lakes Wine Country.

00:42:45 - 66 million years ago the earth was hit by a giant rock going faster than a bullet. So what happened next, exactly? A new model has simulated how all the soot that would have been created by the impact and the subsequent fires would have had long term climatic impacts and it’s… not great.

01:19:24 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like asteroid impacts; hard to see coming but you know they’ll happen eventually. Ryan reads a YouTube comment by Sal L. who wants up to keep it. Will do, Sal! Abe fields a question from Tara F. about how to get a book donated to the library at McMurdo in Antarctica. Abe gives some tips and tricks. And a BSso is granted to patron Steve A. who has written a thesis entitled: Fires and Eruptive Reactivity Metrics Evaluation of Novel Terroirs (FERMENT): Optimizing Resiliency of wine yields via a comparative study of soil pH in the aftermath of volcanic or impactor induced soot-filled atmospheres. Thanks, Steve!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath
Music credit: Dust In Sunlight - Podington Bear

00:00:00 - We're doing another Anchor-themed clip show! Following up on episodes 266 and 282 , we have another round of short audio clips that Ryan created for the podcast startup Anchor under the banner of Organized Curiosity (explanation of the name here ). Before we dive in, two things: the correction and the drink. The correction is an explanation of a misspelling . The drink is a Mystic Mamma IPA from Jackie O’s, it’s especially good while cooking a spicy dinner. On to the show!

00:05:01 - A flight with a window seat prompts a promotion of the Flyover Country App .

00:07:31 - It’s the Ides of March and the thought of a historic stabbing makes Ryan want to discuss the science of human blood .

00:12:56 - Better know a root: haemo-

00:15:11 - Bio bios: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus )

00:20:46 - Bio bios: Mangrove Finch (Camarhynchus heliobates )

00:26:12 - Abby from Let Me Google That calls in to share her love of all things blood. It prompts a discussion of blood types .

00:32:29 - In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, so Ryan discusses the myth of the saint banishing snakes from the Emerald Isle.

00:36:09 - Bio bios: Brewer’s/Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae )

00:41:40 - And it’s been featured on the show before, but it never hurts to remind people of Adam Cole’s excellent (A Biologist's) St. Patrick's Day Song

00:44:15 - News you probably cannot use: Humpback whales are forming supergroups, but why?

00:49:30 - To unwind, some whalesong .

00:50:33 -Q&A: Ryan rants about supposedly “chemical-free” products, like bananas

00:56:00 - News you probably cannot use: an octopus fossil , enjoy.

01:01:31 - Q&A: Chris called in to tell us about how much he loves a Riemann surface , which Ryan cannot explain.

01:05:20 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Ryan’s Anchor show, it’s just him alone reading out loud. This episode it’s an e-mail from Adam S. who has rediscovered the show after having not listened in a long time. Glad to have you back, Adam!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Feel Good (Instrumental) - Broke For Free

00:00:00 - First up, we discuss the evolution of thalattoscuhians, or crocodilians who evolved to live life in the seas, based on CAT scans of their skulls and what that means for their convergent evolution with whales.

00:20:39 - Crocs have returned to the drink and so have we. It’s an older joke, but it checks out. Patrick has what feels like an inappropriately named Goram IPA from Butcombe Brewing Co. Following by Ryan’s double buzz-inducing PBR Hard Coffee . And finishing out with Joe’s homemade mocha latte.

00:26:48 - Based on his recent reading about cities discovered in the Honduran rain forest , Patrick stumbled across a story that made him wonder: Did the Mayan culture make it to Georgia? One researcher claims yes , others claim no . An excellent case study regarding the sort of side of science ensues.

00:43:49 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like debates in science; people get fired up, but the stakes are kind of low. Joe fields a comment from someone who identifies as Angry on Podbean who left a comment on episode 316 regarding our reenactment of the Wishbone Pitch Meeting . Patrick has an e-mail from Dylan S. about the book Proof by Adam Rogers , which may have helped Patrick and Ryan out on a recent episode. Finally, Ryan compels the Paleopals to come up with a BSso thesis for Patreon supporter Diego Z., who we know is kind. In several moments of brilliance, they derive the study: Crocodile Tiers: Potential Inclusion of Archosaurian Fossil Remains in Mayan Farming Sites from San Diego? Thanks, Diego!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath
Music credit: Dance of Felt - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Lisa Lundgren and Gabriel Santos , two of the heads of Cosplay for Science , an organization that uses elaborating costuming (called cosplay) to advocate for science! But first, we talk about the science. Lisa is a social scientist who studies informal science learning and Gabe is a paleontologist and outreach coordinator who has studied marine mammals including the excellent group Desmostylians .

Some papers by Lisa:

Social Media Interaction as Informal Science Learning: a Comparison of Message Design in Two Niches

Scientific Twitter: The flow of paleontological communication across a topic network

Profiles in Practice: Stories of Paleontology Within an Online, Scientific Community

Some papers by Gabe:

A new tuskless walrus from the Miocene of Orange County, California, with comments on the diversity and taxonomy of odobenids

New data on the ontogeny and senescence of Desmostylus (Desmostylia, Mammalia)

00:31:34 - Drinks: they keep us social, so let’s have some. Ryan demonstrates proper drink segment technique with the scientifically themed MC^2 by Equilibrium Brewery sent by our very own Abe ! Gabe is chilling with an IBC Root Beer, which is the kind of beer that doesn’t affect sobriety. And Lisa mysteriously enjoys a Cold Smoke Scotch Ale from KettleHouse Brewing Co in MT.

00:39:22 - In part two of our interview, we get down to costumes. How did Cosplay for Science get started? How does dressing up as fictional characters help communicate science? Will Ryan be dressing up the next time we’re able to actually go to a convention? Tune in and find out!

01:24:03 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like costuming, they hide their true nature to get in your heart. Ryan reads an e-mail from Tom C. asking us about getting on Spotify. Well thanks to his gentle nudging, we now are! Listen to (some of) our episodes on Spotify! Thanks for the nudge, Tom!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Audio Production by Rob Heath

Music credit: Dance of Felt - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - This episode Ben and Ryan are joined by Ph.D. student and podcaster Kathryn Cogert (@KathrynIsabel) , who specializes in mimicking the microbial nitrogen cycling as seen in Oxygen Minimum Zones of the ocean with the aim of improving wastewater treatment. We begin with the basics of why nitrogen pollution is an issue and how nitrogen is currently removed in wastewater treatment and why it’s sort of a hot mess.

00:21:42 - Nothing like talking about wastewater to build up a thirst. Ben, self-described sleepy fella, sneaks in an ad for cherry-wild cherry tea from Canada’s own teadesire.com . Kathryn feels judged but still enjoys her hometown’s own Olympia Beer . Ryan enjoys some cold-brew made from Perky Perky birthday coffee beans sent by his sister.

00:34:11 - In part two of our chat with Kathryn, she walks us through all the improvements she’s helping to make to the nitrogen removal process using their weird critters called Annamox and Ammonium Oxidizing Archaea . Saving money, saving energy, cleaning up water. Win-win-win.

00:56:16 - PaleoPOWs are a bit like Archeae, we don’t know where they came from but they sure are odd. Ryan begins by thanking Joshua C. for promoting us on the Wild Green Memes Facebook Group . Kathryn reads aloud an e-mail from real deal nuclear engineer Gerrit B. about our discussion of water as radioactive shielding in spaceships in episode 319. And patron Will Q. has earned his BSso degree by completing a thesis titled:: Canid we find some new methanogens? Novel discovery of a methane-producing archaea in the GI tract of a Canis lupus familiaris: barking up the right tree. Thanks, Will! And of course, we have to mention that Kathryn is the co-host of the wonderful podcast Encyclopedia Brunch featuring our own Tim Dobbs.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Chainlink Melody by Podington Bear

Audio editing by Rob Heath Studios

00:00:00 - We are joined by cartoonist Jeffrey Brown to talk about his work. First up, we discuss his Lucy & Andy Neanderthal series about a Homo neanderthalensis family that’s just trying to get by in the Stone Age.

00:32:11 - drinks But the Homo sapiens are here now and we have learned to distill. Patrick takes advantage of distillation with the Spirit of Cambridge Islay Single Malt Scotch which prompts many questions from Ryan. And Ryan also sips some scotch in the form of Balvenie Doublewood 12 , which may be why he was so eager to learn more from Patrick.

00:39:01 - For the second half of our chat with Jeffrey, we talk about his new series Once Upon A Spacetime , which is decidedly more sci-fi than science, perfect for a show all about the “sort of’. You can learn more at Jeffrey’s website and follow him on Instagram @jeffreybrownrq .

01:13:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Neanderthals, we know they existed but aren’t totally sure where they went. First up, Ryan reads an e-mail from Crue T. who needs help deciding which field of science to pursue. Tune in to find out what we recommend. And then we bestow a BSso on Patreon supporter Amy H. who has completed a thesis entitled: Spotting Sparkles: First evidence of glitter use in familial paleolithic art from Brown’s Gorge, Germany. Thanks, Amy!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: The Stone Mansion - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - New experimental research shows that there might still be volcanoes active on Venus , which is a big deal since it has long been thought that Venus didn’t have active plate tectonics. Abe breaks down how the hottest planet in the solar system may have just gotten a bit hotter.

00:22:00 - Drinks would evaporate quickly on Venus, so we better drink them fast before they’re gone! Abe has the thematically appropriate Volcano Sauce by Aslin Beer Company. Ryan supports a local cidery with a Nevertheless by ANXO. Joe eschews juice with his Pepsi Zero Wild Cherry, but even though he’s not a beer drinker he advocates supporting his local trivia spot Transplants Brewing , who are doing take out and delivery if you’re in the area.

00:31:23 - When you think of invasive species, you probably don’t think of hippos, yet that’s exactly what happened in Colombia when the hippopotamus pod that was part of Pablo Escobar’s menagerie went native. New research suggests that they may actually be fulfilling the ecological niche left behind when camel-like animals such as Hemiauchenia , so maybe its not so bad to have them around after all?

00:47:40 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like hippos, cute, but dangerous. We begin with an overdue discussion of what type of rock Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is , as prompted by a tweet from TruxStop, but you’ll have to tune in for the results. Next up we get a little love from Montana via Joshua C. Thanks, Joshua! And we wrap things up by granting a BSso to Patreon supporter Ben K. who has completed a thesis entitled: Whatever Floats Your Hippo: Use of Hippopotamus-Hide Lighter-Than-Air Craft for Surface Exploration from the Venereal Atmosphere. Thanks again, Ben!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Jettisoned - Poddington Bear

00:00:00 - Patrick puts forth proposals for less automobile-focused cities (see more on his Twitter feed @pvwheatley ) before we dive into part 1 of Ryan’s interview with UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography Ph.D. Student Maya Becker. She attended the UN’s climate change conference last year (COP25 ) and then wrote an op-ed about climate change for her local paper. We talk about how scientists can find advocacy that works for them.

00:28:52 - Getting a lot done can be aided by the right beverage. Maya is a coffee fiend and enjoys The WestBean Coffee Roasters for her local fix. Ryan got to go to a farm for beer, which lured him into trying the white IPA Barred Owl from the Brookeville Beer Farm.

00:35:12 - Since Patrick hasn’t been around for a minute we double down on the drinks segment. You’re welcome. Patrick walks Ryan through his home fermentation experiment trying to make some homemade ginger beer . You’ll have to listen in for the results. Ryan has a beer mimicking a style from across the pond with a Proper Porter from Elder Pine Brewing & Blending.

00:47:51 - Enough about policy and beverages, let’s get down to some science. Maya tells us about her research , which involves the dynamics of ice along the underside of the Ross Ice Shelf in a rapidly warming Antarctica using satellites. You can follow along generally by checking out Scripps’ Twitter (@scripps_ocean ) and Instagram (@scripps_ocean ) feeds.

01:17:41 - PaleoPOWs can also sit on a shelf if they’re physical and sent to us in such a way that they can be displayed. We begin with an inspired 5-star iTunes review from Jackdu24. Thanks, Jackdu24! And we then bestow a thesis upon patron Lindsay M. who has successfully defended: Paedomorphosis of Penguins: Exploring the environmental biology of childlike chicks on Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Thanks, Lindsay! If you write an op-ed or make some ginger beer, let us know so we can feature you on a future segment!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Ice Pack - Poddington Bear

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

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

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

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 !

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

00:00:00 - For this episode, we’re joined by Peter Brannen (@PeterBrannen1 ), author of the book T he Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past Apocalypses , which explains all the times when life has nearly been wiped out on our pale blue dot. Discussion ensues.

00:27:47 - In what may be the shortest drinks segment in the history of the show, we get right to it. Peter is having his favorite beer on planet earth, a Mexican Chocolate Stout from copper kettle brewing company in Aurora, CO. Ryan is also having a chocolatey beer from Off Color Brewing called Dino S’mores !

00:29:01 - Part 2 with Peter Brannen continues the chat about the worst days earth has ever had. No big deal. Probably not gonna happen again, except it probably will. Prepare.

01:03:39 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like mass extinctions; few get out alive. Ryan goes first with an e-mail from Joel S., who gives us an update on Tasmanian eucalyptus and their invasion of California as discussed in episode 296 and other forgotten comments, and then Ryan and Joe talk about Australia and other nonsense for a while. Joe has some feedback about Chessie from episode 312 , left as a comment on Soundcloud by Taylor H. Ryan looks forward to the day where he can just type the show into existence , maybe coming soon? And we wrap up with a Patreon thesis for Charles L., who wants a t-shirt. Based on that and our discussion with Peter, his thesis is: Keep your shirt on: could smaller carbon footprints due to reduced fabric needs of deep v t-shirts significantly alter textile-based climatic impacts? And we’re happy to send Patrons shirts if we have them.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

00:00:00 - Paleontologist Adam Pritchard (@PTPritchard ), post-doc at NMNH and future Assistant Collections Manager at VNMN , joins Ryan to talk about all things reptiles ! Diapsids , crown versus stem , mass extinctions ; this segment has something for everyone (who likes reptiles)!

00:32:59 - A brief drinks interlude to keep everyone (especially Ryan) awake. He’s sipping on an Americano made with Ethiopian Mordecofe beans from Stumptown Coffee Roasters , so put that in your hopper and drink it!

00:36:06 - Adam and Ryan keep talking about reptiles, including best individual reptile (spoiler ), and which reptile group is best overall (spoiler ). Adam also does his own podcast Past Time , and it’s past time you checked it out while you wait for your next fix of Science… sort of.

01:04:48 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like reptiles, more diverse than you may have originally thought. Dan W. writes in with some kind words but also to tell us about some sloth-y shoes he saw online, but instead of promoting those shoes directly, here’s a clip on why for-profit shoe charities maybe aren’t always that helpful to those in need. We also want to thank Doug S. for being a recurring donor after already donating twice before even if it confused our thanking system. Thanks, Doug! Finally, Caryne H. wishes she’d listened to episode 309 earlier while she was working on grad school essays, but better late than never!

00:00:00 - Joe brings his friend and historian Kristina Gaddy (@kgadz ) onto the show to talk about Chessie, the supposed sea monster of the Chesapeake Bay (bay monster?). She wrote a piece about the history and cultural perception of this cryptid .

00:35:39 - It may not be surprising to hear that as a bona fide icon, Chessie is featured by some local breweries. Kristina is having a beer from RAR brewing that features a little Chessie on every can. Joe argues that his King Kong Cola is an appropriate choice given the theme. And Ryan enjoys a Grampus Smoked Nut Brown Ale from Hellbender Brewing to celebrate a beloved amphibian.

00:42:50 - Kristina also has a new book coming out about the true story of French teenagers resisting the Nazi occupation titled Flowers in the Gutter , available for pre-order now!

00:51:31 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like livestreams; we’re not really sure how they work. This particular PaleoPOW was actually recorded during a Patreon livestream hangout where Ryan began by reading an e-mail from Tommy M. thanking us for his thesis, and then they brought in Patron Sam to help answer a question from RJ about how to decide what science to study when they go back to school.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

00:00:00 - The boys are back and they’re talking about meat. Specifically, how the idea that neanderthals ate mostly meat is being challenged by the idea that the chemistry can be tricked if the meat is already rotten when it’s eaten. Yum. But also, healthier diets are actually better for your carbon footprint , so put that moldy steak down and eat a vegetable already.

00:38:11 - And then wash it down with something. For example: Charlie is having some fancy juice . Ryan finally embraces an Old Pal with some Far North Spirit . And Patrick eschews the mixers for some wallet-friendly blended Scotch whisky .

00:44:38 - 3D scans are all the rage these days, but for paleontologists, they present a bit of a conundrum. When you scan a fossil, who owns the scan? The spread, or lack thereof, of this new kind of data, and what the future holds for the field is discussed.

01:06:42 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like scanned fossils; everyone is willing to fight over them. Patrick begins by giving an overdue thanks to recurring PayPal donor Richard P. Thanks, Richard! Creepy Jeff has been catching up via the SoundCloud archive and has a perplexing martian question for Charlie. And Ryan fields a voicemail from Sean about how to sign up to be a part of this whole Patreon thing.

00:00:00 - After seeing a twitter thread about a recent publication, Ryan invited Jesse Alston (@IntegratEcology ) on the show to talk about that paper and his scientific journey. They met up in Laramie and started with the latter, which is this segment.

00:33:30 - A brief interlude wherein Ryan is joined by Joe to discuss beverages. Joe is having leftover apple juice , and Ryan is having a cocktail in a can that he gussied up with some fancy homemade ice.

00:42:05 - Since Ryan and Jesse were chatting at Coal Creek Tap in Laramie, they’re also having a drink. Ryan is having a Wyoming Toad Rye IPA , which prompts a discussion of a very rare montane amphibian. Jesse is having the Molly Blond Belgian Blonde , which seems to involve a dog. The rest of the segment is spent discussing Jesse et al.’s new paper which challenges some of the things we’ve talked about before regarding carnivore reintroduction and its knock-on effects. And be sure to check out Jesse’s podcast Field Surveys .

01:10:04 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like reintroducing a species, you never quite know if it’ll work out. After a quick reading of a twitter exchange with Kendal T. , Joe reads an e-mail from Karl M. about the fraught topic of our increasing use of robots for war (Joe recommends the movie Good Kill for further exploration of the topic). We get to lighten things up a little with another e-mail from Zoe S. and also by granting a Patreon thesis to Patron Tom D. who has written a tome titled: Monitoring the sociological impacts of zombie reintroduction to the sustainability school walking routes for students of the New California Republic (NCR) via Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) . Thanks, Tom! If you need a good summer read, Ryan wrote a review of Underland for Science Magazine , which you can purchase via our Amazon Affiliate link .

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Lamb And Wolf - Poddington Bear

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Utah State University journalism professor Matthew LaPlante (@mdlaplante ), who teaches science graduate students how to communicate better all while doing #SciComm himself. They chat about Matthew's approach to helping scientists find the type of outreach that works best for them, amongst many other tangents.

00:23:53 - Impassioned conversation can lead to a powerful thirst, and this episode Ryan is staying hydrated with his trusty new water bottle. Get your own and show the dehydration haters who’s boss!

00:27:04 - The conversation continues. Matthew has a new book out, Superlative: The Biology of the Extremes , but instead he and Ryan mostly talk about his Utah Public Radio show UnDisciplined , which is also released as a podcast. Ryan was even on their April Science News Roundup which you can listen to now.

00:50:37 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like journalism; an important facet of society that we must protect. Ryan riding solo this episode so cranking through a few things like an e-mail from Julie S. harkening back to the long-forgotten episode 115 and a message from Bob M. about the more recent STEAM-focused episode 303 . Worth noting that to celebrate the paperback edition of Soonish , The Weekly Weinersmith has returned with 10 new interviews for you to enjoy. Go check it out! And finally, a voicemail from Holly S. confirming that the voicemail line is indeed still active. Thanks for calling in, Holly!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Comma - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - Recorded live at the annual meeting of AAAS , Ryan is joined by Jason McDermott (@BioDataGanache ) and Matteo Farinella (@matteofarinella ), two comic creating scientists who ran a session titled: Scientists Who Draw Comics: The Double Life of Visual Science Communicators, which you know Ryan would be all about.

00:28:23 - Ryan’s wife Juliana joins him for a drink to break up the segments. They share an Astral Weeks by Right Proper Brewing in DC and its fine. For this episode, we also declare the drinks segment to be unofficially sponsored by James and his wonderful Isotope - The Comic Book Lounge .

00:33:26 - In the second half of Ryan’s conversation with Jason and Matteo they continue to talk about crafting comics centered around science. They’re both written about the topic before so you can read either or both pieces, Drawing Connections by Jason and Science Comics' Super Powers by Matteo. And if you want to support their work further, Jason does a webcomic called Red Pen/Black Pen and Matteo has been involved in a number of graphic novels you can buy via our affiliate link on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2VuiuJW

00:52:58 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like comics; people think they outgrow them, but they’re wrong. We begin with Juli recommending a few comics like Wicked + Divine , Paper Girls , and some artsy European comics by Jean-Pierre Gibrat . Next, Ryan has an e-mail from former guest of the show Martín trying to reassure Ryan about getting trapped in a water bubble in space, as mentioned during a recent iFanboy appearance . And Ryan shows Juli some dinosaur and comic themed drawings sent in by Sheli H.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode: Charcoal Lines - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - This episode we’re thrilled to be joined by comedian Shane Mauss (@shanecomedy ), currently touring his Stand Up Science show around the county and happy enough to sit down and chat with Ryan about it. In the first segment they talk about the way Shane thinks about comedy mathematically, growing up, and sloth poop because Ryan can’t help himself.

00:21:59 - Patrick and Charlie stop by to have a drink. Charlie is being refreshed by a Starbucks Refresher whereas Patrick is powering through some Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve in his quest to find a Scotch whisky he likes. Ryan tests out a Bittermilk No. 1 Handcrafted Cocktail Mixer which is… fine.

00:28:18 - In part two of our conversation with Shane we talk about what it’s like to do comedy about evolution in rural parts of the US and what scientists can learn from comedians about getting a message out to a sometimes hostile audience. You can hear the rest of their conversation on the “Sloths + Fossils” episode of Shane’s Here We Are podcast out now! Shane is touring with his comedy and has a new documentary out on streaming, Pyschonautics . Check it all out!

00:55:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like comedy; laughable. Ryan has an e-mail from Jon O. who appreciates the careful distinction between Creationists and other Christians. Patrick has an e-mail from a less irate Graeme N. about naked apes and potential shared beers. Charlie opines on molten salt reactors for Patron Matt R. who also doesn’t want a BSso thesis and since we can’t force a degree on someone that’ll just have to be that. Let us know if you’re ever read to submit and wrap up, Matt but for now: [file not found, degree requirements incomplete, BSso not awarded]. Charlie also wants folks to know that his department has a new degree if they’re thinking about going to school and not sure what to study. Ryan recently appeared on the UnDisciplined podcast for their April Science News Roundup and the Retro Movie Roundtable to discuss Disney’s live action early 90s The Three Musketeers . Plus he was featured in a AAAS piece about volunteering at his local high school . And to top it all off, Ryan and Abe are doing the first ever Patreon hangout this Sunday (May 5th) from 7—8PM EDT. If you’re a patron, we hope to see you there!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode: Good Times - Poddington Bear

00:00:00 - Thanks to the wonders of isotopic geochemistry, scientists have a found a link between the genocide of the native peoples of the Americas and a carbon drawdown that temporarily cooled global temperatures (Open access paper here: Koch et al. 2019 ). Doesn’t seem like a great option for thwarting climate change, but good to know regardless.

00:21:45 - Ben wanted something interesting and managed to find Grace Brand Peanut Punch, which he loves. Patrick returns to his roots with a little Gentleman Jack, which gives Ryan a chance to expound on bourbon vs. TN whiskey. Yay. Ryan is also in need of some True Respite, which happens to be the name of the brewery that made the beer Alpin Haus , which he is enjoying.

00:30:08 - For decades there have been concerns about growing human populations, but a recent book, Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline , explores the idea that as the developing world continues to develop population growth might stall or even reverse . What happens if we actually run out of people? Many sci-fi scenarios and references are discussed.

00:50:52 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like population trends, they both require a minimum replacement rate to be stable. First, we have a BSso thesis to confer to Patron Bradley S. who has done the work and submitted: It’s the end of the world as we know, but do you feel fine? Meta-analysis of happiness indices regarding impending climate-mediated anti-Malthusian events . Thanks, Bradley! Next, Ben has an update from Drake H. on his (slightly erroneous) claims regarding coyote pack dynamics and the role of carnivore conservation and hunting. Last, Kyle W. wants to know what’s up with t-shirts and other merch ? Listen in and find out!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

P.S. We didn’t realize when we picked this theme that it was already the title of a book. If you’re interested in that you can get the book here: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Music for this episode: Sage the Hunter - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - In our final AGU episode, Abe and Ryan host a roundtable discussion with some of the researchers who took the train from Scripps Oceanographic Institute (@scripps_ocean ) in San Diego all the way to DC as part of their #trAinGU initiative that they've been doing for several years now. You may have gotten a glimpse of this chat if you follow us or Scripps on twitter . In no particular order we chatted with: Wesley Neely (@SIOHydrogeodesy ), Adrian Doran , Dara Goldberg (@dara_berg_ ), and Margaret Lindeman (@maaahge ).

We begin with their science, each of there abstracts can be read here (they're in the same order as listed above):

The Ups and Downs of California’s Central Valley from GPS-enhanced InSAR

Lateral heterogeneity of the upper oceanic lithosphere surrounding Hawaii

Multi-Sensor Natural Hazard Structural Monitoring at the UC San Diego Geisel Library

Ocean Warming Drives Increased Mass Loss at 79 North Glacier, Northeast Greenland

00:37:40 - Joe enjoys another drink from his local poke place, this time a ume juice drink. Ryan and Abe are sharing a Partner Ship collaboration beer from Heavy Seas and Maine Brewing Co. , who contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Clean Water Fund , and that seems like a no brainer as a good thing.

00:43:50- And then we talk about why taking the train to scientific meetings can send an important message about how we each manage our own personal carbon footprint as well as how much fun a multi-day train trip sounds . You can see tweets from past trips and follow along the next time they embark with the hashtag #trAinGU .

01:02:07 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like train journeys, they’re best when they stay on the rails. We begin with the immense pleasure of grating a BSSO, this time to Patron Leah A. The title of her thesis is: Testing the efficacy of supersonic nuclear-powered mag-lev trains as high-capacity rapid evacuation vectors during massive tectonic events: derailing the strike-slip damage of the San Andreas. Thanks, Leah! Next, Abe has an e-mail from IRL friend of the show Morgan Marshall, who has questions about a certain city-wide destruction movie starring Dwayne Johnson , which doesn’t narrow things down as much as one might think. And Joe reads an impromptu tweet about the show from artist Kat MacDonald (@macdokat ) which just gives us all the warm and fuzzies. Finally, a brief reminder that the back catalog of Joe’s show Technically Speaking is still available on Soundcloud here.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit: Take a Tiny Train - Blue Dot Sessions

00:00:00 - Dr. Heather Ford (@hl_ford ), who was featured alongside a certain Paleopal for National Fossil Day , meets up with Ryan at Atlas Brew Works with her pup Sammy to talk about her work as a paleocenagropher, which apparently involves shooting lasers at tiny fossils to take the ocean’s temperatures .

00:28:18 - Since they’re already at a brewery, why not have a drink? Heather has the Blood Orange Gose and Ryan is having the Coffee Common , both from Atlas Brew Works , obviously. And thanks to the folks at the brewery for letting us record there!

00:31:45 - Back in the studio for drinks round two! Charlie’s up first with some more Ito En unsweetened green tea to get that sweet sweet caffeinated buzz. Patrick is trying to confront past demons with some Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scotch whisky . And Ryan mixes up an artichoke manhattan by adding in a little Cynar .

00:39:52 - In part two of our conversation with Heather, we chat about her work examining gender and racial equity in speaking opportunities at meetings such as AGU . Get a peak behind the scenes of how big meetings are organized, some thoughts on what allies can do to pull their weight more, and advice to young folks just getting started in their scientific careers.

01:11:09 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the ocean, they say they have no memory. First up, longtime listener Edward A. has completed the requirements for a BSso in part with a thesis titled: Foremost ramifications: Sexual dimorphism in metabolic processing of ethanol versus caffeine in Scottish foraminifera. Thanks for supporting the show, Edward! Next up, Frank O. has done a deep dive into some old episodes of ours and has thoughts. This leads to a discussion of whether or not it’s worth debating science with deniers (related: Ryan’s episode for Skeptoid countering some common and less common creationist claims ). We end with an e-mail from Aleesa S. who follows up on our publishing discussion in episode 295 with a thought about the publish-or-perish paradigm and the role scientific societies might play in the future of publishing.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music credit:
Drop of Water In The Ocean - Broke For Free

00:00:00 - Jill Shipman and Brandon Gellis join us to talk about their AGU eLightning session titled Art and Science: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Data Exploration and Communication . We talk about this novel presentation format, one of the featured talks, and Jill’s collaboration to make music using infrasonic recordings from a volcano (which serves as the featured music for this episode!).

00:30:53 - One thing that can make folks more musical is a drink, so let’s have one! Kelly classes up the joint with a Cabernet Sauvignon from J. Lohr. Ryan, inspired by Backwards Distilling in Wyoming, attempts a Rum & Coke Old Fashioned with Mexican Coke syrup and Doctor Bird rum . It’s all a bit much. Joe doesn’t know the implications of his Faygo Rock & Rye , but Ryan has some ideas about rock candy whiskey and juggalos .

00:41:59 - We start the second segment chatting about Brandon’s work using drones with scientific sensors to make art, and about the deeper connections of what it means to be an artist that focuses on using the cutting edge of technology to push the boundaries of art. Find out more and Jill and Brandon’s projects are their websites, http://www.brandongellis.com/ and http://jillshipman.com/ , respectively.

00:59:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanoes; they occasionally decide to shake things up. We shake things up this episode by not doing our normal order of things. Kelly starts off with a kind comment from Patreon supporter J. Crichton, an individual with obvious great taste. Next, Joe has an email from Steve O. about how we would build a multi-generational starship to colonize new worlds. We get into it. If you’re interested in some good fiction on the topic, check out Seveneves and The Expanse series . And if you’re interested in how emerging technologies might make these sorts of trips possible, check out Kelly’s book Soonish , which comes out in paperback, wait for it, soon. Finally, we turn our attention to Patron Bradley S., who has earned a BSso with his thesis: All Aboard: Multi-generational transitions from mutualism to parasitism in a space-faring human meta-micro-biome: There and not back again. See ya when you get back, Brad, and thanks! Kelly is working hard on some upcoming BAHFest shows , so get your tickets soon, Joe is looking for volunteers for upcoming Baja SAE events, and Ryan has recently been on iFanboy , so check all that out while you wait for another episode from us!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:
Pele’s Fury - Trevor Adams

00:00:00 - In part two of our AGU shows we begin with dunes! Ryan chats with Tom Ashley (@ThomasCAshley ) and Rob Mahon (@RobertCMahon ) about their work looking at how dunes form and move in a variety of conditions on, and off , Earth! And students, Robert is looking for grad students, so check out his website if you’re interested. The topic reminds Charlie of this old book a guy wrote about dunes because he was bored at war.

00:37:44 - All this talk of particle hops gives one a powerful thirst. Patrick returns to an old favorite to see if he still like it and it’s Port ! It’s sweet, but which definition of that word you use is up to you. Charlie is in his office so pops the tab on a Tangerine La Croix . Fancy. Ryan keeps it cryptic with a Skrrt! Skrrt! from Braven Brewing Company and their potentially Brachiolope inspired logo.

00:45:46 - Next up, Mike O’Connor tells us about his work poking holes in the ground in the Arctic Circle and what that might mean for future carbon emissions . Plus, Mike spent some time on the policy side of science and tells us about his experience working with lawmakers and how scientists can be better lobbyists for our cause.

01:16:13 -PaleoPOWs are a lot like congress; constantly needing to be reminded what to do. Brachiolope artist and patron supporter Sonya A. has earned herself a thesis. After some deliberation, we land on: The aeolian effects of sandy and tundra environments on the sexual dimorphism of the nares of Brachiolope podcastensis: Implications for sexual selection and mating vocalization across climatic extremes . Our first thesis featuring a Brachiolope, congrats, Sonya! Next up, Charlie reads an e-mail from Tom S. letting us know an important fact about Blade Runner, which leads to a brief discussion of the original and sequel films. Finally, Chen R. L. wants Ryan to finally learn Git and/or GitHub , and provides a video with some instructions. Nice try, Chen.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

River Below - Billy Talent

Tangerine - Led Zeppelin

Beneath the Ice - Jeremy Soule

00:00:00 - Photographer, filmmaker, and lapsed geomorphologist James Balog (@james_balog ) joins Ryan and Abe to talk about his new film The Human Element , which screened at AGU and is available to stream now! After quizzing him about his Masters’ research , we spend some time learning about the inspiration for his new film and the challenges that come with trying to tell the stories of real people affected by climate change.

00:39:54 - A spicy, salty, bubbly, beverage would incorporate all four elements, but would you drink it? Joe goes the sour route with a Choya Yuzu place, to make up for Ben recent lack of Asian beverages. Thanks for stepping up, Joe. Ryan and Abe are sharing a crowler of Creek Life (Denali) from Attaboy Beer picked up during a recent PA/MD adventure.

00:47:25 - Because Ryan is bad at saying no to things, he wound up running a podcasting workshop at AGU with Abe and Jackson Watkins (@ProbablyJackson ) of the Humanizing Science podcast. Ryan chatted with Jackson briefly prior to the workshop at the meeting, then he and Abe talk a bit about the aftermath of teaching scientists to podcast.

01:04:20 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like humans, messy but loveable. First up, Joe asks us to come up with a thesis for former freeloading but now Patron Tommy M. Based on a supposed love of plants, Tommy’s thesis is: Freeloading in the plant word: Anthropogenic carbon surplus pushes vegetation to the extremes… are we heading from Anthropocene to a new Plantacene? Thanks for supporting the show, Tommy! Abe is up next with an e-mail about Czech pronunciation (as developed by Jan Hus ) from our old friend Robert Š. Did we get it right? Who knows! (Robert, that’s who.) Finally, Ryan gets corrected by Will S. regarding stream law! That’s right, you now know your legal rights regarding naturally-occurring rivulets of water. Enjoy!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

You Better Believe It - Vintage Trouble

Beech Creek Dirge - Old Crow Medicine Show

Human - Big City Rock

00:00:00 - To celebrate our 300th episode and make up for skipping Thanksgiving this year we’re doing an all feedback segment! Patrick starts off with an e-mail from Stephen H. who has spotted a potential relative of the Brachiolope (see below) and wants our take on its potential evolutionary pathway. Ryan comes next with an e-mail from Prof. Ken C. trying to help settle a long-standing debate about the appropriate prefix for supervillains versus superheroes. Charlie follows up on the pigeonhole debate with many facts from potential etymologist Ascii Aardvark, even if Charlie can’t remember why said facts are relevant. And finally, Abe prefers Icelandic to Spanish when it comes to describing the ice features found on Europa as reported by Emma G. Thanks, everyone!

00:41:54 - Drinks are better with friends, and thankfully we have some. Patrick keeps it popular with a gin and tonic, hailing back to the early days of the show without even realizing it, made using Explorer’s Gin and Fever Tree tonic . Lime type remains unspecified. Charlie has Ito En Oi Ocha green tea from Japan to help him keep his wits about him. Ryan reflects that with a Mirror Mirror that’s been aging since before the show began, no joke. And Abe relies on some Rocket Science to get him through to the next segment.

00:50:05 - Abe surprises the others with a round of SCIENCE… IN… JEOPARDY!! Patrick, Charlie, and Ryan face off against each other in a game designed for 5th graders (play along here ). Who will prevail? You’ll have to listen to find out…

01:33:02 - No need for a traditional PaleoPOW segment this week since we covered it at the beginning of the show, instead Ryan has a quick conversation with Tim Dobbs , audio engineer and host of Encyclopedia Brunch , about his history with the show and various other nonsense, as well as asking the others what the show means to them and ending everything with a melodious (or cacophonous) “sort of” chorus submitted by y’all.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their “sort ofs” for the chorus, you helped make a milestone extra special!

Music for this episode:
Cold Forgiver - Ha Ha Tonka
Trick Mirror - The Mountain Goats
I Lost On Jeopardy - Weird Al Yankovic

00:00:00 - This episode we’re joined by Sarah McAnulty (@SarahMackAttack ), a Ph.D. candidate studying the immune system of the bobtail squid , which is delightfully cute and glows in the dark to avoid detection. You can see some of her research in action in this video: Bobtails + Bacteria = BFF . Finally, according to Sarah and Alton Brown, EAT ALL THE SQUIDS THAT YOU CAN, THE OCEAN DEPENDS ON IT.

00:24:15 - Squids live in the drink and Abe stops by for one. He’s enjoying, as best he can, a Native Species from Blue Mountain Brewery. Ryan thinks the call is coming from inside the house with his Inside Job IPA from Henhouse Brewing, which is mercifully west coast in styling.

00:29:20 - We’re back with Sarah chatting about her ongoing outreach effort, Skype a Scientist , which works to connect researchers with classrooms and other venues that want to have a conversation with a real live scientist. Ryan is a participant and a big fan. If you or someone you know could be a participant on either side of the equation, consider signing up! You can also support the project on Patreon .

00:53:23 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like squids, or are they? First up, Tyler D. is deserving of a Patreon thesis, and based on some assumptions of his location and interests, he gets: Potential pharmacological effects of Cephalopod spaghettification in the preparation of Cincinnati-style chili: do oodles of noodles decrease oodles of squids in the world’s oceans? Thanks, Tyler! Next, Gary K. went to GSA 2018 and sent us some notes, which prompts a brief discussion of conference attendance strategies.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

Afterglow - Chvrches

Bubbles In My Beer - Willie Nelson

Call Me - Blondie

00:00:00 - A quick intro to let everyone know that this episode features an interview with former guest of the show (episode 97 ) Dr. Nick Pyenson recorded live at Room 11 in D.C. Thanks for Room 11 for having us!

00:01:49 - Nick Pyenson joins us to talk about his new book Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures with illustrations by Alex Boersma . A free-wheeling discussion ensues over a couple of burnt sugar old-fashioned cocktails. We talk a lot about whales and their portrayal in the book, but also mention some other things to check out which you can find here:

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina

Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth by Adam Frank

Contact by Carl Sagan

You can follow Nick and his future adventures online via Twitter (@PyensonLab ) and Instagram (@pyensonlab )

01:12:59 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like new year celebrations, noisy but with a sense of finality. This week we thank Ian C. for his time as a recurring donor to the show. Thanks, Ian! Here’s to another year of science with all you lovely people.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

Humpback whalesong

I Spy - Guster

00:00:00 - We start the show the somber story of humanity's continued impact on global climate as recently re-outlined in the Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States . We talk about what the report says, how it maybe says it in a new way (hint: it's the economy ), and what we can maybe do next to help mitigate it.

00:31:41 - But a hot earth doesn’t necessarily mean hot drinks. Patrick has a Proper Job , and he’s drinking one too. Ryan bought a beer based on art alone because the Hazy by Jailbreak Brewing Company can has an image of a sloth on it, even if the beer is yet another New England IPA. And Charlie keeps it on the level with some regionally-specific-ish kombucha from his local Kombucha Town.

00:40:34 - To lighten things up in the second segment, we double the number of stories so we can talk about how a new fossil turtle clears up some mysteries about their sudden appearance (turns out it's about the shoulders, not the shell), and a global database of animal urine which you can access if you have any great ideas about how to put that work.

00:58:14 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like turtles, they can be hard to get out of their shells. This episode we owe Patreon supporter Liz the thesis title for her BSSo and we come up with: Chelonial anal breathing colon effects of urine balance in lacustrine carbon sequestration . Thanks, Liz! Patrick also has thanks to give because we were featured on a list of the top science podcasts ! And finally, Charlie has iTunes reviews both critical and praising from Wompajack and metalhardcoreguy, respectively.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music:
Too hot - The Kinks
Ginger - Hooverphonic
Turtle Rhapsody - Orchestra On The Half Shell

00:00:00 - For the first half of the show we’re featuring an interview recorded at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s annual meeting in Albuquerque, NM! The interview features a longtime friend of the show Brandon Bourassa (@CrocGypsy ) and is hosted(?!) by former guest Khai Button. It’s a free-wheeling conversation, but archosaurs are the main focus, from actual fossils to the so-called “living fossils” that are modern crocs.

You can check out Khai's recent paper on Therizinosaurs (personal favorite taxa of mine) here: Incremental growth of therizinosaurian dental tissues: implications for dietary transitions in Theropoda

And you can learn more about CrocFest, which helps raise money for crocodylian conservation around the world, here: https://www.crocfest.org/

00:41:30 - New Mexico is pretty dry so fight off being parched with a drink. Both Matt and Ryan are enjoyed whiskey today, Matt’s from the Emerald Isle and Ryan’s in the form of a 5-spice cocktail leftover from Thanksgiving.

00:48:43 - For our second segment, In Defense of Plant's host Matt Candeias (@indfnsofplnts ) weighs in on the issue of invasive Eucalyptus trees in northern California. They've basically been there since the gold rush, so we're all used to seeing (and smelling) them, but should we reconsider our acceptance of non-native taxa in these situations? Spoiler: probably yes.

01:04:08 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like California Eucalyptus, working out for some but a real risk for others. First up, Ryan didn’t rig the system but it turns out guest from the first segment Brandon Bourassa is due for a Patron thesis. With Matt’s help they devise: Gastrolith wear and tear in the gizzard based on fragmentary Eucalyptus leaf material of the paleofloras of Isla Nublar: Did these animals all die as recently as 1994? Thanks, Brandon! Matt then reads a flattering message from John B. about fossil hunting, mountain biking, and beer; some of our favorite topics for sure!

Matt also has a book out if you're interested in learning about plants in convenient text form! You can get it here: Flora: Inside the Secret World of Plants

And Ryan will be recording interviews for the show at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in D.C. , and hosting a podcasting workshop as well as performing a story at the Story Collider show on December 13th !

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music:
Albuquerque, Nm - Great American Taxi
Gan Ainm / The Humours Of Whiskey / Leslie's March - Solas
Down Under [New Recording] - Colin Hay

00:00:00 - Patrick and Charlie return to discuss Martian colonization, but not just whether or not we could, but whether or not we should. Technical concerns aside, what do we risk ethically if we decide to make Mars a haven for wayward humans? And are we already too late to even worry about it? (Also, be sure to check out some of the work done by Charlie’s old acquaintance Margarita Marinova )

00:22:24 - Mars may not have much water but we do. Charlie, in the earliest time zone, goes first with his Kombucha Town Cascadian Hop Ceylon Tea. Ryan follows up with a slightly misidentified Hop Overboard from Supreme Core Cider. Patrick ledes with a big life announcement, then explains the beer scene of his new home, and his choice of the Fursty Ferret from Badger Beers for this week’s show.

00:35:42 - For our second second, we tackle an old favorite: the inequities of scientific published. It may sound dry, but the stakes are high. Namely, how did a group of highly educated and motivated people find themselves over a barrel for getting their work out in there in the age of the internet? In a word: capitalism. Any ideas how to fix it? Let us know!

00:59:36 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like publishing; it goes smoother with an editor. Ryan begins with a BSso for superfan and patron Caryne H. For her degree, she wrote When Planets Fight Back: The Unintended Consequences of Hominid Parasitism on the Aresian Atmosphere and the Homicides It Led To. Thanks, Caryne! Charlie reads an excellent 5-star iTunes review from Matt449, and Patrick has some overdue ‘Summer of Love’ feedback from Zach G. Lastly, if you’re in the DC area, check out the DMV AWG , an org Ryan’s been helping out with, and other than that, just keep being your scientifical best!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time) - Elton John

This Is England - The Clash

Money Maker - The Black Keys

FIRST OFF: GO VOTE

00:00:00 - Asher Elbein (@asher_elbein ) is here to chat with Ryan about his journey to becoming a science journalist. Topics include: being a Bitter Southerner , snake handling, a new Odyssey translation, how great the show Justified was, and more!

00:27:26 - Speaking of milking snakes, let’s have a drink. Asher works through some water purchased when the Texas taps couldn’t be trusted. Ryan explains and enjoys a crowler of the Main Drag Double from Molly Pitcher Brewing Company in PA .

00:35:28 - In part two we shift to more bird-focused topics… sort of. We were going to talk about some fossil bird lungs , but it’s fall and the siren song of the now Midwestern mothman (also known as: an owl ) calls out to Ryan, so they mostly talk about that and all the weird folkloric goodness therein. If you’re into spooky Appalachian tales and have already read The Mothman Prophecies , consider supporting Asher’s Kickstarter Anna O’Brien: Ghost days Anthology .

01:17:27 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like owls: scary when encountered in an unexpected place. We give our long overdue thanks to Denise C. for being a recurring donor in the old Paypal days. Thanks, Denise!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music:

You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive - The Ruby Friedman Orchestra

Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard

To the Ghosts Who Write History Books - The Low Anthem

00:00:00 - We begin with some very old beer (or slightly alcoholic porridge , if you prefer) before moving on to one of the latest advances in brewing technology (e.g., making yeast mimic hops ), so covering the entirety of all beer in one segment. No big deal.

00:31:53 - We were talking about beer so let’s have some! Tim has a Tropic Plunder IPA from TW Pitchers Brewing Company. Abe then takes his time telling us about an exotic Pale Ale procured from Gæðingur Öl Brugghús in Iceland. And Ryan literally rolls the dice to decide upon some Gray Wolf Timber Sassafras finished gin , a plant relevant to some recent adventures.

00:43:24 - When the earth quakes, sometimes the real damage isn’t done by the seismic waves themselves but by the liquefaction they induce. Abe explains and also gives some non-legally-binding advice for how to escape quicksand. Some more resources:

Liquefaction did more damage than shaking in Christchurch, NZ

When Earthquakes Liquefy Soil, Devastation Can Follow

Good animation of how liquefaction happens

Mexico City’s geology and earthquakes

Make your own non-Newtonian fluid

USGS Earthquake preparedness

CDC Zombie preparedness

How to escape quicksand (probably, but just try to avoid it in the first place)

01:18:16 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like seismic events, very difficult to predict. First up, former guest of the show and patron Robert “Doc Sloth ” McAfee has earned a BSso in addition to his Ph.D. Robert’s less legitimate thesis title is: Liquefaction-based agitated fermentation of H. lupulus derived beverages: fermenting beyond the barrel with shaken, not stirred, yeast strains. Thanks, Robert! Next, audiophile Tim presents a voicemail from Karen in Austin, TX who uses science to solve crimes and wanted to tell us how she got started on that path. Finally, Ryan has an e-mail from Lucas H. who thanks us for some continuing education inspiration for which he is very welcome. Our pleasure *hat tip*. Be sure to check out Tim’s podcast Encyclopedia Brunch or if you’re in the Bay Area meetup with him to make a robot . Ryan recently appeared on These Are Not The Nerds You’re Looking For to talk about Star Wars: Clone Wars and is giving a talk at the Geological Society of Washington if you’re in D.C. and are into that sort of thing.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music:
When Bitter Met Sweet - Honeycutters
Sassafras Roots - Green Day
Shakey Ground - The Temptations

00:00:00 - We are thrilled to be joined by Kelly’s collaborator Scott Egan , whose lab at Rice University recently found an example of parasitism on a parasite . No matter how much we’ve talked about it before, we still have a lot of questions of the complexities of these interactions and some harsh judgments for the leeching lifestyle.

00:35:59 - Nothing like a drink after you’ve been drained. Kelly claims to enjoy a Potter’s cider with added hops and guava . Ryan continues to lament the sorry state of East Coast IPAs but still likes his Juiced In Time . And Abe gets weird with Wicked Weed’s Freak of Nature .

00:42:47 - You may have heard that the Katla volcano in Iceland is about to erupt, but those reports have the author of the paper that got it all started shaking her head. Abe explains why some CO2 emissions aren’t the same thing as an impending eruption. And if you think that it seems like volcanoes are going off more than usual, turns out that psychology more so than geology . Fortunately the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program is happy to keep you up to speed on all the magma that’s about to spew.

01:11:39 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanoes; they’re both closely monitored, but why? After a brief announcement we get back to the fun stuff, and first up is a BSso thesis for Patron Julie S. Julie studied Heat-seeking Haemosporidians: Parasitic Drivers of Human Inhabitation of Thermally-regulated Volcanic Ice Caves . Thanks, Julie! Kelly has an e-mail from Travis about how great former guest Abby Howard and her book Dinosaur Empire are. We agree, obviously. Finally, Abe has an iTunes review from a pretty august author questioning our topic priorities .

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

We Intertwined - The Hush Sound

Weeds - Marina and the Diamonds

Prove the World Wrong - Ha Ha Tonka

00:00:00 - Matt from In Defense of Plants joins Joe and Ryan to talk about F.R.E.D., which is an acronym for a root-database that just reached version 2.0! Why does having a bunch of root data available matter? What’s the point of databases in general? Listen and find out!

00:22:43 - Roots drink, we drink. It’s all the same. Ryan has a typically convoluted thing in the form of a Papes Off the Crust Appalachian-style kvass ale brewed with pumpernickel bread, apples, fig leaves, and coconuts. Juli weighs in with her thoughts and the dog gets excited. Joe can’t really answer our questions about his Reading Draft Creamy Red Birch Beer . Sap extraction discussion ensues. Matt keeps things sharp with a Baileys-spiked Caribou coffee .

00:34:23 - Just when you think you know how to measure a thing, the standard may change. As whimsical as we get about THE kilogram over in France (aka Big K), the International System (SI) may be ready to move on to something more fundamental for a few of our favorite units .

00:46:55 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like precise instrumentation; easy to use improperly. First up, Patron Magnus C. has earned a fake degree by writing the fake thesis: A Mole of Nutrition: Modeling Soil Aeration of Fine Root Web Systems via a fossorial mammal . Thanks, Magnus! Next up, Joe reads an iTunes review from TheBoomstick! And Ryan wraps it all up with a tweet from @MountainVole recommending the show to a friend on Twitter , which is just the best.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music in the episode:

Fred Jones, Pt. 2 - Ben Folds

Cold Bread - Johnny Flynn

Who’s Gonna Take The Weight? - Gang Starr

00:00:00 - Sometimes life finds a way, to get in the way, so instead of the show we were supposed to record, here’s another from the archives. This time, we’re rolling back the clock to October 2014, mere moments after the live show you heard in episode 214 . After our show, Kyle Hill (@Sci_Phile ) took the stage to do a Because Science live panel discussion lead by him featuring Patrick House (@drmisterpatrick ), Zach Weiner (@ZachWeiner ), and our own Ryan Haupt. Topics in part one include:

Jurassic World’s lack of feathered dinosaurs

Asimov ’s Laws of Robotics

Star Trek communicators

Cordyceps parasites in the video game The Last of Us

Toxoplasma

Ulcers and personality

Disease attenuation

‘Mutated’ neutrinos from the film 2012

and just what is going on with the Hulk

00:33:15 - Ryan breaks in for a moment to insert a drinks segment and he’s having some sherry, which sounds like something fancy from a Poe story , but he mostly just uses it for cooking .

00:34:10 - Part 2 of the panel begins with a discussion of more realistic science fiction, including the books Blindsight , Solaris , and the Space Odyssey series , and movies like Upstream Color, Deranged , Interstellar , and even Iron Man . Plus how organizations like the Science and Entertainment Exchange (see episode 40 ) can help steer Hollywood in the right scientific direction. We end with a discussion of the media’s role in make people afraid of things like diseases, and also what’s really scary from a scientific perspective.

Thanks again to Kyle for putting together the panel, make sure to check out his Youtube series Because Science from the Nerdist.com !

01:02:34 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like panels, it’s good to have some diversity. Only one this week and it comes from Thomas K., who has kindly contributed some money via Paypal and has some feedback regarding the evolution of the show, and our recent attempts to do other types of content like fossil hunting!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music for this episode:

Don’t Look Back In Anger - Oasis

Sherry - Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

First Step - Hans Zimmer

00:00:00 - Abe, Bev, and Ryan went fossil hunting! This time they took a trip out to the shores of Chesapeake Bay, but first. What is the Chesapeake Bay, how did it get there, and what was the climate like when the fossils they ended up finding were forming? We chat about that, mostly informed by Roadside Geology of Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. and with a dramatic reading from Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States: With Localities, Collecting Tips, and Illustrations .

00:19:11 - Listen, the fossils have been there for millions of years, they can wait until after you've had a beer. After some prompting, Bev decides to go first with a Réserve Ale from Ponysaurus Brewing Co. Ryan's up next with some Starfire from Crooked Run Brewing which reveals a deep love of passionfruit. And Abe finishes the lineup with a HOPness Monster IPA leading to some pretty terrible 'dad' jokes.

00:29:19 - Next up, we get to the actual fossil hunting grounds . Results at Calvert Cliffs State Park are suboptimal, but after a stop at a local brewery , we're given some tips for a better beach and head to Brownies for much-improved collecting. To end, we give a breakdown of what we found , some grades to each site, and some tips and tricks for future fossil hunters to use to improve their odds of getting the best haul! Check out some of the photos from our expedition below!

01:16:10 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like fossil collecting; you have to be patient to get something good. First things first, we plug the kickoff event for the newly organized DMV AWG happening later this month. Be there! Next, Abe has an e-mail for new patron Kay S., which has a lot of good info to inform her BSso thesis title, which is: The statistical effect of 5-star hotels on fossil diversity: a comparative study between La Brea Tar Pits and Ashfall fossil beds. Thanks, Kay! Next up, Bev has a new 5-star iTunes review from Kramkjk, which forces Bev to reveal a terrible secret. Finally, Ryan has an e-mail from Morgan B. about science-y things to do on an upcoming trip to Panama.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music:
Bayview - Isle Heart of Courage - Two Steps from Hell Passion Is Accurate - The Kills Pulling Teeth - Green Day

00:00:00 - Back in 2015, Ryan was joined by writer Brian Switek (@Laelap s) for an evening of drinks and discussion of dinosaurs in pop culture. The chat begins with the then recently released Jurassic World , which Brian did some website content for, and goes forth from there.

00:43:22 - Since we never actually say it out loud, a modern-day interjection to point out that we were drinking bourbon whiskey.

00:45:01 - Part two of our chat. Some sense, some non-, and like most things, ends with zombies. Be sure to pre-order Brian's new book Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone , and consider supporting his work on Patreon .

01:35:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like rambling late-night conversations, in that they're nice to have sometimes and better with a friend. We're fighting to get our 5-star iTunes rating back, so we're very thankful for the reviews from Aleesa S and Panda-bear24. Thanks!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon !

Music:
Cups (Pitch Perfect's "When I'm Gone") - Anna Kendrick
I Wish I Was Still Drinking - Colin Hay
YOLO (feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar) - The Lonely Island

00:00:00 - This week Ryan is joined by Will Harris and David Moscato (@DMos150 ) from the Common Descent podcast. First up, we learn about the paleontology research they both did as Masters students at East Tennessee State University working at their Gray Fossil Site. Long story short: Will did gators , David did snakes (and other lizards).

00:58:55 - This week Ryan is the sole beer drinker (rare in a group of paleontologists) and he's bringing the funk with a Swedish-brewed Funkstarter . He's bracketed on both sides by Will and David each having a Dr. Pepper.

01:07:48 - Next up, we chat about the fun and the challenges of paleontology podcasting. You can subscribe to their podcast, Common Descent , on Podbean , follow and like them on Facebook and Twitter , watch the Q&A Ryan participated in on Youtube , and even sign up to support them on Patreon ! (Bonus: here's the mislabeled sloth tweet that so annoyed former guest Doc Sloth )

01:46:37 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like paleontology; sometimes they take a while. This time, Ryan reads an e-mail from Susan that brings up a very old discussion but also touches on the difficulties of trying to fit evolution into the curriculum when the focus is mainly "teaching to the test". Good, but frustrating, points. Thanks for writing in, Susan!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
In the Hills f Tennessee - Jimmie Rodgers
I'm a Pepper - Dr. Pepper Commercial
Who Tells Your Story (feat. Common & Ingrid Michaelson) - The Roots

00:00:00 - Scientists yet again found themselves baffled! That's right baffled! While they calmly waited for test results to confirm that the wolf-like animal shot by a Montana was indeed a wolf . Shocker. Anyways, turns out wolves cooperate with each other better than dogs do . Are dogs just broken wolves? That's what this study sought to test in a pretty clever way. Either way, they're good dogs, Brent .

00:41:41 - Ryan finally gets to take a drink and decides to crack open a half growler gifted to him from former guest of the show Jen Gallagher containing the Halleck Pale Ale from Chestnut Brew Works in WV. Ben mixes it up with some sort of clam miso beverage (soup?). Go home, Ben, you're... not drunk? Abe brings us back to center with a more believable Squatch Ale .

00:56:43 - Europa is a Jovian moon that probably has an ocean. If that ocean has life, that life will need food. That food may show up via some ice tectonics as proposed and modeled by a new paper. Somehow the sport of squash gets involved. Listen to find out why.

01:24:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like potentially lifeless oceans; they're both rife with possibility! Abe begins with a thesis for recurring Patron Sam L. We happen to know Sam likes spicy food, so his thesis is: Modeling capsaicin-induced lycanthropy in the McMurdo dry valleys of Antarctica: a test case for Europan werewolves. Thanks, Sam! Next up, Chelsea B. gets the supreme pleasure of telling Ryan he was wrong about something from episode 265 concerning rabbit digestion. Ryan realizes he has a lot to learn about foregut versus hindgut digestion and reads up a bit to try to set the record straight. Finally, Ben presents a 5-star iTunes review from Kyle that gives Ryan a chance to gloat, so things are almost immediately back to normal. *sigh*

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
The Underdog - Spoon
Sample In A Jar - Phish
The Ocean (Moon Version) - The Bravery

00:00:00 - Ryan and Juliana sit down with Kevin Hoch (@krhoch ) to talk about pterosaurs! They're not dinosaurs but they're still great. We begin with some pterosaur basics to make sure everyone is up to speed.

00:21:52 - Much like pterosaurs at presumably some point in the past, we are in Tulsa, OK. Kevin provides some beer, including a Bump in the Road from Dead Armadillo Craft Brewing for Ryan and Kevin, and a Sundown Wheat from Marshall Brewing Company for Juliana. PSA: Don't touch dead armadillos .

00:28:20 - Next we grill Kevin about his maters research where he took a close look at Rhamphorhynchus , including scans of a 3D skull from Germany. We also touch on the cryptid beast the "Ropen" thought by some to be pterosaurs that have survived to modern day (spoiler: they haven't ).

00:49:01 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the evolution of flight; they've both happened more than once. Just Ryan for this segment and he's got a question Liam T. about the limits of biology when it comes to identifying species , especially from the fossil record and our own hominid lineage .

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Reading Rainbow Theme Song
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad - Eric Bibb & Habib Koité
Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are joined by author Carl Zimmer to discuss his latest book: She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity

00:24:28 - In which Kelly and Ryan take a quick coffee break, even if Kelly goes decaf .

00:28:17 - Part two of our chat with Carl. If you simply must have more then you should definitely just get the book. You can find more books on Carl's website and follow him on Twitter @carlzimmer .

00:49:46 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like inherited traits, you think you can predict them, but it can always go wrong. First up, Patron Stu P. (AKA Stoop) gets a BSso thesis with the title: Growing a funny bone: how babies cells modify a mother’s laugh. Thanks, Stu! We also must thank modernarts for their recent 5-star iTunes review pushing us back up the charts!

Bonus fact: the tongue-twister inspired by a paleontologist

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Sons & Daughters - The Decemberists
Cup of Coffee - Johnny Cash
My Father's Eyes - Eric Clapton

00:00:00 - We're starting off this episode with a bit of news about the ongoing Kīlauea eruption in Hawaii. Abe explains the basics of what's happening and if you want updates you can read the USGS reports on the situation and follow their topical @USGSVolcanoes Twitter account . But for our actual first subject we're talking about hitting asteroids with HAMMERs because if they're coming for us, we better be ready. Joe tells us about the current state of our asteroid defense (HINT: not great) as well as some things we could do to beef up our meager defenses against an assured eventual threat.

00:26:19 - Nothing like existential terror to make on want a drink. Joe keeps it soft but bilingual with a Johnnie Ryan's Black Cherry Soda , and like most cherry sodas, he enjoys it. Abe blinds himself and finds out that he's enjoying a Stone Xocoveza , a hard one to guess even in the best of circumstances. And Ryan is having a Black Flag Mambo Sauce , which fortunately does not taste like actual mambo sauce because that would be weird.

00:33:56 - Predicting when volcanoes will go off is hard , we've covered that much before. But a new technique is aiming to make it just a little bit easier. Abe discusses the new idea, how it could help, and some of the continued hurdles that come up when trying to understand what's happening under our feet.

00:58:17 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like asteroid impacts, you know they're coming and they may hurt. First up, Patreon supporter Rich B. has completed his coursework and written a thesis titled: Love taps: Using bulk impactors to induce hammer shock for mapping crustal magma pathways in active volcanic edifices. Thanks, Rich! Next, Frank has sent in a story about old beer . Ryan has an update , and he and Abe disagree about whether this is a beer worth sampling. Finally, Joe has a voicemail from Jonathan in Illinois about the future of internal combustion engines. Joe is a big supporter of electric, and suggests you find out how your own vehicle stacks up here: How Clean is Your Electric Vehicle? You can call in and give us your results at 312-PALEOPALS (312-725-2672).

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music of this week's show:
No Hammer To Hold - The Milk Carton Kids
Cherry Cola - Eagles of Death Metal
Warning - Green Day

00:00:00 - We're doing another Anchor-themed clip show! Following up on episode 266 , we have another round of short audio clips that Ryan created for the podcast startup Anchor under the banner of Organized Curiosity (explanation of the name here ). Enjoy!

00:02:02 - Bio bios: Magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens )
00:07:12 - News: Bobcats are back! (in New Hampshire)
00:09:56 - Bio bios: Stag beetle (Lucanus cervus )
00:13:51 - Better know a root: iso-
00:16:35 - News: Turkeys circling goes viral
00:19:13 - Bio bios: Common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus )
00:23:28 - Better know a root: gyno-
00:26:55 - News: New continent found in the Pacific
00:30:40 - Bio bios: African civet (Civettictis civetta )
00:35:07 - News: Head of EPA says CO2 doesn't affect climate
00:40:19 - Q&A: How to read a scientific paper? (Two-parter! No link because it's all me, BABY!)
00:49:07 - Pi Day! What is pi?
00:53:00 - Pi Day! The history of a number

00:56:41 - PaleoPOWs are sort of like the opposite of anchors; they lift you up. This week we're trying to climb our way back to a 5-star iTunes rating, so Ryan reads a few recent reviews that are helping us get there. Thanks to jeffluckclub, Nd power, Willcrimson, Kittie396, and Steven767 for taking a moment to help us out!

Song for this week's show:
XXV - Broke For Free

00:00:00 - Abe, Joe, and Ryan are joined by volcanologist Jess Phoenix , who is stepping away from science to run for Congress in California's 25th district. In our first segment, we talk about how she got started in science with a strong outreach focus to help prepare the next generation of field scientists in her community with her organization Blueprint Earth .

00:28:42 - We take a break from trying to help to have a beverage. Abe tells the tale of Shackleton's failed Antarctic expedition that eventually led to some recovered Scotch whisky that has been recreated at a more affordable price point , which he enjoys with a little ice (probably not Antarctic ice though). You can read about the expedition in the graphic novel Shackleton: Antarctic Odysse y . Joe struggles his way through some wax to open his Indian Wells Brewing Co. Death Valley Black Cherry Soda , which he says is really good. Ryan makes a Drunk Uncle cocktail with some common (read: uncommon) ingredients using the same Scotch that Abe has. It's almost like they planned it!

00:40:16 - In part two of our chat with Jess, we talk about her decision to transition into the political realm and how she feels her scientific worldview shapes her position on various policies. Plus what lessons scientists can learn from Jess' experiences out on the campaign trail. If you want to learn more or are interested in donating or volunteering to her campaign, you can do so at her website , and follow along on Twitter and Facebook .*

01:04:56 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like campaign promises, we hope you believe them but understand if you don't. First up, we have a BSso to grant to patron Morgan Marshall, who writes in to tell us how excited he was to hear about research happening in his own backyard on a recent episode. His thesis title is: The effect of free coffee of observations of Fata Morgana within Fata Morgana in the Desolation Wilderness, CA. Thanks, M^2! Next up, Abe has an e-mail from Les I. in Canada who comes up with a Brachiolope Brew Pack. Help us out, home-brewers! Finally, Joe has a 5-star iTunes review from BoilerUp75 which is great even if the title throws a bit of a curveball.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Blueprint for a Slow Machine - 65daysofstatic
I Will Go Sailing No More - Randy Newman
Run Run Run - Phoenix

*But of course we have to point out that none of us live in her district so we can't vote for her nor should our interview be considered an explicit endorsement of her campaign. You know the drill.

00:00:00 - Ben and Ryan are joined by Ben's actual friend Miya Warrington. Miya studies the behavioral ecology of animal communication, which we spend the first segment discussing the generalities of the research and why this type of research is important. You can learn more about her research at her website or by checking out the comic Jorge Chan did about her work in Ph.D. Comics .

00:44:24 - Talking about talking is thirsty work, so Ben and Ryan enjoy a drink. Ben has a Thai basil soda from Portland that doesn't sound all that great, but Ryan really enjoys his Two Claw Rye IPA which, of course, leads to a discussion about crabbing.

00:59:27 - For the second part of our chat with Miya, we discuss her recently published paper about how noisy equipment in the grasslands of Canada changes how birds are able to talk to each other , and what conservation implications this might have for the future. Important stuff! You can follow along with Miya on Twitter @ miya_warrington

01:15:19 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like diesel-powered oil pumps, they don't inherently seem to make sense. First up is a thesis for Patreon supporter Alex K., which Ben absolutely nails on the first try with Descalate the alarms: A silencing method for counter-measuring early rising chirpers . Great job, Ben and congrats Alex on your BSso degree! Next, Ben and Ryan discuss an e-mail from Harper with a link to an article about a guy trying to predict the origin of life using entropy , which is a fun thing for a physicist and a paleontologist to discuss.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Bird Problems - Limbeck
Crabbuckit - K-OS
Bird On The Wire - Leonard Cohen

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan are joined by Justin "The Yeti" Yeakel who has a new paper in Nature Communications about a model he and his co-authors have developed about starvation and body size in mammals, turns out, bigger is generally better. The interview was conducted during Justin's commute, so the connection comes and goes, but it's always good to catch up with one of the originals. You can follow Justin on Twitter (@jdyeakel ) and check out his lab's website here . And if you want to read more about big ideas in ecology, check out James Brown's seminal book Macroecology .

00:44:56 - Saying goodbye to Justin is so upsetting we need a drink. But first, Justin (safely off the road) sends us a quick audio update with a drink of his own, the Go West! IPA from Anchor Brewing Company. Next up, Patrick runs with the big dogs and enjoys a 9% collaboration Brown IPA from Heavy Seas and Stone, but Ryan one-ups him per usual with a 10% Higher Ground from Franklin's. You can't win, Patrick, he has the high ground.

00:52:12 - For our second segment, Ryan chats with Dr. Eloise Marais from the University of Birmingham about her idea to use the GPS in a smartphone to dynamically track a person's exposure to air pollution. The first attempt had some interesting hiccups but shows promise. You can read the abstract from her AGU talk here , and check out Eloise's lab website here .

01:25:22 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like air pollution; you can't avoid it no matter how far you run. First up, we are thrilled to have Jeff C. on board as a patron , and he lets us know a little about his story with geology, including some unfortunate discrimination. Sorry to hear about that, but glad you found a better place still in STEM. Jeff also get's a thesis, which in this case is: Hothouse techniques to develop ideal allometric size-constrained pollution resistant Coffea arabica beans: Hothouses for cold beans . Thanks again, Jeff! Next, Cliff E. wanted us to know about the Mammal March Madness based on an NPR article he read, spearheaded by Prof. Katie Hinde and an all-around swell idea! Patrick's geochemistry students are getting ready to produce some podcasts, you can listen to the last class' episodes on Soundcloud here . And Ryan is giving a talk at the Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers in Roanoke, VA as part of the Science Museum of Western Virginia's STEM Tavern series on April 11th , so come on by if you're in the area!

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
One Call Away - Charlie Puth
Higher - Creed
No Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan is joined by four (4!) guests to talk about their paper published in Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics about whether or not humans are to blame for the extinction of Caribbean mammals. What did they discover? You can read a summary of the work written by co-author Alexis Mychajliw here and then listen to find out even more!

00:31:08 - Island life goes better with a drink. Doing the show all these years means there are occasionally bottles with a very small amount of left in them being "saved for the show." This week, Ryan downs the final two ounces out of a batch 1 bottle of Barrell Bourbon , a very good overproof whiskey, if you like that sort of thing.

00:33:12 - Part two of Ryan's chat covers how a multi-first author collaboration even works, as well as what we can expect to see from their team next. We also discuss the recent hurricanes in the region, and what that means for both the people and for the science. You can help out by donating to Puerto Rican scientists and contributing to crowd-sourced projects to better understand hurricanes like this one . Follow along with each of the interviewees using these handy links!

Aleix Mychajliw: Website and Twitter
Siobáhn Cooke: Website and Twitter
Liliana M. Dávalos: Lab website and Facebook
Nate Upham: Website and Twitter

01:05:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like localized extinctions: entirely avoidable but sometimes inevitable. This week we're keeping it short with a simple thanks to Lisa K. for her recurring donation . Thanks, Lisa! No thesis this week since Ryan is solo, but if you want your own thesis title, head on over to Patreon and sign up for the Avogadro's Army level or higher.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Main Title from "LOST" - Michael Giacchino
Buttons - The Weeks
Barrel of a Gun - Guster
Change the World (Lost Ones) - Anberlin

00:00:00 - After a brief intro from Ryan and Abe, where explains his new job with the USGS (congrats!) we dive right into Ryan's yearly AGU catch-up with Miles Traer . The first section is mostly about food. You can find Ryan's mom's gumbo recipe here: seafood gumbo .

00:26:25 - Since they're recording in person, Ryan thought it'd be fun to exchange beers and Abe agreed. Abe gives Ryan a Hitachino Nest XH , and Ryan gives Abe a Free Will 5th of May . Juliana joins for a moment to give us her hot take on each.

00:33:39 - Ryan and Miles keep chatting, much as before, there's comic book movies, Star Wars , and probably something about the session they chaired at the meeting (i.e., the reason they were there in the first place). You can see Ryan's gator selfie on Instagram . You can read Ryan and Mile's session proposal here: Science and Sci-Fi: Using Real Science to Explore Fictional Worlds , you can read Mile's abstract for the session here: Stop saving the planet! Carbon accounting of superheroes and their impacts on climate change , and Ryan's here: InGen Inconsistencies: The “Dinosaurs” Of Jurassic Park May Not Be What The Corporation Claims . Doing the session was a lot of fun, and it was even written up in The Washington Post by Sarah Kaplan !

01:00:25 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like New Orleans, they're both big and easy. First up, we thank Zach B. for being a Patron and give him his thesis title. It takes a minute to figure out, but we now know his project is: Saved by the Salt: A Source Dependent Comparative Analysis of Nutrient Composition of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) Using Spectroscopic Satellite Image Data . Thanks, Zach! Next, Ryan celebrates our 501st iTunes review from Bettyk239. Thanks, Betty! Finally, Abe wants to encourage young Latino/a/x volcanologists to get some money from AGU to go a conference . If you know about a pool of money to help young scientists present their work, let us know so we can promote it!

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Shrimp & Gumbo - Dave Bartholomew
Salty Eyes - The Matches
New Orleans - Trampled by Turtles

00:00:00 - Here begins our coverage of the 2017 meeting of the American Geophysical Union . Ryan is joined by Matt Candeias, host of Brachiolope Media's In Defense of Plants podcast.

00:02:58 - First, Ryan chats with Susheel Adusumilli about his work looking at changes in Antarctic peninsular ice over the last 20+ years using satellite imagery data . Plus, tips on how best to set up your home wifi network to get the fastest speeds!

00:19:13 - Next up is Mike MacFerrin, who takes us to the other side of the ice ball so we can learn about what's happening in Greenland. Mike has some great stories to share regarding his work on the firn of Greenland's ice sheet , how the sheet is changing, what that means for communities their, and his journey from teacher to scientist (and what scientists can learn from teachers). Awesome chat with an awesome dude.

00:43:05 - Ice goes drinks so let's have some. Matt enjoys a gin and tonic. Ryan says something probably incorrect about India . Ryan pretends to be classy with some Root: 1 Sauvignon Blanc , because the label is pretty, which leads to a discussion on grafting about which Matt says something probably correct. The wine is being used for mushroom pasta , and they both get excited about fungus.

00:51:20 - Rounding out part one is Sarah Arveson, who studies the core... of the earth! Ryan struggles to come to grips with how to use diamond anvils and lasers and high pressures all come together to understand how the earth works . She explains it better than we can type it. She also wrote and op-ed about the thankfully failed Republican tax bill that threatened to tax grad student tuition , which is a bad idea and we talk about why. She continues to serve her community via union organizing, which is impressive, bold, and empowering. Get to work helping your local area, people. What are you even waiting for?

01:29:59 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the earth's core, they're both dynamic, but we're not quite sure how. Patron David M. is here for his thesis, and we aim to provide it, however clunkily. David, your thesis is: Glacial melt effects on light element incorporation into the terroir of wine growing regions in southern South America. Thanks, David! Next, Matt tells us about the documentary he has on Kickstarter, Botany of the Cascades . Consider pitching in a few bucks to get yourself some sweet rewards. Finally, a voicemail from an unknown caller about whether or not Storm 's powers have anything to do with airborne algae. Matt and Ryan argue their sides, listen in to see who emerges victorious. If you want to read more about the plausibility of mutant powers, check out Science of the X-Men and tell Ryan if it holds up.

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Ice Melts - Matt and Kim
The Seed (2.0) [feat. Cody Chestnutt] - The Roots
Parting of the Sensory - Modest Mouse

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Professors Christopher Jackson and Tom Narock . We begin by talking about their research. Chris uses seismic data to explore landform evolution over deep time. Tom is trying to use semantics and machine learning to help earth scientists wrangle all the data that's out there (or, if you're suspicious, he's securing his spot amongst the machines for when the robot uprising occurs).

00:28:56 - Drinks are a thing, and we have them. Chris enjoys a Camden Hells Lager from London, England if you can believe it. Tom has some triple hopped homebrew that we're still working on a name for. And Ryan enjoys a Creedence Pilsner because he needed something sessionable around for playing D&D.

00:37:40 - In part two of the discussion, Chris and Tom explain the new preprint server EarthArXiv they and others have been working on. We go over the basics of preprint servers, how they see the role of preprint servers in the publishing ecosystem (including an AGU preprint server of their own ), and how simple it is to actually put your work on them. You can follow updates on their endeavor on Twitter @EarthArXiv as well as Chris (@seis_matters ) and Tom (@tnarock ) personally.

01:13:49 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like publishing, there's a long time between submission and publication. First up, a thesis for Patron James P., who, like Joe, is a bit of a 3D printer too. His thesis is: The Stability of Genius: Use of Machine Learning to Develop Algorithms for Controlling Tuned-Mass Dampers in Skyscrapers to Counteract Seismic Effects. Like, really smart ideas. Thanks, James! Ryan has a voicemail from Baylor, who seems like a right dude and wanted to just tell us he likes the show.

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
II. Earth: The Oldest Computer (The Last Night) [feat. Azealia Banks] - Childish Gambino
London Bridge - Ed Sheeran and Yelawolf
Give It Away - Andrew Bird

00:00:00 - Now for part 2 of our coverage of GSA's annual meeting in Seattle, WA. First up, Ryan's conversation with Robin Trayler, who does stable isotope work on South American mammals (but not sloths, they're spoken for, thank you very much). He explains how stable isotopes from animals can teach us about past climate. You can read his abstract here: Ecology and Climate of the Early Miocene Santa Cruz Formation, Argentina

00:20:16 - Next up is the delightful Dr. Lindsey Yann, who is also working on stable isotopes in mammals, but she's looking at white-tailed deer from an archaeological site in Tennessee, so similar tools to answer different questions. Neat! Her abstract: Deer as Potential Climatic Recorders Through Time

00:39:11 - In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Ryan brought Patrick a beer, in this case, a pretty big one, the Megalodom from Ninkasi Brewing Company , named for a pretty epic (but definitely extinct ) shark. A brief discussion of Ryan and Patrick's issues with taxonomy ensues.

00:52:38 - Finally, Ryan's field partner from undergrad, Harrison Gray, who is finishing up his doctorate in Geomorphology and does a great job of breaking down the methods he's developed for understanding the history of a rock and its role in the landscape. He also works for the USGS, though not for much longer, so we do speak a little about the politics of making it harder for government agencies to hire young scientists to serve the nation's interests. Strap in. His abstract: Testing Age Predictions Made with Portable OSL Measurements in Southern Nevada

01:13:32 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like spending time at a conference, you could bump into anyone! First up, we thank Ryan's parents, Bruce and Susan, for their support on Patreon . As part of the reward for their generosity, they get a thesis title: A quilted layering for Chondrichthyan cartilaginous insertion of the patellar joint, a test case performed in New Mexico, USA. It may be nonsense, but it's yours with our sincerest thanks. Next up, a fossiliferous update from Emma G. about the discovery of two fighting fossils Ryan mentioned in a previous episode. Last up, Kirstin M. asks why we stopped doing Trailer Trash Talk, her favorite segment, so we explain why while also sneaking in a quick peek at the teaser for Smallfoot , to really hammer the point home.

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Change Of Season - Hall and Oates
Oh Dear - Matt Costa
Dead Sea - The Lumineers
Lost In The Light - Bahamas

00:00:00 - Ryan and Charlie quickly introduce the premise of the episode: interviews Ryan did at the GSA annual meeting in Seattle, WA . The first interview is with Ph.D. candidate Khai Button about his work examining beaks in dinosaurs and birds (which are also dinosaurs), as well outreach work he does 3D scanning fossils with high school students . You can read about Khai's fieldwork at Expedition Live! and follow his outreach project on Twitter @fossilphiles .

00:31:57 - Drinks normally go one way, this time they go another way; embrace the difference. Ryan and Charlie are both drinking Americanos, which is espresso and hot water made to simulate a normal cup of coffee. Ryan, new to this, has many questions for Charlie, which he answers with gusto. Here's some Abe-approved coffee , a Charlie-approved espresso machine , and a thing that'll boil water real good .

00:45:32 - Next up, Ryan chats to Allison Jones about Jurassic petrofabrics in California with Dr. Kurt Burmeister’s research group at the University of the Pacific . It sounds complicated, but as Allison explains they're really just out in the mountains tracing rocks onto plastic sheets and then doing science to them. You can follow Allison on Twitter @allison_jones1 .

01:02:30 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like in-person interviews, they're better with friends. Doing things in sort of reverse order, we begin with Charlie reading an e-mail from Kris H. wondering about claims made by various shades of climate change skeptics and/or deniers. There's a lot to be said, but the take-home message is that all of Kris' links are pointing towards cranks of various stripes, so we won't link them again here. You can read more about the claims these folks are making and how to counteract them here: Skeptical Science Climate Myths , and check out the book The Two-Mile Time Machine if you want to learn more about how we actually take some of the measurement to build our climate models as discussed by Ryan and Charlie. Ending things on a happier note, we thank Patron Billy Nitro by conferring upon him a thesis title. Tying into the show's themes we present: U nraveling the Pop Culture Fabric: Tools to Convince the Public that Dinosaurs had Feathers and Beaks with Applications Towards Climate Skepticism Outreach . Thanks, Billy!

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music from this week's show:
Birds - M83
Grindstone - Jackie Greene
Black Rock - O.A.R.

00:00:00 - Ben and Ryan are joined by Matt Candeias from the In Defense Of Plants podcast , the newest member of the Brachiolope Media Network ! With introductions out of the way, we get hyped to hear Ben tell us about a neutron star collision, known as a kilonova , detected by LIGO .

00:31:12 - Drinks also contain neutrons, which collide with the neutrons in our mouths. Matt begins with some Oktoberfest style homebrew from a buddy of his. Ben is very excited by a flan-flavored drink from Japan . Good for Ben. Ryan has a sour barrel-aged cider called Hawk Knob , named after the highest point in WV.

00:39:31 - Now for some bad news, a new study has shown that pikas , a cute lagomorph related to bunnies, are locally extinct around Lake Tahoe, which probably spells doom for the rest of the species. We explain why and just generally lament the state of things.

00:58:34 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like local extinctions, part of you wishes they'd just get it over with. First, we power through Ben's connectivity issues to get Patron Richard H. a thesis title as thanks for supporting the show. His title is Neutron Star Collisions Increase Gold, Ultimately Decrease Pikas (Ochotona princeps): The Sad Story Of Alpine Pikas In A Warming Climate: The Thesis. Thanks, Richard! Next up, Matt has an e-mail from Xander O. about how small changes, like 1 degree of temperature, can have really big effects around the globe. Ryan ends things with a voicemail from Josh from VA, who has kind words for us all, so that's nice. Don't forget to check out the other shows in the network, The Titanium Physicists and In Defense Of Plants , and you can check out Ryan talking about five minutes of John Carpenter's The Thing beginning with minute 41 on The Thing Minute .

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Collide - Corey Smith
Waiting for October - Polaris
Pokémon Theme Song - The Original Gameboy Game

Recorded using Zencastr . Use promo code SCIENCE for 20% your order.

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are joined by Abby Howard (@AbbyHoward ) to talk about her new graphic novel Dinosaur Empire! Journey through the Mesozoic Era , the first in her Earth Before Us series of all ages paleontology focused books. We chat with her about how she got her start drawing comics, especially those of a dinosaurian variety.

00:27:05 - We normally don't record in the morning, but when we do, you can expect a very different drinks segment. This is one of those times. Abby is kicking back some water because it's important to stay hydrated. Kelly is having a decaf skim milk latte because it's also important to stay caffeinated, but not too caffeinated. Ryan, advocating for the exact opposite lesson, is having homemade cold brew concentrate straight from the jar. Tastes slightly better than rubbing it right in your eyes.

00:31:36 - Next, we keep chatting with Abby about what she learned about dinosaurs in making her book, and what she learned through the process of trying to teach others about dinos. It's all just sharing and learning in this segment, good vibes. You can find more of Abby's work at her website, Junior Scientist Power Hour , and support her in creating comics on Patreon .

01:01:23 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like all-ages books, they're good for all ages. Ryan begins with a thesis title for Jacob W. (as a reward to supporting us on Patreon ). Suspecting that Jacob might be related to a certain cinematic assassin , we grant him the title: Did Velociraptor hunt Protoceratops for money? A theory of dinosaurian currency in the late Cretaceous . Kelly winds things up with a somewhat somber and heartfelt e-mail from Leigh, about the state of the world and turning towards science for comfort. Thanks for the kind words. Also, Kelly's book, Soonish , is out now if you want to feel hopeful(ish) about the future.

You can now find some of our episodes on Youtube , if that's a thing that works for you.

If you're looking for ways to help those recovering from the various recent hurricanes, consider donating to the Houston Food Bank and/or the World Central Kitchen .

Music:
Picture Book - The Kinks
Caffeinated Consciousness - TV On The Radio
Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime - Beck

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan is joined by returning guest Daphne Pringle and first-time guest Dr. Jen Gallagher, a listener who wrote in to let us know about some of the positive changes that have happened at WVU's Department of Biology . We spend the first segment talking about Jen's research using yeast and genomics to study drug and pesticide resistance. One of her students has a paper coming out in PLoS One soon, so stay tuned!

00:25:08 - While we wait for the new paper to drop, why not enjoy a drink? Jen keeps it local with a Halleck Pale Ale from Chestnut Brew Works, a brewery that eventually hopes to make a beer with all West Virginian ingredients. Daphne keeps things Old Fashioned, literally, using the Yippee Ki-Yay blend from High West Distillery. Ryan rounds things out with Revival Sorghum Whiskey from Charleston (South Carolina), mostly so he can finish off the bottle and play a nice song in the transition to the next segment...

00:33:38 - Since Jen first wrote in to tell us about teaching biology at WVU, we spend the second segment talking about teaching. We discuss how her courses are structured to maximize student engagement (and engagement with Wikipedia ) by focusing on sometimes horrifying genetic diseases as a teaching tool. We also discuss her efforts to engage the people of WV in her citizen science initiative "I Ask Why", which helps the community better understand the microbes living all around them. For updates, you can follow Jen on twitter @yeastychic .

01:13:54 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like yeast, you can find them anywhere and they're hard to kill. Ryan starts off with a big THANK YOU to Patron Erich E. This means Erich gets a thesis, and his is: Teaching Outcomes of Yeast-inebriated Individuals Upon Exposure To -omics Data. Daphne wants to keep talking about evolution, so her contribution today is an old Facebook message from Andy S., who works construction but wants to talk about dinosaurs. Specifically, why weren't there any quadrupedal carnivorous dinosaurs? Discussion ensues, including some talk about a paper from earlier this year that has shaken the dinosaur family tree at its base. Be sure to follow Daphne on Twitter (@drpingleetal ), and if you need more podcasts to listen, why not hear Ryan talk about his journey to becoming a paleontologist on HumaNature Episode 23 - Between a Rock and a Holy Place .

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Rise To Me - The Decemberists
It Ain't Me - Kygo & Selena Gomez
Understanding - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

00:00:00 - A team at CalTech has figured out a new way to increase the rate that the ocean might be able to suck down carbon from our atmosphere . The overall plan is still missing a few steps, but it's an exciting step forward in how might get ourselves out of this climate mess.

00:20:45 - Drinks are another way we've figured out how to infuse carbon dioxide into liquid, but we let it out again once we drink it. Whoops. Charlie really enjoys his Bodhizafa IPA from Georgetown Brewing, which of course prompts a discussion of the themes of the 1991 classic film Point Break . Joe references another film franchise with his Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer , but we'll let you put the pieces together yourself. And Ryan wraps it all up with a La Cumbre Elevation IPA sent to him by Matty J.

00:31:45 - Because we're all happy to launch stuff into orbit but no one wants to bring it back down ever, space junk is becoming a big problem (which you can see for yourself here ). A joint research team at JPL and Stanford have looked towards the ultra-sticky feet of the gecko as a potential solution , but do the boys agree that this is the best solution? The answer may surprise you...

00:55:01 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like space junk, there's a lot of them and the problem is only getting worse. Joe complains about getting the best kind of feedback, a new Patreon subscriber from longtime supporter Andrew H. Thanks, Andrew! As part of his rewards, he gets a thesis title, and his is: Particulate Elimination Procedure in Trans-Orbital Space (PEPTO) as a function of decreasing carbonic acid degradation of calcitic systems in the surface ocean. Next up, Ryan reads a 5-star iTunes review that comes in hot with some criticism. Hopefully, we can all come together again over the greatness of orangutans . And Charlie has a question about a bet we made on various energy technologies back in the halcyon days of episode 88 . Charlie has an update: we all lost. But Charlie is also looking for new grad students, so if you're interested in energy work, check out the Western Washington University Institute for Energy Studies website and get in touch. Ryan was interviewed about his journey from Creationist to Scientist on the Human Nature podcast, so check that out if that sounds interesting to you.

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Bound - Matt Costa
Meet The Bodhisattva - Mark Isham
Beautiful Mess - Miranda Cosgrove
Neo Zen - Ketsa

Recorded using Zencastr . For 20% off your first year of Zencastr , use coupon code SCIENCE.

00:00:00 - Studying volcanoes is hard because they're really hot and acidic and just generally sort of deadly to we frail humans. But what about robots? OK, also sort of deadly to robots, but a team is still using an autonomous boat to map out a volcanic lake in Costa Rica , and that's pretty neat. To see Abe's diagram of how volcanic arcs form, click here .

00:31: 35 - Volcanic lakes can bubble up carbon dioxide, as can carbonated beverages. Joe goes first with a Death Valley cola since volcanoes are also hot and deadly? Ryan risks injury and sickness by drinking some homemade fermented pineapple drink known as tepache . Click here to watch a video on how to make it yourself. You'll need some jars , lids , and stones too. Abe surprises Ryan with some Mezcal Matra in his continuing quest to try every type of distilled agave beverage that Mexico has to offer. Smooth and smokey.

00:50:52 - And now, an update on our show's mascot, the always weird but always interesting naked mole rat! A new study has shown that naked mole rats don't mind if you take away their oxygen. That's usually a deal breaker for most animals, but naked mole rats just switch to metabolizing fructose like a plant . When will the weirdness end? Probably never.

01:11:14 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanos, they can go off without warning and you could end up in an Italian prison . Ryan goes first to thank Tom S. from the peak of good living for his recurring donation through Paypal . Thanks, Tom! Joe's up next with a thesis title for Patron Gretchen L. It takes some doing, but the boys figured it out: Implementation of Autonomous Subterranean Vehicles for Sonar Mapping of Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber ) Colonies in the Volcanic Soils of Ol Doinyo Lengai. Finally, Abe is excited about a new 5-star iTunes review from RachaelRidiculous, which is always a treat. To hear Ryan try to be serious, you can listen to his audio essay from the Out There podcast, The Reluctant Outdoorsman .

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Steamboat - The Weeks
Death Valley Queen - Flogging Molly
Every Breath You Take - The Police

00:00:00 - Ryan and Kelly are joined by Mikhail "Misha" Gopko to talk about his latest paper exploring parasites controlling their fish host from inside their eye . Brain-infecting is one thing, but when you can see your parasite inside your own eyeball? That's just creepy.

00:24:44 - Kelly considers fibbing but opts for honesty as she drinks her water. Ryan has a Grolsch because he needs a resealable bottle for some home fermentation projects, and why buy empty beer bottles when you can just empty them yourself?

00:31:42 - Part 2 of our interview with Misha chats about the importance of parasite research, and what future projects Misha has in store.

00:49:51 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like parasites in bird guts, they always come out at the end. First up, we thank Terry R. for being a Patron of the show, which earns them a thesis title. There's is A Bird in the Hand: Mechanisms of manipulation of avian defecation by Diplostomum pseudospathaceum. Thanks, Terry! Kelly has a Facebook message from D Rex who ran half a marathon while enjoying hearing about Kelly's research in episode 259 . Way to go! Don't forget to pre-order Kelly's upcoming book Soonish , and check out Ryan's episode of the Out There podcast called "The Reluctant Outdoorsman ".

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Something in my eye! - Jay and the Americans
In De Hemel Is Geen Bier - De Stamgasten
Plus Profound - Hooverphonic

00:00:00 - Something a little different this week as Ryan presents some audio from a project he did with the startup Anchor.fm earlier this year producing some science segments for a channel called Organized Curiosity . He's drinking a Manta Ray from Ballast Point Brewing Company, which will become relevant later, but for now, here are the topics that get covered:

00:03:40 - First up, an explanation of the station and why I chose the name Organized Curiosity. (Spoiler: It's from a quote in Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography )
00:07:14 - Better know a root: astro-
00:09:33 - News you probably cannot use: Monkeys pass the mirror self-recognition test
00:12:41 - Bio bios: Mexican blindcat (Prietella phreatophila)
00:15:48 - Q&A: What is a theory?
00:18:37 - Falsifiability response from Ian Shapiro
00:19:43 - My response on falsifiability
00:24:46 - Bio bios: Indian vulture (Gyps indicus )
00:29:56 - News you probably cannot use: NASA announces new exoplanets
00:35:08 - Better know a root: osteo-
00:37:58 - Bio bios: Pygmy devilray (Mobula eregoodootenkee )
00:42:53 - News you probably cannot use: What the deep ocean sounds like
00:47:01 - Bio bios: Gemsbok (Oryx gazella )
00:50:19 - Q&A: How do animals know what to do?
00:56:03 - Finally, we end with a quick PaleoPOW thanking Billy Nitro for his recurring PayPal donation and his sweet sweet radio voice. Thanks, Billy!

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon !

Music for this week's show:
Add And - Broke For Free

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 Weepies
Forgot About Dre [Feat. Eminem] - Dr. Dre
Coyotes - Don Edwards

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 .

01:24:11 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like face cancer, you don't want to get bit but it may be hard to avoid. Charlie goes first so he can thank Patron Courtney Brooke Davis, who donates monthly on Patreon at a level where she gets designated a thesis title and her title is: Nonlinear Metastatic Transmissible Neoplastic Cancers in Ancient Marsupials from Midden Remains in Mainland Oceania . Thanks, Courtney! Daphne, since she's been on the show before, has some feedback of her own, from Jen G. who teaches at Daphne's alma mater and wants to let folks know about some improvements since Daphne was an undergrad. Ryan's paleoPOW also spawns from Daphne's first appearance because Tyler F. who wants to talk more about speciation , which is a pretty complicated topic, including wackiness such as ring species .

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) - Phoenix
Royal Oil (Live) - The MIghty MIghty Bosstones
Kiss The Devil - Eagles of Death Metal

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 Snow
Sour Cherry - The Kills
We Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel

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 Coulton
London Calling - The Clash
Dela (I Know Why The Dog Howls At The Moon) - Johnny Clegg & Savuka

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 - Yeasayer
Science/Visions - Chvrches
Hank Pym - Adam WarRock (Free album, click here )

00:00:00 - This week Ryan interviews W. John Calder , who just finished his Ph.D. studying fire ecology and paleoclimate. We spend the first segment talking about the basics of his research, and some admittedly nitpicky differences between their fields.

00:36:30 - Fires are best put out with liquid, but maybe not this kind of liquid. Ryan is sipping on some Bone Snapper Rye Whiskey with Bittermens Burlesque Bitters , both gifts from his wife .

0038:43 - In part two of Ryan's talk with John, they discuss his paper published in the prestigious PNAS as well as some of the work from his recently submitted dissertation. If you want to keep up with John and his work, you can follow him on Twitter: @W_John_Calder

01:31:38 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like fire, cool in the kitchen for a second, but then they aren't. Ryan thanks Philip O. for a recent donation , and asks how the rest of the audience feels about doing something special for the upcoming eclipse in North America . Also, we're now on Patreon if you're interested in supporting the show and getting some sweet rewards for doing so.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
The Burn - Matchbox Twenty
Store Bought Bones - The Raconteurs
Fire Lake - Bob Seger& The Silver Bullet Band

00:00:00 - Kelly has a new paper out! It's about wasps being parasites within other parasites right on campus where she works, so that's about as nifty as it gets. You can watch a video about the study here , and read the open access paper here .

00:20:15 - Nothing like thinking about having your brain infected by parasites to make you want a drink, right? Joe thinks he's being original but doesn't realize he's just Jacob because they both thought it would be cool to drink Soylent on the show. Joe's is chocolate flavored instead of coffee, so there's that. Ryan feels cheated with his supposedly 'Scandanavian' Cider that's actually made in Estonia . Not cool!

00:29:16 - Frog tongues, how do they work? Part of the answer is in their selectively stick spit . Also, they swallow with their eyes somehow? That's weird. Frogs are weird. But that doesn't mean you should steal them. Listen to Chunk and don't take amphibians that aren't yours . Joe also reminds us of dirty misspellings and makes puns, feel free voice your disapproval directly to him.

00:50:12 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like frog's swallowing; they both involve more moving parts than you'd expect. Kelly begins with a donation from Eric W. who wanted to thank us for getting him through some tough times. You're welcome and thank you for supporting the show! Joe has more to say about frogs thanks to an e-mail about American Bullfrogs invading Canada as researched by Hans C. And Ryan wraps up with a new 5-star iTunes review (our favorite kind!).

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Smile Like You Mean It - The Killers
The Sporting Life - The Decemberists
Speaking In Tongues - The Eagles of Death Metal

00:00:00 - Do you ever wonder how those music ID services work so well? Well wonder no further because we've got Tim Dobbs here to explain it!

00:24:49 - That noise on the microphone? That's us drinking, but don't worry, we'll tell you what's in the glass. Patrick continues his quest to try beers Ryan hasn't had, this time with a Sierra Nevada Single Hop Cascade IPA, but you'll have to listen to see if he's bested Ryan. Ryan classes up the joint with a Chateau Palais Cardinal 2011 St. Emilion Grand Cru from Bordeaux. Dang. Tim finishes up the segment with a Shade of Gray, Black, and White IPA plus some silly RadioLab noises, because we're fairly sure that's not an overdone joke just yet.

00:33:05 - If you enjoy food then you should think about what you're listening to while you eat it, because research is showing that the sounds in your ears can affect the feeling and flavors in your mouth . Plus, super spooky ghosts and the sounds that make them (maybe).

01:02:48 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like seasoning, necessary but if you overdo it everyone is unhappy. Tim starts off with a donation from Brandon J., which makes the show possible, y'all. Thanks, Brandon! Patrick ponders a question from Terry R. asking about maps of earth through the ages. You can check out this website for some cool maps, plus Stephen Jay Gould's The Book Of Life and Ryan's joke answer of The World of Ice and Fire for a map of Westeros. Also, check out this debated island in a lake which is on an island in a lake on an island . Finally, Ryan reads a 5-star iTunes review from Mateo L. who assures readers that the show gets better.

Be sure to check out Tim's podcast Encyclopedia Brunch and Ryan stint on Jurassic Park Minute beginning with minute 67.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
5-Sax Piece - Moon Hooch
Many Shades of Black - The Raconteurs
Wires - Matt & Kim

00:00:00 - Usually whenever you want to make up nonsense that sounds plausible, you throw in the word 'quantum'. We're all guilty of it from time to time. Fortunately, we have Ben Tippett here to explain the actual quantum happenings behind our first observation of quantum distortion in empty space . You can read the paper on the arXiv here .

00:27:19 - Extra long drinks segment because there's just so much to talk about! Ben's perfect memory of every previous episode fails him just this once when he has the Swedish holiday soda Dryck Julmust , just like Ryan already had on episode 234 . Silly, Ben. Ryan is feeling ambitious, so he drinks an entire Galaxy from Funkwerks . Jacob, an adult with stuff to get done mixes a meal with his caffeine by giving Coffiest from (probably not using people as an ingredient but still suspicious) Soylent a try.

00:45:45 - When you think of radar, you probably think of green blips signaling enemy aircraft, but Google's ATAP group has just announced Project Soli , which aims to put a microchip with radar sensors in your phone so you can make things happen just by moving your hands around. Jacob thinks it's a big deal, and he's usually right about these sorts of things so listen up.

01:08:36 - ben has donation from Peter P. (@vituanpeterphan ), who also supports The Titanium Physicists because he's a doubly awesome dude. Thanks, Peter! Jacob is up next with a story from Joe S. about a thruster that seems to violate the laws of physics . DOES IT?! You'll have to listen to find out. Ryan winds things down with a quick correction regarding chlorophyll from episode 254 sent it by Paul K.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Collapsing Stars - The Mountain Goats
Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part I) - Kid Cudi
The Hardest Button To Button - The White Stripes

More of Ryan bumming around a professional meeting, microphone in hand.

00:00:00 - First up is Stacey Felgate (@StaceyFelgate ) and Kim Gottschalk (@Kim_Gottschalk ). Stacey tells us a little bit about her work on blue carbon storage in salt marshes. Next, Kim tells us about her project investigating the source of Antarctic bottom water with GO-SHIP . They both also have a lot of recommendations for how to get involved in research as an undergrad, which you can learn about with these links:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
N SF's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation
The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS)
00:23:04 - We end our AGU coverage shooting the breeze with our old friend Miles Traer (@Geo_Miles ), who was also working the meeting from multiple angles and drawing cartoons the whole while. Per usual, the conversation strays from geoscience to pop culture asking the big questions like, "Could the Death Star really blow up a planet?" (Answer ) and "Is Independence Day actually a good movie?" (Answer ). At some point, Miles may even talk about the actual research he's been up to.

01:09:40 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like conferences, neither have enough coffee to go around. This week we're thanking Moe S. for his continued patronage and recent donation . Moe's reminds us that it's never too late to get an education and we thank him for being a loyal listener all these years. All the feels.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Ryan is live at the AGU Fall Meeting and people agree to talk to him.

00:00:00 - First, we chat Martín S Hoecker-Martínez about his philosophy of outreach and his work studying the carbon fluxing of the ocean around Antarctica with ORCAS (acronym, not the animal). Be sure to follow him on Twitter (@msmithma ) and learn more with these helpful links:
ORCAS project Website Flight planning Website Videos related to ORCAS The Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network run by The NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (@NOAA_ESRL ) Figure and related press release showing the boundary of 400 ppm CO2 air as they measured it across Drake passage NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory Which has been used to make cool visualizations of CO2
00:38:44 - In between segments we drink, but it's early so have some Holler Mountain coffee from Stumptown .

00:40:03 - Next up, former guest and friend of the show Jane Zelikova updates us on what's been keeping her so busy, and it's a lot:
Jane's not super happy about the upcoming Drumpf administration, so she's gone to a rally . And founded an organization, 500 Women Scientists , which you can also support! A starred in a movie, The End of Snow (trailer ). In addition to her day job, working as a fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Department of Energy in the coal division, nothing divisive on that subject... Keep up with her (if you can (you can't)) on Twitter (@j_zelikova )and Instagram (@zeli_j )
01:04:03 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like large meetings, it's easy to feel insignificant but people probably still like you. This week we're happy to have a donation from Victor C. who gives us some holiday cheer along with some money. Thanks, Victor!

Thanks for listening, part 2 coming soon!

00:00:00 - It's our annual Thanksgiving show! That means 100% for 100% of this one show. Enjoy it! First up, Bettina wants to know what Ryan, Patrick, and Charlie think about the concept of rewilding. Ryan discussed this topic on an episode of Generation Anthropocene , but Patrick and Charlie have their own thoughts to contribute as well. Plus it's already happening in Siberia because of course it is.

00:14:29 - Drinking helps many of us survive the holidays, and we're no exception. Ryan begins with some Epic Artisinal Turkey Sipping Broth . Sounds gross? Yeah, it kind of is. But it goes down smooth with Surly Hell . Charlie has some dirty Italian table wine, but he makes it sound good somehow. Last up, Patrick is worried the guys will snub his economic choice for a Founder's All Day IPA, but he is wrong... sort of.

00:21:49 - Next up, Keith has many many questions. The guys have fewer answer, but they try their best. Here are some of the topics considered:
Why do so many tetrapods have five digits? How are cockroaches, shrimps, and spiders all related ? How did sexual reproduction evolve ? And some physics stuff with help from Ben, especially episode 59 of The Titanium Physicists !
00:46:44 - Clay the Human requests a return to form, so the guys oblige and discuss a movie preview in the return of Trailer Trash Talk! This week, the sci-fi thriller Passengers , which earns a thumbs-up from all three in addition to revealing one of Ryan's greatest fears.

01:01:04 - Last up, Cesar M. from Australia already knows about the Azolla event , but we didn't so we explain that a bit, and wants to know about it's potential to mitigate climate change.

Thanks to everyone who listens and contributes to the show, we literally couldn't do this without you!

Music for this week's show:
Wild One - Those Darlins
Jive Turkey - Ohio Players
Questions And Answers - The Apples in Stereo
Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day

To begin, a brief word on the election. More on what we can all do next to follow down the line. Stay tuned.

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan are very excited to be joined by Alex Hastings , Assistant Curator at the Virginia Museum of Natural History and all around crocodylian expert. We spend the first segment of the show pestering him about all things croc and croc-related, and there's a lot.

00:31:25 - Now is a time to come together, and possibly have a drink. Alex somehow found a beer dedicated to the giant snake Titanoboa , so what else could he possibly have had? Patrick keeps it local with a Little Red RooStarr Coffee Cream Stout , which sounds complex but also smooth. Ryan needs to give his stomach a bit of a break so opts for some Pepto-Bismol in lieu of alcohol.

00:35:52 - Alex, in addition to all his research and curation, was also in a documentary called Graveyard of the Giant Beasts from PBS about giant crocs fighting extra long snakes. Sounds far-fetched, but probably actually happened, and Alex got to help tell their story. Be sure to like the VNMH on Facebook and follow Alex on Twitter for more updates on his efforts to bring exciting paleo to the people.

01:00:04 - Listeners are a lot like documentaries, you're hesitant to listen to them, but when you do it's usually worth it. First, Ryan celebrates the largesse of Elizabeth D., who gave us a donation and that's just dandy. Patrick finishes up with an iTunes review from bkaph11. We like reviews too, so it's kudos all around.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Crawlin King Snake - Muddy Waters
Reptilia - The Strokes

00:00:00 - Worried about your cherry supply in the coming years? Well, bears may have you covered. According to a new study out of Japan, mountain-climbing bears seem adept at moving cherry seeds uphill to escape rising temperatures. However, according to the most recent IPCC report, not all plants and animals will be so lucky.

00:19:45 - Some weeks you need a drink. This was one of those weeks. Ryan has an árcáná to get a little magic in his life. Patrick is proud to finally find a beer Ryan hasn't had with a Yee-Haw Eighty leading to a discussion of the peculiarities of Scottish beer . Charlie, in reference to hop's cousin, has a Topcutter IPA from a local vineyard-esque brewery.

00:30:50 - NEWSFLASH: As you get closer to a star, things heat up. All stars have a snow line, where water shifts from vapor to ice, and for the first time, we've spotted one around another star .

00:42:45 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like water, maybe kind of boring but undeniably important. Ryan is up first to thank former guest of the show John Pohl for yet another generous donation and for taking Ryan out for dinner and drinks . A real mensch. Patrick is up next with a long e-mail from Jon B. presenting his theory on the lack of green mammals. The boys proceed to butcher it. Charlie finishes up with an e-mail from Les I. whose been doing some pretty epic hiking with his boo to have a boo at some alluvial fans, a curious geological feature explained by Charlie. See the photos from his adventure on our Flickr page .

Music for this week's show:
The Bear and the Maiden Fair - The Hold Steady
Heavy - Collective Soul
Grey Ice Water - Modest Mouse

00:00:00 - Thanks to Joe, it's the return of the Elon Musk Happy Hour! This time, Musk wants to send loads of people to Mars , probably forever. In traditional Science... sort of fashion we ask: is this a thing? And maybe more importantly, would you go? (Also, Ryan says go read Seveneves. )

00:31:03 - Mars is pretty dry, so it'll be important to stay hydrated once there. Kelly staves off feeling sick with water and Tums but manages to sneak in a plug for The Expanse series of books. Joe confuses everyone with his Fungal Fruit Soda . And Ryan has a beer called Bomb! because of integrity or something.

00:41:50 - This summer 183 miles of the Yellowstone River because an animal related to jellyfish evolved into a parasite millions of years ago . Kelly is amazed by this and explains why it's cool. And a final book recommendation for the episode: I Contain Multitudes by (future guest of the show?) Ed Yong

00:55:54 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like future guests of the show, both are riddled with uncertainty. Things begin a bit somber with the death of Sharon Gray, a botanist killed while doing research in Ethiopia. The reasons surrounding her death are heartbreaking, but a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help young women succeed in science in her memory. As a complete about face, Joe thanks Angie RK for her recent iTunes review and Kelly thanks Simon L. for throwing some cash our way. Finally, Ryan expounds upon Colin from San Diego's theory about yawning and ends up doing a fair bit of research on the topic. Strap in.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Planetary (GO!) [Lags Gallows Remix] - My Chemical Romance
We Are Sex Bob-Omb (Fast) - Beck and Nigel Godrich
I Told You I Was Freaky - Flight of the Conchords

00:00:00 - We begin arguing about rabbits, as you do. Ryan rejects Ben's phony phylogeny and espouses the truth of Glires . Don't let Ben lead you astray.

00:00:54 - We're all happy with the four fundamental forces we know and love, but what if there was a fifth force? A Hungarian team is claiming they might have found one , which is a pretty big deal. You can read their paper now on the arXiv .

00:39:59 - If you made it through Ben's explanations in the first segment, you deserve a drink. Joe, back from his physics sabbatical, is refreshing himself with aTractor Soda Co. Cherry Cream Soda, with some confusing claims but good flavor. Ryan has an Elder Brett from Epic Brewing Co. in part so he can discuss an article about "wild beers" sent to him by Kendall in Denver. Ben has Jones Soda Cream Soda with a picture of a Moose on it. Also, Joe's car is free because we're a bit off the rails this week. And SpaceX has a little problem that Ryan gets excited about.

00:59:35 - Finally, weasels! Weasels are great and Ryan wants to talk about them. He learned a lot reading this article , but there's so much more to say. Including where their name comes from , and whether or not we can reform it as something more positive. You'll just have to listen for the rest of it.

01:32:23 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like weasels, they're great if you give them a chance. Ryan begins with a donation from Gerhardus R. in South Africa and a quick second mention of Jeff M. who donated again after catching up with Ryan on Steam . Ben's up next with a voicemail from Allie to thank us for doing the show. You're welcome! Joe wraps it up with a new 5-star iTunes review from Luke R. Edwards, who appreciates our tangents so much have loved this episode.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Use The Force - Jamiroquai
Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
Weasal Face - Ramones

00:00:00 - Mezcal is a magical and misunderstood spirit. Abe, Jacob, and Ryan spend some time breaking down just what the spirit is, from the myths about worms to the economies of towns trying to use craft distillates to escape the horrors of the drug trade. It's complicated. What's a bit simpler, somehow, are the fluid dynamics at play in determining proof, known as the pearls of mezcal . A team has presented their findings on the phenomenon, and we try to explain the science at play.

00:31:58 - Abe, unsurprisingly, is enjoying an agave-based spirit, but in the form of an elixir that seems new yet familiar at the same time. Jacob is up next and braces for mockery with a beer he already had in episode 101 . Abe and Ryan had no intentions for teasing, but when it's invited it's hard to resist. Ryan goes full hipster with a Multinational Horn-Dog Black Saison that he makes Abe describe because Abe made it in the first place. Delicious!

00:44:17 - Moa were giant terrifying monster-birds from New Zealand . And they're extinct. Did they die because of climate or because of humans? A recent study suggests the latter. The team used genetics , which seems straightforward enough, but leads to a discussion about the potential problems with blaming native peoples for local extinctions. The boys seems to conclude that humans are just humans, no judgement needed beyond universal human foibles.

01:05:52 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like moas, oversized and prone to destruction. Ryan begins with an overdue thanks to recurring donor Jeff E. Thanks, Jeff! Next up, Jacob has an e-mail from Matt M. pruporting to explaing the phrase "going commando" as referenced in our recent interview with Mary Roach . It's a fun explanation, but is it a "just-so story" ? Trying to work backwards, it seems kilts may be to blame as the original source of eschewing underwear. This leads to pontifications on the nature of meta-skepticism, literally debunking the debunkers . Abe wraps things up with a question from Tyler V. about the possibility of a Spanish-language science podcast. Seeing as there are more native Spanish speakers than native English speakers , seems like a no-brainer, but not something we can quite pull off at this point, though we have talked internally about it.

Music for this week's show:
Another Pearl - Badly Drawn Boy
Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
The Bird That You Can't See - Apples in Stereo

It's episode 250 and thus a fine time to return to form with Patrick, Charlie, and Ryan!

00:00:00 - Mars is dead, long live Mars! Mars used to have oceans, active volcanoes, maybe even tectonics. So what happened? The guys explore how it might have become a hunk of rock we keep having to rescue Matt Damon from. Also, there's a whole book series on how we might (fictionally) bring it back to life.

0027:57 - However it got that way, Mars is now dry enough to leave one mighty parched. Let us quench. Patrick begins with a beer left behind in his fridge by Ryan, a Siamese Twin Ale from Uncommon Brewers located in the birthplace of the show, Santa Cruz, California. Charlie expertly extracts the hot bean juice from an exquisite Ganesha Espresso bean for 28 seconds at 201 degrees C at 9 bars of pressure. Ryan fires back with a Kerberos Tripel our of a double-walled growler, a three-headed beer for the three originals being back together.

00:34:50 - Is the Loch Ness Monster real? No. It's super not real. BUT, Google decided to play along and put some cameras in the loch. This somehow becomes a very deep conversation on the philosophy of science and the role technology plays in shaping our reality. Go figure.

00:59:34 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like unexpectedly deep conversations; most people skip them if able to. Ryan begins with a new recurring donation from Sonya P. Thanks, Sonya! Charlie fields an energetics question from Jacob M. about the stillsuits featured in the novel Dune . Patrick finished with a question from Graeme N. about the aquatic ape hypothesis of human evolution. Ryan and Patrick argue again because why agree on anything ever?

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Nothin' On You - B.o.B.
Straw Dog - Something Corporate
Get It Faster - Jimmy Eat World

00:00:00 - Do you eat food? If you do you probably appreciate the Maillard reactio n even if you've never heard of it. We try to drop some science on your plate! Want even more food science? This book has you covered.

00:35:09 - Joe begins the drinking segment by tying things back to the Maillard reaction with a Lester's Fixins Bacon with Maple Syrup Soda , which sounds, and tastes, terrible. Chad and Ryan insist her finish it. Ryan has a Segua Red Ale , a Costa Rican microbrew based on a Costa Rican legend. Chad has a fruit smoothie because sometimes you just have to clear out the freezer.

00:45:05 - Archeologists have found many ancient subterranean cities. What happened to us all wanting to live underground together? Joe explains some of the benefits and pratfalls of trying to make a go of putting a lot of people under the earth, including some more recent attempts.

01:01:44 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like underground cities, they were sort of in vogue once upon a time. Joe begins by thanking Jeff M. for a donation . Thanks, Jeff! Ryan has an e-mail from Anne who wants to know if all her friends getting into the paleo-diet are onto something or not. Ryan, an actual paleontologist, is no great fan and lists some reasons why. For more info, check out this Scientific American article or go buy the book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live . Last up, Chad has an article from Mike J. about another idea to get fuel from water , but this time with a twist. Chad and Ryan dive into the details, including trying to explain the entire ocean and how we're messing it up. Maybe a bit ambitious, but there you have it.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Heart Cooks Brain - Modest Mouse
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan

00:00:00 - We are excited to announce the long awaited return of Jacob Stump! Jacob is back so we might as well start out with a poorly planned mission to Mars. Specifically, is Mars One a scam? If you believe one of their selected 'astronauts' then probably yes.

00:25:24 - Much like they're not actually going to Mars, Jacob spends some time telling us what he's not drinking before finally telling us that he's having some Spanish wine. Patrick is doubling down with another Get Elevated from Matty J. which prompts a discussion of handedness . Ryan advocates his left-handed lifestyle and recommends a book for those who want to learn more about his affliction. Ryan also is back to his beer roots enjoying a DirtWolf Double IPA from Victory Brewing.

00:41:23 - Jupiter's wife Juno has come home in the form of a probe sent by NASA . Even President Obama was excited about it. Ryan gets excited just talking about Jupiter, but Patrick and Jacob have some pretty cool things about the probe and its science mission around our solar system's largest planet.

01:18:14 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wives, they deserve love and respect. Patrick begins with his favorite: a new recurring donation from Scott P. High fives to Scott! Ryan goes next and proceeds to put his foot firmly in his mouth talking about Creationism vs evolution thanks to this story from NPR submitted by listener Chris N. Thanks a lot, Chris. Fortunately, Patrick and Jacob are here to smooth things over. Phew. Jacob finishes things off with new 5-star iTunes review from dearknurl. Always appreciated.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Trouble Weighs A Ton - Dan Auerbach

Holiday In Spain - Counting Crows

Juno - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (written specifically for this NASA mission, so that's cool)

If you're interested in helping the people of West Virginia recover from some pretty horrific recent flooding, you can check out the list of options compiled by The Huffington Post .

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan are joined by Daphne Pringle , who's a post-doctoral fellow at the Hunstman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah. She's sick of us getting epigenetics wrong like we did in episode 241 , so she's here to sort us out. She uses mice to study oncogenes and tumors and cancer and all that. It's pretty far outside of our typical biology talk, so segment one is just trying to explain the basics. Here's some background reading: Raf/MEK/ERK , mouse models , and BRAF targeting .

00:35:53 - Alcohol is a carcinogen probably. Oh well. Daphne represents Utah with her Uinta Detour Double IPA. Patrick was sent some cans of Elevated IPA by listener Matty J. Thanks! And Ryan classes up the joint with an Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon.

00:43:21 - Now that we have totally covered the basics of Daphne's research, let's talk about her recent publication in PLOS ONE . Will Daphne and her team cure cancer? Only if they can get through the FDA's 15 year approval process! Also, if you wanted to see a Tazzy Devil joey in a pouch, here you go .

01:16:43 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the FDA approval process; only the strong survive. First up, a new recurring donation from Mark H. Thanks, Mark! Next, Peter C. has a question about population genetics that we're hoping Daphne can help us answer. It involves space travel and maybe racism? Patrick presents a Facebook post from Brennen M. who wants us to know about his favorite book about food science called Modernist Cuisine . Finally, Ryan presents the winners of the iTunes review contest calculated using random.org ! The runners up: Kendh and Patrick in Des Moines. And our grand prize goes to Molec-bio! Thanks to everyone who participated. Be sure to follow Daphne on Twitter (@drpringleetal ) to follow along as she saves us all.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music used in this week's show:

Morning New Disease - Jets to Brazil
The West Virginia Hills - Moastsville String Ticklers
Waiting - Green Day

This was our first time recording since the tragic Pulse shooting in Orlando . We encourage our US listeners to share their thoughts with their elected representatives. You can find yours and their contact info here .

00:00:00 - We begin this week by talking about some literal bridge building. Because of things like physics and geology, engineers have to rethink how we build roads around bridges. Joe assumes Ryan and Abe know about soil science . He's wrong. But some researchers at the University of Texas, Arlington, have developed special giant foam blocks to help solve the bridge settling dilemma. All rivers in this segment referred to as Kwai for clarity.

00:21:45 - Drinks, like bridges, get you where you're going. Abe pops the top off a Hop Savant from Crooked Stave. Ryan, thinking back on his afternoon at Corvus Coffee Roasters with Abe, has a Cold Brew IPA from Rogue. Joe B. bucks tradition with a Best Damn Cherry Cola, which while it may not sound like it, is actually an alcoholic beverage. It's not his first time having booze on the show, but it is rare. This leads to a discussion of choosing one's science specialty.

00:29:31 - UPDATES. How often do you actually see follow-up reporting in science journalism? For us, it's rarely. To put our money where our mouth is here is some that. First, Abe is excited to announce that the newly discovered elements first discussed in episode 234 now have names! Next, that weird animal we talked about in episode 229 has finally found a place on the family tree of life (open access paper here ), welcome to club Siphonophorae , buddy.

00:48:04 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like updates in that sometimes they really are just updates. Joe starts off complaining about vocal plosives with a new recurring donation from Pedro P. in Chile. Muchas gracias, Pedro! Ryan has an e-mail from frequent correspondent Tyler V., who corrects him about what Einstein won his Nobel prize for in episode 196 . Abe finishes things up with an iTunes review, the final review from the Summer Solstice iTunes Review Challenge written by Cynthia. You can also go check out an interview with Joe on the Baja SAE Shop Talk podcast .

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Simon & Garfunkel
Campfire Kansas - The Get Up Kids
The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News

This week is all about Game of Thrones and/or A Song of Ice and Fire featuring returning guest to the show Miles Traer ! If you're not caught up on both the show and the books, consider this your all-purpose SPOILER WARNING.

00:00:00 - First up: time travel. How does time travel in a fantasy story work? Apparently, there are three options , and we mainly stick to one, but it's not without its paradoxes . Check out this n ifty drawing from Ben for a diagram of just what we think happened in the already infamous Hodor episode.

00:37:53 - They drink a lot in Westeros, so to keep it authentic, we follow suit. Ben begins with a double shot of weird Sangaria brand soft drinks: carrot and traditional . Miles follows up with a 'Westerosi'-style cocktail, the Sazerac ; even if he and Ryan disagree about the proportions. Ryan does what his wife does , and has a Three Philosophers from Brewery Ommegang. It makes sense in context.

00:44:15 - There's a lot more science to be done in Westeros than just time travel. Fortunately, Matt Shipman organized a blog carnival , featuring science posts from some of our favorite former guests such as Brian Switek , Jacquelyn Gill , and David Hone . If you want more info on the solar neighborhood of the planet and how that affects climate, check out this paper from the ArXiv . And finally a geology post from Miles Traer, which he tells us a bit about, but you'll need to read the whole thing for the details.

01:08:38 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like open-ended epic fantasy series; they're both often long overdue. We being with Ben announcing a new recurring donation from Peter C. Thanks, Peter! Next up, Tyler V. wants to know, based on our previous hesitation to call the Anthropocene a thing , how future paleontologists might respond to the discovery of mass human graves as a feature of the debated epoch. That's pretty dark, Tyler, but we sort of have an answer, and it reminds Ryan in particular of a certain dinosaur site called Ghost Ranch . Ryan has an anniversary message from Cyn, who found the show thanks to Ben, because Ben is great. Finally, be sure to also check out Miles' excellent podcast Generation Anthropocene .

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Game of Throne theme on the Seaboard RISE - ROLI

Theme from Game of Thrones - New Orleans Swamp Donkeys

Game of Thrones Theme (Western Cover) - Benedikt Mendzigal

00:00:00 - This week Ryan is joined by his wife, Juliana Olsson , so they can talk with returning guest and author Mary Roach ! We do drinks in the preamble so for all you completists out there: Juli had a Three Philosophers and Ryan had a Birthday Suit . Mary, given her druthers, likes a dry gin martini . But the actual point of our conversation is to talk about her new book is Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War and that's what we talk about (mostly). She's on tour promoting the book right now, so go see her if you can and tell her you heard about the tour from us!

00:52:34 - PaloePOWs are a lot like books; they contain a lot of words. Ryan begins with a donation from Liam B., a Canadian donating with US money. How thoughtful! Thanks, Liam. Next up, Todd B. wanted us to watch a video about naked mole rats , the official animal of the podcast. They're pretty cute in an ugly sort of way, and the science being done is pretty cool too. Finally, Ryan reminds y'all that we're running an iTunes review contest. Write a review for us on iTunes between now and the Summer Solstice and be entered in a drawing to win prizes! We've gotten some good ones so far, and feature one from treaest.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

A Soldiering Life - The Decemberists

00:00:00 - This episode Ben and Ryan chat with Cosmologist Sean Carroll about his new book, The Big Picture . Presented here is the first part of our conversation about a number of topics presented in the book.

00:40:58 - Drinks are like the universe in that they exist. Sean enjoys a gin martini or a Gibson depending on his mood. Sometimes he adds both garnishes and we're just not sure about anything anymore. Ben has some guanabana nectar . Ryan explains what that fruit looks like. And Ryan rounds things out with a Celestial Garden from DC Brau.

00:49:51 - The second half of our interview we continue talking about the book, particularly the contributions of Ibn Sina and Rev. Bayes to momentum and probability, respectively. You can keep up with Dr. Carroll on his website or by following him on Twitter .

01:17:32 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like cosmology; they can take some time to wrap your head around. Ryan begins by thanking Jennifer G. (? ) for setting up a new recurring donation . Thanks, Jennifer! Ben has a question from Kenneth B. about which would win: the sun, or a water balloon the size of the sun. Ben, of course, has an answer.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:

Princes of the Universe - Queen

Onions - The Mountain Goats

Time Won't Let Me Go (Sun Version) - The Bravery