Exploring bleeding edge experiments, oddities, new and bizarre dicoveries, and fact-checking conspiracy theories since 2008. No question is out of bounds and no topic is too strange for a deep dive.
# podcast
Wondering why your relatives are sharing QAnon memes and how a fringe conspiracy theory became a global religion for the far right? Us too. That’s why we talked to an expert.
# science
Plenty of pundits have quipped that social media and constant texting made us lonelier, more bitter, and less empathetic. A set of new studies says they may actually have a point.
# science
Chemists think they figured out the process of capturing the greenhouse gas to turn it into fuel for airplanes. But the big question is whether we’d actually want to do this.
# podcast
On a very special extended episode, we talk about the science of transhumanism, cyberpunk, extreme life extension, and our potential future merger with machines.
# podcast
Being a bad person isn’t just a matter of popular opinion. It turns out that science can quantify if and when someone is being terrible.
# science
How do societies that try to educate kids to share, cooperate, and respect each other end up being bullied by toxic, shameless people to refuse to do any of the above?
# podcast
How can artificial intelligence be so impressive in demos but end up with a shaky real life track record? Is it because we’re hitting the limits of our current machine learning models?
# podcast
As scientists search for evidence of life on other worlds in our solar system and beyond, they’re starting to ask how to define life in the first place.
# science
Scientists studying how communication and cooperation evolves are turning towards dogs to shed light on long-standing mysteries.
# podcast
Your electronics are watching you. The good news is that it’s usually to fix bugs. The bad news is that the data they collect can be abused without some serious oversight.