Science Faction Podcast

Real Life This week, real life got weird, itchy, nostalgic, and just slightly chaotic. Ben celebrated a birthday by dragging his family through a hike in tick-infested grass. Friendly reminder: Don't go into the long grass. We've seen Jurassic Park, we know how this ends. Devon may or may not be living in Foreverware straight out of Eerie, Indiana. Start checking those Tupperware lids, folks. Steven escaped a house overrun with cousins the only way he knows how: board game store therapy. Here's what we're playing: Burnout Paradise Remastered is only $5 on Steam right now and it still rules. Devon showed us how to pull off some in-game stunts. Sadly, not applicable to real life. Steven got cozy with Harmonies, a gorgeous little nature-builder where you balance habitats and critters. Ben brought in Infinite Board Game (Piecepack)—a modular system that spawned classics like Worm Derby and 9 Ball. Steven also shouted out Tak (playable with Piecepack!) and unboxed his shiny new copy of Slugblaster. Future or Now We talk a lot about the future, but this week, the past clawed its way back into the conversation. Ben shared a killer quote from Ray Bradbury: “I'm warning you now, so you don't have to pay a psychiatrist 20 years from now…” It came from a great piece of writing advice for screenwriters, poets, novelists—anyone with a keyboard. TLDR: read other stuff, write other stuff. Don't get boxed in. Read the whole post here. Devon brought space horror to the table: a NASA satellite that's been dead for 57 years just pinged Earth out of nowhere.  Read more Steven dove into the fungal unknown: scientists have turned Aspergillus flavus—yes, the tomb fungus found in places like King Tut's burial site—into a potential treatment for leukemia. Cursed no more. Science article here Book Club We're still steeped in the gentle robot comfort of Becky Chambers' A Psalm for the Wild-Built. This week, we covered: Audible Chapters 6–8 Book Chapters 4–6: An Object, and an Animal Remnants Grass Hen with Wilted Greens and Caramelized Onion (legit sounds delicious) Next week: Book Chapters 7 & 8 (The Wild, The Summer Bear) Audible Chapters 9–10 Bonus recommendation: Devon says you should read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, if you want philosophy, talking apes, and big “what's-wrong-with-the-world” energy.

Real Life Ben had a pretty heartfelt Father's Day. The kind that makes you wonder what to do with all those sentimental cards—save them? Repurpose them? Wallpaper a studio? He's thinking bigger: moleskin notebooks and sketchbooks as repositories for meaningful letters, doodles, and moments. He also caught You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at SLOREP, which delivered all the nostalgia and Peanuts poignancy one could hope for. Devon saw Annie live and reports back that yes, the sun did come out. Meanwhile, he was also boots-on-the-ground at the No Kings march in Tyler, TX, where roughly 1,000 freedom fans turned out to peacefully protest monarchy (fictional or otherwise). Steven joined a parallel No Kings march in Atascadero and followed it up with some Father's Day chaos and a Mutant Crawl Classics game (ask him about severing arms for cybernetics). Also: he watched Predator: Killer of Killers on Hulu and is delighted to report that the 800 A.D. Vikings segment delivers exactly what the title promises—Vikings versus Predator. It's glorious. Future or Now Ben warns us all: Motörhead tried to tell you, but you didn't listen. At Download Festival, moshing got so intense that smartwatches started auto-dialing emergency services. Authorities had to step in and tell everyone to dial down the wearable chaos. We now live in a world where jumping to Ace of Spades might trigger a 999 call. Rock responsibly. Steven, meanwhile, read a fascinating article on how old smartphones—millions of which end up in landfills—can be repurposed into micro data centers for public services. From bus tracking to marine research, your outdated Galaxy S6 may be the next scientific hero. As Moore's Law slows, we ask: what if we used what we already have? Devon abstained this week. (Or did he transcend time itself? TBD.) Book Club: A Psalm for the Wild-Built This week we dug into chapters 2 and 3: The Best Tea Monk in Panga and Splendid Speckled Mosscap. The robot has arrived—and while it's delightful, the kids in the book might be in spiritual peril. We unpack the loneliness and disconnection the humans seem to feel, and how it echoes the Jedi's lack of attachments in Star Wars. There's also a curious debate about genre: is this science fiction or fantasy? When your tech includes nearly-immortal pocket computers and self-aware robots emerging from the woods, the lines get blurry. Next week: chapters 4–6 (Audible 6–8), including “An Object, and an Animal,” “Remnants,” and a dinner scene featuring grass hen and caramelized onions. If you're not hungry by the end of it, you're stronger than us.

This week, Steven, Ben, and Devon record remotely to avoid the usual chaos (rat wrestling included). From blacksmithing birthday gifts to questioning the ethics of breakfast, it's a classic episode full of heart, guilt, and sci-fi coziness. Real Life Devon's work trip was mostly pointless, thanks to the other party being wildly unprepared. Meanwhile, Steven got new windows installed and watched Captain America: Brave New World in the middle of it all — his verdict: “fine,” which seems to be Marvel's current default. He and Ben discuss Harrison Ford stepping in as Thunderbolt Ross, the return of The Leader and Red Hulk, and whether Marvel's third-act fight addiction is dragging it all down. On the home front, Steven had an “intense Thursday” filled with gymnastics class, BBQs, and blacksmithing five custom hooks for his mom's birthday. Ben went to the beach and made a solid case for awe — like ocean waves — as a cure for modern burnout. Oh, and Yellowcard is releasing a new album with Travis Barker on drums. Yes, really. Future or Now Devon read Animal Liberation Now and now feels like a hypocrite for still eating meat. The book's argument: if animals can suffer, they deserve rights. Cue a deep dive into factory farming, animal testing, calorie efficiency, and whether “ethical meat” should be a rare luxury rather than a daily default. They talk about cows, chickens, and baby monkeys; the morality of milk and butter; and why our modern food system depends on people looking the other way. Steven questions how to get enough protein on a vegan diet, and Devon admits it's complicated — especially for anyone without time, money, or access. If nothing else, they agree that learning to treat animals better might teach us how to treat each other better, too. Book Club: A Psalm for the Wild-Built The gang begins Becky Chambers's cozy sci-fi novella, where humans and robots live separately but peacefully. Dex, a non-binary monk, ditches the city to become a tea monk — traveling the countryside offering comfort in the form of warm drinks and conversation. Their first attempt fails, so they go all in: building a hydroponic tea garden and trying again. The story is full of sustainability, small joys, and gentle spirituality. The hosts love the “cozy punk” vibe and Ben's especially struck by the god of small comforts' advice: find the strength to do both. Next chapter brings a two-year time jump — and (hopefully) a robot. Thanks for listening and supporting the show — and for sticking with us through windows, waffles, and weird philosophical spirals. – S, B & D

Real Life Things kicked off with stories from Friday night's bonfire, where the nature of reality was hotly debated between toasted marshmallows. That conversation somehow spiraled into a serious (and slightly absurd) discussion about Noodles and Soba—Ben's son's pet rats—and the potential benefits of getting female rats fixed. Apparently, doing so can add about a year to their lifespan by preventing reproductive cancers, but the surgery's cost is a tough sell when you're in what Ben called “debt paydown mode.” Devon floated the idea of unscrupulous “rat hustlers” faking the procedure, which—frankly—feels like a dark Netflix documentary waiting to happen. From there, it was a short hop to a conversation about whether rats lay eggs (they don't), Jurassic Park's “life finds a way,” and then straight into tearing apart Gremlins logic. What even is “midnight,” anyway? Local time? Greenwich Mean? Galactic zenith? And why are we trusting a kid instead of the old shopkeeper? Gremlins may now officially live in the “science fantasy/biological fiction” corner of the canon. Saturday brought gaming with their friend Greg. They played Relic Blade, where Devon managed to escort a yak to safety despite Steven's attempts at sabotage. Greg used a clever trick involving a D20 and gravity to determine movement direction, which frankly should be in the rulebook. They also played Marvel Dice Throne, where Devon's Wolverine got obliterated almost immediately thanks to poor positioning and cruel dice. Then came Living Well, a minimalist dice game with retro 70s-style art and some satisfying ability upgrades. Plans to play Arcs got shelved after a medical emergency—Nicole was hit hard by the heat and ended up needing CPR at the hospital (despite having a pulse and breathing, which… yeah, it was a weird night). She's recovering now. Future or Now TV-wise, the gang wrapped up Season 4 of Love, Death & Robots—with highlights including a talking cat, an occult bomber mission, and gang warfare against colossal babies. Over on Amazon Prime, they watched the Secret Level take on Pac-Man, which was surprisingly grim and humanoid-heavy. Ben and his son also dove into Scott Pilgrim territory, rewatching the movie and starting Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which quickly turns into a clever alternate universe story that's fun, stylish, and charming enough to inspire a trip through the graphic novels. Ben gave a thumbs-up to the newest season of Black Mirror, calling one episode a bit conceptually broken but championing another as a "new Callister." Book Club In Book Club, the crew dug into “Liking What You See: A Documentary” by Ted Chiang, from Stories of Your Life and Others. Framed as a mockumentary, the story centers on Caliagnosia—a reversible condition that disables facial beauty perception. The ethical and social ramifications are explored through interviews and propaganda, making the story feel eerily real. It raises questions about freedom, superficiality, advertising, and the influence of unseen tech on our minds. Tamara's personal journey through switching Cali off and on again added a human element to the philosophical questions. Everyone agreed: it was a banger of a story. Next up for Book Club: the first three chapters of A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. Get reading!

Real Life Roundup  Let's address the elephant not in the room: Devon is dead. Well, not dead-dead. Just birthday-visit-family-IRL-dead. We pour one out for our absent co-host, and prepare for his resurrection next week. Meanwhile, Steven has been watching robots get wild. The Wild Robot, that is. The new animated flick has dropped (IMDB link), and Steven's verdict is in: heartwarming vibes, metal clanking emotions, and just enough kid-friendly existentialism to make you question whether your Roomba has feelings. Also, did you know Black Adam shows up in DC League of Super Pets? Steven does. And he's not okay about it. Then came Doom. And then came… more Doom. One minute Steven's a casual fan, next he's elbows-deep in lore breakdowns and watching two-hour YouTube essays on timeline chaos. Marines killing demons across dimensions? Say less. Just hand him the BFG and back away slowly. Oh—and he's forging now. He didn't elaborate. Just forging. Like, swords? Friendships? The future? Who knows. Steven contains multitudes. Ben, on the other hand, has been diving into his subconscious with dream journaling. The result? Vivid, borderline cinematic dreamscapes. Not terrifying at all. He's also been getting deep with the Waking Up app, based on the book by Sam Harris. (Here's the app link). Ben reports that it's good for mindfulness, bad for avoiding personal epiphanies. Use at your own risk. Future or Now Ben introduces us to Space to Bark, a bizarre, short dungeon crawler where you play as a first-person Dogman navigating an underground labyrinth. Created by ComputerJames, it features: Bark-based controls ([SPACE] to BARK!) Wobbly hand-drawn dog sprites Combat! Puzzles! Dogmen lore! Dogman95 isn't just a pup with a dream—he's a legend in training, guided by the sacred Dogmaiden. This is the kind of weird internet treasure we live for. Hat tip to Web Curios for digging this one up. Devon, once again, is astral projecting or off the grid. No one really knows. Steven had… nothing. Just an existential stare. Book Club (but not really) This week's book club has been canceled due to lack of effort. Blame Devon. Blame the Void. Blame our over-scheduled lives. Either way, we didn't read anything this week, and we're not sorry. Next week, however, we're diving into “Liking What You See: A Documentary” from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. It's a short story about beauty, perception, and what happens when you turn off the part of your brain that notices appearances. It's Chiang, so expect deep thoughts and possible feelings. That's it from us! Come back next week for more co-host resurrection, dream logic, robotic feelings, and maybe even a book. If you like what we do, bark into the void or support us on Patreon. Your choice.

Real Life Devon [Redacted silence.] Possibly building up for a season finale of his own. Or meditating on NASA budget cuts. Either way—stoic. Steven We wrapped Andor, and while it stuck the landing, there's still one huge question: Where are Hera, Chopper, and the Ghost crew?! Justice for space moms and droid chaos: #ReleaseAndorTheRebelsCut Also, Steven took us on a wild detour into Monopoly studies with college students—spoiler alert: inherited wealth makes people awful. Shocking, we know. Ben Fresh from science camp and rocking a healthy dose of jet lag, Ben managed to be late to his own poetry reading. But hey—archery, mountain biking, and night hikes do things to a man. Possibly became a druid out there. Future or Now Steven “Hand hand fingers thumb…” No, we didn't start a toddler book club—Steven shared research that suggests chimpanzees drum with distinct rhythmic patterns depending on their subspecies. Which means your drummer friend? Maybe not that unique. The longest drum solo in history begins now. Devon NASA is facing a 53% cut to its science budget under the proposed presidential plan. That includes major slashes to earth and space science programs. Meanwhile, human spaceflight would get a commercial makeover. We quote Devon's son: “Does Trump believe in God?” Also, we're apparently heading back to the moon—just, you know, without a weather report. Read about the cuts Ben Ben took us on an emotional journey through the 2024 animated documentary Piece by Piece, which somehow manages to combine Lego stop-motion, Carl Sagan, and protest imagery into one transcendent experience. Trailer? Here. Carl Sagan clip? Also here. “Happy”? But make it devastating: This. More? Wikipedia's got you. Book Club This week: The Evolution of Human Science by Ted Chiang What if human research became too advanced for most people to understand? No characters, just ideas. It's written like a news article, and it's fascinating. Humanity has split into Normies and Meta-Humans, the latter genetically optimized before birth to the point that they operate on an entirely different intellectual plane. They use “DNT” (Digital Neural Transfer) and leave the rest of us behind with our podcasts and spreadsheets. Thought-provoking stuff. Included with Audible [if you're listening along]. Next week: Liking What You See by Ted Chiang Yes, we're doing another Chiang short, because why not dive deeper into techno-philosophical existential dread? (Roughly 1.5 hours—get reading!) Want more? Join the Discord. Support us on Patreon to get early episodes, bonus content, playlists, and the unedited chaos. And if you're listening on YouTube—hit that subscribe button. Or don't. But then we'll tell the Meta-Humans on you.

Real Life Devon went full medieval this week with a trip to a Renaissance Fair—this one featuring permanent structures that actually looked “authentic” instead of slapped together by ye olde hot glue. There were swinging rides, wooden horses, and some legit jousting. Unfortunately, the real fantasy was thinking the kids would have fun. Big downer energy. Steven is gearing up for an Arizona trip but had to make a sudden detour into Best Buy territory after his TV gave up the ghost. On the plus side, Andor continues to be amazing and makes up for any consumer electronics woes. (It really is still that good.) Ben has seen Labyrinth (have you?), and he's here for the dream logic and David Bowie's entire vibe. Also thrown into the cinematic blender: The Island and Cliffhanger. We're now seeking out more films where geological or man-made features are basically the co-stars. Let us know if you have one. Oh, and Ben also saw the Slate all-electric pickup truck, which looked like something out of Black Mirror. Meanwhile, TVs just… work now? What a time to be alive. Future or Now Time for some spicy Star Wars takes. We got into it over which trilogy was better: the Prequels or the Sequels. Episode IX (The Rise of Skywalker) got roasted—Devon called it "the worst." Ben leaned sequel-side, arguing they're better than the prequels overall. The breakdown went something like: Prequels: bad films, good plots Sequels: good films, bad plots There were also complaints about Starkiller Base, which feels like someone said “What if Death Star, but more?” But then there's Andor, which everyone agrees is just pure excellence. So Star Wars can still be good when they let writers write. Our rankings for maximum judgment: Devon's list: The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Rise of Skywalker, Attack of the Clones, The Last Jedi, Revenge of the Sith Ben's list: Rise of Skywalker, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi Your move, Internet.

Real Life: Devon would like to make one thing clear: queso is fine. Queso is acceptable. Just… not on everything, okay? Some of us still want to taste the actual food under the goo. That said, he did just survive a kid's pool party, so maybe he's earned the right to eat whatever the hell he wants — even fake grass, which he claims is "for winners." We're choosing not to dig into that statement. Steven, meanwhile, embraced the full Force of May 4th with joy, lightsabers, and an animated binge of Tales of the Empire — now fully released and featuring everyone's favorite dead-or-maybe-not-dead villainess Asaaj Ventress and the cowboy space bug bounty hunter Cad Bane. Is she still canonically dead? Who knows anymore. The rule is: if you didn't see the body dissolve, they can always come back. Also, Steven's forge is officially up and running. That's right — he's now a blacksmith. We're still waiting to see if this is a long-term thing or just a midlife crisis in steel-toed boots. Over in The Last of Us land, Season 2 Episode 4 dropped, and fans collectively screamed, cried, and probably tweeted GIFs because one of the game's most beloved scenes finally made it to screen — and yes, they nailed it. In a good way. Not like a fungal-mutant-jaw-through-your-neck way. Ben went to a roller derby bout in Irvine (report: chaotic and excellent), wandered the capitalist labyrinth that is Daiso, and wants to remind you it's Teacher Appreciation Week. So tell a teacher they rock, preferably with coffee, snacks, or a handwritten note of pure gratitude. Future or Now Ben brought us Writing Tools, a sleek, free, open-source app created by a high school student in Bangalore (hi, Jesai!) that gives Mac, Windows, and Linux users a system-wide writing boost via AI. It fixes grammar, summarizes content, and even helps you rewrite your angsty emails into something that won't get you fired. Bonus points for working offline and being featured basically everywhere. Teachers, students, chaotic creatives — check it out on GitHub. This also led us down the rabbit hole: Are LLMs bad? Short answer: not inherently. Long answer: come back next week for a full debate, complete with Devon's skeptical eyebrows and Ben's tech optimism. Devon watched Mickey 17, and the verdict is… “eh?” He appreciated the weirdness but didn't feel like the weird ever came together in a satisfying way. Unlike Parasite, which he still recommends, Mickey 17 left him shrugging with existential confusion, which is not his preferred flavor of sci-fi. Steven hit us with some mouse science: researchers have engineered gut bacteria that can detoxify methylmercury in mice, even when those mice are on a diet of bluefin tuna. The mice — and their babies — showed fewer signs of mercury poisoning. This means your sushi habit may one day come with a side of helpful microbes. Until then, maybe cool it on the sashimi. Book Club:  This week, we read A Brief Dance to the Music of the Spheres by Michael Kurland (from The Best of Omni Science Fiction, 1983). It's a sleek, sharp short story that offers a fresh take on the Fermi Paradox: if there's intelligent life out there, why haven't we seen it? The story gives us a possible answer — one we won't spoil here, except to say it involves jazz, physics, and a little cosmic humility. You can read it on Archive.org or listen to the adaptation here. Next week: we're diving into Jorge Luis Borges' There Are More Things. Yes, it's a Borges horror story. Yes, we're terrified and delighted. Yes, Devon has thoughts. Got thoughts on queso, metal mice, or fictional villains who refuse to stay dead? Hit us up. And thank a teacher. Seriously. They've seen some things.

Real Life  Devon just got back from Barcelona, where his sister-in-law's wedding was equal parts joyful and medically confusing (house-wide illness, mystery IV drip, etc.). Between family chaos and questioning the overwhelming religious vibes, he managed to sneak in a tour of tapas bars—including Bobby's Free, a barbershop turned speakeasy where you open a safe to get a drink. Also on the agenda: the Sagrada Familia, which still looks like Gaudí teamed up with an alien architect. Take a virtual tour and judge for yourself. Steven went full Jedi at Disney's Star Wars Night on Batuu, adding more lightsabers to a collection that's now approaching General Grievous territory. He caught the live Storyteller Show (“shockingly emotional for a theme park thing”) and did some heavy-duty geeking out at the custom saber forge. Series two sabers are out now. Good luck, your wallet. Ben's been working on his nap game. He's reading Take a Nap! Change Your Life by Sara Mednick (link), thanks to a recommendation from Cool Tools. Lucid dreaming, better brain function, and maybe—just maybe—a dream where he finally builds his own lightsaber. Also: Devon didn't watch The Naboo Movie, which we're still not convinced is real. Future or Now  Ben found a Reddit guide to rewiring your brain—more philosophy than prescription, but helpful as a reminder: break bad loops, reframe your thinking, stay mindful. Simple ideas, not always simple to do. Devon brought the science bombshell: astronomers may have detected a biosignature outside our solar system. It's not a “we found aliens” headline, but it's the strongest hint yet that something biological might be out there. Researchers are cautious, but intrigued. So are we. Steven recapped Andor season 2, episodes 1–3. The political tension is still top-tier, the pacing's tighter, and the existential dread remains on-brand. Also, WondLa season 2 is out now (IMDb), if you need more sci-fi world-building in your queue. Book Club  No book this week—we're recharging. But next time, we're reading “A Brief Dance to the Music of the Spheres” by Michael Kurland from The Best of Omni Science Fiction #6. Read it here, and don't skip the illustrations—they're wild in the best way. Back next week with cosmic dances, dream experiments, and at least one more lightsaber.

Hey, it's a new week and your favorite trio is back—well, two-thirds of us, anyway. Devon is currently living his best life in Barcelona, probably sipping espresso in a narrow sunlit alley or arguing with someone about FC Barcelona tactics. Meanwhile, the rest of us have been busy with spring break chaos, Santa Cruz curiosities, and turning broken laptops into gaming slabs. Real Life Stuff Steven hit up Santa Cruz for a classic California spring break trip. That meant a day at the boardwalk, a ride up the mountains on a steam engine to hunt Easter eggs with the family, and—yes—the infamous Mystery Spot. For the uninitiated, it's California State Historical Landmark #1055 and basically a physics-defying tourist trap nestled in the redwoods. It's $10 and you walk out wondering if your equilibrium is off or if you've just witnessed real magic. Verdict? Worth it. Especially if you enjoy a healthy mix of skepticism and whimsy. Ben had the kind of spring break that only a tech tinkerer dreams of. He loaded Bazzite SteamOS onto his desktop (yes, it's real, and yes, it's cool: bazzite.gg). Then he cracked open a MacBook Pro with the dreaded FlexGate issue—1/10 on the repairability scale, even with help from ifixit.com—and turned it into a Steam-powered “SlabTop.” Also in Ben's world: a visit from Mom, and a daycare full of cute dogs and chicks (the feathered kind, relax). We also detoured into The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2. Let's just say the show continues to spark great conversation—and some tension between game purists and show-only folks. The Future Is Now Ben brought the indie darling GOTY (Game of the Year) Lushfoil Photography Sim to our attention—an atmospheric exploration game that's more about vibes than objectives. Think beautiful desolation and digital zen. He also shouted out Radio Garden—a global map where you can spin the world and listen to live radio from just about anywhere. It's the chillest rabbit hole you'll ever fall into. And for anyone trying to make sense of the digital mess that is our current internet, he also found this guide to misinformation-fighting tools. Even though it's aimed at journalists, it's super handy for the rest of us trying to tell real news from ragebait. Steven took us on a hyperspace jump to Star Wars Celebration updates. Highlights? The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, Andor Season 2 (yes, please), Ahsoka Season 2, Maul: Shadow Lord, a new Star Wars: Starfighter movie, and Star Wars Visions Volume 3. Basically, it's a great time to be a galaxy-far-far-away fan. Book Club We're taking next week off from Book Club (don't worry, we'll still be recording). But this week we dove into William Gibson's “Fragments of a Hologram Rose”—his first published story and a dense little piece of cyberpunk mood. It follows a man piecing together memories of his ex via a near-future tech called ASP (Apparent Sensory Perception). It's sad, it's moody, it's very Gibson. The whole idea of fragmented memory and identity hits especially hard in a world where we're all just scrolling, recording, and replaying everything. We'll be back next week (with or without Devon depending on how good that Barcelona weather is). As always, hit us up with your thoughts, your favorite indie games, your weird spring break stories, or your take on who's actually in the right: Joel or Ellie. See you then!

Real Life: This week's episode kicks off with Devon missing in action, attending a wedding and recovering from, well… life. Also, he's apparently deep into building off-brand LEGO, which raises some very important questions: How many pieces? How many regrets? Meanwhile, Ben survived a 5.2 earthquake and checks in to let us know that everyone's safe. He also shares a couple links to Desert Child, an indie hover-bike racer/RPG that mixes hip-hop, ramen, and pixel art vibes—and may or may not be rolling onto Xbox soon thanks to some juicy UI integration rumors. https://store.steampowered.com/app/844050/Desert_Child/ https://isthereanydeal.com/game/desert-child/info/ https://www.theverge.com/news/633478/microsoft-xbox-steam-games-support-ui   Steven's life update is more... fluffy. Literally. He's in line to pick up baby chicks for the backyard flock (Black Sexlinked and Smokey Pearl, if you're curious), and discovers that mailing baby birds is a surprisingly common thing. Also, he's deploying next-level parenting tricks by disguising fun surprises as errands. The dad game is strong.  Also: The Last of Us S2 premiere dropped and Steven gives it a glowing 10/10. We talk a bit about how the show mirrors the game—and why it's working so well. Ben also brings us something very important: The Naboo Movie. It's real. It's glorious. It's here: watch it now. Future or Now: Ben drops some cosmic perspective with a planetary fact that blew our minds: All the planets in our solar system could line up between the Earth and the Moon. That includes Pluto, for those of you still rooting for the little guy. Steven introduces us to Mad Mouse—no, not a Disney spinoff. This is about AI mapping mouse brains. A new model simulates how the mouse visual cortex responds to images. Basically, it's science fiction getting closer to just… science. Read the study here. Book Club: This week, we took a listen to the first episode of It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton, featuring “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death” by Caroline M. Yoachim. It's a short, beautiful, gut-punch of a story about love across time and space—a real Gordian knot of feels. Check it out on Lightspeed Magazine. Next week we'll be diving into “Fragments of a Hologram Rose” by William Gibson, part of his Burning Chrome collection. It's a short one—just 15 minutes—and dripping in cyberpunk atmosphere. And if you're wondering about the Star Trek side of our brains: yes, we saw the new Strange New Worlds trailer. Yes, it looks wild. Yes, we're watching. Peep it here.  

Real Life: This week's episode has movie madness, creepers, princesses, and ducks with vendettas. Devon took a deep dive into the Minecraft Movie—yes, it's real, and yes, it might haunt him forever. Steven watched Disney's live-action Snow White and has thoughts... strong ones. Meanwhile, Ben got cartoon-punched in the face (in the best way) by The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (IMDb). Think: Bugs Bunny meets alien invasion. Future or Now: Solar Panels on Canals? Yes, Please: Ben brings us Project Nexus—the U.S.'s first solar panel canopy system over irrigation canals. The $20 million pilot is up and running in California's Turlock Irrigation District and could be a game-changer. Benefits include reducing water evaporation, improving quality, and cutting down on canal maintenance. Also? Clean energy. Read more TV Necromancy: Devon reports on shows coming back—some you missed, some you didn't know you missed, and a few you assumed were never coming back. Television's not dead. It's just rebooting. ba-ba-ba-BA-baaaaaa: Steven delivers the science: a Western diet can mess you up in just two weeks. Inflammation, weakened immunity, and long-term disease processes all kick in fast. But the good news? Switching to a traditional African diet (think fiber, fermented foods, veggies) can start reversing the damage just as quickly. Check it out “Book Club”: This week we read Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson. A short story that drips with classic cyberpunk vibes, data couriers, and one incredibly dangerous dolphin. Devon didn't totally connect with it, but Steven loved the gritty worldbuilding and its ties to Neuromancer. Ben was onboard for the full ride—hacker noir, neon grit, and all. Next week: We're tuning in to It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton (link) and covering “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death” by Caroline M. Yoachim (read it here). Time travel and heartbreak? Sign us up.

Real Life: This week's episode is packed with real-life chaos, sci-fi intrigue, and some good ol' tabletop talk. Devon's 4-year-old had to audition for attending a school, and guess what? It's a little stressful! Audible is now offering free content to subscribers, kinda like The Great Courses. Steven brings us part two of our City of Mist saga and shares his latest D&D session with the kids using *Peril in Pinebrook*, a free starter adventure. Also, D&D vs. City of Mist—how do they compare? Oh, and the neighbor's dog ATE one of his chickens. Not cool. Ben recommends the first episode of Storytime with Wil Wheaton (https://wilwheaton.net/podcast/), where he narrated the incredible time travel love story "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death" by Caroline M. Yoachim (https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/rock-paper-scissors-love-death/). You know how people will move heaven and earth for their loved ones? What if they moved time itself? We may cover this in an upcoming Book Club, watch out for that. Plus, Win or Lose, Pixar's new show, is a WIN.   Future or Now:   Like Brains, But Better: Electrical and computer engineers have developed a 'Super-Turing AI,' which operates more like the human brain. This new AI integrates certain processes instead of separating them and then migrating huge amounts of data like current systems do. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250326123554.htm   This Week in Space: NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has detected the largest organic (carbon-containing) molecules ever found on the red planet. The discovery is one of the most significant findings in the search for evidence of past life on Mars. https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/03/nasas-curiosity-rover-has-found-the-longest-chain-carbon-molecules-yet-on-mars/ https://www.sciencealert.com/nasas-unexpected-discovery-of-the-largest-organics-on-mars-explained   “Book Club”:   This week we covered three thought-provoking stories by Scott Base:   The Giving Man: https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/giving-man A billionaire sacrifices everything, including the world, to try to fight his cancer. Living forever through the heat death of the universe.   Scour: https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/scour The rings of Saturn are not what we thought. They're made of BONES.   Hell and Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXVBlC3hmoc No body survives Venus.    Next week: we're tackling Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson—a cyberpunk adventure that's still eerily relevant today. https://youtu.be/aIwYxSuAzDA?si=SgcfWqx1cyiBoO1F

Real Life This week, Steven got his hands dirty—literally. Between digging, yard work, and wrestling with a modem that decided to give up on life mid-game, it's been an eventful time. Speaking of games, we dove into City of Mist, where Greg has to decide: is he the "Crusty DM" or simply sporting a "healthy patina of experience"? Devon, meanwhile, is a street shark (but NOT the cartoon kind), Steven's embodying Job (maybe the biblical one?), and Ben's teenage runaway Lily Chow has freed a djinn her parents were up to no good with. Good times, until technology betrayed us. Outside of RPGs, we had a Margaritaville party (because sometimes you just need to lean into the chaos), and we gave Let's Summon Demons a solid 4/5. Meanwhile, Devon tried out Harmonies—a game in the vein of Cascadia—and highly recommends it. If you want to check it out, here's the link: Harmonies on BGG. Oh, and Devon's also been watching Daredevil: Born Again, so we'll probably hear more about that soon. Ben, on the other hand, watched Flow (IMDB), an indie Latvian/French post-apocalyptic film with animals, boats, and a slow but gorgeous vibe. Sci-fi? He says yes. Thrill ride? Not quite, but definitely worth a watch. Future or Now? Ben took a deep dive into his cosmic worldview this week, courtesy of a Substack quiz designed to help pinpoint one's beliefs about reality. Turns out, he hovers somewhere between animism, Gnosticism, and multiverse theory—because why pick just one? He also explored Emergent Materialism, the idea that consciousness and social phenomena are more than the sum of their physical parts, while Steven proudly waved the banner of Reductive Materialism: "We're all just atoms and molecules—deal with it!" Devon, ever the skeptic, leaned into Pragmatic Instrumentalism: “Do we even know what reality is?” And of course, the multiverse debate made an appearance. Do we really buy into it? We debated it all… while channeling our inner Matt Murdock. Steven also brought up some interesting research on how we misinterpret our dogs' emotions. Humans have a habit of projecting their own feelings onto their pets, leading to misunderstandings about what they actually need. Here's the study if you want to check it out. Ben, meanwhile, admitted that his labrador has him trained rather than the other way around—because, let's face it, food is the ultimate motivator. Book Club This week, we discussed To Be Taught, If Fortunate: Votum by Becky Chambers. Topics ranged from chirality and molecular handedness to the ultimate decision-makers in the universe. Steven had thoughts about the book's ending… and let's just say he made sure we all heard them. Repeatedly. Next week, we're diving into three stories by Scott Base: The Giving Man, Scour, and Hell and Back (watch here). If you want to read along, now's your chance! That's it for this episode! Let us know your thoughts, especially if you have strong opinions on RPG archetypes, cosmic worldviews, or whether your dog is secretly running your life. Catch you next time!  

Real Life Devon has been diving into The Electric State, and the discussion turns to the unique blend of kid-friendly aesthetics and eerie, unsettling imagery. The upcoming movie adaptation ( IMDB link ) raises the question: who is this really for? Meanwhile, Steven is excited about the group finally playing City of Mist with Greg—expect some noir-drenched, super-powered storytelling soon. Also, Windows 11 users, rejoice (or at least breathe a little easier): Microsoft is making moves to remove ads from its interface. Progress? We hope so. Ben bids farewell to Clawed, a beloved companion. Losing a pet is never easy. As a result, he's rethinking his relationship with social media. When you're grieving, the internet can be both a comfort and a drain. Is it time to step back and reevaluate our online spaces? Future or Now Ben introduces us to SEN, a project aiming to revolutionize desktop environments with a data-centric approach. Unlike existing knowledge management systems, SEN prioritizes local storage and metadata integrity over cloud-based solutions. If you're into Obsidian, Haiku OS, or just wish your computer worked with your thoughts instead of against them, check it out ( SEN introduction ). And for those interested in the philosophy behind it, the Data-Centric Manifesto lays out the foundation of this approach. Devon takes us way, way back—to LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor. New research suggests all life on Earth traces back to this single organism that existed only 400 million years after Earth formed. Even more fascinating? LUCA likely had an early immune system, meaning it was already fending off viruses. ( Read more ) Life finds a way, indeed. Book Club Next week, we're reading To Be Taught, If Fortunate: Votum by Becky Chambers. If you're following along, now's the time to grab a copy! This week, we covered To Be Taught, If Fortunate: Opera. One of the standout moments: “It was not a cozy storm, a curl-up-with-a-book-and-a-blanket storm. This was weather that resented us.” That kind of atmospheric writing is why we love Becky Chambers. In other media news, Steven and Ben wrapped up Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and were blown away. A season-long What If? style arc that absolutely delivered. Meanwhile, Devon and Steven have jumped into Daredevil: Born Again. How does it hold up to expectations? You'll have to listen to find out. That's it for this week! If you're enjoying the podcast, let us know what you think about the books, games, and tech we're covering. And if you have a take on LUCA, Windows 11, or The Electric State, we'd love to hear it.

This episode contains: Daylight savings hit, and we're all just trying to cope.   Real Life (or Whatever That Is)   Devon Saw Apocalyptica in Dallas—three cellists and a drummer, blasting Metallica covers. It was energetic, intense, and apparently, the drums were a standout. Nita Strauss opened, because Devon only goes to shows with legendary guitarists involved. Also, he went to a production of Cheaper by the Dozen, which was… a different vibe entirely. Steven got into Marvel Crisis Protocol, which he describes as similar to Shatterpoint. More importantly, he won his first game against his friend Greg, which obviously means he's an expert now. Devon saw Wicked and was deeply underwhelmed. (Expect fan outrage.) Ben went to a production of Million Dollar Quartet, which tells the story of a legendary jam session between Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. If you don't know what that is, here's a Wikipedia link: Million Dollar Quartet.   Future or Now (Depends on Your Perspective)   Remember Me!  Steven presents a real-life prequel to Fallout. Sweden is burying its radioactive nuclear waste in sealed bedrock for 100,000 years. The challenge? How do we make sure future generations don't dig it up and think, “Oh cool, ancient glowing rocks!” Scientists have some ideas, and they range from the practical to the deeply sci-fi.   Check it out:  Science Daily | Highly radioactive nuclear waste: how to keep it from oblivion A PDF of the actual Key Information File   CALM DOWN, JEEZ  Ben brings us a podcast from NPR and the TED Radio Hour about how we handle emotions, featuring insights from neuroscientist Ethan Kross on managing emotional overwhelm. Science-backed coping mechanisms? Yes, please. An example: talking to yourself in the second person to coach yourself.   Listen here: NPR - Ethan Kross on Managing Emotions   Also, Ben's dog has got Diabetes insipidus, which, despite the name, has nothing to do with regular diabetes. More on that here: Diabetes Insipidus   Book Club:  Continuing coverage of the novella To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. This week, our crew traveled to Mirabilis (also the name of the chapter we read)—a planet of ice, deep-sea creatures, and they brought with them some existential dread. Some key themes:   Survival of the fittest (but at what cost?) The emotional toll of killing an animal for survival Missing communications from Earth  The sheer terror of the unknown   Devon asked, “Are they vegan?”—a question inspired by his recent reading of Animal Liberation Now. Also, sometimes Devon's not in the mood for fiction, but Becky Chambers' writing is worth it.   Next week: the chapter “Opera” (same book, different planet).

Real Life Devon had a little adventure at Meow Wolf, which, as expected, was a wild, surreal ride. Also, finally got around to fixing the fence—fingers crossed it actually stays fixed this time. Over in office world, the TV is officially on the wall, the SNES emulator is up and running, and Devon has entered the inevitable "but how does it work?" phase. This led to Ben patiently explaining BIOS, which, if you're curious, has a whole Wikipedia page that is both informative and an excellent cure for insomnia. Meanwhile, Devon has also started reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance because, apparently, philosophy is the next rabbit hole. Steven, on the other hand, has nothing new to report. Just wrangling the circus as usual. Ben is saying a fond farewell to Windows 10 and Skype—pour one out for the relics of the past. In more exciting news, he checked out the demo for Wheel World, and it's super cool. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth a look on Steam. Also, he's officially made the jump to Linux, currently rocking Kubuntu and going full customization mode. Speaking of Linux, SteamOS is doing some interesting things, which you can check out here. Future or Now Devon got a bit of a scare with the whole “asteroid might hit Earth” thing, but turns out, the European Southern Observatory has pretty much ruled out a 2024 YR4 impact. So, we're good—for now. Still, it brings up the whole Sweet Meteor of Death (SMOD) meme, because wouldn't it just be the most on-brand way for things to go? If you haven't seen Don't Look Up, now's a great time. Also, AES Andes is doing some interesting environmental work, which you can read about here. Ben actually has some good news for once! Engineers have created the first flat telescope lens that can capture color while detecting light from faraway stars. Science is officially magic. If you're curious, Phys.org has all the details. Steven? Still nothing. Just vibes. “Book Club”  Next week, we're diving into To Be Taught, If Fortunate the Mirabilis chapter by Becky Chambers, so if you want to read along, now's your chance. This week, we covered To Be Taught, If Fortunate: Please Read This, and Aecor (and Earth)—all Becky Chambers, all the time. We got into some fun (and mildly unsettling) topics, like torpor—aka space hibernation, but with an existential twist. Sleeping without dreaming, aging super slowly—would you do it? And then there's somaforming, where instead of terraforming planets, you change humans to survive in space. Also, radiation-resistant food, glitter face (yes, really), and the idea of “crowd-funded” space travel—would that actually work? Lots to love about these stories so far, and we'll keep the discussion going next time. See you next week!

Real Life Updates Devon's Redecoration Adventure Devon has been painting and redecorating—at Jen's request—to make things look more "adult." This involved taking down metal posters to put up a TV for gaming, which led to a frustrating experience with Displate (spoiler: they suck). While redecorating, Devon also came across a fascinating philosophy YouTuber, Alex O'Connor. ▶️ Watch Alex O'Connor: YouTube Link Also, ChatGPT can apparently generate a perfect glass of wine… all the way to the top. Steven's Gaming Corner Steven has been playing Avowed (part of Xbox Game Pass—so "free"). His verdict? "Pretty fun." Thanks to his beefy new graphics card, he's playing on PC. ▶️ Check out Avowed: Steam Link He also tried Keep Driving, a game about driving to the right, avoiding potholes, picking up hitchhikers, and helping a little girl find her parents—all while managing fuel, energy, and car repairs. ▶️ Try Keep Driving: Steam Link Ben's Solitaire Obsession Ben has discovered Scoundrel Solitaire by Zach Gage and Kurt Bieg, a solitaire game played with a real deck of cards and a D20. ▶️ Learn how to play: Rules PDF ▶️ Play online: Itch.io Link Future or Now: Music & Media Renee's Music Question: Renee's kid is getting into 90s rock (Weezer, The Offspring, etc.), and that sparked a conversation about favorite musical sounds and guitar solos. Here's what we came up with: Ben: The sound of an orchestra tuning up (potential energy). Favorite solo: We Will Fall Together – Streetlight Manifesto Steven: Any heavy bass sound. Favorite solo: Waking the Demon Devon: Pinched harmonics. Favorite solo: Octavarium (Razor's Edge) – John Petrucci ▶️ Dream Theater - Octavarium Guitar Solo: YouTube Link Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man We checked out Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which fills in gaps between the Tom Holland movies. Like X-Men '97, it takes some big swings. ▶️ More on the show: IMDB Link Devon's Disturbing Read Devon is reading Animal Liberation Now by Peter Singer. It's unsettling, to say the least. More thoughts after he finishes. ▶️ Read it here: Google Books Link Steven's Movie Night Steven watched some of Wicked Part 1 with his kids. They haven't asked to watch more. Suspicious. He also revisited Return to Oz, which remains a fever dream. ▶️ Return to Oz: Rotten Tomatoes Link Book Club Corner Next Week: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers A look at 22nd-century space exploration using somaforming—biological modifications that allow astronauts to survive hostile environments. But what happens when Earth moves on without them? ▶️ Audiobook: Audible Link This Week: Billennium by J.G. Ballard A classic dystopian short story exploring extreme overpopulation. But why "20,000 million"? And what would you do if you suddenly came into wealth? Would you help others? ▶️ Read it here: PDF Link ▶️ World population discussion: Worldometer

Real Life:   Steven's been back at the forge for Blacksmithing Class #2, where Ben learned the existence of trivets (yes, those little metal stands your grandma probably had). Meanwhile, babysitting round two for Steven's nephew went... well, let's just say he survived. Rainy days are not great for four-year-olds. On the tabletop front, we got into Dungeon Crawl Classics (aka the ‘70s cranked up to 11) with its insane artwork and a spell system that just loves making you regret your choices. Then there's Mutant Crawl Classics, which, well... we didn't get as far, but you know it's gotta be weird and radioactive. Ben, on the other hand, had feedback about last week's discussion of Mothership. Devon's character was from Planet America, and Ben played Rodney McKay, based on our favorite Grumpy Scientist from Stargate: Atlantis. Also, Ben's dog has bladder problems (is it Cushing's disease?), and he's making custom Mac Mini decals that look like that Joy Division album cover that you probably know from Hot Topic t-shirts.   Future or Now: Since Devon's not here, let's talk about video games.    Dragonsweeper is Minesweeper meets dungeon crawler, and it's addictive as heck. Play it for free on the web at one of these two links:   https://dragonsweeper.com/New-Dragonsweeper-Version https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper   Also, can we finally talk about UFO 50, that game that combines 50 indie games in one, all looking like they're straight out of the 80s? Ben waxes on and on about Party House: a deckbuilding game where you gather as many guests as you can to throw a huge party, but don't let it get out of hand! If it was released separately, it'd probably have been game of the year.   https://ufo50.miraheze.org/wiki/Party_House   Paper, Watch Out! Scientists in Japan are making biohybrid hands with lab-grown muscle tissue. These “MuMuTAs” are a step toward prosthetics and robots that mimic real muscle movement. Read more about it here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250212151423.htm   This reminded Ben of a love poem he wrote recently: Colonies:  https://ben.lawless.rocks/poetry/colonies/   “Book Club”:   This week: Burning Chrome by William Gibson, specifically the titular story in the collection that brought us cyberpunk classics like Johnny Mnemonic.   Next week: Billennium by J.G. Ballard — a 1962 dystopian tale of extreme overpopulation, where people live in minuscule rooms in overcrowded cities. Sounds like fun, right?

Real Life:  How silly is Devon? According to him, not at all. But his big toe pain might argue otherwise. The jury is still out. Steven took a blacksmithing class, and it turns out, there's a whole process to it. Safety docs? Check. Appropriate clothing? Check. Payment going to the blacksmithing museum? Very cool. His first project? A letter opener—definitely not a shiv. (Side note: Can you just carry knives around? What if you're being particularly menacing?) Good news: Steven is now a Level One Blacksmith and qualifies for the Level Two class! There's even talk of a blacksmithing tournament and chili cookoff. Speaking of knives… does everyone remember sock knives? On a more serious note, Ben reflects on the passing of his neighbor, Ronna, and the challenge of timing at the end of life. A moment to acknowledge those we lose and the impact they have.   Future or Now:  Ben's Dive into the Desktop Metaphor Ben took us down a philosophical rabbit hole about the desktop metaphor in computing. How does it relate to capitalism? How did William Gibson envision computing? Are there better metaphors we should be using? If you want to dig deeper, here's some background reading: History of the Graphical User Interface Xerox PARC and DNLS from 1968 Liber Indigo - Metaphysical Prisoners of the Desktop MercuryOS and Jason Yuan's vision Steven's Reaction: Uh…what? Steven, caught off guard, tried to process it all. But then he found an interesting study: link. The question is: Are its findings really about gender differences, or are they tied more to familial and societal roles? Let's just say, we have some thoughts about the methodology. Book Club (But Make It TTRPG): Next Week's Read: Burning Chrome by William Gibson We had to shift things around this week since Ben had a family emergency. But next week, we're diving into Burning Chrome by William Gibson. Get ready for some cyberpunk goodness! Mothership: A Sci-Fi Horror TTRPG Review Instead of discussing books, we reviewed Mothership, the sci-fi horror RPG that Steven ran, with Devon as a player. Here's the rundown: The setup: A distress call leads the crew to a ship. The dilemma: Follow company orders or investigate the alien presence? The experience: Mystery, clues, and big decisions. The result: Devon said he'd play again—high praise! If you're into sci-fi horror with a heavy dose of corporate greed and existential dread, Mothership might be worth checking out. That's it for this week! As always, let us know your thoughts, and we'll see you next time for Burning Chrome and more weird, wonderful discussions.

Real Life Devon's journey to California was an absolute disaster—airline delays, misfortune, and plenty of travel woes. We also dive into how our phones are both doom-scroll machines and powerful learning tools. Devon shares his love for the music app Simply Piano, which teaches more than just piano. Meanwhile, Steven and Devon jammed out on piano and acoustic guitar, and Ben reflected on fatherhood—specifically how video games can help break generational trauma. We also tackle a big question: Who can we trust for accurate news anymore? And why does it seem like we only feel tragedy when Americans are attacked? What does that say about us as humans, and is there any way to break the cycle? Fantasy Media & Devon's Deep Dives Devon has been lost in The Stormlight Archive, an epic fantasy series spanning thousands of pages. (Check it out: Stormlight Archive). We talk about what got Devon into fantasy in the first place—The Name of the Wind and Red Rising—and how playing D&D shaped his storytelling. Speaking of books, Devon brings up Exturb1a's poetry, which gets Ben way too excited. Then we take a detour into The Saxon Stories, which may not technically be fantasy, but Devon argues otherwise. We also discuss “The Nailed God” and its historical parallels. (More on The Saxon Stories) Steven is prepping to run a Mothership TTRPG session for Devon, Ben, and friends. He shares his process for session creation, and we get into how ChatGPT is surprisingly useful for game prep—and how AI might shape video games in the future. (Mothership TTRPG) Some Good AI / LLM Talk Ben has been experimenting with Notebook LM by Google, which is basically a 90% accurate study guide. But is that good enough? We also discuss Dropout TV, Cartoon Hell, and the weird world of AI in everyday life—like how Steven had to sign an AI release just to get pet healthcare?! Ben compares all of this to that chaotic Invader Zim episode, "Play The Tape!" and quickly plugs Becky Chambers' To Be Taught If Fortunate. (Check it out here).

Real Life Devon is gearing up for a trip to Barcelona in April, planning a Friday-to-Wednesday itinerary. The big question: is it worth it? We'll see how he weighs the travel time, costs, and must-see sights against the trip's duration. Meanwhile, Steven has been deep in Sonic nostalgia. He picked up a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog from the original Sega on the Switch, only to find his oldest daughter struggling with its difficulty. Ben suggests they try Sonic Adventure from the Sega Dreamcast era, but Steven is skeptical. On top of that, they've watched the first two Sonic movies—but Steven refuses to pay to see Sonic 3. Also, a side note from parenting life: manage expectations when handing kids new electronics. In other news, Steven has started learning Latin on Duolingo and already has thoughts—mostly about the overwhelming number of ads. Ben has been learning some unexpected rat facts since his son got new pet rats. Steven, from prior experience, warns that they don't have the longest lifespans. Speaking of things taking a dark turn, Ben draws a comparison to the game Heavy Rain, where a child finds a dead bird—definitely a tonal shift from Super Mario Brothers. Future or Now Ben revisited Star Trek: Section 31 and had a moment of deep reflection—too deep, according to Steven. Is Section 31 aimed at 11-year-olds? Are the plot holes too much? Devon steps in to explain Section 31 to Steven, who—by his own admission—is a Star Trek dummy. Meanwhile, Ben is also reading Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing for even more Trek content. If you're curious, check it out on Goodreads. Devon drops an incredible animal fact: the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is the only vertebrate that always gives birth to identical quadruplets. Every single time. Scientists still aren't sure why this happens, but it's a fascinating mystery of biology. Read more on IFL Science and Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Steven, meanwhile, has been thinking about water scarcity and the challenges we might face in the near future. He calls it "Not a Drop to Drink" and shares an article which you can read here. Book Club Next Week: We're diving into Burning Chrome by William Gibson. If you've ever wanted to jack into the Toronto construct matrix, this is the time. Gibson, often credited with popularizing the term "cyberspace," helped define cyberpunk as a genre. Burning Chrome prefigures his famous novel Neuromancer and introduces one of the first literary computer hackers. Unfortunately, the story isn't available online, but you can find it in the Burning Chrome short story collection. This Week: We discussed "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester. Bester, best known for The Demolished Man, was a unique figure in Golden Age sci-fi—not just a visionary storyteller, but also an incredible writer. "Fondly Fahrenheit" is a dark, gripping short story about a servile android-robot that turns murderous. What makes it unforgettable is the way Bester plays with language, shifting perspective and structure in ways that make the writing an essential part of the story itself. If you haven't read it, you can find it on Goodreads or read it online here. Be warned: it's a dark one, featuring a serial killer narrative that may not be suitable for younger readers. That's it for this week—see you next time for more real-life updates, sci-fi debates, and deep dives into classic literature!

This episode contains: Steven is under the weather and Devon had to run fast for Sonic 3. Ben's making his way through the Knuckles TV show (lots of bowling in this one) before seeing the absolute zaniness turned up to 11 of Sonic 3. Do y'all remember “Dumb Running Sonic” on Tumblr? Devon recommends Jury Duty (Amazon Prime): Imagine a prank show where everyone's an actor… except one guy. Chaos ensues. Devon says it's a must-watch, as is The Wild Robot. It's all about nature, death, and a reminder that “nature is real.” Production babies galore! Ben explains how he got a Virtual Boy emulator on his 3DS, while Steven has been reading the book Filter World. Ben's also been playing GRIP Combat Racing, which is kinda like Mario Kart if you prefer ecstasy to mushrooms. You can get it for free right now from Amazon Gaming. Devon's contemplating getting Mario Maker, but then he'd have to get a Switch and that's, like, a lot of work, man…   Dumb Running Sonic: https://dumbrunningsonic.tumblr.com/ 3DS Virtual Boy Emulator: https://github.com/skyfloogle/red-viper Filterworld: https://www.kylechayka.com/filterworld  My Video Went Viral. Here's Why: Veritasium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHsa9DqmId8 Tokyo Override: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32581509/ GRIP Combat Racing on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/396900/GRIP_Combat_Racing/ GRIP Combat Racing on Amazon Gaming: https://gaming.amazon.com/grip-gog/dp/amzn1.pg.item.d2358a22-76ef-4c8a-aa76-17b9a10543f5?ingress=amzn   Future or Now:   The Magic Schoolbus meets Rick and Morty: Ben recommends WTF 101 from Dropout TV. A quartet of kids in detention are schooled by an eccentric and sometimes cynical teacher who takes them on often horrifying field trips with the help of a time-traveling/teleporting/shrinking device. Their travels take them face to face with nature's most ruthless parasites, humanity's dumbest failed inventions, and much, much more. If WTF 101 had just made up all of these lessons, it'd still be a funny watch thanks to the clever storytelling, fast-paced plot, and punched-up dialogue. But it's the fact that the show seeks to educate audiences on real-world factoids that gives it that extra shine. It's hilarious, gross, weird, profane, and mostly true! It is NOT FOR KIDS and very much NSFW. Devon reflects on debates between theists and atheists. Why does evil exist? Maybe the animal kingdom knows.   Watch the first episode for free on Youtube (The Gruesome Truth About Parasites): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aZVgyUlSng Check out the entire series on Dropout: https://www.dropout.tv/wtf-101 Burn it all down: Steven presents a groundbreaking study that reveals RNA — not DNA — might trigger sunburns. Sunburn has traditionally been attributed to UV-induced DNA damage. However, a new study by the University of Copenhagen and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, reveals that RNA, another vital cellular molecule, plays a major role in triggering acute sunburn reactions.   Read more at Sciene Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250117112413.htm   Now for something a little more cheerful from Devon: Quantum suicide and immortality, a thought experiment exploring the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. The experiment involves repeatedly engaging in an activity with a 50/50 chance of death, with the idea that consciousness will always exist in the universe where the individual survives. Ben is reminded of the short film “One-Minute Time Machine” where a man repeatedly uses a time machine to retry a conversation with a woman, but what happens in the realities he leaves behind?   More on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_suicide_and_immortality One-Minute Time Machine on Youtube: https://youtu.be/CXhnPLMIET0 “Book Club”:   This week: Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (1966). The story follows Douglas Quail, a man obsessed with Mars who seeks out a company to implant fake memories of a Martian trip. It's very different from the 1990 film adaptation of Total Recall, the film's action-oriented approach was very different from the story's focus on psychological elements. Is remembering something the same as living it? “I remember recording a good podcast once.” “Steven, we've never recorded a good podcast.”   Read it here: https://philosophy.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/We%20Can%20Remember%20It%20for%20You%20Wholesale%20-%20Philip%20K.%20Dick.pdf   Next week: Alfred Bester's Fondly Fahrenheit. Though the story's disturbing premise—that a servile android-robot could turn on its human superiors and commit murder—was probably radical at the time, without Bester's way with words, Fondly Fahrenheit wouldn't have become the classic science fiction short story that it is today. It's still cited as one of the best sci-fi stories ever.   Read it here: http://www.sfsfss.com/stories2/Bester,%20Alfred%20-%20Fondly%20Fahrenheit%20v1.0.htm 

REAL LIFE Devon: We celebrated Nolan's Mario-themed birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's, and it was pure Mario madness—even down to LEGO sets! At home, we dove into the SNES Classic, revisiting classics like Super Mario World and Mario Kart. Speaking of Mario Kart, Ben has a lot of thoughts about kart racing games. Oh, and let's not forget Super Metroid made a cameo in our gaming nostalgia. Steven: Exciting news! We're now on YouTube! Check out The Science Faction Podcast for all our latest episodes and content. Also, Steven got his hands on the 5-disc Complete Collector's Edition of Blade Runner. Talk about sci-fi collector goals! Ben: Ben's been under the weather—boo! But that meant more movie time—yay! He's here to defend rewatching so-called "terrible" films like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But hey, the Indiana Jones videogame nails the adventure vibe. Steven couldn't agree more—there's nothing better than punching Nazis! Also, fun fact: The Matrix reused sets from Dark City, which Roger Ebert loved so much he even recorded commentary tracks for it. And yes, both Ben and Devon admit to falling asleep during The Phantom Menace... in theaters. Oops! FUTURE OR NOW Ben: "The Buddhists Know How to Party" might sound like an odd statement, but Ben dives into the Five Remembrances of the Buddha, a reflection on aging, illness, and impermanence. It really got Devon thinking about Stoicism. Curious? You can read them here: I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand. Steven: Steven brings up a serious topic: the insurance crisis in California. State Farm is pulling out of the state due to restrictions on raising rates, leaving them unable to cover major disasters like the LA fires. They currently have about $3 billion, but with an estimated $4 billion needed for payouts, this gap could lead to insolvency. Who's at fault—the state for blocking rate hikes or the companies for not adjusting sooner? Steven urges us not to "Luigi the wrong people" in this situation. BOOK CLUB This Week: We took a deep dive into Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" from The Wind's Twelve Quarters. You can read it here. Ben found it "super fascinating," while Devon unpacked its core themes: a utopia sustained by the suffering of one child and the moral quandary of staying or walking away. Ben summed it up with, "The terror of not knowing keeps people away." Also, Devon joked that Omelas could just be Salem spelled backward—thanks, Oregon road signs! Devon also mused, "Ethics cannot be logically discerned." Next Week: Get ready for Philip K. Dick's "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (1966). Here's a PDF. And no, Devon—you can't just watch Total Recall instead!  

Real Life Devon shared his thoughts on Red One, a Christmas action movie involving a military operation to save Santa, describing it as “a slog and not clever,” though his kid loved Home Alone. Steven wrapped up holiday cleanup and started reading Future Noir, a deep dive into the making of Blade Runner. He also reflected on the differences between narration in Blade Runner and Dark City. Ben has been dealing with his son's walking pneumonia and spent time playing Inertial Drift (check out the free prologue). On the music side, he enjoyed 311's cover of The Offspring and The Offspring's cover of 311.   Future or Now Note this: Exploring the Obsidian Digital Garden Plugin, a tool to publish notes from Obsidian directly online. Supports static site generation and free hosting on Vercel or Netlify. Obsidian Digital Garden Docs | Ben's Demo All Around the Globe: Discussed Flat-Earthers' humbling experience in Antarctica while attempting to prove their theories. Article: Flat-Earthers Travel to Antarctica Nevermind That Noise You Heard: Highlighted research on the link between poor sleep and mental health issues due to brain deficits that block unwanted thoughts. Related to themes from Reminiscence. Science Daily Article Reminiscence IMDB link   Book Club Next Week: The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin Read Online This Week: Arthur C. Clarke's The Nine Billion Names of God Read Online | Audiobook on YouTube Discussion on its themes appearing in works like Three-Body Problem, Spin, and Blindsight. Steven and Devon brainstorm the logistics of a Futurama-style “smell-o-scope,” inspired by Godfellas. Futurama Wiki: Godfellas Devon: Talked about philosopher Philipp Mainländer and his fascinating, existential ideas. Wikipedia: Philipp Mainländer

Real Life  Devon shared highlights from their recent trip to Oregon, where they visited the coast, skipped skiing, and explored a lighthouse. The visit to Tillamook stood out, especially encountering a hilariously judgy giant cow head. Check out Tillamook here. Steven went on a major upgrade spree, adding a new desk chair, soundboard, and computer to their setup. They also delved into tabletop RPGs, including Perils & Princesses (official site), The Princess in Black (learn more), and Slugblaster, with its iconic quantum centipede kickflips. Ben talked about navigating a family challenge with their kid's walking pneumonia, which led to a movie marathon featuring The Martian and Sandlot. They're also looking forward to the upcoming adaptation of Project Hail Mary (movie details). On the gaming side, they played Void Crew. The team also reflected on the Lower Decks season finale, discussing intentionality in media consumption, and debated the myth of multitasking. More about Lower Decks here.   Future or Now Ben reviewed the film Hidden Figures, celebrating the incredible achievements of NASA's “human computers” while highlighting anachronisms like gum-chewing in the 1960s. Read more about the film. Devon recapped the year's biggest science stories, from a total solar eclipse to Europa mission updates and record-breaking heat. Other highlights included mapping the fruit fly brain, Icelandic eruptions, and bird flu concerns. Full list of 2024's top science stories. Steven explored a groundbreaking AI-based therapeutic platform that mimics virus structures to develop innovative treatments. Learn more here.   Book Club This week, the team discussed Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder, diving into its themes of time travel, the butterfly effect, and unintended consequences. Read the story here. Next week, they'll tackle Arthur C. Clarke's The Nine Billion Names of God, a fascinating tale blending religion and technology. The story follows two programmers hired by Buddhist monks to list all possible names of God—a task that might just end the universe. Read it here.

Real Life Steven shares his recent battle with the flu, updates to his computer and recording setup, and his deep dive into World's Finest from the Superman: The Animated Series. He's also been watching That Christmas on Netflix, a cozy seasonal pick. Meanwhile, Ben recounts his creative ventures, like shadow boxing the Moon Lord, experimenting with black paper and sharpies, and recommends Perfect Days. This Tokyo-based film follows the quiet, reflective life of Hirayama, a janitor whose mundane routines uncover profound beauty. With its oldies-filled cassette soundtrack, the film is perfect for anyone craving a refreshed outlook on life's simple joys. Perfect Days on IMDb. Future or Now? This Week in Space: In space exploration news, NASA's Parker Solar Probe is making history this week by flying closer to the Sun than ever before—just 3.8 million miles from its surface. It's the fastest human-made object, designed to brave temperatures over 2,500°F as it ventures into the Sun's corona to unlock mysteries about the solar wind. That's Nuts!: Meanwhile, on Earth, scientists have observed California ground squirrels defying their herbivorous stereotype by hunting and eating voles. This unexpected carnivorous behavior highlights their adaptability and raises new questions about the flexibility of animal diets in response to environmental changes. Read more about this discovery in the ScienceDaily article and watch a detailed breakdown on YouTube. Book Club This week, we dive into spoiler-heavy discussion for the short film Where Rabbits Come From, a moving tale set in a dystopian world. Ben reviews the story of a widowed father rabbit who defies an authoritarian government to spark hope and magic in his daughter's life. They escape oppression, finding solace and a possible reunion in the meadow. Learn more on Letterboxd. On a lighter note, Steven gives a glowing review of Skeleton Crew, a family-friendly Star Wars show featuring kid pirates and Shistavanen aliens, which ties back to some classic lore. Check out Shistavanen lore here. Next week, we'll explore Ray Bradbury's time-travel classic, A Sound of Thunder. Read the story here or listen to an audio reading on YouTube. For a fun twist, watch this TV show adaptation.

Real Life: Steven is sick or dead, we don't remember, so Ben and Devon take over the show. Devon is traveling for the holidays so needs to bill as much as possible at work. Devon explains what it's like to be an independent contractor. Ben's work is a little less reliable. Snoop Dogg records a holiday message for Ben's parent, parent, parent company. Snoop Dogg is somehow still as famous as ever.   Future or Now: This Week in Space Astrophysicists capture astonishing images of gamma-ray flare from supermassive black hole M87. The jet is tens of millions of times larger than the black hole's event horizon. The galaxy M87, located in the Virgo constellation, provided the first-ever photo of a black hole in 2019, when the Event Horizon Telescope captured an image of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center. An international research team has now observed a teraelectronvolt gamma-ray flare seven orders of magnitude -- tens of millions of times -- larger than the event horizon, or surface of the black hole itself. A flare of this intensity -- which has not been observed in over a decade -- can offer crucial insights into how particles, such as electrons and positrons, are accelerated in the extreme environments near black holes. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241213140634.htm  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_87  Black holes and why they look like that: https://youtu.be/zUyH3XhpLTo?si=7drAgoVloX9hytmo    New Technology Could Keep Communications Going During Disasters RNZ (12/6) News from New Zealand: “The 'mesh node' is a small black walkie-talkie sized box that connects to a cellphone through Bluetooth. It then connects to a network of solar powered nodes across the region, which allows users to send short text messages, even when all other communications are down. It has been tailor-made by Tai Rāwhiti Civil Defence, and emergency manager Ben Green said it is "a cost-effective solution for reliable communications in a disaster.” https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/535819/new-technology-could-keep-communications-going-during-disasters    Book Club: Next week book club: WHERE RABBITS COME FROM, a French animated short film that's being shopped around for awards this season. The answer will surprise you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH_TgDEuCfI&ab_channel=StudioNiloc  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkqGMU-mug&list=PLwDe6hrCodhk0k3qCN0QTqixXu6g2R5Nh&index=6  Lower Decks   The 947th episode of Star Trek was the penultimate episode of Lower Decks. This episodes has awesome cameos and did multiverse right. Devon still likes the show but doesn't feel it's actually Star Trek canon. We wish Loer Decks had gone for seven seasons. There's plans for more comedic Star Trek in the future. Will it be as good as Lower Decks? More Star Trek News  The Section 31 movie is coming in January. Ben is looking forward to it, Devon has no plans to watch it. Ben is excited by the secondary cast of the movie. Are there Xindi in the movie? The movie is set in the “Lost Era”.  

This episode contains: Ben welcomes a special guest host: Flint Lawless. Steven and Devon are off dealing with family illness and work commitments, so you know what that means! Well, we don't actually talk about video games at all this one (I know, right?).   Future or Now:   The Magic Eye: Remember autostereograms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram)? Stereograms are 2D images that create the illusion of a 3D scene by exploiting the way our eyes perceive depth. "Magic Eye" images are a popular form of autostereogram. Learn how to see Magic Eye images here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdWNYdk-vWY.   As a kid, Ben would spend hours looking at Magic Eye books, and it felt like magic because most everybody else didn't see them. He was like a wizard. Recently, he came across an article about using Excel of all things to create Magic Eye images (https://divisbyzero.com/2024/11/30/make-a-magic-eye-image-using-excel/) but guess who has two thumbs and doesn't have Excel? This guy! Turns out there's an easy to use free online tool for making autostereograms (https://www.easystereogrambuilder.com/). He also found a music video that was a moving stereogram (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AKtp3XHn38). Flint was curious, but completely perplexed because he doesn't know how to see them yet.   “Book Club”:   Next week: WHERE RABBITS COME FROM, a French animated short film that's being shopped around for awards this season. The answer will surprise you.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkqGMU-mug&list=PLwDe6hrCodhk0k3qCN0QTqixXu6g2R5Nh&index=6   This week: No time for book club: the first two episodes of the new Star Wars show Skeleton Crew is out. It's good! And we start comparing it to Farscape, Star Trek: Prodigy and One Piece. It's a sweet Goonies-like mystery. The Republic likes to hide planets for some reason… maybe they're not exactly the good guys? Flint and Ben discuss the morally gray areas of stories where the “forces of good” make questionable decisions that lead to positive and negative consequences.

This episode contains: We three hosts gobbled up Thanksgiving, celebrating with families, parents and in-laws. Why did Ford call their electric car a Mach-E? Or is it Maquis? A Mockery? Ben gives a slightly different (and more positive) take on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice than Devon's review from a couple months ago (https://sciencefactionpodcast.com/2024/09/11/episode-522-incomprehensibly-gravelly/). The first half hour is definitely rough but it comes together, in the back half especially. Big shout-out to the production design of the afterlife and the cameos. Devon's a pickleball-player now, and we contrast it with racquetball. Steven and his family saw Moana 2 and opinions varied wildly among the family. Don't expect a Lin Manuel Miranda soundtrack, but do expect them to set up a bunch of sequels.   Future or Now:   Right now, in the 1960s: Ben's ready to spoil The Twilight Zone episode “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” On a peaceful suburban street, strange occurrences and mysterious people stoke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensity. This is nearly REQUIRED VIEWING for anyone on the internet these days. “The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.” Despite this being a story very inspired by McCarthyism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism), our current paranoia about our neighbors needs to stop.   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734664/   Three things to ponder (“Eat the 1%”): Devon wonders why don't we eat turkey eggs? It's all about the downsides: even though they're not hazardous, turkeys have slower egg production, larger size and space requirements, and tougher egg shells than chickens. Why will some pets (especially dogs) eat their dead owners, even when there's food available? The current hypothesis is that the dogs are trying to frantically wake up their owners, and after biting the face, their instinct takes over. Also, the Higgs particle only accounts for 1% of the mass of an object.   https://www.iflscience.com/turkey-eggs-why-dont-we-eat-them-77017   Get over here! (Don't “TOASTY” me): Steven brings us this morsel of news: a tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, researchers report. Dubbed the NanoGripper, the nanorobotic hand also could be programmed to interact with other viruses or to recognize cell surface markers for targeted drug delivery, such as for cancer treatment. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241127165721.htm   “Book Club” This week: Big Oxygen by exurb1a A janitor on a spaceship wakes up from an emergency alarm to complete bedlam. Every group he runs across has a different ideology, in fact, their baseline ideologies have been erased, and it doesn't go well for anyone. Turns out belief without facts and reason will destroy, but also just getting facts without context is disastrous. It's about how you digest facts.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKouPOhh_9I   Also, ChatGPT cheats against Stockfish in Chess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCNW1OCk_M   Next week: WHERE RABBITS COME FROM, a French animated short film that's being shopped around for awards this season. The answer will surprise you.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkqGMU-mug&list=PLwDe6hrCodhk0k3qCN0QTqixXu6g2R5Nh&index=6  

REAL LIFE Devon is dealing with a sick family and Ben is wiped, despite finally having a chance to rest. Ben has been covering for his boss and teaching a beginning HTML class to kids. Most of the kids are awesome but some are “chaos gremlins.” Ben also just drove to Burback and back for a roller derby tournament. Ben had to be the father to 15 kids. Ben's wife had to stay home for work and to take care of a geriatric cat. For Steven this was conference week so his kids got off school early. He forced them to play outside with the extra time. Steven's kids have been “bruh-ing.” Steven has jumped back into Caves and Qud. (https://www.cavesofqud.com/). It's a fantastic, weird, fun game. Steven is reading Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, which is… interesting. Steven also built a Lego Nano Gauntlet.   FUTURE OR NOW First up, Mothership RPG (check it out here), the award-winning sci-fi horror game where surviving outer space is just the beginning. With streamlined character creation and easy session prep, it's perfect for both new and experienced players. Steven's even offering to run a game for our listeners—join our Discord if you're in! Next, Ben explores a breakthrough in carbon capture with UC Berkeley's COF-999 powder, which removes CO2 from the air at record rates and promises a more energy-efficient future. Read about it here. Lastly, Devon dives into panpsychism, the philosophical idea that consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe. Hear his take, complete with debates from thinkers like Sean Carroll and Philip Goff. Want to learn more? Check out the Wikipedia entry or this intriguing Mind Chat video.   BOOK CLUB  Renee has been watching Prodigy. We mention needing to discuss the new episodes of Lower Decks and the short film Unification.  The High Test by Fredrik Pohl (1983) Originally published in Asimov Science Fiction Magazine. A story of a man working as a driving instructor on a distant planet. He's actually a flight instructor teaching humans and aliens how to fly their spaceships. A cozy slice of life according to Ben. According to Devon the story felt like a product of the 50s despite being written in the 80s. Was the inspiration for this story: what if an alien needed to pass a driving test before attempting to destroy humans? Next Week  Big Oxygen by exurb1a

Real Life Devon shared about their recent visit to Fredericksburg, aka “Texas wine country,” where the German settlers brought their food and flair. While there were tempting wine tastings, Devon was not about to wait 30 minutes for a sip. Oh, and they're currently battling a cold, which sounded something like SNNNOOORRRRTTT. Meanwhile, Steven recapped an out-of-town trip that included a stop at Black Diamond Games in Concord, CA, where he picked up the RPG Mothership and The Electric State. On the D&D front, Steven is on the hunt for elf druid miniatures for his daughter's character. Ben, on the other hand, discovered Walkabout Mini Golf on iOS, which offers touch-to-putt and AR modes—sounds like a hole-in-one! He also dove into the world of Star Trek fan edits, sharing a link to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 0. However, Ben admitted to only watching Voyager once (FOR SHAME!), while his son has decided Worf is the best (double shame!). Devon, ever resourceful, uses Star Trek as a threat to keep his kids in line. Future or Now Ben stumbled into the world of web design and shared the new CSS logo—designed with a squircle, of all things. The logo's hex color, #663399, is known as “Rebecca Purple” and has a meaningful backstory. Devon switched gears to science, geeking out about tardigrades (a.k.a. water bears), which are radiation-resistant extremophiles with 15,000 known species. These tiny creatures can repair their DNA after radiation damage and even borrow genes through horizontal gene transfer. Talk about resilient! For more details, check out this article. For some sci-fi vibes, we also pondered if the Netflix show Away about going to Mars might scratch your space-loving itch. Steven wrapped up this section with a discussion on the psychology of money. A recent study from ScienceDaily suggests that digital money doesn't create the same emotional connection as physical cash. Devon thinks of cash as “free money,” while Steven questions if digital currency even feels real. Book Club This week, we read Ray Bradbury's The Crowd, a story rich with layers of meaning. It sparked discussions about collectivism vs. individuality, Red Scare-era anti-communism, and a lingering mystery: are they aliens, ghosts, or demons? Regardless of the interpretation, we thoroughly enjoyed this one! For next week, we're diving into Frederik Pohl's short story The High Test. You can check it out here.

This episode contains: Steven and Ben are handling post-election nerves and how to channel that energy productively. Ben's been comforted by watching New York City newscasts from 1981, which you can find on YouTube. How refreshing it is to see a newscast that's not supposed to be entertainment! Steven's been focusing on family time and getting to know his nephew. Ben binged the first four episodes of WondLa. Check out the official trailer and see how it's tracking on Rotten Tomatoes. Steven is picking up some serious I Am Mother vibes from that WondLa trailer. RIP Star Trek guest star (and Candyman himself) Tony Todd, a legend gone too soon. Remember Star Trek: Lower Decks? The 943rd episode just aired (Season 5, Episode 4)! It's good! You should watch it! We chat about how the multiverses are going, specifically DC vs Marvel.   Future or Now   Are You Bready For This?: Steven presents a new study that discusses human's taste for carby bread and reveals how the duplication of the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) may have occurred over 800,000 years ago, long before agriculture. Wait, bread makes you fat? This gene duplication helped shape human adaptation to starchy foods and led to the wide genetic variation in AMY1 copy number that exists today, influencing how effectively humans digest starch.   Read more about this study on Science Daily.   Today is the greatest day I've ever known: Do you miss the social media of yore? The posts and videos that showed our humanity without the editing and gloss? Ben remembers it, and so does Ben Thompson, who wrote a blog post about the prevalence of IMG_#### videos on YouTube. These are relics from between 2009 and 2012 when iPhone and iPod Touch included a “Send to YouTube” feature that allowed users to upload videos directly to YouTube from the Photos app. Apple uses the ‘IMG_XXXX' naming convention for all images and videos captured on iOS devices, where XXXX is a unique sequence number. Unwitting content creators would then upload their videos on a public site with a barely-searchable name. To this day, there are millions of these videos, and if you search YouTube for “IMG_” and then four random digits, you'll find some one-of-a-kind videos of random stranger's lives.   Read more and have a warm digital hug on ben-mini.github.io.   Book Club   Since Devon's not here, we're skipping book club this week. Next week, we'll be exploring Ray Bradbury's “The Crowd,” a haunting look at strange crowd behaviors in urban life. Watch an audiobook of this story on YouTube.   This week, we get into the trailers for some upcoming big Marvel and Star Wars stuff: Captain America: Brave New World Thunderbolts Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and a special shoutout to the music featured in the trailer: a Huttese cover of “Major Tom (Coming Home)”. Marvel Studios Disney+ D23 2024/25 Do you want to see YouTube more like a classic series of television stations? Check out YTCH.  

This episode contains: Devon kicks things off with a Dr. Pepper Zero, or as we like to call it, “the creeping death.” Just caffeine jokes—or maybe there's something deeper to his love for this soda! Steven, on the other hand, brings us a blast from the past with Department Zero, an RPG he created back in 2013. Imagine a Fantasy Men in Black vibe, complete with dragons, aliens, and magical conspiracies. This world has been brewing in Steven's mind for a decade, and it sounds like an adventure for the ages! Ben poses a question for the tech-minded: how long should a computer last? Steven has a “Computer of Theseus” filled with endless upgrades, Devon shrugs off the question with work laptops and a trusty gaming rig, while Ben takes a “separation of concerns” approach, keeping two laptops—one for work and one for personal use. On top of that, Ben has a family tradition of passing down old tech. This leads us to a broader discussion about the best ways to keep our tech alive and kicking. Ben also brings us High Stakes: Las Vegas 2024. Imagine a world where vampires have stolen your blood, and you're forced to win it back. Are you brave enough to play the card game of your life to recover what's yours? This high-stakes adventure invites you to consider just how far you'd go to get your blood back. FUTURE OR NOW Wake Up, Sheeple! Let's Talk Science and Sci-Fi In Devon's Space Report, we delve into a cosmic mystery that's puzzling scientists. A massive structure, dubbed “The Big Ring,” sits 6.9 billion light-years away, defying what we thought we knew about the universe. The Big Ring spans an astounding 1.3 billion light-years and lies near another oddity, the Giant Arc. Ordinarily, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) suggest that structures in space should appear uniform, yet these two anomalies suggest otherwise. Are we seeing evidence of multiple big bangs, the presence of cosmic strings, or could it all just be a cosmic coincidence? Read more about it here. On a lighter note, Ben gives us his take on Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5. Has Lower Decks finally hit its stride, or does Starfleet's most comedic ship need a new direction? Ben has thoughts, and fans of the show won't want to miss them. Meanwhile, Steven shares a rapid-fire lineup of recent reads, including Red Rising, Annihilation, Fallen Dragon, and his thoughts on Agatha All Along's finale. His recommendations cover sci-fi, mystery, and thriller genres, perfect for anyone looking to dive into a new story. BOOK CLUB This week, we dive into Isaac Asimov's “Nightfall,” widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi stories of all time. Check it out on Goodreads. Written when Asimov was in his twenties, Nightfall tells the story of a planet that's continuously illuminated by six suns—until an eclipse plunges it into total darkness once every 2,049 years. When that darkness finally arrives, the population, who has never experienced nightfall, is thrown into chaos. The story explores themes of fear, the unknown, and societal breakdown, offering a compelling read that earned its status as a classic. As a bonus, we recommend The End of Eternity, another must-read by Asimov. This novel tackles time travel with Asimov's signature twist and intricate plotting. More on Goodreads. Next week, we'll be exploring Ray Bradbury's “The Crowd,” a haunting look at strange crowd behaviors in urban life. Watch the adaptation here.

This episode contains: You should live every day like it's Halloween! We bring this episode to you from the heart of spooky season. Ben tells us about a fan edit of Who Framed Roger Rabbit that includes deleted scenes that they cleaned up using today's tech. The movie was way different than the book. Ben's cat says hi to us. Ben attended the inauguration of his counties poet laureate. Ben was on the panel that selected the poet laureate. What makes a good poet laureate? Ben has watched a few episodes of Agatha All Along with his family and the reviews are mixed. The first episode was joyless and not fun. Steven recommends being patient with the show and assures Ben there are satisfying answers later in the show. Steven went apple picking with his family. Also, remember when October was cold? Devon did phone banking for democrats and had some interesting experience. Devon also can't help but go off on the state of the presidential election.   FUTURE OR NOW Fruit Fly Me to The Moon (Fast-Actin Tinactin): Scientists can reverse brain aging in fruit flies by preventing buildup of a common protein. Buildup of a protein called filamentous actin, or F-actin, in the brain inhibits the removal of cellular wastes, including DNA, lipids, proteins and organelles. The resulting accumulation of waste diminishes neuronal functions and contributes to cognitive decline. By tweaking a few very specific genes in the neurons of aging fruit flies, the researchers prevented F-actin buildup, maintained cellular recycling and extended the healthy lifespan of fruit flies by approximately 30%. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241028164423.htm   Support You Local Theater: Ben when to the Great American Melodrama for the third or fourth time. He saw The Werewolf of Arroyo Grande. Howl did this happen? After a man relocates into Arroyo Grande to start up his nut based fast food restaurant, he discovers that the town is terrorized by a terrible hair raising werewolf! The village of Arroyo Grande must come together to put an end to the canine horror before it's too late! Next year will be the 50th year of the Great American Melodrama. https://americanmelodrama.com/   BOOK CLUB The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. A short story by Shirley Jackson that was first published in The New Yorker on June 26, 1948. The story describes a fictional small American community that observes an annual tradition known as "the lottery", which is intended to ensure a good harvest and purge the town of bad omens. We discuss the importance of questioning traditions and scientific thinking. Are there any winners in this lottery? “In fact, every copy of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery has been checked out from the Springfield public library. Of course the book does not contain any hints on how to win the lottery. It is rather a chilling tale of conformity gone mad.” – Simpsons, Dog of Death, S3Ep19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryr06emUnRw&ab_channel=TimThoughts https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=273395915450826   Next week we're reading Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. This 1941 short story, written while Asimov was still only in his early twenties, is widely regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction short stories of all time. Indeed, in 1968 the Science Fiction Writers of America voted it the best science fiction short story written before 1965. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightfall_(Asimov_novelette_and_novel)

This episode contains: A big birthday wish to Martine! Devon's been glamping, but needed a little more definition to ensure he did it right. This glamp was like a tiny home, with plumbing, a fire pit, and a hot tub too! It was strictly NO KIDS, and had a real beehive theme to it. Since it's a two-person only sort of deal, if the three podcast hosts wanted to go glamping, Steven and Ben have volunteered to be the two monkeys wearing a trenchcoat (maybe AI can help us with that visual). Steven's been walking (for his health, blechh) and listening to books. What's he listening to? Book Six of Dungeon Crawler Carl, and it's quite a ride. The audiobooks have some exclusive content. Steven's also 3D printing a giant Cantina set for the Star Wars miniatures game. Ben has been playing video games, specifically UFO 50: fifty games in one Steam app that are meant to be an alternate universe take on a video game system from the 1980s. Kinda sounds lame except these are all games by six GOAT-level developers who worked for around a decade on them. They work great on the Steam Deck, have incredible game design choices and they also have a compelling meta narrative outside all the games. Check this review if you want to hear some genuine gushing about the game. Ben discusses the game Mortul within UFO 50, but then he surprises EVERYONE by talking about ANOTHER RETRO-INSPIRED VIDEO GAME PLATFORM. WHAAAAT?!?! If you like UFO 50, perhaps you'd be interested in the PICO-8 Fantasy Console (Hint, you may already have it if you bought itch.io's Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality). Steven talks a little about a procedurally generated version of DOOM made by AI.   Future or Now: Steven's watching Agatha All Along and The Penguin. Is this new tv era for MCU and DCU deeper, more grounded, and maybe better than the films? It comes down to fleshing out the characters better. Devon's concerned that any new show has to be connected to successful movie franchises (especially if they're comic book films) but this is nothing new. Remember Caprica? Ben does. We also have heard opinions but have no experience watching the new Joker movie.   Ben reviews The Wild Robot, and it's an instant classic. It has the same writer/director as Lilo and Stitch but exists somewhere between a Miyazaki film, classic Disney films (like Bambi) and Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot books.   Book Club: We'll announce our next week's pick on our Discord. Join our Patreon (even on the free tier) to get access.   This week, we read (or listened to) In the Hills, the Cities from Volume 1 of Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Clive Barker weaves together kaiju monster movies with a touch of Socialism in Yugoslavia. Big thanks to Ben's mom for suggesting this story. Is this a mediation on how we humans are just a colony of cells moving through life, screaming incoherently while destroying everything in our path? Didn't work for Devon as well as Ben and Steven, but it makes Ben ponder the big questions: When do these people die? Is it when they are ejected from the community, or is it earlier? Is it when they give up sentience to be a part of the monster?  What does this mean for us, and the groupthink in our communities, both locally and online? How destructive will our groupthink be?

This episode contains: Devon's not having it with Dallas or New Found Glory (NFG), and don't get him started on Paramount canceling Lower Decks. Also, what's up with Harry Kim? Devon's got some honest thoughts about his “shortcomings” and how NFG is “punk for preppy kids.” It's all love though, as he and the crew have an “old crusty men talk about old crusty bands” moment. Plus, the reality check of the streaming era: no fanfare for new releases, no excitement for music anymore. What's left for us aging punks? Steven brings up NoFX's final shows: Did anyone really want this? Punk rock legends bowing out—what's next for the scene? Future or Now: Ben takes us into the military's latest climate change defense project—using oysters to fight hurricanes. Yep, DARPA's Reefense program is building hybrid reefs combining manmade structures with live oysters to protect coastal military bases. Will it work? Rutgers and the University of Miami are giving it a go. Could this become the future of coastal protection for civilians too? Learn more about DARPA's Reefense project Devon? Well, he's stressing out—whether it's dark matter or election results, he's following it all and it's not doing him any favors. Can we talk about gravity existing without mass while avoiding existential election dread? Read more about gravity without mass Book Club: Next week's suggestions courtesy of Ben's mom! Clive Barker's Books of Blood series. We'll be focusing on In the Hills, the Cities from Volume 1 and The Body Politic from Volume 4. Expect the weird and the grotesque in these horror short stories. Check out the review of In the Hills, the Cities Also on the table: Eventually we'll be diving into The Langoliers by Stephen King from Four Past Midnight. There's a cool Star Trek reference in there, so you know we're excited. Finally, this week we're revisiting E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops. This 1909 classic predicted the tech-dominated world we'd all be living in by 2020. Spoiler: it's not a happy prediction.  

This episode contains: From deep within the spooky season we bring you an all new episode. Devon learns you have to jump on those bones early. Devon planed to build up his Halloween decoration collection. Ben doesn't know how to say “Megadeth.” We also mention Funko Pop album covers for Iron Maiden. (https://pop-figures.com/franchise/iron-maiden-282) Ben beat Astro Bot, giggling the entire time. Ben also watched the original Dracula film from 1931, available on Amazon Prime Video. (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/) Devon then recommends the more recent movie, Renfield (2023). Steven is on book 5 of Dungeon Crawler Carl, Devon just finished book 2. Devon is taking a break to read the new Bobiverse book. (https://www.goodreads.com/series/192752-bobiverse)   Future or Now Ben: NASA is working on a plan to replace its space station, but time is running out. Over the next several months, NASA will finalize a strategy for its operations in low-Earth orbit after 2030. Then, toward the end of next year, the space agency will award contracts to one or more private companies to develop small space stations for which NASA and other space agencies will become customers rather than operators. (https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/10/is-nasas-commercial-space-station-program-doomed/). Would you rather go to a space station orbing Earth, or the Moon? Companies are looking into CLDs: Commercial Low-Earth Destinations. Why are we abandoning the ISS? It's old and already has issues, that will only worsen. Also our problematic relationship with Russia. Devon: Evidence of ‘Negative Time' Found in Quantum Physics Experiment. Physicists showed that photons can seem to exit a material before entering it, revealing observational evidence of negative time. (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-of-negative-time-found-in-quantum-physics-experiment/) We try to understand this mild blowing experiment and result. (https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.03680) Steven: Agatha All Along. This is great spooky fun. The main character stays true to who she was in WandaVision. Ben also finished Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Both deal with the Darkhold. Ben also likes Agatha All Along.   Book Club The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2148). The Pit and the Pendulum, Edgar Allan Poe's agonizing tale of terror and suspense, was first published in 1842. One of Poe's many horror stories, The Pit and the Pendulum became famous for its depiction of pure dread. None of us had read this before. Devon was surprised the main character survived. We get side tracked by the Simpsons but eventually talk about the story. Also, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” Were we actually horrified reading this story? What was the inspiration for writing this story?   The Poet and the Pendulum by Nightwish. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKUS2k35cGQ&ab_channel=_Stargazer_) The Inquisitor by Kamelot. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaKRRGMUCwg&ab_channel=Khan%2CKamelot%26ARKVideos)   Next Week: E. M. Forster, The Machine Stops (https://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~koehl/Teaching/ECS188/PDF_files/Machine_stops.pdf). Is this the most prophetic story of the twentieth century? Published in 1909 and showing Forster's disdain for technological advancement and the way it would make our lives poorer, this story attracted plenty of new readers in 2020 when so many people's lives ‘went virtual'.

This episode contains: The three spoopiest hosts on this podcast enter the month of October being just... fine? Maybe overwhelmed? Ben was a groomsman for a fancy wedding (or at least a reception, it's a long story) this last weekend, and can we just pause to say how awesome it is that people can keep a friendship alive over decades? Steven's wife is going on a wild bachelorette party cruise and it sounds like A LOT. Meanwhile, we remember the best dog, Charlie, who Steven bid farewell to last Monday. Devon has been just doing his best, nothing to report. This week in space! AI helps distinguish dark matter from cosmic noise. Only... it doesn't yet? Dark matter, the invisible force holding the universe together, is a subject of intense research. It makes up around 85% of all matter and 27% of the universe's contents. Despite decades of research, the true nature of dark matter remains a mystery. Some scientists believe that dark matter particles may occasionally interact, a phenomenon known as self-interaction. Detecting these interactions would provide crucial insights into dark matter's properties. However, distinguishing between dark matter self-interactions and active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback has been a challenge. Astronomer David Harvey has developed a deep-learning algorithm called Inception, which can untangle complex signals and differentiate between dark matter self-interactions and AGN feedback. Inception achieved an impressive accuracy of 80% under ideal conditions (as in, pre-generated image data, not real photos), indicating its adaptability and reliability for future dark matter research. This AI-based approach could significantly impact our understanding of dark matter and help scientists analyze massive amounts of data from space. Shadows searching in the night. Let Ben introduce you to Shade Map, a layer on top of Google Maps that lets you visualize shade anywhere in the world, down to the building level, at any date and time of day. It even lets you add buildings so you can visualize what a new construction project will do to the buildings and areas around it. There's a slider that lets you change the time, and the shadows update in real time. Ben recommends using this on desktop. Also, hat tip to Tom for letting us know about Steam and Valve's battle against arbitration fees. It's not a phase! Research reveals reality of Ice Age teen puberty. New research published in the Journal of Human Evolution reveals that Ice Age teens from 25,000 years ago went through similar puberty stages as modern-day adolescents. Researchers found evidence of puberty stages in the bones of 13 ancient humans between 10 and 20 years old. The study, led by University of Victoria paleoanthropologist April Nowell, found specific markers in the bones that allowed them to assess the progress of adolescence. The technique developed by lead author Mary Lewis from the University of Reading evaluates the mineralization of canines and maturation of bones to identify the stage of puberty reached by the individual at their time of death. The research helps to humanize these teens in a way that simply studying stone tools cannot. Researchers from six institutions collaborated internationally to develop this body of knowledge. This reminds Ben of Saffron teaching neanderthals Cockney slang in episode seven of the Time Bandits television show. Devon informs Ben that Time Bandits didn't get renewed, and the world became a darker place. Book Club: Next week, we'll be reading some classic horror with Edgar Allen Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. Get in the spirit with this live performance of The Poet and the Pendulum by Nightwish, one of Devon's favorite songs by that band. This week, it's time to discuss The Remedy by Adam Haslett from the Dark Corners collection. It's so well written! Well, until the ending, that is. Spoiler alert: we did not like this one, so much so that we're going to take a break from these Amazon originals for at least a week. Oh, and find out what you call a werewolf with a YouTube channel.

This episode contains: Your usual hosts are back at it again, diving into personal updates and some wild topics! Ben is at capacity, juggling directing and editing a school fundraiser ad. Meanwhile, Steven is busy dog-sitting and catching up on Agatha All Along and The Penguin. Ben also shares that his old cat has been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Devon, well, he's keeping quiet this week. The Ultimate Slap Bet: Steven introduces us to the world of slap fighting! We discuss the rise of slap competitions and how it ties into this recent scientific study and the rules from the Power Slap League. Plus, a quick throwback to the chaotic days of Jackass—because who can forget? PS5 Nostalgia: Ben takes us on a trip down memory lane with the PlayStation exclusive Astro Bot. It's a love letter to 30 years of PlayStation history, and you can check it out here. Book Club: We're prepping for next week's read, The Remedy from the Dark Corners collection. But first, let's talk mini-golf! We review the new Walkabout Mini Golf Mars course and its unique sci-fi theme. From eerie, isolated landscapes to hints of past civilizations, it's inspired by the 1972 classic Silent Running. You can read more about the course here. Dungeon Crawler Carl: Devon is loving Dungeon Crawler Carl, while Steven's love for the book is still going strong. Ben hasn't had the chance to dive back into it yet, but we'll keep him in the loop! That's it for this week! Don't forget to grab a copy of The Remedy for next week's book club discussion.

This episode contains: It's an all new episode featuring your usual hosts! We discuss reading the “fine print” and service agreements, which reminds us of the story about Disney using it's Disney Plus agreement to defendant again a wrongful death claim that occurred at one of their parks. Ben went to San Deigo for a “not a bachelor party.” Ben is still tired from the trip. Devon has done nothing. Steven's dog, Charlie, has IVDD (Intervertebral disc disease for dogs) and has to be contained for three weeks, hopefully helping him regain the use of his hind legs. This is common in “long dogs.”   This Week in Space: 'Spiders on Mars' fully awakened on Earth for 1st time — and scientists are shrieking with joy. Researchers have recreated the bizarre spider-like features seen on the surface of Mars for the first time ever. The breakthrough could help unravel further mysteries surrounding the static Martian arachnids. https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/spiders-on-mars-fully-awakened-on-earth-for-1st-time-and-scientists-are-shrieking-with-joy   Book Review: Steven read Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. He is very excited to talk about this book. He listened to it rather than read it. Even Steven's wife loved the book. This is part of the new LitRPG genre. Ready Player One is an example of this genre. Dungeon Crawler Carl scratched all of Steven's itches. He describes the book as Ready Player One meets The Bobiverse meets The Hunger Games. Even non gamers will enjoy this book! It's safe to say Steven LOVED THIS BOOK, HE WANTS TO MARRY IT! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56791389-dungeon-crawler-carl   Book Club: We continue the series with The Pit and the Box, part 2 of The Boy in the Iron Box by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. We would rather talk about anything else than this story. We eventually get the story and agree that there's not much there there. A character finds the titular boy in the box and standard horror stuff ensues. Steven makes a motion to not finish this story. The motion passes. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CNYG9SR8 Next week we will be reviewing Mars Gardens in Walkabout Mini Golf. https://www.mightycoconut.com/blog/mars-field-notes Ben then leaves the podcast to work and Steven and Devon talk way too much about politics. 

This episode contains: Devon contemplates the endless debate over his name and how it's pronounced. Is it Devon? Devin? Or maybe Devawwwwn? Rembember Final Destination and the infamous log scene? Emergency 911 and rebars? These have left an indelible mark on how millenials drive on the freeway. Ben shares how The Blair Witch Project made him a skeptic of everything he sees in media. Meanwhile, Star Wars Outlaws is still… fine. We brainstorm inspiration for Shatterpoint terrain. Wouldn't it be crazy to play as the Sarlacc Pit? Exciting news for music lovers: Linkin Park is back with a new album and single featuring a fresh lineup!

This episode contains: All three mighty hosts are here this week. Devon shares that a family is moving in next door. He wonders if they should build a ping-pong fence to create a “play-berhood.” Steven updates us on his mini painting projects and talks about getting life back on track. Ben recounts the long journey of reclaiming space on macOS and solving the wallpaper bug. He mentions tools like Wallpaper Engine and Fences by Stardock. Future or Now? Let's Get Skeptical: Ben discusses the rise of AI-powered photo editing tools like the Pixel 9's Magic Editor, which can create highly realistic fake images. This technology challenges our assumptions about the authenticity of photographs. Read more on The Verge In related news, a lawyer used ChatGPT in federal court, with disastrous results. Read more on Forbes Steven talks about The Acolyte being canceled and shares his thoughts on how loud idiots should be ignored. He also gives early impressions of Star Wars Outlaws after playing 10-12 hours. It's an open-world game, but it lacks the strong hook found in Fallen Order. Book Club: We discuss I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. This chilling short story explores a dystopian future where a supercomputer has destroyed humanity, save for five individuals it tortures eternally. Goodreads Comic Adaptation Next week we are reading: Falling Down (The Boy in the Iron Box Book 1) by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Amazon Link   (this post created in large part by chat gpt and edited by Steven)

This episode contains: All three mighty hosts are here this week. Ben discusses an episode of Dear Hank and John podcast where it is theorized that sickness might eventually be a thing of the past. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dear-hank-john We discuss the statistics of life expectancy. Devon tells us that most humans who have ever been born did not live to be adults. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Mb0cbDenA&t=636s Steven is finally over Covid and has finished Delicious in Dungeon. Ben recommends the show Sunny on Apple TV + https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18070898/   Future or Now? It's longer Than You Think: Ben is speedrunning Lushfoil Photo Sim. This is a tranquil photography experience. Ben found some really cool stuff in the game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1749860/Lushfoil_Photography_Sim/ Soilent AI is AI!: Researchers from Rice University have identified a significant risk in generative AI when models are trained on synthetic data over multiple generations, leading to a condition called "Model Autophagy Disorder" (MAD). Similar to a feedback loop, this disorder causes AI models to produce increasingly poor-quality outputs, losing diversity and reliability. The phenomenon is compared to mad cow disease, where a self-consuming process degrades the system. The study emphasizes the critical need for fresh, real data to sustain AI integrity and prevent the potential deterioration of internet-based systems. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240730134759.htm Alien: Romulus Devon gives his review of Alien: Romulus. Is it too “key jangly?” Devon notes that Prometheus was made even worse by having the character be scientists, which made their stupidity that much more unforgivable. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18412256/   Book Club We discuss The Egg by Andy Weir. The Egg is a short story written by Andy Weir, his most popular, and follows a nameless 48-year-old man who discovers the "meaning of life" after he dies. The story is about "you" (in the second person), and God, who is "me" (in the first person). God says that you have been reincarnated many times before, and that you are soon to be reincarnated once more, leading to quite a few existential questions. This story did not feel any real revelation from this story. Ben doesn't like reincarnation. https://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17563539-the-egg?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=rFr9UzthWP&rank=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fcK_fRYaI We discuss who everyone is the main character in their own story, which reminds Devon of the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/ Ben tells us about ZEN FLESH, ZEN BONES. https://archive.org/details/ZenFleshZenBones Next week we are reading I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/415459.I_Have_No_Mouth_I_Must_Scream  

This episode contains: Steven's out sick with COVID, so you get the other two hosts this week! Devon's a Texan Who Likes Mexican Food, but TexMex is not the same as Californian Mexican food. TexMex loves to toss in queso, y Devon no quiero. Ben was annoyed at an impromptu Trump rally that gathered in the parking lot of the park the junior roller derby team was practicing. Guess it pays to have a killer soundsystem, because you can drown out chants of “FIGHT! FIGHT!” and “USA!” with Lady Gaga. Don't be a drag, just be a queen. Devon reminds us that there is a difference between legitimate free speech and AMPLIFIED speech. Outside of Disneyland, there's some real annoying people shouting obscenities on megaphones, and even though they're there for “religious reasons” they really gotta tone down their harsh language around the children. What jerks. Thanks Renee for your feedback on various topics including cold pizza, glitter, D23, and the Calm app. Devon weighs in on his experience with the Waking Up app and book (by Sam Harris), and he and Ben chat about the intentions behind meditation practices. Future or Now? AI is coming for our jobs: A mayoral candidate's proposal to let an AI bot run Wyoming's capital city. Victor Miller is running for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming on a platform of letting an AI bot named "VIC" run the city. Miller believes AI would be more objective and efficient than a human mayor. Miller's campaign has faced challenges from state officials and tech companies like OpenAI, who have tried to shut down his use of AI. The implications of an AI bot running a city have raised concerns among experts, but Miller believes it represents the future of government. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/08/19/artificial-intelligence-mayor-cheyenne-vic/ Book Club is on hiatus for the week. Next week: The Egg by Andy Weir https://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html

This episode contains: The three of us start out this episode with a chat regarding the complicated relations between ourselves and leftover pizza. Steven has been enjoying Delicious in Dungeon and pitches it to Devon. Ben is on the hunt for the Perseids meteor shower. Steven holds back his excitement for Skeleton Crew and the new trailer from D23. Ben has been enjoying TIme Bandits, both old and new.    Future or Now? Stop Making Fun of Me! ChatGPT unexpectedly began speaking in a user's cloned voice during testing. OpenAI's GPT-4o AI model unexpectedly imitated users' voices without permission, highlighting the complexity of safely managing voice synthesis. OpenAI has implemented safeguards, including an output classifier, to prevent unauthorized voice generation. The model can synthesize any voice from a short clip, posing significant security risks. Despite restrictions, similar voice-cloning technologies are expected to become widely available soon. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/08/chatgpt-unexpectedly-began-speaking-in-a-users-cloned-voice-during-testing/    Oops, All Universe: Scientists Discovered Something Kinda Alarming: The Universe Shouldn't Actually Exist. The universe is permeated by the Higgs field, which gives everything its mass. But the Higgs field isn't entirely stable, and if it were to "bubble," it would change reality to such a degree that everything in that "bubble" would cease to exist. The Higgs field could theoretically change to a lower energy state, creating "bubbles" that would dramatically alter the laws of physics. According to the researchers, primordial black holes that formed in the early universe should have triggered the "bubbling" of the Higgs field to such a degree that nothing should have ever been able to form. Primordial black holes should have caused the Higgs field to "bubble" in a way that would have prevented the universe from existing as we know it. The researchers propose two possibilities: either the models of primordial black holes are wrong, or there is some unknown physics about the Higgs field that we are missing. https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a61816635/science-suggests-universe-shouldnt-exist/    This Week in Space: Scientists lay out revolutionary method to warm Mars. Researchers have proposed a revolutionary method to warm Mars by over 50°F, making it suitable for microbial life. This new method, using engineered dust particles - or really GLITTER (and Steven hates glitter) - released to the atmosphere, could potentially warm the Red Planet by more than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, to temperatures suitable for microbial life - a crucial first step towards making Mars habitable. The proposed method is over 5,000 times more efficient than previous schemes to globally warm Mars.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240807225455.htm    Book Club This week: The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VDJBGRY?storeType=ebooks  Steven puts it all out there and gives so much praise for this short story it's kind of embarassing. Devon and Ben both also enjoyed the story, but to a lesser degree. We cover the basic plot and some theories that we came up with while reading / listening. We all agree it's the sort of story that works once, additional read-throughs may not reveal any more insight. Ben says the middle might overstay it's welcome, but the end was worth it. Is ______ supposed to be our name? The audio version says "X" according to Devon.  Next week: The Egg by Andy Weir https://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html  Ben has been irritable as of late, we talk about why. This podcast is a safe space. We end up chatting a bit about meditation and how to get into it, if you should us an app and a podcast recomendation.       

This episode contains: We're joined by patron, friend of the show, and high school classmate of Steven and Devon: Renee! She went to Comic-Con, so we think she's cool. Renee and Devon were in the smart class together. Turns out all of us were in the GATE program. We ask her how we can improve the podcast, but it turns out it's already perfect. Steven and Ben went to The Ravine, a local water park, with their kids. Getting a cabana is a must. Ben has season tickets and considers using lunch time to slip away to the water park. Ben takes some time to reminisce about his departed father with a bike ride. Devon tells us about Glamping at Lake Tyler. Ben's son Flint hates camping, it's “the worst.” Devon is also going to stay in a tree house. Renee was traumatized by Steven's boating/spider story from a prior episode. This concludes the camping portion of the podcast.   What We Have For You Today:  Hundreds of Beavers: Ben then brings us the black and white silent comedy movie: Hundreds of Beavers. A must-watch movie: “The second highest-rated film on Letterboxd at the halfway point of 2024 is a black-and-white silent comedy made for just $150,000.” Imagine Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and The Legend of Zelda thrown in a blender, but even better. The movie is a #ShowYourWork dream: Here's the behind-the-scenes of how they made it https://letterboxd.com/crew/story/how-they-made-hundreds-of-beavers-exclusive/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email (lo-fi with lots and lots of After Effects), an epic list of movies that inspired the film https://letterboxd.com/100sofbeavers/list/movies-that-inspired-hundreds-of-beavers/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email, and an interview with the filmmaking team, who say, “We believe in small and slow” https://filmmakermagazine.com/126576-interview-mike-cheslik-ryland-brockton-cole-tews-hundreds-of-beavers/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email. Four people over 12 weeks can make a more interesting film than an indie trying to emulate a Hollywood look and only having 10 days.” Ben then asks the age-old question: Godfather Part I v. The Bear Season 3? Ben watched The Godfather for the first time. Renee recommends the show The Offer about the making of The Godfather. Renee then reveals that she is not sure about the Fantastic 4 comics or movies. Steven is optimistic about the coming MCU Fantastic 4: First Steps.   House of the Dragon: We all finished this season of House of the Dragon. Devon gives us a rant about how the botched ending of Game of Thrones is even worse now given how important HOTD makes The Song of Ice and Fire. Ben didn't fully buy Daemon's character arc this season. Ben and Devon would like HOTD to be more removed from Game of Thrones. We still all liked the season. Renee schools us on dragons v. wyverns.   San Diego Comic Con 2024: We then interview Renee about San Diego Comic-Con. She, her daughters, and mother all dressed as Leia the last couple years. This year they went as characters from Percy Jackson, and X-Men '97 characters. Renee previously got a pic with Mark Hamil and wants a pic with Hayden Christensen (as various Leia incarnations). Renee explains how she got into cosplay and how she made some of her costumes. She liked using her daughter as a prop when she was a baby. She also makes clothes. She learned a lot by making Jane Foster's Mighty Thor costume for her daughter. We then learn about the mechanics of the Con and off-site events. Marvel nerds will wait a long time for a panel, a long time. Artist panels are fun and don't have as long as a wait. Renee's daughter got to ask a question at the Percy Jackson panel. Renee recommends the off-site bar Mothership, the coolest bar ever! https://mothershiptrip.com/ The only Comic-Con Ben went to was in 1992, which was where they premiered Batman The Animated Series. Ben found some interesting videos of the 1992 San Deigo Comic-Con: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek3-VofsGtQ&ab_channel=CBS8SanDiego https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPwQKn9ZfLI&ab_channel=retrogamer Renee has also gone to Fan Expo and Condor. Also, The Santa Maria Inn had a come kind of Con when Renee was a kid. Ben has also been to a lot of Star Trek conventions, one with Devon. Ben and Devon also went to the Star Trek Experience in Vegas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8tEbC5JUu0&ab_channel=DannysonicPuppy According to Steven, the new Batman show, Batman: The Caped Crusader, is a must watch. You can find it on Amazon Prime Video. It's rated TV Y7 but it feels like it's for adults. You can find Renee on Instagram as @vongeekery, visit her esty store too: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VonGeekery/    Book Club: Next week: The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VDJBGRY?storeType=ebooks

This episode contains: The hosts are all here this week, and Steven and Ben met up with listener Hank and field-adjacent correspondent Matt to play Arcs. Spoiler alert: it was fun. Ben finally bought Super Mario Wonder and it is so much better than the “creatively bankrupt” New Super Mario Bros. series of games. “What do you have for me today?” or “Future or Now”. I don't know/don't care anymore.   Brain Matters: I think therefore I am. Devon reviews Consciousness Explained, a 1991 book by the American philosopher Daniel Dennett, in which the author offers an account of how consciousness arises from interaction of physical and cognitive processes in the brain. Dennett describes consciousness as an account of the various calculations occurring in the brain at close to the same time. He compares consciousness to an academic paper that is being developed or edited in the hands of multiple people at one time, the “multiple drafts” theory of consciousness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness_Explained https://theness.com/neurologicablog/chalmers-dennett-and-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness/   Spicyness, the final frontier Astronauts' perception of flavor changes in the space environment of the International Space Station (ISS). Can we duplicate this experience in VR? Astronauts report that food tastes less flavorful in space, leading them to add more spices and sauces. The study found that some aromas like almonds and vanilla seem more intense in a simulated space environment, while others like lemon are unaffected. The researchers suspect the chemical composition of certain flavors, like the sweet compound benzaldehyde, may influence how they are perceived in a space-like environment. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/07/astronauts-find-their-tastes-dulled-and-a-vr-iss-hints-at-why/   The multiverse is unending Steven gives a spoiler-free review of Deadpool and Wolverine, and then discusses ALL the spoilers coming out of San Diego Comic Con for the MCU.   Book Club In two weeks: The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VDJBGRY Next week: an interview with listener/patron Renee, covering her experience at San Diego Comic Con! This week: Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson A real banger of a story that's not without it's flaws, but boy is this a must-read. https://www.amazon.com/Clap-Back-Black-Stars-Hopkinson-ebook/dp/B098QNLW6D

This episode contains: Steven, Devon and Ben are all raring to go this episode. Steven talks about a power and internet outtage that almost kept our dear listeners from hearing his sweet, sweet voice. We end up chatting about house batteries, electric vehicles, generators, and how power flows through a power grid. Steven was also able to con his wife into playing Arcs, and she had some valid opinions. Ben says, "There are no good hands in Arcs" and he's not wrong. Ben's mom visited him for a few days (Hi Martha!) and he played tourist. They watched The Goonies in the theater, visited Hearst Castle and watched Twister. Devon was Devon, this whole time.    Future or Now I can pay ten bucks to see Kevin Costner drink his own urine? Where do I sign up?: Scientists built real-life "stillsuit" to recycle astronaut urine on space walks. We talk about what astronauts do now on space walks, and to what extent this "stillsuit" will be helpful. Steven goes on a tangent about smells and coffee and drinking filtered urine.  https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/07/scientists-built-real-life-stillsuit-to-recycle-astronaut-urine-on-space-walks/  Devon's TV corner: Devon gives us a mini-review on the 4th season of The Boys. He talks about the "controversy" of the show thinly veiled attacked on the right, and how Vought = Fox News. It's silly that people didn't realize that The Boys has always been satire. Devon also watched the second season of Star Trek: Prodigy and he and Ben have thoughtful discussions about characters that Steven doesn't know. They focus on Chakotay and Robert Beltran. Steven tags onto Devon's tv reviews to give a micro-review on The Acolyte which we'll dive into more on a future episode.    Book Club Next Week: "Clap Back" by Nalo Hopkinson  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098QNLW6D  This Week: "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather" by Sarah Pinsker https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/where-oaken-hearts-do-gather/  We have quite the discussion this week, mostly stemming from the format of this story. Ben had a strong reaction to the format (it disagrees with him). Steven enjoyed the mystery and parallel stories being told. Devon chimes in about folk song covers and references Metallica and Whiskey in the Jar and Mary of the Wild Moor by The Louvin Brothers. Ben is reminded of "Little Brother" by Corey Doctorow https://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/  In the future we may visit some horror short stories as requested by a listener (Thanks Tom!).

This episode contains: All three of our intrepid hosts are back for this all new episode! Ben is drinking decaf tea while the rest of drink coffee (“It's tea time!”). Devon was out of town during Hurricane Beryl. Devon tells us about his family trip to California Adventure. His youngest did not like the Cars ride. Both of his kids really liked Sorin'. Steven and Ben played Arcs, a game about interstellar civilizations. It was a bit of a hard sell but Ben finally came around and enjoyed it. Pre-order here:  https://ledergames.com/products/arcs Ben has finished Prodigy Season 2. It's the Star Trek Legacy show we may never get. Everyone needs to watch the entire season to ensure Netflix makes another season. Prodigy does for Star Trek what The Clone Wars did for Star Wars. We have some spoilers for Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy. Trailer Overload: Steven made us watch a lot of trailers for new TV shows and movies. We're surprised they're still making Futurama. The actors are sounding a bit old. The Dune show looks cool. Ben has finally seen Dune Part II but Steven has not (and he's still on the show for some reason). Will a new Time Bandits capture the charm of the original? We're looking forward to more Severance. Captain America: Brave New World is also a movie that is coming out. Apparently it will tie together some loose threads in the MCU. Harris Ford as Red Hulk? Okay. More MCU: Agatha All Along. Steven and Ben are going to give it a shot. Futurama Season 12: https://youtu.be/PBXlbrZj1sY?si=u1Vv9nJ9L_qfHzvA DUNE: Prophecy https://youtu.be/EEoQAoEGLhw?si=695gZywFdpDfeMpf Time Bandits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCA9jpc4R74 Severance Season 2 https://youtu.be/ULC9M8CCn28?si=-S6I1XaRPShKXczR Captain America: Brave New World https://youtu.be/O_A8HdCDaWM?si=ONX8KdL7lqPfggak Agatha All Along: https://youtu.be/ARulRbzM7Jw?si=oqgOqTDfLobzd4WS   Book Club: For this week's book club we read All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries (The Murderbot Diaries, 1)  https://www.amazon.com/All-Systems-Red-Murderbot-Diaries/dp/0765397536 We enjoyed it and want to read more about Murderbot (this is one of seven). The human characters were a little hard to remember and the action was confusing. But that might just be a Steven problem.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=RRNB79pgDU&rank=1 Next week we are reading: 2021 Nebula Award winner, Best Short Story in 2021: “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/where-oaken-hearts-do-gather/

This episode contains: Steven and Ben are your hosts this week, and you know what that means... WE TALK VIDEOGAMES! Well, later we talk videogames. First, are y'all handling these high temps this summer alright? In our little California burg, we hit 112 degrees Fahrenheit a couple days ago. Steven is really enjoying the benefits of his home's heat pump. Happy Fourth of July to all the Americans listening, and on the fourth, we had a Devon sighting! It was kinda like bigfoot (the dude has grown quite a beard). Then Ben slept over at Steven's place that night, where we PLAYED VIDEOGAMES! But we're not talking about that yet. Instead it's time for our old segment, currently rebranded as... Future or Now Smack my Star Trek up: Ben reviews the first eight episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy. It's really, seriously, good. Ben's probably not going to be able to shut up about it for several episodes, so strap in. Prodigy just had it's second season drop in one fell swoop on Netflix on Monday, and this is the first of the new Trek shows Ben's binged for his first watch. The plucky kids are now Starfleet Academy hopefuls, and through their well-meaning shenanigans, they get stuck in a paradox. Thankfully the shuttle they stole has a shield that protects from time paradoxes! It's time to invert your warp bubble and WATCH THE SHOW. It's kinda like the greatest hits of Star Trek, but also like Back to the Future Part 2. Oh, and they have a Cetacean Ops on the Voyager-A. What's not to love? https://trekmovie.com/2024/07/06/star-trek-prodigy-season-2-hits-netflix-top-10-internationally-discovery-season-5-on-nielsen-top-10/ Sleep on this: Steven reviews Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver. It's not worth it, says Steven. How could a movie this boring get made? Video Game Extravaganza: The boyz come back from the mid-pod break and talk about the games you should be playing, specifically the games you should be playing with friends who are spending the night. There's Turbo Golf Racing, You Suck at Parking, and ye olde Geometry Wars 2. Ben was geeking out about how his Steam Deck could hold it's own in competitive multiplayer games against an Xbox Series X. It's his Game Big Boy (come after us, Nintendo). And if you're ready for some single player fun, Humanity is an incredible puzzler, and Cyberpunk 2077 is still as beautiful a mess as it's been, but even better now. https://isthereanydeal.com/game/turbo-golf-racing/info/ https://isthereanydeal.com/game/you-suck-at-parking-complete-edition/info/ https://isthereanydeal.com/game/humanity--1/info/