Announcement: BILL NYE HAS A PODCAST. And Alie's his first guest. Bill Nye’s on a mission to change the world, one phone call at a time and yer ol’ Dadward VonPodcast is first in the chair helping field questions. Yes she is freaking out about this and yes you should listen. In “Science Rules!," he tackles the curliest questions on just about anything in the universe with his signature knowledge and affability. And Alie shares her strategies for science communication. Take a listen to the preview here and then get the full episode of Alie on “Science Rules!” TODAY via your favorite podcast app or the link below.
For most of its history, outsiders saw Keith Raniere's NXIVM as a multi-level marketing and self-help company -- a little eccentric, sure, but overall a harmless hobby for those involved. This all changed when allegations of sexual abuse, financial manipulation and cult-like practices emerged, exposing a conspiracy encompassing everyone from everyday civilians to A-list actors. So what was it like inside NXIVM, before the group's inner workings were exposed? Join the guys as they sit down with musician Jon Bryant to talk about his first-hand experience with this organization, as well as how surviving the ordeal informs his art and philosophy today.
Well friends, I'm gonna level with you. We've been doing a little bit of mad sciencing on the side, and it appears some of the clones got loose and recorded an episode on Orphan Black and the Ethics of Cloning. It's a bit all over the place from what I'm told, but we thought it best to honor their plucky ingenuity and share the results with you, so that you can decide if the world is a better place with these strange creatures in it.
Recent appearances: Aaron's going to be on an upcoming episode of Podunk Polymath, but the end of the semester is coming and so more time for more appearances!
Aaron is also going to be on a panel at NECSS this summer in NYC discussing mutant ethics. Come do some nerdcore philosophy!
CONTENT PREVIEW: We're doing a "classics of sci-fi history" next week and reading Runaround by Azimov, the story generally credited as the first time the three laws of robotics are explicitly laid out. We'll discuss the problems with rule based ethics as a way to train AI.
In which America discovers Tex-Mex food at Disneyland, leading to the invention of Doritos and "extreme" snack foods, and Ken has clam chowder in his car. Certificate #42729.
Mushrooms! Psilocybin! Humungous fungus! Black mold! Foraging! The incredibly charming and warm Dr. Tom Volk, world-renown mushroom expert, welcomes Alie into his office to dive deep into the underground world of fungal enthusiasts and touch on pathogens and medicinal therapies. Dr. Volk himself is a heart transplant patient, and shares how his life has been changed since a donor saved it. Also: Alie holds his old heart in her hands.
When there were no safe spaces to be gay, Polari allowed gay men to identify and communicate with each other, and to keep things secret from outsiders. Professor Paul Baker, author of the Polari dictionary and the new book Fabulosa! The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language, explains how Polari emerged from criminal cant and London’s theatres and docks to be used a code language for gay men in the oppressive 1950s - and then, not long after, it entered the slang lexicons of the general public, via popular sketch comedy and the mouth of an annoyed princess.
Interview with Daniel Clark, Director of Behind the Curve; News Items: Reporting UFOs, Phosphorene Nanoribbons, Hearables; Who's That Noisy; Dumbest Thing of the Week; Science or Fiction
Over the years, people have described Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as everything from a hero to a villain -- and, in recent years, a captive. From 2012 to April of 2019, Assange lived in the Ecuadorian Embassy of London, unable to leave the grounds for fear of instant arrest and possible extradition to the United States. This April he was removed from the embassy. So what happened? More importantly, what happens next?
“Why did we make fun of Dan Quayle for misspelling the word ‘potato’ when we should have made fun of him for arguments like this?” Mike tells Sarah how a real vice president blamed a fictional single mom for causing one of the most divisive events of the 1990s. Digressions include "Designing Women," "Alien" and "The Brady Bunch." Listeners finally learn that Sarah has a lovely singing voice.
