Science... sort of

00:00:00 - We begin arguing about rabbits, as you do. Ryan rejects Ben's phony phylogeny and espouses the truth of Glires. Don't let Ben lead you astray. 00:00:54 - We're all happy with the four fundamental forces we know and love, but what if there was a fifth force? A Hungarian team is claiming they might have found one, which is a pretty big deal. You can read their paper now on the arXiv. 00:39:59 - If you made it through Ben's explanations in the first segment, you deserve a drink. Joe, back from his physics sabbatical, is refreshing himself with aTractor Soda Co. Cherry Cream Soda, with some confusing claims but good flavor. Ryan has an Elder Brett from Epic Brewing Co. in part so he can discuss an article about "wild beers" sent to him by Kendall in Denver. Ben has Jones Soda Cream Soda with a picture of a Moose on it. Also, Joe's car is free because we're a bit off the rails this week. And SpaceX has a little problem that Ryan gets excited about. 00:59:35 - Finally, weasels! Weasels are great and Ryan wants to talk about them. He learned a lot reading this article, but there's so much more to say. Including where their name comes from, and whether or not we can reform it as something more positive. You'll just have to listen for the rest of it. 01:32:23 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like weasels, they're great if you give them a chance. Ryan begins with a donation from Gerhardus R. in South Africa and a quick second mention of Jeff M. who donated again after catching up with Ryan on Steam. Ben's up next with a voicemail from Allie to thank us for doing the show. You're welcome! Joe wraps it up with a new 5-star iTunes review from Luke R. Edwards, who appreciates our tangents so much have loved this episode. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Use The Force - Jamiroquai Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed Weasal Face - Ramones

00:00:00 - Mezcal is a magical and misunderstood spirit. Abe, Jacob, and Ryan spend some time breaking down just what the spirit is, from the myths about worms to the economies of towns trying to use craft distillates to escape the horrors of the drug trade. It's complicated. What's a bit simpler, somehow, are the fluid dynamics at play in determining proof, known as the pearls of mezcal. A team has presented their findings on the phenomenon, and we try to explain the science at play. 00:31:58 - Abe, unsurprisingly, is enjoying an agave-based spirit, but in the form of an elixir that seems new yet familiar at the same time. Jacob is up next and braces for mockery with a beer he already had in episode 101. Abe and Ryan had no intentions for teasing, but when it's invited it's hard to resist. Ryan goes full hipster with a Multinational Horn-Dog Black Saison that he makes Abe describe because Abe made it in the first place. Delicious! 00:44:17 - Moa were giant terrifying monster-birds from New Zealand. And they're extinct. Did they die because of climate or because of humans? A recent study suggests the latter. The team used genetics, which seems straightforward enough, but leads to a discussion about the potential problems with blaming native peoples for local extinctions. The boys seems to conclude that humans are just humans, no judgement needed beyond universal human foibles. 01:05:52 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like moas, oversized and prone to destruction. Ryan begins with an overdue thanks to recurring donor Jeff E. Thanks, Jeff! Next up, Jacob has an e-mail from Matt M. pruporting to explaing the phrase "going commando" as referenced in our recent interview with Mary Roach. It's a fun explanation, but is it a "just-so story"? Trying to work backwards, it seems kilts may be to blame as the original source of eschewing underwear. This leads to pontifications on the nature of meta-skepticism, literally debunking the debunkers. Abe wraps things up with a question from Tyler V. about the possibility of a Spanish-language science podcast. Seeing as there are more native Spanish speakers than native English speakers, seems like a no-brainer, but not something we can quite pull off at this point, though we have talked internally about it. Music for this week's show: Another Pearl - Badly Drawn Boy Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes The Bird That You Can't See - Apples in Stereo

It's episode 250 and thus a fine time to return to form with Patrick, Charlie, and Ryan! 00:00:00 - Mars is dead, long live Mars! Mars used to have oceans, active volcanoes, maybe even tectonics. So what happened? The guys explore how it might have become a hunk of rock we keep having to rescue Matt Damon from. Also, there's a whole book series on how we might (fictionally) bring it back to life. 0027:57 - However it got that way, Mars is now dry enough to leave one mighty parched. Let us quench. Patrick begins with a beer left behind in his fridge by Ryan, a Siamese Twin Ale from Uncommon Brewers located in the birthplace of the show, Santa Cruz, California. Charlie expertly extracts the hot bean juice from an exquisite Ganesha Espresso bean for 28 seconds at 201 degrees C at 9 bars of pressure. Ryan fires back with a Kerberos Tripel our of a double-walled growler, a three-headed beer for the three originals being back together. 00:34:50 - Is the Loch Ness Monster real? No. It's super not real. BUT, Google decided to play along and put some cameras in the loch. This somehow becomes a very deep conversation on the philosophy of science and the role technology plays in shaping our reality. Go figure. 00:59:34 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like unexpectedly deep conversations; most people skip them if able to. Ryan begins with a new recurring donation from Sonya P. Thanks, Sonya! Charlie fields an energetics question from Jacob M. about the stillsuits featured in the novel Dune. Patrick finished with a question from Graeme N. about the aquatic ape hypothesis of human evolution. Ryan and Patrick argue again because why agree on anything ever? Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Nothin' On You - B.o.B. Straw Dog - Something Corporate Get It Faster - Jimmy Eat World

00:00:00 - Do you eat food? If you do you probably appreciate the Maillard reaction even if you've never heard of it. We try to drop some science on your plate! Want even more food science? This book has you covered. 00:35:09 - Joe begins the drinking segment by tying things back to the Maillard reaction with a Lester's Fixins Bacon with Maple Syrup Soda, which sounds, and tastes, terrible. Chad and Ryan insist her finish it. Ryan has a Segua Red Ale, a Costa Rican microbrew based on a Costa Rican legend. Chad has a fruit smoothie because sometimes you just have to clear out the freezer. 00:45:05 - Archeologists have found many ancient subterranean cities. What happened to us all wanting to live underground together? Joe explains some of the benefits and pratfalls of trying to make a go of putting a lot of people under the earth, including some more recent attempts. 01:01:44 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like underground cities, they were sort of in vogue once upon a time. Joe begins by thanking Jeff M. for a donation. Thanks, Jeff! Ryan has an e-mail from Anne who wants to know if all her friends getting into the paleo-diet are onto something or not. Ryan, an actual paleontologist, is no great fan and lists some reasons why. For more info, check out this Scientific American article or go buy the book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live. Last up, Chad has an article from Mike J. about another idea to get fuel from water, but this time with a twist. Chad and Ryan dive into the details, including trying to explain the entire ocean and how we're messing it up. Maybe a bit ambitious, but there you have it. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Heart Cooks Brain - Modest Mouse Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan

00:00:00 - We are excited to announce the long awaited return of Jacob Stump! Jacob is back so we might as well start out with a poorly planned mission to Mars. Specifically, is Mars One a scam? If you believe one of their selected 'astronauts' then probably yes. 00:25:24 - Much like they're not actually going to Mars, Jacob spends some time telling us what he's not drinking before finally telling us that he's having some Spanish wine. Patrick is doubling down with another Get Elevated from Matty J. which prompts a discussion of handedness. Ryan advocates his left-handed lifestyle and recommends a book for those who want to learn more about his affliction. Ryan also is back to his beer roots enjoying a DirtWolf Double IPA from Victory Brewing. 00:41:23 - Jupiter's wife Juno has come home in the form of a probe sent by NASA. Even President Obama was excited about it. Ryan gets excited just talking about Jupiter, but Patrick and Jacob have some pretty cool things about the probe and its science mission around our solar system's largest planet. 01:18:14 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wives, they deserve love and respect. Patrick begins with his favorite: a new recurring donation from Scott P. High fives to Scott! Ryan goes next and proceeds to put his foot firmly in his mouth talking about Creationism vs evolution thanks to this story from NPR submitted by listener Chris N. Thanks a lot, Chris. Fortunately, Patrick and Jacob are here to smooth things over. Phew. Jacob finishes things off with new 5-star iTunes review from dearknurl. Always appreciated. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Trouble Weighs A Ton - Dan Auerbach Holiday In Spain - Counting Crows Juno - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (written specifically for this NASA mission, so that's cool)

If you're interested in helping the people of West Virginia recover from some pretty horrific recent flooding, you can check out the list of options compiled by The Huffington Post. 00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan are joined by Daphne Pringle, who's a post-doctoral fellow at the Hunstman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah. She's sick of us getting epigenetics wrong like we did in episode 241, so she's here to sort us out. She uses mice to study oncogenes and tumors and cancer and all that. It's pretty far outside of our typical biology talk, so segment one is just trying to explain the basics. Here's some background reading: Raf/MEK/ERK, mouse models, and BRAF targeting. 00:35:53 - Alcohol is a carcinogen probably. Oh well. Daphne represents Utah with her Uinta Detour Double IPA. Patrick was sent some cans of Elevated IPA by listener Matty J. Thanks! And Ryan classes up the joint with an Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon. 00:43:21 - Now that we have totally covered the basics of Daphne's research, let's talk about her recent publication in PLOS ONE. Will Daphne and her team cure cancer? Only if they can get through the FDA's 15 year approval process! Also, if you wanted to see a Tazzy Devil joey in a pouch, here you go. 01:16:43 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like the FDA approval process; only the strong survive. First up, a new recurring donation from Mark H. Thanks, Mark! Next, Peter C. has a question about population genetics that we're hoping Daphne can help us answer. It involves space travel and maybe racism? Patrick presents a Facebook post from Brennen M. who wants us to know about his favorite book about food science called Modernist Cuisine. Finally, Ryan presents the winners of the iTunes review contest calculated using random.org! The runners up: Kendh and Patrick in Des Moines. And our grand prize goes to Molec-bio! Thanks to everyone who participated. Be sure to follow Daphne on Twitter (@drpringleetal) to follow along as she saves us all. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music used in this week's show: Morning New Disease - Jets to Brazil The West Virginia Hills - Moastsville String Ticklers Waiting - Green Day

This was our first time recording since the tragic Pulse shooting in Orlando. We encourage our US listeners to share their thoughts with their elected representatives. You can find yours and their contact info here. 00:00:00 - We begin this week by talking about some literal bridge building. Because of things like physics and geology, engineers have to rethink how we build roads around bridges. Joe assumes Ryan and Abe know about soil science. He's wrong. But some researchers at the University of Texas, Arlington, have developed special giant foam blocks to help solve the bridge settling dilemma. All rivers in this segment referred to as Kwai for clarity. 00:21:45 - Drinks, like bridges, get you where you're going. Abe pops the top off a Hop Savant from Crooked Stave. Ryan, thinking back on his afternoon at Corvus Coffee Roasters with Abe, has a Cold Brew IPA from Rogue. Joe B. bucks tradition with a Best Damn Cherry Cola, which while it may not sound like it, is actually an alcoholic beverage. It's not his first time having booze on the show, but it is rare. This leads to a discussion of choosing one's science specialty. 00:29:31 - UPDATES. How often do you actually see follow-up reporting in science journalism? For us, it's rarely. To put our money where our mouth is here is some that. First, Abe is excited to announce that the newly discovered elements first discussed in episode 234 now have names! Next, that weird animal we talked about in episode 229 has finally found a place on the family tree of life (open access paper here), welcome to club Siphonophorae, buddy. 00:48:04 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like updates in that sometimes they really are just updates. Joe starts off complaining about vocal plosives with a new recurring donation from Pedro P. in Chile. Muchas gracias, Pedro! Ryan has an e-mail from frequent correspondent Tyler V., who corrects him about what Einstein won his Nobel prize for in episode 196. Abe finishes things up with an iTunes review, the final review from the Summer Solstice iTunes Review Challenge written by Cynthia. You can also go check out an interview with Joe on the Baja SAE Shop Talk podcast. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Simon & Garfunkel Campfire Kansas - The Get Up Kids The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News

This week is all about Game of Thrones and/or A Song of Ice and Fire featuring returning guest to the show Miles Traer! If you're not caught up on both the show and the books, consider this your all-purpose SPOILER WARNING. 00:00:00 - First up: time travel. How does time travel in a fantasy story work? Apparently, there are three options, and we mainly stick to one, but it's not without its paradoxes. Check out this nifty drawing from Ben for a diagram of just what we think happened in the already infamous Hodor episode. 00:37:53 - They drink a lot in Westeros, so to keep it authentic, we follow suit. Ben begins with a double shot of weird Sangaria brand soft drinks: carrot and traditional. Miles follows up with a 'Westerosi'-style cocktail, the Sazerac; even if he and Ryan disagree about the proportions. Ryan does what his wife does, and has a Three Philosophers from Brewery Ommegang. It makes sense in context. 00:44:15 - There's a lot more science to be done in Westeros than just time travel. Fortunately, Matt Shipman organized a blog carnival, featuring science posts from some of our favorite former guests such as Brian Switek, Jacquelyn Gill, and David Hone. If you want more info on the solar neighborhood of the planet and how that affects climate, check out this paper from the ArXiv. And finally a geology post from Miles Traer, which he tells us a bit about, but you'll need to read the whole thing for the details. 01:08:38 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like open-ended epic fantasy series; they're both often long overdue. We being with Ben announcing a new recurring donation from Peter C. Thanks, Peter! Next up, Tyler V. wants to know, based on our previous hesitation to call the Anthropocene a thing, how future paleontologists might respond to the discovery of mass human graves as a feature of the debated epoch. That's pretty dark, Tyler, but we sort of have an answer, and it reminds Ryan in particular of a certain dinosaur site called Ghost Ranch. Ryan has an anniversary message from Cyn, who found the show thanks to Ben, because Ben is great. Finally, be sure to also check out Miles' excellent podcast Generation Anthropocene. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Game of Throne theme on the Seaboard RISE - ROLI Theme from Game of Thrones - New Orleans Swamp Donkeys Game of Thrones Theme (Western Cover) - Benedikt Mendzigal

00:00:00 - This week Ryan is joined by his wife, Juliana Olsson, so they can talk with returning guest and author Mary Roach! We do drinks in the preamble so for all you completists out there: Juli had a Three Philosophers and Ryan had a Birthday Suit. Mary, given her druthers, likes a dry gin martini. But the actual point of our conversation is to talk about her new book is Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War and that's what we talk about (mostly). She's on tour promoting the book right now, so go see her if you can and tell her you heard about the tour from us! 00:52:34 - PaloePOWs are a lot like books; they contain a lot of words. Ryan begins with a donation from Liam B., a Canadian donating with US money. How thoughtful! Thanks, Liam. Next up, Todd B. wanted us to watch a video about naked mole rats, the official animal of the podcast. They're pretty cute in an ugly sort of way, and the science being done is pretty cool too. Finally, Ryan reminds y'all that we're running an iTunes review contest. Write a review for us on iTunes between now and the Summer Solstice and be entered in a drawing to win prizes! We've gotten some good ones so far, and feature one from treaest. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: A Soldiering Life - The Decemberists

00:00:00 - This episode Ben and Ryan chat with Cosmologist Sean Carroll about his new book, The Big Picture. Presented here is the first part of our conversation about a number of topics presented in the book. 00:40:58 - Drinks are like the universe in that they exist. Sean enjoys a gin martini or a Gibson depending on his mood. Sometimes he adds both garnishes and we're just not sure about anything anymore. Ben has some guanabana nectar. Ryan explains what that fruit looks like. And Ryan rounds things out with a Celestial Garden from DC Brau. 00:49:51 - The second half of our interview we continue talking about the book, particularly the contributions of Ibn Sina and Rev. Bayes to momentum and probability, respectively. You can keep up with Dr. Carroll on his website or by following him on Twitter. 01:17:32 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like cosmology; they can take some time to wrap your head around. Ryan begins by thanking Jennifer G. (?) for setting up a new recurring donation. Thanks, Jennifer! Ben has a question from Kenneth B. about which would win: the sun, or a water balloon the size of the sun. Ben, of course, has an answer. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Princes of the Universe - Queen Onions - The Mountain Goats Time Won't Let Me Go (Sun Version) - The Bravery

00:00:00 - Few quick announcements in lieu of a PaleoPOW for this episode. First, thanks to Robert M. (not the guest) and John P. for repeating their generous donations to the show. Also, there are still a few hours left to donate to Ryan's crowdfunding campaign: experiment.com/sloths. Lastly, we're running an iTunes review contest. Leave a new review between now and the Summer Solstice and be entered in a drawing for some sweet prizes! 00:01:01 - Ryan heads to Ohio to sit down for a chat with Doc Sloth aka Robert McAfee. When he was on the show before, the talk was of carnivorous sloths and the Ice Age movies, but this time, we're talking about his actual research and the first to be discussed is his work trying to suss out the taxonomy of the diverse fossil ground sloths. 00:26:51 - One way to slow down to sloth speeds is a depressant, in this case: beer! Ryan begins with an Amarillo Brillo, purchased solely for the fact that the label contains a cousin to the sloths: an armadillo. Robert heads south to Cincinnati for some Rhinegeist Brewery's Hustle, which prompts a discussion of just how much Prohibition screwed up American brewing. Those jerks. 0035:15 - For the second aspect of Robert's research, we discuss some functional morphology, i.e. how do we know what ground sloths were capable of just by looking at their bones? Robert explains. Be sure to check out slothsearch.com for more sloth research and follow @docsloth on Twitter for continued updates! Tangents: Learn more about paleontology's favorite statistical test: the Principal Component Analysis! Was Bigfoot actually a sloth? Who knows, but here are some other cryptids that did turn out to be real animals. Get to know rum better with this book Welcome... to Park Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Slow Brains - Honeyhoney The Hustle - Van McCoy

00:00:00 - (Beginning with a brief plug from Joe seeking volunteers for a cool STEM even in the LA area, check it out here.) But today's actual first topic is part one of our interview with Matt Candeias, Ph.D. student as well as author and host of the In Defense of Plants blog and podcast (which you can support on Patreon). We talk about his research into rare versus common grassland species, and what made him want to get into science outreach, particularly as a promoter of plants. In our typical rambling style, we also touch on a number of other topics, including how computers used to be rooms full of women. 00:52:06 - You may need to compute some things if you want to make your own booze, but it doesn't take much math to enjoy the final product. Patrick is again disappointed to learn that Ryan has also tried the beer he's having this week, the Faceplant IPA from Lost Rhino Brewing Company, whom we've interviewed before. Matt keeps it local with the Paw Paw Tripel from Scratch Brewing Company. And Ryan quizzes our guest to see if he can figure out that he's drinking a dry martini made with The Botanist gin. 01:05:51 - And since we know you love it when we talk about booze, we keep the drink chat going with the handy reference manual The Drunken Botanist. Ryan solicits Matt and Patrick's favorite booze-producing plants which leads to a discussion of the C3, C4, and CAM photosynthetic pathways. Somehow we made it about science, yay! 01:29:33 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like plants, they both grow like weeds when left unattended. Patrick begins with a new recurring donation from Lisa K., who also donated to Ryan's current crowdfunding campaign to support his Ph.D. research. Thanks for both Lisa! Ryan is excited to present a new 5-star iTunes review from ViTuanPeterPhan, and it spurs a contest to drive our ratings up to 500! Write a review between now and the summer solstice (June 20th) and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free t-shirt! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree - Tony Orlando and Dawn Drunken Lullabies - Flogging Molly Keep Off The Grass - Todd Snider

00:00:00 - Kelly is back and she's got an update on some scientists that seem to have found a way to stem the spread of the chytrid fungus affecting all those poor froggies. Hope on the horizon? Maybe, but it'll be a hard technique to apply large scale. We also spend some time talking about a Civil War story involving glowing wounds the help soldiers survive. A science fair project may have found the answer, but Ryan still thinks a body farm experiment needs to be done. 00:28:10 - A stiff drink used to be the only painkiller you might get. Kelly's drink isn't stiff but it still provokes a strong reaction: water kefir. After painstakingly explaining what is and how she made it, Abe and Ryan have nothing good to say. Abe tries to salvage the conversation with some Romantic Chemistry, but alas it falls a bit short. Ryan tries to avoid Kelly's wrath when talking about the Pinchgut Hollow Buckwheat Moonshine his Dad gave him. 00:40:50 - Did you know China has a rover on the moon? Turns out China has a rover on the moon. And it did some science! Researchers have announced that they've found a new type of lunar basalt. Sounds straightforward enough but Abe explains the complexities. 01:01:58 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Chinese lunar rovers; most Americans don't even know they exist. Kelly has an e-mail from former guest of the show Zeka Kuspa, who wants to know if the now extinct Condor louse makes her list of eradicated parasites. Abe reads an e-mail from Steven who's asking for some help tracking down a particular SoCal beer. We don't have a specific answer, but it sounds like he just needs to keep trying Imperial Pilsners. Ryan rounds out the show with a new recurring donation from Leong all the way in Taiwan. Thanks, Leong! Ryan, of course, plugs his ongoing crowdfunding campaign, go watch the video and consider donating here! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Glowworm - Apples in Stereo Moonshine - Lit The Rover - Led Zeppelin

00:00:00 - Bev and Abe are back from Antarctica and are back on the show! Ryan had to give a guest lecture on echinoderms, which happens to be a thing Bev knows a lot about. So our first segment is dedicated to getting Abe up to speed on these weird marine animals. 00:40:05 - Talking about sea creatures gives one a powerful thirst. This episode we sate our thirst in three ways. Bev opts for a Squishy apple and cherry cider, Abe keeps it nautical with a Dorado DIPA, and Ryan can't wait to enjoy a Pliny the Elder Abe gave him. 00:47:28 - Now that we all know what echinoderms about we can talk about Bev's actual research! For her Masters, she wanted to figure out how brittle stars were (or weren't) being preserved in the fossil record. She tells us just how she got it done, and you can read the paper she published about her work too! (Lots of cool figures in that paper, be sure to check them out!) 01:13:54 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like echinoderms, only occasionally edible. Ryan begins by plugging his crowdfunding effort to do some sloth research. Next up, Abe has an e-mail from Rebecca abut a nephew who wants to be a volcanologist. He suggests junior ranger programs at National Parks, geology summer camps, and some cool resources over at kids.gov. Beverly has an e-mail form Bennet T. in response to our time zone and metric talk from episode 226. She gives us her take and explains how things like this work in Antarctica. Ryan wraps things up with a new recurring donation from Denise N. Thanks, Denise! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music of this week's show: Anthropology rap - Community Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - The Temptations Eldorado 1997 - Manu Chao Dissolve - Jonathan Coulton

00:00:00 - Charlie and Ryan are joined by the one and only Tim Dobbs from the Encyclopedia Brunch podcast. In addition to being a fellow podcast and editor for our show, Tim is also a chemical engineer focusing on biotechnology. Our first subject talks about just what the heck biotechnology is, and how it's growing as a part of our economy. 00:29:43 - Biotechnology can apparently make milk, but that's weird so we're drinking other things. Tim is have kombucha. Whatever. Ryan is having a Southern Belle from 3 Stars made with pecans. Also, DC has a nice flag, get on board people. Charlie drinks some fancy espresso because he's fancy like that. We get a bit off track talking about how fruits are all just out to trick us into spreading their seeds. Kind of gross if you really think about it, but you might learn something anyways. 00:42:15 - And for our final topic as we all brace for Batman v Superman: BATS! Bats are great, and if you didn't know that then strap in for some knowledge bombs falling on your head like guano. Our first, more specific story is about a pitcher plant that has evolved to show up really well on echolocation. Why would the plant want to show up? Because it gives the bat a place to roost for the day and uses the guano for food. EVOLUTION IS SO COOL. Next up, bats eat insects. A lot of them. Insects that would eat food we're trying to grow to the tune of about a billion dollars every year. Thanks, bats! Our final story is directly related to the film. Turns out when Zach Snyder learned that North American bat populations were struggling to survive due to White Nose Syndrome (WNS) and decided to use leftover production materials to build bat houses. Regardless of how the movie turns out, that's downright decent. If you want to buy a bat house or learn how to build your own, check out Savebats.org. They really do need your help. 01:15:54 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like bats, they make up roughly 20% of the diversity of the show. Tim thanks new (old) recurring donor Andrew G. This is especially relevant for Tim because we pay him a bit to edit the show. So thanks, Andrew! Tim is also looking for a job at the moment, so if you're hiring biotech people, consider Tim! Charlie has a photo from Shanna H. in which some ice has done something seemingly inappropriate. It's called a pingo, and it's a pretty cool process that forms them. Charlie explains. Ryan has a voicemail from Anne because Ryan was WRONG when he decried tungsten wedding bands as a safety hazard. Way to be misinformed, Ryan. Fortunately, Anne was there to help fix it. Thanks, Anne! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Technology - Corey Smith Espresso (All Jacked Up) - Todd Rundgren Batman Intro (1966)

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan is joined by Jessica Glass and Matt Davis, who recently published an open-access paper exploring the claims of a 1950's Explorer's Club dinner with giant ground sloth (or mammoth) on the menu. What did they find with their fancy genetics? Listen and find out! 00:41:25 - Supposedly the Explorer's Club drinks were chilled with glacial ice, a thing we used to be pretty good at transporting, but our modern drinks are chilled with the power of refrigeration instead, and it's important for us to tell you what they are! Matt kicks things off with an Orange Lazarus in a tiki mug, leading of course to a discussion of all things tiki. Jessica's up next and Matt brought her a local beer called the Ginga' Ninja, a gingery red IPA for the wilds of Connecticut. Ryan rounds off the round with a new favorite of his: a dry manhattan. Just replace the sweet vermouth in your manhattan with dry vermouth, you dummy! 00:55:43 - Next up Matt forces Jessica and Ryan to team up for SLOTH TRIVIA. The stakes are high but you'll have to listen to hear the final scores. 01:10:50 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like trivia in that some say they're trivial. They're wrong. First up, Ryan has a donation from Ryan J. Ryan J. was disappointed by a joke our Ryan made about the Gamergate movement a few episodes back. This leads to a brief and one-sided discussion and explanation of a particularly thorny internet issue. Enjoy! And thanks, Ryan J. for the donation! To end strong, Ryan also read a quick 5-star iTunes review from RLB633, which we're also thankful for! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Dead Meat - Bush Manhattan - Ella Fitzgerald & The Buddy Bregman Orchestra The Goonies 'R' Good Enough - Cyndi Lauper

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined this episode by Claire Lukens, a fellow Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming. Claire is a geomorphologist who studies the evolution of the shape of mountains over time. In the first part, we talk about a bit about the basics of her field and some of the techniques she employs. See some photos of her field area at the bottom of the post. 00:18:01 - One of the primary drivers of erosion is water. Beer is mostly water, and it's also fuel for geologists. Ryan has brought a sampler pack from Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, a favorite from Claire's undergrad days. She has her old standby, a Laughing Lab, and Ryan has a Red Rocket Pale Ale. 00:20:48 - Next we discuss Claire's recent publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which is open access so can go read the whole thing and see the pretty figures. Claire's research group has used two different techniques to trace the history of sediments in Inyo Creek coming from Lone Pine Peak. Much is learned, and future projects are discussed. Also, see their research featured by the University of Wyoming, with another brief audio snippet from Claire! 00:57:19 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like geomorphology, you have to be pretty cool to do it. Ryan is flying solo this week but that doesn't stop him from playing a voicemail from recurring donor Clay the Human and getting thanked by Moe S. for introducing him to the Machete Order so he could begin showing his son Star Wars. Though his son may have found some subversive material in his school library. It just so happens this episode roughly corresponds with Ryan's reappearance on the Star Wars Minute podcast to discuss a minute of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Go listen! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: I Melt With You - MEST Going to Bristol - The Mountain Goats Crystal Baller - Third Eye Blind

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan and Patrick are joined by Samuel Hansen, who podcasts about math. The first part of the show is learning a bit more about Samuel, his ACMEscience podcast network, and most importantly his math show Relatively Prime, currently Kickstarting its third season. Also, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a movie Samuel heartily suggests you see. 00:39:24 - A brief break for drinks! Patrick is fighting a cold and drinking some herbal tea because he's off caffeine and alcohol for a bit. Ryan goes entirely the other direction based on some advice from Richard P. who provides a recipe for a beer cocktail called "Heart of Darkness": 0.5 L of imperial stout (Ryan used this one) 250 mL of cold brew coffee concentrate (Ryan used this one) Take that health! 00:43:25 - Next up we have Samuel explain the concept of chaos and how it can be used in ecological modeling. While Samuel looks up something, Ryan plugs the graphic novel Strange Attractors, which is about math but is also interesting. The story claims the models are now equation free, which is nonsense, but is light on the math and Samuel explains why. Also, don't forget about his Kickstarter. 01:15:29 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like equations; you learned that they were important a while ago but can't quite remember why. Ryan receives a follow-up from Richard P. questioning the wisdom of his cocktail creation. Patrick has a smorgasbord from Cob W. who sent in a very generous donation, plus an e-mail, plus a voicemail, plus a drawing that brings the ephemeral concept of the Timer Duck to life! You can see it on our Flickr page. Thanks, Cob! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: In Our Prime - The Black Keys When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer - Eric Clapton and B.B. King Living In Chaos - Offspring

00:00:00 - Let's get straight to it: scientists figured out a way to make booze using lasers, and they're calling it sunshine instead of moonshine because they're clever. Since that sounds like chemistry we brought Chad to the podcast table to explain what's going on. LISTEN AND LEARN. 00:40:53 - Chad begins by pre-empting his own paleoPOW with an e-mail from Dave asking about a brand of "Neuro--" drinks. Are they just vaguely tasty snake oil? Pretty much, but in the US they can still get away with all sorts of silly claims thanks to this law. Also, a brief discussion of chemophobia and MSG, good thing Chad is here. Ryan is drinking Dryk Julmust bought on clearance at IKEA spiked with some very old Panamanian rum, and then gets the part of Canada that likes rum wrong. Ben bought a weird pear soda from a Japanese Dollar Store. 00:57:42 - GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! There are some new elements on the periodic table! Chad explains the process of getting new elements officially approved, then the conversation mostly devolves into debating what the new elements should be named with mixed results... 01:41:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like moonshine, you got to know a guy to get some and they can be bad for your health. Ben begins with a limerick about him written by Xander. Ryan finishes the show on a somewhat somber note with a donation from Shlomo in memory of his father Ezra, who recently passed away. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts like The Titanium Physicists and The Collapsed Wavefunction, both of which you can contribute to on Patreon. Music for this week's show: Sunshine - Matt Costa Bliss - Muse Crumbs off the table (feat. Aaron Livingston) - RJD2

00:00:00 - Something strange is happening to the scrub jays of Santa Cruz Island. One scientist proposes that they might be splitting into two separate species on one little island, which is actually kind of a big deal. But how cut and dry is this whole speciation concept? Turns out not very. Listen as Joe learns more. 00:26:46 - You could probably map the history of beverages to something like a phylogenetic tree, but why bother when you can just enjoy the imbibing? Ryan is trying out a Hopvine Cider with honey and hops from Millstone Cellars in Maryland. It's weird. Joe is checking out some Sioux City Sarsaparilla (which basically just tastes like root beer), while Patrick starts the new year with some Coke Zero (which basically just tastes like coke). Ryan shares a recipe for some sassafras tea (which may be carcinogenic, FYI). 00:32:31 - It's winter. You need a coat. Have you considered wrapping yourself up in a bunch of spiderwebs? Probably not, but soon you'll at least have the option thanks to The North Face and Spiber, who've teamed up to make a synthetic spider-silk coat. It looks pretty slick, but will it scale up to mass market production? Is this the best use of spider-silk? How much would you pay for the coat or a vest with airbags? These concerns and more are discussed. Plus the usual tangents like the best ways to cook and eat insects. 00:50:09 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like spider-silk; incredibly strong but difficult to produce on an industrial scale. Joe begins with a donation from Catherine Q. Thanks Catherine! Ryan is up next with an e-mail from Mike H. who found some humor in how often folks think that archeologists study dinosaurs or even aliens. The joke cuts both ways, it turns out, and Ryan also promotes one of his favorite science songs. Finally, Patrick is taken to task by Logan S. for a continued lack of statistical guests on the show. Even though we've had John Allen Paulos and the folks of the Floating Sheep Blog it probably is time for more, fingers crossed we can get Rev. Bayes on the line. In the meantime, Ryan recommends a book of pretty graphs, because statistics is all about the data, after all. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Bluejays and Cardinals - The Mountain Goats Honey Honey - Feist Short Skirt/Long Jacket - Cake Still Searching - The Kinks

00:00:00 - This week, Joe and Ryan chat with Mike Snyder, c0-founder and chief engineer of Made In Space, which has already begun 3D printing all sorts of things for astronauts about the International Space Station. So kind of a big deal. 00:21:50 - Even co-founders need a beverage now and again, and Mike is no exception. But since they're productive people, all Mike has to promote is coffee, water, and tea (he likes Zelda themed blends from Adagio). Ryan takes a different tact with some Herman Marshall bourbon out of Dallas, TX. Joe brings up the rear with some Death Valley root beer. 00:33:03 - Part 2 of our interview with Mike brings even more science and engineering to the table! Be sure to check out Mike on Twitter and like Made in Space's Facebook page! 01:01:25 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like 3D printing; we're not totally sure why it's a big deal, but it probably is. Ryan has a donation from Andre R., who also left a comment on episode 205 about his favorite local cryptid/upcoming brewery. Joe also has a donation from Ron E. (Ron Howard? You decide!) who thanks us for distractions during long runs and promised an iTunes review which Ryan thinks he's reading but is wrong. It's actually from RtwoDtoo, so thanks for that! There is much talk of Ryan's beer consumption, if that's the sort of thing you're interested in you can become beer friends and follow along with his Untappd profile. Also, be sure to participate on our poll as to whether or not whales are the bad guys. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: You Got Me Floatin' - Jimi Hendrix Cold Coffee - Ed Sheeran Space Jam - The Quad City DJ's

00:00:00 - We're doing something a little different this week. Now that Charlie is an Assistant Professor he can assign things to students, and it turns out he assigned them a podcast about energy in Washington state. The topics are all across the board, everything from wind energy, solar power, LEED certification, salmon spawning, and more! 01:01:51 - Ben laments being at work while his home fridge is chock-full of strange juices. Charlie has kombucha which throws everyone for a loop and leads to a discussion of disgust (as informed by the book That's Disgusting). Ryan has some green tea because you have to take care of yourself, and some Eau de Brau, a white whiskey distilled in DC from DC beer. Ben thinks that also sounds disgusting. You be the judge! 01:16:33 - Round two of Charlie's students. Enjoy! 02:05:24 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like assignments, you can maybe get away with not doing them, but I wouldn't risk it. Ryan begins with a donation from Gordon Br., who wanted some advice on podcasting and was willing to pay for it (unnecessary, but very generous and appreciated). Charlie asked for voicemails, and we have a drunken doozy from Jason in LA. Thanks for the laughs, Jason! And finally Ben has an e-mail from superman Morgan Marshall who watched a Shia LeBouf movie (on purpose) and now wants to know about our progress making fusion power a reality (instead of just a thing Iron Man has in his chest). Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Energy - Apples in Stereo Disgusting - Miranda Cosgrove The Energy - Aceyalone

00:00:00 - Even though the heat is on in most places now did you find your air conditioning over the summer oppressive? You may be right! A study published in Nature (open access) suggests that the way we cool our buildings is woefully out of date and skews the temperature in favor of men over women. Well guess what, world? Women are in the workplace now too! Plus it hasn't been the 1970s for YEARS now. So let's update this, OK? Thanks. 00:23:14 - It also isn't even cool to drink in the workplace anymore. Fortunately this isn't work, this is podcasting. Kelly gives her hangover some hair of the dog in the form of a Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon. Joe continues his love affair with the weird soda shop and this time has some Bug Barf because why not? Ryan enjoys a Mosaic IPA from the Crux Fermentation Project left over from his bachelor party. 00:30:43 - You know how sometimes wasps do horrible things to the other critters they parasitize? Ever wonder how they get their hosts to do such specific things? Well some scientists have figured out that at least in spiders they hack the built in web-weaving behavior the spider already evolved to have. So just sleep on that tonight, folks. Then when you can't sleep read this book as suggested by Kelly: New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People 00:52:30 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like parasites, in that they're probably inside you right now. Try not to think about it too much. Ryan begins with a donation from Matthew W. Thanks Matthew! Kelly follows up with an e-mail from Mike in Rochester, NY who wants us to be aware of all the awesome science being funded through experiment.com in association with the SciFund challenge. Joe finishes up with an image Elijah T. managed to capture from his Game Boy somehow of a wild Brachiolope roaming the forests of Pokémon Silver. Ryan takes this opportunity to mention his adolescent excitement for Pokémon GO, because he is apparently not afraid of public shame and/or ridicule. Kelly plugs the now woefully out of date BAHfest, but hey, you should be the one making plans to attend a future event, right? And that's the end of the show. Goodbye. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Cool Blue Reason - Cake The Bachelor and the Bride - The Decemberists Under Control - The Strokes

00:00:00 - Way way back in the 1980's some scientists found a... thing. No this isn't the start of an excellent John Carpenter movie, it's something that happened in real life! Only this year did someone get around to describing the thing, and it turns out they couldn't. Does this new animal deserve a new phylum all to itself? Listen and decide for yourself! 00:22:54 - Ethanol is a great way to preserve specimens when done properly. It's also a great way to socialize, but again, only when used properly. Here are three examples of its proper use. Charlie kicks back a Phosphorescent Pale from the sentimental Island Hoppin' Brewery, near where he got hitched. Patrick enjoys a Devils Tale collaboration from Devil's Backbone Brewing Company and Coronado Brewing Company. He's come so far from his early days as a hops detractor. Ryan claims the greatest beer in the history of the show, a bold claim but can he pull it off? You be the judge, for he sups a Camarasaurus Cream Ale from Fossil Brewing Company! 00:30:31 - Speaking of ruling the drinks segment, who really rules the earth? And, assuming humans are dominant now, who takes over when we're gone? A think piece from LiveScience prompts a free-wheeling discussion that ends in an obvious answer (hint: AI). In other news, new species of hominids keep popping up basically all the time. That's cool . Unless any of this isn't even real, and then who really cares, right? 01:20:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like AI, once turned on it's difficult to get them to stop. Patrick presents a new recurring donation from Steven C. Thanks Steven! Charlie also has a donation to pair with a story and a few questions from the UNGA. The story is touching, and the questions are hard. Namely, what ultimately controls the tree line? It's not at all simple, but the guys take a stab at it. Finally, Ryan has an easier question about how solar panels work from Mike S. And a quick message to all parents of 4th graders: This school year you all get into any US National Park unit for FREE! Check out the details here: Every Kid In A Park. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Family Tree - TV on the Radio Ambulance - TV on the Radio Golden Age - TV on the Radio

00:00:00 - Most of this week is dedicated to our interview with author Andy Weir, author of The Martian. The free-wheeling discussion includes how Andy tackled the science of the book, what the reception has been like (including getting a little movie about it made), and what's coming up next. We finish up our discussion with Andy's favorite cocktail: a rum old-fashioned made with either Ron Zacapa or Ron Abuelo, two very fine choices not available on Mars anytime soon, whether there's water there or not. Miscellaneous things you might want links to: Follow Andy on Twitter Check out The Martian subreddit The xkcd comic about how we really feel Actual astronauts doing videos like the ones the movie made for viral marketing 01:14:14 - Since Andy brought it up, it only makes sense to complete the thought. Joe knocks it into orbit with his kumquat flavored Martian Soda. Ryan has a Track #8 from The Lost Abbey, which has an overly complicated connection to the subject matter at hand. 01:17:23 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like being stranded on Mars; it's one thing to complete the mission, it's another to survive the journey. Joe has a new recurring donation from Robert S-carrot, which is a letter we're still not sure how to pronouncing and we're not sure we even want to know. Thanks Robert! Ryan reads three iTunes reviews, the first being of the dreaded 1-star variety from GBarkimer and is reminiscent of a 1-star review of a National Park, of which there are many. The other two reviews from ridebutterflies and Weapon alpha that are more positive so we can end the show on a high now. The show is now ended. Goodbye. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Life On Mars - Seu Jorge

Doing an all feedback episode to get caught up on all the wonderful things y'all send our way. 00:00:00 - Garrett, who doesn't identify his hair color, and seems to think we know a lot about science immediately finds our weak spot by asking about genetics. Specifically, he wants to know if redheads are in danger of going extinct. This leads to a surprisingly long discussion about the origins of redhair. Plus you'll learn once and for all which of the paleopals have red hair in their beards, even if they don't have any on their head. 00:22:32 - Since humanity evolved, there have been drinks. Though some recent evidence suggests animals may have been drinking even before humans. Patrick goes first because he thinks he finally found a beer Ryan hasn't had. It's a Dead Rising from Flying Dog and he's also wrong. Sorry, Patrick. Ben is enjoying some Irish Breakfast Tea, which is supposedly much better than English Breakfast Tea. And Ryan is having a beer he made for a class three years ago. It has not aged well, but does lead to a nice discussion of stable isotopes. 00:33:02 - For our second segment we have an awesome e-mail from Nami who shares a special kinship with Ben. She has suggested a few stories for us to cover. The first is about converting stellar radiance patterns into sound waves, essentially every star is singing a different song, which is really neat. The second is about using two people's brains instead of one to control a spacecraft simulation. DRIFTING PEOPLE. Are Ben and Ryan drift compatible? You'll have to listen to find out. 00:57:46 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like shows full of paleoPOWs, in that they're both composed of listener feedback. Ben goes first with an e-mail from South African listener Gerhard R. He teaches us some Afrikaans and promotes some local African brews. Ryan then gets sidetracked talking about a recent dig we went to at Natural Trap Cave in Wyoming. Were any camel leopards found? Who knows. Once Ryan refocuses and actually finds his paleoPOW he thanks recurring donor Adam K. who has a request. Adam K. would like to use his donation to sponsor all future quotes and references to Jurassic Park. Challenge accepted, hold onto your butts. Ryan then gets distracted again talking about Pokemon. Ben joins in until Patrick remembers that the show isn't actually over yet and forces us to listen to his paleoPOW. His is from Neece of WV, who caught a Brachiolope in the act of riding a velocipede (we had to look up what that was too). She was able to immortalize the image which you can now purchase from her Etsy and/or Redbubble store, as well as view it in the always impressive Brachiolope Gallery! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson Have a Cuppa Tea - The Kinks Pacific Rim (feat. Tom Morello) - Ramin Djawadi

00:00:00 - Why did the mountain lion cross the road? Well it couldn't, because there were too many cars. It has now reached the point where mountain lions (aka pumas, cougars, catamounts, etc.) are showing reduced genetic diversity because they can't get across roads. Turns out there is really simple solution: give them roads or tunnels. The problem is just convincing people to build them (which would save money in the long run, but humans don't think like that so it'll probably never happen). Oh well, the cats were nice to have around while they lasted. 00:17:26 - Joe, who likes both driving and conservation (a rare treat) enjoys a Lilikoi Passionfruit drink he took from a car event just so you, the listener, could hear him enjoy it. Abe goes back to one of his old favorites, a Dos Perros from Yazoo Brewing in Nashville. A brief discussion of Mexican brewing history ensues. Ryan throws his weight behind Negroni Week, an official drinking event that also supports charity. To take it a step further, he even uses a new gin from Wyoming: Backwards Distilling Contortionist Gin. 00:24:46 - Time zones are the worst, right? Of course. What if we got rid of them? That'd be much better. At least that what Ryan is trying to convince everyone of when they discuss the absolute mess of a system that the railroads created back in the day. Get outta here, railroads! We have planes and electric cars and stuff now! Take a poll to tell us if you agree or disagree. 00:51:25 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Daylight Saving Time, difficult to keep track of but easier with the internet. Joe's paleoPOW is a new recurring donation from Amanda B. Thanks so much, Amanda! We briefly lose Abe but he shows up just in time to hear a few new iTunes reviews left by Yappari817 and melankholia as read by Ryan. Abe has a voicemail from the very well-read Galen who wants it to be known far and wide that Patrick is funnier than Ryan and that Ryan should admit it. He does. Finally, what would happen if you got struck by lightning in a suit of armor? Who knows? Not us, that's who. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music this week provided by: Young Lions - The Constantines Every Dog Has It's Day - Flogging Molly Stay (Wasting Time) - Dave Matthews Band

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Dr. Robert Baker, a postdoc in the Department of Botany at University of Wyoming to talk about PLANTS! Rob wants to understand how development and evolution of plants interact using everyone's favorite plant study system: Brassica rapa. It sounds heady but he explains it well, including how development got left out of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis. Ryan tangents to talk about E.T. because of course he does. 00:28:19 - Because they're recording in person Ryan brought along a growler of Salty Dog Oatmeal IPA from the Coal Creek Tap in Laramie, WY. Brewing and bitters are discussed. Rob's friend makes bitters, and Ryan got a book about them one time. 00:34:43 - The second half of the show we get back into the science of shoot architecture, which again, sound complicated, but is pretty cool once we get into it. We also find out what Rob's favorite plant is, and you'll have to listen to hear it for yourself! 01:15:14 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like plants, they keep growing and require the occasional pruning. Only one this week, since Ryan is flying solo. Fortunately he's able to double down thanks to TWO donations from Bob M. Thanks, Bob! Bob also donated some knowledge in the form of a comment about isotopes and stability in response to episode 218. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: (Listen To The) Flower People - Spinal Tap Do What You Want, Be What You Are - Hall and Oates Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco feat. Jill Scott

On Endangered Species Day Eve Kelly, Patrick, and Ryan convened at the Science Club in Washington, DC to record a special LIVE episode of Science... sort of! We featured two guests, the first was Steven Sowell from the Baltimore UnderGround Science Space (BUGSS!) to discuss citizen science, being watched by the FBI, and other challenges associated with setting up a private lab for anyone to come use. BIOHACKING! DIY SCIENCE! CHEESE! Kelly's drinking something... red. Patrick is having an Exile Red Ale from Evolution Craft Brewing Company. And Ryan nerds out over his Apex Predator from Off Color Brewing, "a third-trophic level beer" which amuses him but nearly starts a fight with Kelly. Our guest was Michelle Thaller, the Assistant Director for Science Communication at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and occasional contributor to Transistor, a science podcast from PRX. We talk a lot about Hubble's birthday, communicating science, and the "two-body problem" of being in a relationship with another scientist when you'd both like good jobs. Thanks again to both our guests, to Steve at Science Club for hosting, to Jamie for doing the intro and outro live, and of course to all you lovely folks who attended. Special thanks to Mason from Blue Room Productions for handling all the audio hardware, and Tim Dobbs for the edits.

00:00:00 - Why do birds suddenly appear (in a V formation)? We've known for a long time that flying in a V is more efficient than other patterns, but now scientists have determined that birds take it a step further: they flap their wings in perfect sync to maximize efficiency. Joe, the aerospace engineer, isn't surprised by this but does think it's pretty cool and tells us all about wingtip vortices. And apparently there are planes with parachutes on them, so Jack Handy really was onto something there. 00:13:21 - Lots of people like to have a drink when they fly, hopefully not the pilot though. Patrick has a Morning Glory Espresso Stout from Dominion. Joe enjoys some Stephen's dark chocolate hot cocoa, how fancy! Finally, Ryan has a sampler pack from Bayern Brewing, he lets Patrick and Joe chose and winds up with a Dragon's Breath. 00:19:14 - It turns out no matter how hard you try you can't educate people into believing in evolution, which is kind of a bummer but maybe that's because most people don't care about the debate in the first place. Maybe someday people will not care but also generally agree with the scientific consensus. And before you send the e-mail, we know not all Christians are Creationists, we point it out pretty much every time. 00:46:19 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like education, most people think we should invest more in them but no one is really willing to put in the money to do it. Speaking of money, Joe's PaleoPOW is a donation from Pedro P. Thanks Pedro! Patrick has an e-mail from Adam R. following up on our discussion of the peer-review system discussion from episode 200. Adam's got some pretty good ideas. Speaking of good ideas: fireworks. Kyle M. sends us some photos of some paleo-themed fireworks, with an offer to set them off on video for our viewing pleasure at his earliest convenience. Also: bigfoot update! Special thanks this week to Daniel at podcasttech.com for help with audio production and editing! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Where Do My Bluebirds Fly - The Tallest Man On Earth Geek Stink Breath - Green Day Never Learn - Devil Makes Three

00:00:00 - Everyone out there wants to find alien life right? I mean, as pop culture has shown us over and over again, this will definitely work out well for humanity. Well one way we might find other intelligent life is if we use this new fancy James Webb telescope to look for their pollution in the atmosphere. To think all those years of polluting our own planet might finally pay off... 00:26:39 - Worried about polluting our planet to the point where we can no longer survive on it? Stop worrying and have a beer instead. Charlie has a seasonal Irish red from Boundary Bay Brewing, which leads to a rant about hops. Joe, who has had an IPA once before, but instead grabbed a "weird" Sangria Senorial, which does not have alcohol despite the name. Ryan consoles himself with an aged Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout from Widmer Bros. 00:34:00 - Did you know the moon Titan has seas made of farts? Well it does. The question then becomes, how do you get a submarine to function in liquid methane? NASA has some ideas, and the Paleopals expound with some of their own. 00:56:51 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like submarines on other planets, you're not sure if they'll work and you won't know until it's too late to do anything about it. Nicole D. definitely thinks its working out because she setup a new recurring donation to support the show. Thanks, Nicole! Another Nicole has a question from a "coworker" about whether or not you could freeze a human so fast that they shatter. Charlie does some math and the answer may surprise you! Finally, RJ from Topeka wants to know if we think robots are actually alive. Again, the answer may surprise you! Also, listen to our interview with Daniel H. Wilson and then watch The Imitation Game. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: The New Pollution - Beck Tomorrow Comes A Day Too Soon - Flogging Molly Big Black Submarine - Tommy Cox

Now that Jurassic World has made all the money, we decided we should chime into the situation. Joe, Ben, and Ryan sit down to chat about everyone's 4th favorite installment in the Jurassic Park franchise! Just kidding, nothing could be much worse than III. Ryan punishes himself by drinking a bad beer that at least has an accurate representation of a dinosaur on it. And then we begin by discussing the few things we did enjoy about the flick, but this quickly dissolves into pointing out the things not liked so much. Whether you liked the movie or not, we hope you enjoy our discussion and let us know what you thought in the comments!

00:00:00 - Dr. Ellen Currano joins Ryan to talk about her origins as a paleontologist and her current research into the paleobotany of Wyoming during a potent climate shift (but not the current one). They also share a beer ironically named Fanboy, which is un-ironically delicious. 00:26:46 - Ellen recently wrote an article for Paleontology Online about being both a woman and a paleontologists. This obviously involved putting on fake beards and having old-timey photos taken, but you'll have to listen to understand the full connection. Ellen is writing blogs about women doing awesome science and ends the interview by giving some advice based on one of her favorite classic books that most folks only know from the movies: Lawrence of Arabia. Ryan also brings up what he feels to be a classic movie (directed by a woman, no less). Speaking of movies, Ellen is working on one called The Bearded Lady Project: Challenging the Face of Science, check out the trailers and get more info at the link! 00:55:47 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like women in science; there should be more of them. However, because Ryan is alone (so very alone) he only has one PaleoPOW to present. This week's PaleoPOW comes from Joshua W., who had the decency to donate some actual money to the show, and e-mailed in a review to avoid using iTunes. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Fallen Leaves - Billy Talent Honey Won't You Let Me You In - The Tallest Man On Earth

00:00:00 - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, you find out that beluga whales now have cat parasites. The parasites are surviving in the cold whales thanks to climate change, and it wouldn't necessarily be a problem expect arctic peoples tend to eat the whale meat raw, which is bad news for pregnant ladies. Moral of the story? Always cook your whale meat thoroughly before consumption! 00:18:50 - Drinks don't often need to be cooked. If they do you're drinking something weird. Joe is driving some V8 over ice, how fancy. Ryan doesn't care what time it is and has a Slope Style Winter IPA from Boulder Beer Company. And Kelly has a latte, how convenient! 00:22:06 - Worried about spilling your coffee? Well if you add some frothy milk you'll reduce your risk, because we no know that a foamy head reduces sloshing, thus reducing spilling. Thanks, science! 00:34:46 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like lattes, they've become very popular in recent years but you shouldn't have too many in a day. Kelly has a followup from Joel, originally features in episode 204, updating us on the situation with Tasmanian Devil face cancer. Joe has a nice voicemail from Christian in Miami thanking. And Ryan has an update from Brad M. in Australia following up from when he called out all Brads. 00:56:35 - Extended outro this week because Joe had more things he wanted to say about sloshing! Music for this week's show: Parasites - San Fermin Coffee - Sylvan Esso 11:11 - Andrew Bird

00:00:00 - This week we start off with the sort of and work our way back to science. Dr. Gregory Benford has some ideas for how we could terraform the moon to make it more like Florida (in terms of climate, not all that other weirdness). The Russians have announced plans for a permanent moon-base so they should probably be taking notes or talking with the citizens of Whittier, AK, the town that all lives in one building together. 00:25:38 - It's a stereotype that Russian enjoy a drink, is the stereotype the same for scientists? If not, maybe it should be, because on this show we do. Patrick has a porter from Southern Tier Brewing Company, even though he still has a problem with their name. Ryan has a Deliria, a beer made by women but drinkable by anyone. After forgetting to ask what Abe is having, we learn that it's an unpronounceable Icelandic thing anyways. Thanks a lot, Abe. 00:33:06 - Former guest of the show Jacquelyn Gill would like us to stop calling horses in North America invasive. She presents some really solid arguments that are eventually discussed once the hosts can stop getting distracted. Things we get distracted talking about: eating horse, tiny deer from Florida, beefalo, Kristen Schaal (a noted horse) and an app to tell you about your fish. We are also very proud to announce the first ever Patrick Wheatley Inaugural Horse Poll. You can participate below and await its return with baited breath. 01:05:56 - paleoPOWs are a lot like wild horses, they look like docile one, but can still bite and kick you in the head. Patrick is excited to thank Stacey A. for her new recurring donation. Thanks, Stacey! Ryan has an e-mail from Ali in MO who is listening to the all the episodes backwards. This somehow prompts a discussion of emoticons vs. emoji, which Ryan doesn't understand because he's an old man. Finally, Abe has an e-mail from Luke J. whose actually done some climbing science, which is of interest to those of who climb (2/3 of the hosts at the very least). Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Moonage Daydream - David Bowie Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer - Billy Currington Flying Horses - Dispatch

00:00:00 - Turns out our excitement of the detection of really old gravity waves was a bit premature, mostly because it didn't exactly happen. Ben explains. A duck appears. The next segment begins. 00:22:36 - Ryan kicks things off by going with a Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger from his local brewery Altitude (but don't expect to hear the song). Charlie complements with another bold IPA in the form of a Boot Toss from his local brewery Wander Brewing. Ben has a drink that has all the ingredients of beer, but isn't somehow. 00:28:47 - Tom from North Carolina calls in to ask how we can know that some water is older than the solar system? Because if water has memory than the homeopaths we wright and he just can't abide that. We explain the science, and assure everyone that homeopathy remains nonsense. 00:55:53 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like old water; probably fine but you can't help but feeling it's just off somehow. Ryan snuck his in the previous segment so Charlie charges ahead thanking Tom V. from the Netherlands who started a recurring donation. Thanks, Tom! And Ben fields a classic physics question from Michael about dropped objects in a vacuum. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: The Background - Third Eye Blind Our Work Is Never Over - Diplo The Light And The Sea - Dar Williams

00:00:00 - This week Abe and Ryan joined by Dr. Dave McGarvie to get an update on what's going on with those pesky Icelandic volcanoes that seem to keep threatening air travel. What's the deal there, Dave? 00:24:10 - One way to stay cool around hot lava is a drink. Sure, maybe not a flammable one, but that's what the segment is about regardless. Dave is enjoying some Laphroaigh Scotch Whisky but can't help but mention his favorite themed coffee Hot Java Lava. Abe, to ingratiate himself to our guest, enjoys a Full Bore Scotch Ale from Devil's Canyon Brewing Co. And since this was recorded some time ago, Ryan toasts the holidays with a Hanukkah, Chanukah limited edition release from Shmaltz Brewing Company. The discussion flows as seamlessly as magma back into more volcano talk, but also science news reporting and outreach. Be sure to check out Dave's blog and Twitter feed for the unfiltered on what's really happening on everyone's favorite north Atlantic hotspot! 01:20:41 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like eruptions, unpredictable but inevitable. Abe informs us all of a new recurring donation started by Chunk, who uses his powers to try and embarrass Ryan. Thanks, Chunk... sort of. Ryan is stoked to have a new iTunes review from ndesouza22, reigniting the dreaded pronoun game! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Danger Mountain - Anamanaguchi Explode - Sugarcult

00:00:00 - How did humans domesticate cats? Per usual, the answer may come from chemistry. Also, why did cats never put in the effort to become man's best friend? Aloof jerks. Do you want to know more about cats? Check out actual book Wild Cats of the World. Ryan has a copy, maybe you should too. 00:26:21 - Cats drink using their tongue and physics. We just drink using our mouths, and this week Patrick kicks things off with a The Corruption IPA from DC Brau. Abe is a bit under the weather so relies upon the healing powers of the a Maker's Mark Hot Toddy. And Ryan mixed up Schrodinger and Heisenberg and their respective relevance to cats but manages to power through his Hoppenburg Uncertainty Principle from River North Brewing. 00:33:33 - Now for the really important question: What does your cat think you are? Some say your cat thinks you're a cat. Others say that your cat thinks you're an unpredictable ape. Which is it SCIENCE? 00:56:13 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like cats, they difficult to tame and can give you parasites if you're not careful. Abe presents a new recurring donation from Andrew H. Thanks, Andrew! Patrick is surprised to learn that a bigfoot has been sighted on the island state of Hawaii by Tara F. Ryan has something special from the physical mailbox from Veronica W. This week we're giving away the game Offspring Fling! for Steam. If you'd like it, just be the first to write in and it could be yours! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Cat Turned Blue - Rusted Root Here Is Gone - Goo Goo Dolls Cat Piano - Seabear

00:00:00 - This week Ryan is joined by Mara Grunbaum, author of the popular Tumblr blog and now book, WTF, Evolution?! The conversation begins with how Mara got started writing about science, and the challenges that come with writing science for adults and kids alike. 00:17:40 - Trying to make excuses for evolution is enough to drive anyone to drink, and we're no exception. Mara consoles herself with a 400 Pound Monkey from Left Hand Brewery, while Ryan gets feisty with a Two-headed Rooster from Out of Bounds Brewing Co. A discussion of fighting prowess obviously ensues. 00:21:13 - In part two of Ryan's conversation with Mara, we mostly discuss her blog and book all about the quirks and foibles of evolution. Does Mara have favorites? What nonsense did Ryan contribute to her book? Is her book meant to praise or undermine the whackiness of natural selection? You'll have to listen to find out! 00:53:32 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like evolution, sometimes they find deceptively simple solutions to complex problems. This week the solution to our financial problems is solved in the form of a recurring donation initiated by Adam. K. Thanks, Adam! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: True and Mighty - The Reigning Monarchs Monkey!!!Knife!!!Fight!!! - Minus the Bear Kyle Quit The Band - Tenacious D

Live from the Bay Area Science Festival it's Science... sort of! Featuring Kelly Weinersmith, Ben Tippett, and Ryan Haupt from the fabulous confines of Piston & Chain we bring you a show that encompasses some things that are science, some things that are sort of science, and some things that wish they were science! It's a free-wheeling good time featuring two wonderful interviews, the first with the owner of Piston & Chain, former biochemist Erica Fawell and the second with UC Berkeley graduate student, the disco clam studying Lindsey Dougherty! Beers are had in between and questions are saved for the end. We wish you could have all been there in person, but hopefully you enjoy the audio and our encouraged to demand a live show near you! Special thanks to Tim Dobbs, Joe Batwinis, and Zach Weinersmith for help with setup, recording, and takedown. Thanks as well to Kishore Hari, who organized the event. And to YOU the listeners (and especially the donors) who literally made it possible for us to pull this off. THANKS! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan welcome Astrophysicist Steve Healey to the show! We begin with a brief overview of what exactly astrophysics is. Steve claims that by listening to this section, you'll have completed most of a bachelors in the subject. Congrats! 00:20:15 - To celebrate your recent academic achievement, we all have a drink. In celebration, Steve uncorks some Champagne Soda, whatever the hell that is. Ryan powers through his trepidation and tries a pickleback, with whiskey from Wyoming and pickles sent in my listener Jerrold. Thanks, Jerrold! And Patrick kicks back with Back in Black from 21st Amendment Brewery. 00:31:17 - Now that we're all clear on the basics, we ask Steve to tell us about some his latest work. Which involves both the first and second sightings of an Active Galactic Nuclei. Don't worry, we make him explain it. 01:07:32 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Active Galactic Nuclei; we're still not sure we get what the big deal is. Patrick is happy to announce a new recurring donation from John K. Ryan has a new guerrilla-style brachiolope drawing to be added to the Brachiolope Gallery from Colin D. Thanks, Colin! Ryan is also giving away a copy of the RPG Anodyne for anyone subscribed to the newsletter who would like it. Just e-mail in! (Only one copy; first come, first served.) Finally, Ryan participated in a course about podcast storytelling, if you'd like to purchase the course yourself, you can do so here at CreativeLive. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Space, Full Colour - SonicPicnic (from the game Awesomenauts) Champagne Supernova - Oasis Satellite [Astronaut Remix] - Guster

00:00:00 - We first learn that Ben is not great at telling stories, but also that there was a guy Fermi who is known for one thing when he really did many thing. The thing he's known for is asking where all the aliens are, and while there are some pretty interesting potential answers to his questions (including Dyson Spheres as discussed on The Titanium Physicists), this week we're focusing on the new addition to the mythos: what if no one is out there because the zombies got them first? 00:30:06 - Zombies don't appear to be affected by alcohol, but living humans are and in a healthy amount we can even enjoy it. Abe kicks back an Anchor California Lager. Ben enjoys a Coco Rico, which causes Abe and Ryan to act very strange. And Ryan inevitably has The Last Word. 00:35:58 - Viruses, are they alive or what? Who knows, maybe The Weekly Weinersmith does. What we do know is that we found some viruses frozen in Siberia for 30,000 years and the best solution seemed to be to thaw them out and bring them back to life. What could possibly go wrong? In reality, almost nothing, they're not infectious to humans. Still a cool story though. 00:50:09 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like viruses; they probably serve a purpose but oftentimes just make you feel sick. Abe is happy to announce a new recurring donation from Logan S., who really liked Troll Hunter and wanted to know if we ever ended up seeing it after doing the trailer. You'll never guess our answer! Also, if you want to bribe Ben into doing more episodes, consider supporting him on Patreon. Ben comments on an article Nazhuret left on our Facebook page about Canada's increasingly poor handling of science. Boo hiss, Candada. Ryan finishes up with another donation from Liam T., who asks that people go fill out a survey about sexual and gender identity as it relates to mental health. It's open to all and will help him complete his graduate work, so consider donating a bit of time to that cause. Any questions can be addressed to him directly via e-mail. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Walking Contradiction - Green Day Sink - Big City Rock Come Back Around - Feeder

It's time again for our annual Thanksgiving show! That means all feedback this week, all from PaleoPosse who have been kind enough to give us a bit of their hard-earned cash to help us keep producing this podcast for y'all. 00:00:00 - Our first PaleoPOW of the week comes from Joshua W., who is worried that microbes might be out there causing mass extinctions. We do our best to comfort him with cold hard science, so maybe not actually that comforting after all. 00:12:35 - One form of comfort is having a drink with your friends, so let's try that. This segment is actually brought to us by Clay the Human, who has started a recurring donation specifically to support the drinking segment. Thanks, Clay! Patrick sups some fine Basil Hayden bourbon, and gets a bit defensive about his use of an ice cube. Ryan, having recently returned from Sweden, has a sampling of various liquors of which Charlie suggests one of the aquavits. He drinks out of it from a shotglass sent in to our mailing address by superfan and donor Morgan M. Skol, Morgan! Since it was in a tiny airplane bottle, a beer is in order. Since Thanksgiving is the biggest meal of the year, Ryan has the biggest beer in his fridge a 5 Monks Quintupel Ale by Avery coming in at a whopping 19.39%. Charlie has an Emissary Imperial Stout in his Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association mug, because he likes some fish with his beer. 00:28:17 - Clay the Human also had a question basically wanting us to discuss how on Earth we're going to continue surviving as a species... on Earth. We each have our own takes, leading Charlie to get philosophical about things. No great shock. We end with a voicemail from David who wants to wish up a happy Thanksgiving and gives us a truly wonderful gift. Don't forget to check out our Winter Solstice Gift Guide for 2014! Thanks for listening, and a special thanks to everyone who supports the show! Be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M. Helen går - Traditional Swedish Drinking Song

0:00:00 - Abe and Ryan are joined by Vanessa Knutson, who studies nudibranchs at the California Academy of Sciences (where we've recorded before). She recently described a few new species of these beautiful citters, and published those results for anyone to read right here. We chat with her about the process of finding and describing a new invertebrate, as well as opportunities for women in science. Contribute directly to women in science by visiting the crowdfunding site Instrumentl. 00:38:42 - Living underwater means drinking basically all the time, but for us on the land drinking is an event worth sharing. This week Abe is drinking a 120 Minute IPA by Dogfish Head. Vanessa enjoys some Dihydrogen Monoxide to highlight California's recent and ongoing troubles with keeping the populace hydrated. Ryan stalls his way through eating some hákarl and washes it down with the brennivín in true Icelandic fashion. 00:48:50 - Moving on to vertebrates, we discuss why a certain group of sea snakes evolved smaller than expected heads. You'll have to listen to find out the answer. 01:15:31 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like sea snakes; they're pretty, but deadly. Abe presents a recurring donation from Jacob H. Thanks Jacob! You're literally the reason we keep doing the show. Ryan has a simple but delightful e-mail from Robin M. We're also giving away a copy of the indie game Incredipede on Steam to any donor who'd like it. Come get yours! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: The Spanish Dancer - Abraham Padilla (he played it live, so there's no link) Rotting - Green Day All The Small Things - blink-182

00:00:00 - Patrick and Ryan are joined by Jasper Akerboom and Jason Osborne, who collaborated to make a beer with yeast harvested from fossils. The beer, Bone Dusters from Lost Rhino Brewing Company, involved diving into swamps for fossils, swabbing protocetids for cultures, and dealing with all the trials and tribulations of a yeast strain cultivated from a bone. It's a good story, and by all accounts a good beer. 00:21:14 - Speaking of beers, we're all having some. Jasper is having an Elder Wright, appropriately made by the aforementioned Lost Rhino. Jason was having a vodka tonic, but all our beer talk forced him to switch to an cellared Bone Dusters. Patrick is fighting a sore throat with the help of a hot toddy. And Ryan tries to keep everything thematic with a Mikkeller's Beer Geek Brunch Weasel. 00:29:25 - The second segment is all about what Jason and Jasper do when they're not busy brewing. Jason helps run PaleoQuest, a non-profit organization dedicated to espousing the value of geology and paleontology to the general public. Jasper runs JasperYeast, a company dedicated to providing brewers with really good yeast, which is also very important, as far as we're concerned. 00:54:17 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like collaboration beers: they both take multiple parties working together to complete, and everyone hopes they turn out at least OK. Patrick starts things off by thanking a former recurring donor Leonard A. Leonard gave us some cash each month for a bit, but for whatever reason had to quit. No hard feelings, Leonard; we appreciate the support while you were able to do so, and that holds true for everyone else who gave for awhile but then had to stop. Thanks everyone! And especially Leonard! Ryan presents a most impressive offering from none other than Kevin Kelly, who was kind enough to mention us in his latest book Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities which is really awesome and we're honored to be included. The book has other stuff besides us, so it's definitely worth checking out. Finally, this week's game giveaway is Deadlight, an awesome zombie platformer set in 1980's Seattle. If you're a donor e-mail in to get the Steam code! This week's episode was brought to you by Downcast, a podcasting app for people who are fed up with terrible ones. Not only are they sponsoring the show, but they gave us some promo codes to give away! If you want the app, e-mail us and say so; you'll be happy you did! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Bag of Bones - Pokey Lafarge Lost in You - Sugarcult My Bones Are Gonna Rise Again - Pine Hill Haints

00:00:00 - Arthur C. Clarke wrote in 2010: Odyssey Two that the center of Jupiter was one giant diamond. He probably never expected to be right... sort of. A new model suggests that conditions on Jupiter and Saturn may be right to have diamonds forming in the atmosphere and raining down from above. Pretty trippy stuff, science. 00:23:00 - Most drinks don't cause a trip, but there's only one way to find out for sure: drinking them. Jacob insults Ryan by daring to bring a pre-mixed Zombie cocktail from Bacardi on the show. Tsk tsk. Abe enjoys a Dunkel from Prost Brewing Company. And Ryan gets weird with a Tangerine Dreamsicle collaboration beer from Terrapin Beer Company and Green Flash Brewing Company. 00:31:40 - Jacob hasn't been on the show much lately, so Abe and Ryan demand some answers. Turns out he's been teaching children science as part of Club Scientific. I guess teaching the next generation is an OK excuse... 00:59:49 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like summer camp, you develop very strong bonds and then don't talk for a year. Ryan presents a new recurring donation from Bonnie D. Thanks, Bonnie! Jacob ponders an e-mail on mosquito control techniques inspired by Episode 154 from Mark G. And finally Abe has a new 5-star iTunes review from a user whose name I'd rather not type. Sorry, guy, but thanks for the kind words! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts, and be sure to come to our live show in San Francisco as part of the Bay Area Science Festival’s Nerd Nite Block Party next week on Oct 24th! The video game giveaway this week is Bioshock 2! First donor to e-mail us and ask for it gets a free Steam copy, enjoy! Music for this week's show: Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey Sweet Tangerine - The Hush Sound Kids - Childish Gambino (from the album Camp)

00:00:00 - Dr. Robert McAfee joins Ryan to discuss all things sltohs! Finally, Ryan gets to just cut loose. First up on the docket, were giant ground sloths sneaking meat meals in between the leaves? There's some evidence to suggest that they were, but do these two slothologists believe it? 00:29:29 - No good sloth discussion happens without beer. Robert enjoys his Easter Bunny Vs Unicorn wheat wine as it warms. Ryan, failing to find anything from Ohio, settles for a There Went the Neighborhood by Black Bottle Brewery. 00:36:11 - Robert has found that when people find out he studies sloths, the typically ask about Sid the Sloth from the Ice Age movie series. A discussion of the first two movies, with particular emphasis on xenarthran representation, ensues. 01:14:24 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like ice ages, they come on ya fast, and they leave ya fast. (The accuracy of the previous statement has not been verified in any way.) Only one this week, but it's a goodie from Maria Q. all about SLOTHS from her homeland of Costa Rica. She sent some amazing photos and pronunciation corrections for Ryan which he admits to purposefully ignoring because... muppets. Finally, be sure to check out Robert's website, Sloth Search, dedicated to all the sloth research out there he can manage to catalog. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts, and be sure to come to our live show in San Francisco as part of the Bay Area Science Festival's Nerd Nite Block Party next week on Oct 24th! Music for this week's show: Sloths - SNL Digital Short Warm Beer and Cold Women - Tom Waits Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root

00:00:00 - Ryan is join by J. Leighton Reid to talk about birds, forests, and conservation. The first paper discussed is about how forest restoration in the tropics benefits birds. 00:24:34 - Speaking of feeling restored, how about beer? Leighton pulls off something that few guests or even co-hosts have ever accomplished: he has a beer Ryan hasn't heard of, namely a Alphadelic IPA by Hop Valley Brewing Company. Ryan also has a beer hailing from Oregon, a Class of '88 Belgian Style Ale from Deschutes Brewery et al. 00:26:05 - Next up we cover this new technique of applied nucleation, where you plant small patches of trees instead of trying to replant the whole forest. Fewer trees but better results? Talk about a win-win! If you want to know more about the project, you can read about it here and if you'd like to donate directly, you can do so here! 00:55:38 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like forest restoration, we're not quite sure how its done but we're really hoping it works out. Since Ryan is flying is solo this week there's only one entry to be had, but it's a good one. Clifford E. has started a recurring donation, which is hugely awesome for us and for you because it makes the show that much better, so thanks, Cliff! We're also excited to announce that we'll performing a live show in San Francisco as part of the 2014 Bay Area Science Festival in conjunction with the Nerd Nite Block Party. Check the link for details and please stop by if you can! Last up, we're trying to give some games away to donors, if you would like the really cool Indie puzzle game The Bridge and have ever donated to the show, e-mail Ryan for your free copy! Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Prettiest Tree on the Mountain - Ben Sollee The Oregon Trail - Burt Ives Four New Trees - The Mountain Goats

00:00:00 - Chad Jones, host of The Collapsed Wavefunction, joins us because apparently a story about chemicals was a better fit for here than his own show. That's fine, we're happy to have him. The story is about a new chemical that may help catalyze carbon fixation reactions. Don't worry, we make Chad explain all of that with small, easy to understand words. 00:13:25 - Drinks often contain carbon, but does drinking them catalyze fixation? I have no idea. Ryan guesses that Patrick is having a Sweetwater 420 based on one clue. It's a very sad waste of talen. Chad enjoys a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, but we can't tell if it has 24 flavors or just one. And Ryan succumds to a Hellhound On My Ale lemon beer from Dogfish Head so he has an excuse to sing some blues at the crossroads. 00:19:25 - Several new studies have lead to the startling conclusion that sasquatches may actually be bears. The first uses DNA, as if that means anything. And the second uses maps, but they're fancy maps, so maybe they're on to something. We also learn that Chad runs @ChemFreeBear on Twitter, dedicated to clawing woo in the face. Ryan demands to know what everyone's favorite bear is. Patrick talks about the evolutionary history of Pokemon. 00:36:39 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like sasquatch, lots of people believe in them but you're just not sure. Patrick starts us off with a new recurring donation from Dan C. Thanks, Dan! Chad has an e-mail from Tyler V. about the connection between real ants and Ender's Game. A brief discussion of the movie ensues. Ryan has another donation, but this time with a story about a bus ride with a creationist from Deanna M. Thanks and good luck with public transportation in the future, Deanna! Ryan also announces that he's giving away a copy of the game Bioshock on Steam (where we have a group) to any donor that wants it! Just send him an e-mail. First come, first serve. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts! Music for this week's show: Changes - Seu Jorge Drunken Hearted Man - Robert Johnson I Wanna Be A Bear - Descendents

00:00: 00 - People love to focus on gigantic and impressive fossils, but tiny fossils of tiny parasites can also teach us a lot about our history of living with those critters that would take advantage of us. We begin the show with some Schistosomiasis eggs found around the stomach region of a fossil human from Mesopotamia. Next up is a tick in amber with something that looks a whole lot like the bacteria for lyme disease inside of it, which you can vaccinate your dog for but not yourself. 00:26:40 - While blood may be appetizing for a tick, we humans prefer other sorts of beverages. Kelly is not yet off the wagon, due to her status as a mammalian mother, so she enjoys a decaf latte with a cookie. A special cookie, but not the kind of special you might be thinking. This cookie is going to support a pretty great cause. Namely Project Sedna, helping to fund the exploration of our fast melting arctic via encouraging both native peoples and young women to take an active role in documenting ice loss. Ben has an Ice Capp from Tim Hortons. It's a thing up there, don't ask too many questions. Ryan explains a new favorite style of his, the Berliner Weisse, which he enjoys in the form of a Hopfentea from Perennial Artisan Ales. 00:26:40 - While they may munch on us from time to time, how often do we get back at parasites by eating them? Carl Zimmer collects some examples of our culinary relationship with parasites, including a favorite dish of former U.S. President George Washington. Have you ever eaten a parasite? Tell us about it in the comments! 00:57:51 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like parasites. They have a complex life cycle and can be quite draining over time. Just kidding, they're always a boost! Kelly presents a donation from Jesse O. Thanks for keeping the show going, Jesse! Ryan reads an e-mail from Joel S. in response to the weird ABV labeling of Panamanian beers in comparison to China and other exotic lands with strange labeling practices. And Ben finishes us off with a tweet from Arvind about whether or not U.S. scientists prefer the metric system or silly imperial units? Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts Music for this week's show: Tick of Time - The Kooks Java Jive - The Ink Spots Eat It - Weird Al Yankovic