As the world struggles through an ongoing mass extinction, scientists across the planet are getting closer and closer to bringing entire species back from the dead -- a process known as de-extinction. Inspired by an earlier episode on the thylacine, Ben and Matt dive into the fact, fiction, and surprising controversy surrounding the idea of bringing mammoths, Tasmanian tigers, and other extinct creatures back into the world, even as the creatures who live here now continue to die off at alarming rates.
Does the US government have a secret internet? Who's out there flying drones at night? How can we explain sonic booms and sky trumpets? All this and more in this week's listener mail.
In part four the team gets into the recent uptick in bills and legislation that aim to attack trans/queer people, and supress the existence of LGBTQ+ people in schools.
The last known thylacines, or Tasmanian tigers, passed away in captivity in the 1930s. Yet ever since that time, people in Tasmania and the Australian mainland have reported seeing these distinct, doglike marsupials in the wild. Why do so many people seem certain the thylacine never went extinct? Tune in to learn more.
In part three we look at the horrific results of the spread of terfs to Mexico before returning to the US to see a transphobic alliance of TERFs and Evangelicals fuse with QAnon to create the current anti-trans movement in America.
In ancient days civilizations across the world believed Earth was some sort of plane, a flat space in the absolute center of the universe. In recent days some celebrities have revived the concept, alleging a vast conspiracy exists. Is this a genuine belief or a marketing ploy?
In part 2 we look at how an ex-eco militant turned conspiracy theorist helped turn the United Kingdom turned into TERF Island and meet a new international transphobic alliance.