Science... Sort Of

00:00:00 - Researchers have determined that if you want one big skip instead of many little skips you should select a potato-shaped rock instead of a flat one. If that’s what you’re into… 00:23:00 - Another way to enjoy a day on the river is with a beverage. Patrick is back to basics with a Guinness. Charlie is legally enjoying a Rogue Ginger Yuzu CBD Seltzer. And Ryan is recovering with some maximum-strength cold medicine. 00:31:45 - In the war between astronomers and lightning, the astronomers are now fighting back by using lasers to steer lightning across the sky! 00:51:25 - The PaleoPOWs are a lot like lightning, we’re never sure where it’s going to hit but we can hope to guide it. First up, Patrick provides a Canadian Apple Podcasts Review from Peachy

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by cookbook author and YouTuber J. Kenji López-Alt to discuss his latest book The Wok: Recipes and Techniques, available wherever fine books are sold including our own page on Bookshop.org. Can you ruin your wok your first time using it? Is carbon steel superior to cast iron? Can you poison your guests with hot peppers? Tune in to find out! 00:26:40 - Ryan enjoys an Americano made using Worka Sakaro beans roasted by Night Swim Coffee in Charlotte, NC. 00:30:15 - Part two of Ryan’s hard-hitting no-holds-barred discussion of the wok with Kenji continues! 00:58:30 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like cooking with woks: if you get all your ingredients together beforehand you’re done before you know it. This episode features three comments from the world of Facebook by Tom V., Shawn G., and Mike B., respectively. Thanks, guys! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Juparo - Broke for Free Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - Manly Ryan North (@ryanqnorth) returns to the show to talk to Ben and Handsome Ryan (not a self-selected nickname) to talk about his new book, How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain, available now wherever fine books are sold! 00:36:00 - Taking over the world is thirst work. Fortunately, we came prepared. Ben is enjoying some burdock tea, which comes from the roots of a bush. Ryan is having the debatably thematic Thespian Espionage by Weathered Ground Brewing. 00:44:59 - The discussion with Ryan North continues. Learn more at supervillainbook.com or snag your own copy via our Bookshop.org affiliate page! 01:25:56 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like supervillains, you want to trust them, but should you? Ben starts off with an e-mail from Brandon who enjoyed the live show where everyone met Ben in person, or were they only meeting a satellite android body of an AI still hanging out on a computer in a garage? Ben claims quantum computer-hood in resp

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are thrilled to be joined by her friend and colleague, Dr. Andrew Forbes! He’s a parasitic insect kind of guy (not meant as an insult!) and we discuss his journey a bit before diving into some recent and exciting research! 00:35:37 - It could be argued that parasites drink the lifeforce of others, but hopefully that’s not the case with us. Ryan doubles down with an Americano using Jorge Raul Rivera Pacamara Honey #96 beans from Chalatenango, El Salvador via Black & White Roasters, which is delicious. Kelly doesn’t have a beer so is settling for a lactose-free White Salamander after wrapping up season 1 of her new project D.O.R.K.S. Andrew is enjoying some aged beer to celebrate the birth of his son in the form of a 2008-vintage Bigfoot Barleywine from Sierra Nevada. And Ryan comes back around to finish the segment with bourbon-barrel aged elderberry infused cider from Hawk Knob 00:46:46 - We continue our conversation with Andrew, including a discussion of these two (open access!)

00:00:00 - Time for a special edition Science… sort of Book Club! Ryan, Joe, and Tim all read Andy Weir’s new novel Project Hail Mary. What did they think of it? How was the science? Should Andy Weir design escape rooms? All this, and more, is discussed! To buy the book, we recommend using our affiliate program with bookshop.org/shop/sciencesortof, we get a small percent for sending you there and the book will be sent to you by a local bookshop. Win win! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music credit: Ave Maria - Podington Bear Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

00:00:00 - There’s a new telescope in town to look out of town and see exactly what’s going on in this here galaxy. Introducing… the James Webb Space Telescope! What can it do? Where can it do it? And did we name it after a not so great dude? All this and more are discussed! 00:36:36 - Drinks are any beverage that are consumed. Here, we talk about them. Joe is having tea with lemon and honey to help with a cough. Ryan recommends even fancier tea. Ryan waxes poetic about a Herkenrode Abbey Vesper (typical). Charlie is double fisting some red wine and a Rogue CBD seltzer, balancing the blend perfectly. 00:47:26 - Trailer Trash Talk returns again to discuss the much-maligned but fun-looking Moonfall. 01:00:57 - Climate Change is definitely a thing that is happening, we’ve known about it for awhile, but just how long? Turns out some folks as far back as the 1800s were figuring out the connection between carbon dioxide and atmospheric warming and we just haven’t been listening. 01:23:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like…

00:00:00 - Joe and Ryan are excited to be joined by Craig Welch and Sam Howe Verhovek who each have articles in the October 2021 issue of National Geographic “The Revolution is Here” which is all about the future of non-fossil fuel transportation. Craig wrote the article “The future of driving is here–and it’s electric” and Sam wrote the article “How green can we make air travel? And how soon?”. Discussion ensues. 00:40:41 - Discussion pauses so Joe and Ryan can have a drink. Can’t let oneself get too parched. Joe was having a latte during our initial conversation, but is now enjoying some eggnog with brandy. Ryan is having a Class III Whitewater IPA from Screech Owl Brewing, which leads to a discussion about the many uses for spent beer grain, but mostly pizza dough. 00:51:03 - Part two of our conversation with Craig and Sam! Craig is on Twitter @CraigAWelch and you can find more of Sam’s work on his website jetagebook.com. 01:06:49 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the future of transportation; they’re both going

00:00:00 - Joe and Ryan are joined by their friend Dr. Antonio “Tony” Munoz, who tells us about his work as a scientist and his journey from the world of research to the world of consulting. Tony’s open access papers for those who want to learn more: Free energy calculation of modified base-pair formation in explicit solvent: A predictive model Active yeast ribosome preparation using monolithic anion exchange chromatography Structural Changes Enable Start Codon Recognition by the Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Complex Conserved residues in yeast initiator tRNA calibrate initiation accuracy by regulating preinitiation complex stability at the start codon Coordinated Movements of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factors eIF1, eIF1A, and eIF5 Trigger Phosphate Release from eIF2 in Response to Start Codon Recognition by the Ribosomal Preinitiation Complex 00:36:38 - Joe managed to bring drinks for everyone, but now they’re not in the same place so that’s odd. Joe is having some homemade mead from

00:00:00 - In which Ryan introduces the concept of this type of episode… for the last time. (But which can be previously heard in episodes 266, 282, 326, and 332.) 00:05:23 - Zootopia and Disney Lemming Myths 00:10:51 - Bio bios: Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) 00:16:06 - The Drake Equation tries to answer "Are we along?” 00:21:23 - Drake Equation "results" hint at a crowded galaxy 00:22:30 - Then where is everybody? Fermi's Paradox weighs in 00:27:03 - To prove the show hasn’t lost a step, Ryan has a Knotty Pine double IPA from Country Boy Brewing. Predictable, but delicious. 00:28:56 - Night Hag: The Inception 00:32:31 - My experience with the Night Hag 00:34:55 - Science of the Night Hag 00:40:08 - Wait, how is the Night Hag aliens? Culture and Sleep Paralysis 00:43:16 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the end of the year, they lead us to something new. This episode we have an e-mail from Brandon M. asking how to get access to the whole back catalog of Brachiolope Media shows (and the answer is Soundclo

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Megan Johnson (@mmjohnso), Becca Van Hoeck (@becca_vanhoeck), and Caitlin Bergstrom (@caityydid). Megan and Becca are Ph.D. researchers working on the environmental engineering of the atmosphere around wildfires and fish ecology using marine soundscapes, respectively and in the first segment they tell us a bit about their awesome research. 00:30:16 - Drinks are a bit like wildfires and marine ecosystems: they're wet but they burn. Megan is enjoying a Left Hand (Chai) Milk Stout. Becca is working on some chilled white wine from a subscription service she used to stock up in the early days of the pandemic. She thinks it’s a Pinot Grigio. Caitlin is drinking a Juicify IPA by Lakefront Brewery from WI, where she went to school and was surprised to find in DC. Ryan goes big with a Megalodon Imperial Coffee Porter, gifted to him by Abe, naturally. 00:36:51 - Caitlin is a Science Policy Analyst for the American Geophysical Union, and the reason we were all chatting is because Megan, Bec

00:00:00 - Dr. Arik Kershenbaum (@arikkershenbaum) stops by to talk about his new book, The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal about Aliens—And Ourselves, AKA the fastest we’ve ever said yes to an interview. 00:27:50 - Both life and beef requires water, so let’s talk about what we’re drinking. Patrick has a perfectly adequate Punk AF from BrewDog, Ryan is also having a non-alcoholic Upside Dawn Golden Ale from Athletic Brewing. It is also fine. 00:36:29 - Part 2 of our discussion with Arik Kershenbaum is the second part of our conversation about his book. Please enjoy! 00:58:04- PaloePOWs are a lot like alien life: is it really out there? Ryan begins with a 4-star Apple Podcasts review from Entertaining, but… who is frustrated by politics creeping into the show, which prompts a hopefully helpful discussion about what exactly this sort of criticism might mean. Patrick finishes with an e-mail from Peter C. about classifying human species as we colonize other planets based on the game

00:00:00 - Carl Zimmer (@CarlZimmer) has returned to the show to talk to us about his new book, Life’s Edge: The Search For What It Means To Be Alive. While it may be hard to define life, we can provide definite timestamps for the first part of our conversation about the book! 00:26:16 - Having access to liquid is an essential part of life, which includes drinks. Ryan pontificates about his Hoplark HopTea with Spruce Tips which is surprisingly refreshing. After a digression, Patrick gets to reveal that he is also enjoying the nearly non-alcoholic Nanny State from BrewDog. 00:36:52 - Part 2 of our discussion with Carl Zimmer is the second part of our conversation about his book. Please enjoy! 00:57:42 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like life, hard to define but you know it when you see it. Ryan insists that Patrick reconciles with Jeff' S’s e-mail responding to our previous dismissal of 3D in movies by pointing out the Spy Kids franchise as a counterexample. Ryan then reads an e-mail from Bob M. about some previous co

00:00:00 - Returning guest Jen Gallagher (@yeastychic) has brought along two former students to talk about their continued research into the world of yeast! We’re excited to be joined by Matt Winas, currently the lead scientist at Imperial Yeast Labs, and Postdoctoral Research Apoorva Ravishankar. First up, we chat with Matt about his work on sake yeast hybridization and how yeast respond toxic metallic nanoparticles. 00:28:21 - Yeast make all manner of drinks so let’s talk about that. Apoorva eschews the yeast theme with a hot cup of coffee (with cream and sugar) and the gang reminisces about the coffee shop closest to their lab at WVU. Matt is enjoying a Suss It Out rye IPA from Level Cross Brewing Company, one of the perks of working for a yeast company. Jen is honoring her scientific progeny with a Baby Cakes stout from Tribus Beer Co. Ryan had a different beer lined up but is instead going with a Hop Farmin Miner from Weathered Ground Brewery in WV. 00:37:26 - Next we chat with Apoorva about her research

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are psyched to be joined by Gina Zwicky (@GinaGoesOutside) to talk about all things herps (amphibians + reptiles)! We begin with a discussion about Gina’s work the immune system of Caribbeans lizards, specifically the major histocompatibility complexes of the Saban’s anole using the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) awesome genetic database. And Ryan transitions the group to the next segment but half remembering a cool project on the island of Dominica that will be a joint rum distiller and sea turtle conservation hub. Neat! 00:27:08 - Amphibians need to stay near water, and much like them we also enjoy a drink. First, Gina shares her LaCroix habit, lime at the moment but ranking of flavors is involved. Kelly takes a break from red wine with a warm, relaxing cup of chamomile tea. And even though nobody asked, Ryan is having a Black Rock Milk Stout from Devil’s Backbone Brewing in Kelly’s neck of the wood AKA East Virginia. We also talk a bit about what it means t

00:00:00 - The Triassic Period was clearly a tough time to be alive, since a lot of things kept dying. Researchers have recently uncovered a potentially new extinction that happened during the Triassic, and another team has uncovered more evidence of what cased the extinction we already knew about at the end of the Triassic. The culprit in both cases? Volcanoes! Abe and Ryan try to co-explain. 00:29:05 - Like volcanoes, beers also release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Abe is eager to go first with Science Is Crushable IPA by Benchtop Brewing Company. Charlie features a beer sent by a buddy as part of a winter beer exchange, a Tired But Wired by Anchorage Brewing Company featuring some excellent label art by Woflskulljack. And Ryan is excited to try a Kitty Claw clarified cafe milk punch from Mercy Me in D.C. 00:37:31 - Ryan already had the chance to talk about this story once before on the Undisciplined: November Science News Roundup, but he’s too excited to not bring it up again because researchers hav

00:00:00 - Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the AGU Fall Meeting had to go all online, but that didn’t showing up and recording some interviews. But plot twist! This year we sent Producer Tim Dobbs to do the interviewing and Ryan is just along for the ride. In his first interview, Tim talks to Amato Evan about his work looking at how dust clouds from the Sahara in Africa have climatic affects as far away as the other side of the Atlantic AKA Godzilla Dust Storms! 00:33:18 - A little dust in the throat goes away with a quick drink. This episode, Ryan is amazed by the color of his Kyoto Bakushu Matcha IPA (seriously, clickthrough on the link to see it). Whereas Tim is trying to figure out what to do with his bottle of BarMatt Equatorial Ceylon Tea Liqueur. Ryan provides suggestions. 00:42:33 - Tim’s next chat is with Joshua Bregy, who, no joke, uses wood from old coffins to asses past climate. It’s as cool as it sounds. What more even needs to be said here? Just go and listen already. You can check out

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Jesse B. Grove V to discuss the highly anticipated sci-fi action thriller, Christopher Nolan’s TENET. Jesse is drinking an Outer Realm from Original Pattern Brewing Company and Ryan is drinking The Magic Touch by American Solera and they are both IPAs because that’s the kind of guys they are. Be sure to check out the Sator Square and here is a link to the graphic timeline mentioned towards the end of the episode. Tune in to find out just how much they did, or didn’t, or did like the film! You can also follow Ryan (@haupt) and Jesse (@LintonFellows) on Letterboxd.com to keep up with their movie-watching habits. And apologies to Doughboys for riffing on their format. More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Audio Production by Rob Heath

00:00:00- We're doing another Anchor-themed clip show! Following up on episodes 266, 282, and 326 we have another round of short audio clips that Ryan created for the podcast startup Anchor under the banner of Organized Curiosity (explanation of the name here). 00:01:43 - Ryan explains the ‘Up-Goer Five’ challenge, reads an abstract he wrote using the Up-Goer Five Text Editor, tries to explain what the abstract actually means, and then shares some thoughts on whether or not this exercise is effective. 00:17:57 - News you probably cannot use: Cheerios included some seeds in their cereal boxes to help folks grow flowers for the bees. A nice idea, but unfortunately still might do more harm than good. 00:23:22 - It’s the holidays so Ryan is drinking glögg and eating raisins. It’s tradition. Make your own glögg AND make your own raisins so you can enjoy some too. 00:24:50 - Q&A: Paul from Cork, Ireland calls in to talk about how he hopes his daughter takes an interest in science (us to!) and to talk about w

00:00:00 - Abe and Ryan are joined by paleontologists Lindsey Yann and Advait Jukar (@amjukar) to talk about all manner of proboscideans! First up, hundreds of mammoth fossils have been found underneath the construction site for a new airport outside Mexico City. An amazing find with some similarities to the Waco Mammoth National Monument where Lindsey was just hired as the park’s first in-house paleontologist. And as the park’s paleontologist, she is actively soliciting new research projects so if you have ideas get in touch! 00:26:05 - We may not have built-in straws but we can still enjoy a beverage. Ryan heeds Advait’s advice and grabs a bottle of Old Monk Very Old Vatted XXX Rum, which has expanded Ryan’s view of the diversity of beverages available from the subcontinent. Advait himself is enjoying a pilsner from East Rock Brewing Company from his new hometown of New Haven, CT. Whereas the only paleontologically-themed beer in Abe’s fridge was a Tyrannosaurus Flex from New Real Brewing Company. And in ex

00:00:00 - Researcher Daniel Katz and journalist Lucas Joel (@LucasVanWykJoel) join Ryan to talk about Dan’s research into Detroit’s pollen problem. Too many vacant lots means a lot more ragweed for the residents of the city to deal with. Want to get involved with Dan’s research? Check out his citizen science project Pollen Tracker! 00:41:26 - After the allergy-inducing first segment, a drink is enjoyed by all. Ryan Escapes with the help of Offshoot Beer Co. Lucas is having his very favorite South African rooibos tea. And Dan is having Electric Jellyfish from Pinthouse PIzza which isn’t thematic but “oh well”. 00:54:14 - Some recent fossil finds in Burmese amber have been making the news, but unfortunately, it’s unclear if the amber is being ethically sourced and it may even be funding the genocide of Myanmar’s Kachin Christian minority. Is it ok to be publishing on specimens obtained this way? What does it mean when the studies get quickly retracted? And how are scientific societies addressing the issue? A s