Follow hosts Dan and Alice as we explore the weird and wonderful. From technology to history, each episode delves into a new topic that's sure to fascinate! New episodes are released every Friday at 12pm PST (unless otherwise specified). Follow us on Twitter @nerdhourspod or email us at nerdhourspodcast@gmail.com.
Dan and Alice return to retelling creation stories, beginning with Africa. In this story, we discuss a cycle of creation and hubris. Find our sources @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice finish the discussion about Season 1 creation stories. In this part, we review the creation of humans, as well as more common trends in the creation stories that we've covered.
Dan and Alice continue the discussion about creation stories covered in Season 1. We discuss the themes of gods and pantheons, in addition to concepts like the often chaotic state of the universe in creation story prologues.
In the inaugural episode of Season 2, Dan and Alice discuss what they've noticed about the creation stories thus far. This episode dissects the four elements discussed in every creation story.
In the last creation story of the season, Dan and Alice review a myth from the Incan empire. We learn about the main god and his many trials in creating humans. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice delve into one of the creation stories from the ancient Aztec civilization. In it, we find some parallels to other creation stories we've covered, as well as the Aztecs' beliefs about doom and the need for sacrifice. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice look into the Dutch version of a lesser-known Brothers Grimm story. Join us for a standard fairy tale with some characters who have interesting abilities, the likes of which you likely have never heard of before! Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice look into a creation story from the Mayan civilization. We talk about their belief in different levels of the world, as well as the creation of humans and some of the gods who were pivotal in the creation of their world. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice discuss one of the many Inuit creation stories. In it, we experience a new take on the creation of land and learn about values of speech and language that seem to be very specific to these people. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In the fourth and final part of The Wall series, Alice and Dan explore the the detriments of isolation and mental decay, starting with Pink's fascist alternate persona and continuing through his mental trial and tear down of the wall. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod. Trigger Warning: mild swearing, homophobia, racism, adultery/abuse, drug abuse, & suicide
Dan and Alice discuss the Iroquois creation story as recorded by European settlers. While narrating the trials of a woman and many animals, we discuss significant similarities between the Iroquois creation story and other stories we've reviewed. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice discuss the Iroquois creation story as recorded by European settlers. While narrating the trials of a woman and many animals, we discuss significant similarities between the Iroquois creation story and other stories we've reviewed. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In this episode, Dan and Alice discuss a funny story from Norse mythology: the entertaining saga of one of Thor's marriages. Find our sources on twitter @nerhourspod.
Dan and Alice look into the Navajo creation story. We discuss the story of the creation of the original world, known as First World or Black World. In addition, we give some background to the people who believe in this world. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In the third part of The Wall series, Alice and an even more reluctant Dan cover the inside of Pink's mental wall, self isolation, and the tragic inspiration for Pink's mental breakdown. Trigger Warning: themes of mental/physical isolation, mental illness, suicide, war trauma, & drug abuse
Alice finishes her discussion about the planets in our solar system by covering Uranus and Neptune.
Dan reviews some world record tallest and shortest heights and the science behind why we've gotten taller.
Dan and Alice talk about the Arapaho creation story. We talk a bit about the Arapaho people and how their story is similar to and different from previous creation stories that we have discussed. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Alice and Dan return with the second installment in the series analyzing Pink Floyd's The Wall. We explore the darker themes of Pink's adulthood in Side 2 of the album and how his character mirrors the childhood traumas of Side 1. Trigger Warning: Mentions of adultery, drug abuse, physical and verbal abuse, suicide, and mental illness
Alice runs through some more planetary fun facts, starting with Jupiter and Saturn.
Dan and Alice start looking into creation stories from Native Americans with that of the Cherokee tribe. We talk a bit about who the Cherokee are and discuss some of the vast differences between this story and some of the previous that we have discussed. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In the first part of a series on Pink Floyd's concept album The Wall, Alice and a reluctant Dan venture into a brief history of progressive rock and dive into the first part of the 1979 album. Trigger Warning: Mentions of war trauma, spousal/child abuse, death threats, and gore/body horror
In the second part of this Valentine's Day special, Alice and Alexi finish covering a few misconceptions and stereotypes about bisexuality and talk about their own experiences being/coming out as bi. Trigger Warning: Biphobia/Homophobia
In this two part Valentines Day special, Alice and Alexi spill the tea on what it means to be "bi", from bisexuality in history and pop culture to common misconceptions.Trigger Warning: homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia
Dan and Alice pick up where we left off last time. We discuss vast distances and sizes both on our fair planet and in the universe, like Betlegeuse–a star with a name harder to spell than its size is to comprehend–as well as the length of time that the universe has existed. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod. Content warning: general discussion of the immense scale of our micro/macroverse could be upsetting for some listeners
Dan and Alice take a look into a Slavic creation story from Poland. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In our first episode of the New Year, Dan and Alice decide to provide a free existential crisis for both themselves and our listeners (no refunds). We discuss the microscopic worlds living around (and within us), from atoms to bacteria to water bears. We even dip into the numbers of humans on our fair planet and just how little space we can all squeeze into! Find our sources on twitter @nerhourspod. Content warning: germaphobia/bacillophobia, general discussion of the immense scale of our micro/macroverse could be upsetting for some listeners
In this special episode, Alice and Dan discuss the Roman holiday of Saturnalia, one of the many contributors to our modern Christmas. From public drunkenness to murder, this is the pinnacle of family-friendly Christmas stories to add to your list of classics. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.Music by Dee Yan-Key
In our latest example of why bored nerds shouldn't be underestimated, Dan and Alice, joined by our friend Alexi, talk about the first computer worm virus and what happens when a graduate prank goes a bit too far. We also discuss the thrilling first worm virus to be used as a political statement. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.Warning: mild profanity
Dan and Alice look into the ancient Baltic religions with an ancient Lithuanian creation story. We discuss how their duotheistic story parallels some ideas from the bible and other interesting things. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod!
In this bonus episode, Alice runs through two Japanese myths: the kitsune and the Shining Princess. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
From caffeine to morphine to the air we breathe, nitrogen is present in many vital--and sometimes dangerous--substances. In this episode, Alice walks Dan through some of the most hilarious (and deadly) discoveries of nitrogenous substances. You might even come out of the discussion with an entirely different view on the origins of the Nobel Prize. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice look into some of the beliefs of the Wiccan religion. We discuss some of the elements of this branch of neo-paganism and how there are so many different branches. We only go over a bare summary of the beliefs of the Wicca so if you want to know more, you can find our sources on Twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice discuss the importance of milk in Europe and the development of lactose tolerance in adults. In addition, we look a bit into lactose intolerance and casein intolerance. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Alice and Dan cover the longest creation story from Celtic Mythology. We make some comparisons to other creation stories we have already discussed and briefly review two other Celtic creation myths. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Over airways lost to time, Dan quickly explains the origins of Halloween.
In this episode, Alice and Dan review 11 of the more common gender identities and 15 of the more common sexual identities. We briefly define each of these identities, as well as give some examples from popular media. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice cover the creation story from Norse Mythology. We make some comparisons to other creation stories that we have already discussed. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan explains to Alice some of the basics of artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as some of the potential applications of this technology in the field of astronomy. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In the final part of this series, Alice and Dan cover the final two theories of consciousness, the Integrated Information Theory and the Higher Order Theory. We also discuss the takeaways from each theory and answer the question “what is consciousness and why do we have it?” Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In this month's bonus episode, Alice quickly covers NASA's origins and the first four planets in our solar system--often called the terrestrial (or rocky) planets.
In the first part of this series, Alice and Dan review some of the most popular theories of consciousness in the world of cognitive science. We cover the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Recurrent Processing Theory. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In the final episode of creation stories in the Middle East, Dan and Alice discuss an Ancient Egyptian story of creation. This is just one of dozens of retellings of this story, so some details may vary from what you've heard before. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In something of a different format than usual, Dan describes what it is to be aromantic and asexual and discuss what it's like in modern society to identify as such to Alice. We give an overview of what these terms are, anecdotal experiences, and common questions. Feel free to send any questions about being aro/ace to our twitter @nerdhourspod!
Dan and Alice explore the Babylonian myth of creation as told in the poem Enuma Elish. We discuss some of the parallels to the Ancient Greek story, as well as Genesis throughout the explanation. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.Warning: themes of violence - the Babylonians didn't care about “sanitization”
Dan goes through some fun facts about hummingbirds in a quick bonus episode!
Alice and Dan explore the many diagnoses that fall under unipolar depression and the many misconceptions of the mental disorder. We also talk a bit about the effects of social media and other diagnoses commonly paired with depressive disorders. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.Warning: This episode contains brief mentions of suicide, self-harm, and other serious symptoms of depression. Please watch at your discretion.
Dan and Alice continue their tour of creation stories with the one from Ancient Greece. We review some of the common elements of creation stories and spend some time discussing the succession aspect with regards to the quality of the successor. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.Warning: Mild swearing and themes of violence--the Greek creation story isn't exactly “war-free”
Dan, with the help of Alice, delves into the history of one of the most commonly known cipher - the caesar cipher. We discuss what type of code it is, the origins, and how it's been broken. We also talk a bit about the vigenère cipher and how it works. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
Dan and Alice start looking into world-wide creation stories with the well known creation story in Genesis. We discuss some of the common elements of creation stories, as well as some of the differences in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
In Part II, Alice and Dan delve into the wacky world of extremophiles, the possibility of life on Jupiter's ice moon Europa, and some upcoming missions searching for extraterrestrial life. Small segues into Antarctica's ozone hole and life on Mars and Jupiter's other moons are also present. Find our sources on twitter @nerdhourspod.
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