PodCavern

Medicinal chemistry is the study of building synthetic medicine in the lab. Our guest, Vanessa Ruscetta, researches how to synthetically copy an already existing successful cancer treatment drug that will be effective, safe, and affordable. Katie and Vinny talk about the distance to the moon and butterfly wings. The post E22: Designing new cancer treatments with Vanessa Ruscetta appeared first on PodCavern.

This week, hosts Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) and Teffer Adjemian (@tefferbear) talk about Phil Rosenthal's Netflix Food Travel series, Somebody Feed Phil! We break down the things we love about this joy-filled culinary romp, the way it serves as an optimistic take on Anthony Bourdain's work, and the beauty of seeing tender masculinity & "soft dorky dad" energy in a piece of food media. The post 74. Somebody Feed Phil appeared first on PodCavern.

Today, Moth and Cicada meet an old woman. The post 5. On the Lake appeared first on PodCavern.

Creatures making their spooky podcast feature! The spirit of Halloween is upon us once again and for this year's bone-chilling episode we wanted to celebrate our favourite creatures in cinema! So join Tuong La and his Ghastly Ghouls Angus MacDonald, Sarah MacDonald, and Samantha Leggatt as they lock themselves in a haunted house and won't emerge until they come up with a list of Top 5 Movie Monsters! The post 138 – Top 5 Movie Monsters appeared first on PodCavern.

Our bodies are made up of bazillions of cells, each one specialized to serve a function. Cells have an external structure to give it shape called a cytoskeleton. Researcher Claire Edrington is looking into the microtubules that make up cytoskeletons and how they can be grown in the lab. Katie and Vinny share facts about particle accelerators and giraffe necks. The post E21: Rebuilding Cell Skeletons with Claire Edrington appeared first on PodCavern.

Kadi and Teffer talk about art, light, gayness, coming out, coming of age, and queer community in this breathtaking novel by Malinda Lo. The post 174. A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo appeared first on PodCavern.

This week, host Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) calls up friend of the show Lily Bennett Scharf (@5ft25) to talk about the significance of gathering together (especially around the table!) during the Jewish High Holidays, Tom's decision to convert to Judaism, and the beauty of the cycle of the year. We also get into astrology, the playfulness of time, and the power behind participating in something ancient. The post 73. Coming Together & The High Holidays ft. Lily Bennett Scharf appeared first on PodCavern.

In this sidetrip, I read Black God's Kiss, by C.L. Moore. The post Bonus Sidetrip 2. Black God’s Kiss appeared first on PodCavern.

Make way for one of Disney’s best original stories in decade: the future Chief herself, Moana of Motunui. The Dummies will definitely consider the coconut as they voyage along on this epic adventure across the seas to find Maui, discover the heart of Te Fiti, and perhaps even repair her family and their community along the way. Because at the end of the day, don’t we all just want someone to know who we are? The post DD56 – Moana (2016) appeared first on PodCavern.

This week, host Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) calls up friend of the show Greg Schulz (@giantwerewolf4) to talk about Food Challenges! Greg shares the harrowing tales of the Fast Food Grand Prix, adding fries to your sandwich, the KFC Famous Bowl, the White Castle Crave Case, and more! We also drop our own new food challenge in the second half of the episode! Follow our Instagram page to participate! The post 72. Food Challenge! Ft. Greg Schulz appeared first on PodCavern.

Today, Moth and Cicada forget things. The post 4. By the Water Hole appeared first on PodCavern.

Documenting our ranking of documentaries. The old saying "life is stranger than fiction" could not be more true when it comes to many documentaries out there. The appeal of these types of films have really exploded in recent years and the technology of bringing in lost footage or remastering old footage has only gotten better, which has only improved the art form. They can also give the audience a fresh perspective on behind the scenes events of everyday life and make someone an expert on really niche topics (for like a week)! So join Tuong La and Documentary Film Buffs Katie Pagnucco (Learn Real Good), Vinny Francois (Improv College & Learn Real Good), and Howard Mitnick (Gateway Music) as they let you peak behind the curtain of their process of ranking Top 5 Documentary films! The post 137- Top 5 Documentary Films appeared first on PodCavern.

Kadi and Teffer talk crushes, cringe and criminal movie adaptations in Meg Cabot’s Y2K Marxist monarchy classic, Princess Diaries. The post 173. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot appeared first on PodCavern.

This week, hosts Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) and Teffer Adjemian (@tefferbear) answer questions from past guests! What's your favorite odd grilled cheese combination? If you had to have the same thing for breakfast every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? Which food is most fuckable and which food is marriage material? How did you get into food? The post 71. Q&A: LGBBQ Edition! appeared first on PodCavern.

Angus and Sal are visited by the mysterious Kraven Faraday (Jonas Mclean) and embark on a sightseeing trip across the multiverse! The post EP69 – Chair: The Opposite Of Chaos appeared first on PodCavern.

Zootopia: Come for the cute, fluffy bunny and the Shakira song, stay for the lessons on the harms of stereotyping and why you should never call a bunny “cute”! This week, the Dummies are learning a thing or two from Judy Hops - that’s Officer Hops to you - and her new friend Nick Wilde as they embark on a mission through a world where animals can surprise us (and them!) at every turn. The post DD55 – Zootopia (2016) appeared first on PodCavern.

This week, host Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) talks to Pat Schnettler (@patschnettler), CEO & Co-Founder of 12 Tides (@12tides), about their company's revolutionary new snacks, the importance of marine conservation, and how to create a product that goes beyond sustainability and into regeneration! Find out about the health benefits of kelp- both for us, AND for our planet! The post 70. Puffed Kelp Chips & Regenerative Farming ft. 12 Tides’ Pat Schnettler appeared first on PodCavern.

Today, Moth and Butterfly look for a teddy bear. The post 3. In the Park appeared first on PodCavern.

Order up! Look, we know fast food is not "good for us" but life's too short not to occasionally indulge in the guilty pleasures of the world. That said, there are is definitely a difference between what constitutes "good" versus "bad" fast food and we are here to rank only the worthy food establishments that satisfy our high bar of questionable food. So join Tuong and Deep Fried Foodies Tom Zalatnai (No Bad Food), Matt Cole (Debate This) and Giovanni Colantonio (Left Trigger Right Trigger) as they cook up a Top 5 Fast Food Chains list! The post 136 – Top 5 Fast Food Chains appeared first on PodCavern.

This week, hosts Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) and Teffer Adjemian (@tefferbear) talk all about dolma, sarma, and other delicious stuffed & wrapped middle eastern appetizers! We also play a little Gastronomical Geography and talk about the effects of industrialization, globalization & international trade on cuisines, which dolma ingredients are indigenous to the middle east and the mediterranean, and the longterm effects of colonialism. The post 69. Dolma: Stuff It! appeared first on PodCavern.

In this sidetrip, I read The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe. The post Bonus Sidetrip 1. The Raven appeared first on PodCavern.

Angus and Sal are back! After a career making arrest the guys are punished with dirty, difficult and down right upsetting jobs instead of being praised for their heroic work. What’s the deal? It’s almost like someone is out to get them. The post EP68 – No Good Deed… appeared first on PodCavern.

The Disney Dummies are holding out for a Hiro - and may have got more than they bargained for with Big Hero 6. With a high-stakes plot and an unforgettable cast of characters (were lookin’ at you, Aunt Cass), this movie’s emotional gut punches are matched only by its final Hail Mary rocket-fist thruster punch…but we promise that it’ll leave you satisfied with your care. The post DD54 – Big Hero 6 (2014) appeared first on PodCavern.

Today, Moth and Butterfly meet a bunch of monks. The post 2. Before the Altar appeared first on PodCavern.

It has the juice! This week, host Teffer Adjemian (@tefferbear) sits down with longtime friend of the show Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) to talk about everyone's favorite big lump with knobs, corn! We get into the viral Recess Therapy corn video, the history of corn, and its beautiful versatility as an ingredient! We also talk grits, polenta, nixtamalization, and all the lovely things we can do with cornmeal! The post 68. It’s Corn! ft. Julian McKenzie appeared first on PodCavern.

Say no to drugs (unless you are ranking them). After a well deserved break in the PodCavern, we are back to full power to do what we do best on this show - ranking! Drugs can be a hard thing to talk about as the word often has some mixed connotations to it. That's why we won't pretend we are experts on the real thing and will rank drugs based on things we DO know - FICTION! So this week join Tuong and The Sonar Network/That's How I Remember It's Michael Mongiardi, John Richardson, and Raul Delgado as they get high on life and inject a Top 5 Fictional Drugs list into your veins/ears. The post 135 – Top 5 Fictional Drugs appeared first on PodCavern.

Kadi and Teffer talk 2009, love triangles, and Twilight references in the Amazon Prime show & the book it’s based on! There’s a reason Netflix passed on this one.. Support... The post 172. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han appeared first on PodCavern.

Happy Labor Day! This week, host Tom Zalatnai (@tomzalatnai) calls up longtime friend of the show Matt Cole (@mc_dj_mc) to talk burger history, fast food, and the beauty of a Cowboy Burger! We also get into complicated feelings around nostalgia for capitalist chain restaurants, the value of reading history through a modern lens, and the importance of recognizing the biases that come with that. PLUS, some Hamburger History True or False, and an exciting announcement about the future of No Bad Food! The post 67. Does Your Burger Care About You? ft. Matt Cole appeared first on PodCavern.

Today we visit a house and meet Moth and Butterfly for the first time. The post 1. In the Kitchen appeared first on PodCavern.

The Moth Collection is 14-episode series of science-fiction short stories, tinged with horror and, I’m not going to lie, sentimentality. Moth travels everywhere and everywhen in search of (often deadly) Discrepancies, and tries to make sense of the Briefs she gets from Collection. She also pines a bit for her colleague Cicada. Episodes are standalone but linked, and details add up. The post The Moth Collection Podcast Trailer appeared first on PodCavern.

After a thrilling climatic chase and rooftop battle Angus and Sal have finally caught the villain known as The System (Leslie Cserepy). But now comes the most exciting part of all the interrogation and paperwork! The post EP67 – Getting Down With The System appeared first on PodCavern.

You better believe that the Dummies are NOT going to let it go this week, as they shiver their way through the unforgettable modern classic Frozen - the movie that proved sisterly love can be just as powerful as romantic love…and that some people are worth melting for. The post DD53 – Frozen (2013) appeared first on PodCavern.

So bad it's good. Movies are a lot of things to people but the main thing it's for is to entertain the audience. It turns out "entertainment" can come in different forms. Some movies are objectively bad but others find ways to cross that threshold of being bad and becoming something that we can't help but love it. We know it's not great but we can't look away. It's like that fast food burger you know you aren't supposed to have but you end up ordering them every time your drunk or hangry. Our guilty pleasures if you will. So Join Tuong and Guilty Pleasures Samantha Leggatt, Tina Wallace, and Victoria Luloff as they rank Top 5 Terrible Movies That Are Good! The post 134 – Top 5 Terrible Movies That Are Good appeared first on PodCavern.

Angus and Sal head over to Bubo’s (Matt Barrow) Mansion to figure out a plan to lure out and catch the villain known as The System, but they are immediately side tracked by the vaguely sinister sounding community of people living in Bubo’s many basements. The post EP66 – Vaguely Sinister appeared first on PodCavern.

What if some villains were born to be heroes, some glitches were destined to be racing champions, and some handymen were fated to fall in love with first-person shooter guides? The Dummies are about to learn that in the world of video games and Wreck-It Ralph, all this - along with candy cars, penthouse parties, and chocolate lakes - is possible…as long as you don’t go turbo. The post DD52 – Wreck-It Ralph (2012) appeared first on PodCavern.

Too much sugar in the blood can lead to all sorts of health problems, including diabetes, and we rely on insulin to properly process it in our bodies. But that’s... The post E20: Making Insulin Using Stem Cells with Emily McGaugh appeared first on PodCavern.

One of the best things about anime...the openings! In a vast sea of anime out there, it's difficult to figure out what show to watch next. Lucky enough, one of the best ways is through it's opening where it often has the best animation, a great look at what the show will be about, and above all else, a catchy earworm tune that will keep you coming back for more! So join Tuong and Anime Waifus Amanda Parker, Ethan Howieson, and Adam Cunning as they belt their way through ranking a Top 5 Anime Intro Songs list! The post 133 – Top 5 Anime Intro Songs appeared first on PodCavern.

Sea Lamprey are an invasive species in the Great Lakes. Our guest Victoria Heath works in marine labs doing research into chasing them out of sensitive areas using sounds that don’t harm the environment. Vinny and Katie share the latest research about babies and moon dirt. The post E19: Scaring Lamprey Using Sound with Victoria Heath appeared first on PodCavern.

Even though Angus and Sal are stuck in the wilds of the untamed forest district that won’t stop them from getting an episode out on time! The guys show off the camp they’ve survived in for the past week and their plans for rescue. Guaranteed to have more bees and amphetamines than you were expecting. The post EP65 – Survival Meth-ods appeared first on PodCavern.

In a world where just about everything feels unpredictable, it’s comforting to return to a familiar face - or more accurately, a familiar bottom half whose top is stuck, as always, in a honey pot. 2011’s Winnie the Pooh has a lot in common with its predecessors, and while it’s not quite high adventure, a missing tail and a mysterious Backson will provide enough hijinks to keep you smiling along with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and the rest of the gang. The post DD51 – Winnie the Pooh (2011) appeared first on PodCavern.

Talking to computers is tricky because people use a lot of context clues to figure out exactly what people mean. Computers like to take things literally so it’s a challenge for them to untangle any ambiguity or multiple meanings. Frederick Gietz is a computational linguist working on research to help computers understand how these messy humans use verbs. Katie and Vinny talk about mosquitofish and what happens to DNA in microgravity. The post E18: Teaching Semantics to Computers with Frederick Gietz appeared first on PodCavern.

Pesticides can be found in so many of our waterways thanks to industrial farming. Monitoring the levels of pesticides in our water is important to ensure the health of our water supplies and everything that lives in them. MSc student Moira Ijzerman studies new ways to detect and measure their presence using a new type of material, biofilms. Vinny and Katie share facts about Mars and millipedes. The post E17: Detecting Pesticides Using Biofilm with Moira Ijzerman appeared first on PodCavern.

A city destroying threat has come to Super City! Angus and Sal have been called in to support the brave heroes combating evil. They just need to grab a few things from the S.H.A.R.T. gadget locker. The post EP64 – Camp Grenade-ah appeared first on PodCavern.

Tangled is a lot of things: an imaginative take on a familiar tale; one of Alan Menken’s greatest works; a reminder of the importance of following one’s dreams; a really effective advertisement for frying pans. Full of love, laughs, and of course, lanterns, this one holds a special place in the hearts of the Dummies - softies that they are. The post DD50 – Tangled (2010) appeared first on PodCavern.

When you think of an earthquake, you think of a sudden destructive event that lasts minutes or even seconds. Our guest this week is Meghomita Das who studies “slow earthquakes”. Slow earthquakes release the same amount of energy but over a timescale of weeks or even months. We talk about what slow earthquakes can tell us about the Earth’s history and earthquake predictions. Katie and Vinny talk about the whales and the bees. The post E16: Listening for Slow Earthquakes with Meghomita Das appeared first on PodCavern.

"Sonic, meet Knuckles." This week join Tuong and Twitch streamer extraordinaire whinnaay as they talk about the joys and struggles of streaming, whinnaay's lack of popculture knowledge, and their love of everyone's favorite blue hedgehog in his latest hit movie sequel - Sonic the Hedgehog 2! The post Ep 110 – Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) with whinnaay appeared first on PodCavern.

We got a genie in a bottle baby! Among fantasy dreams and hypothetical questions such as "What superpower would you want to have?" and "If you won a million dollars what would you do?", the classic "What would you wish for from a genie" ranks above them all. If a magical being insists we make some choices to fulfill our deepest desires and needs, who are we to say no to that?! So join Tuong and Gyrating Lamp Rubbers Victoria Luloff, Jess Maybear, and Jonah Maybear as they summon the all powerful Jinn of the PodCavern, and rank Top 5 Genie Wishes! The post 132 – Top 5 Genie Wishes appeared first on PodCavern.

Fainting is an unpleasant and sometimes dangerous experience. We talk to Erin Williams about the cardiovascular system and research into new and simple tools, like swaying, to prevent fainting (aka: syncope). Vinny and Katie talk about wild animals getting drunk and nuclear missiles. The post E15: Swaying to Prevent Fainting with Erin Williams appeared first on PodCavern.

On the hunt for any info about the mole in S.H.A.R.T. Sal and Angus use the criminal informant app Clueter to meet up with Eric (Rich Hillborn). Will they find out the info they need? One this is for sure Eric is a master of his craft. The post EP63 – Criminally Underrated appeared first on PodCavern.

Legend has it you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your prince, but somehow our friend Tiana got it right on the first try - and if you’re into jazz, beignets, and watching fireflies on the bayou, then you’ll agree with the Dummies that The Princess and the Frog got a lot of other things right, too! Groove along with us to the sights and sounds of Mardi Gras, New Orleans jazz, and an excellent cast of characters in this starry take on a classic tale. The post DD49 – The Princess and the Frog (2009) appeared first on PodCavern.