Science... Sort Of

00:00:00 - Joe begins the show by explaining how we all just nearly died last month but didn’t as an asteroid had the closest flyby of Earth ever detected thanks to some pretty cool new observation tech at the Zwicky Transient Facility in CA paired with machine learning. 00:23:08 - After a near-miss of an asteroid impact, it’s only natural to want a drink. Ryan begins with some Still Hollow Spirits unaged corn whiskey, aka moonshine. Joe corrects the record on his White Russian recipe by making another White Russian according to the recipe posted from the last time he had a White Russian. Abe enjoys some Triple Space Diamonds from Other Half Brewing Co. 00:37:15 - Winter is coming, so have a nap. A new analysis of the Therapsid Lystrosaurus comparing African specimens to those from Antarctica suggests that the more southerly critters may have hibernated much as their mammalian relatives do today. Torpor for the win! 01:00:42 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like torpor, sometimes it’s the best way to survive. Ryan read

00:00:00 - Phosphine has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus, where it shouldn’t exist. How could it have formed in detectable quantities? One explanation could be microbes living in a habitable zone high in the Venusian atmosphere, so that’s neat. 00:25:00 - Drinks would not exist for long on Venus due to the extreme heat, but here on Earth they go down just fine. Ben has a horchata-flavored drink which sounds delightful. Charlie has some coffee roasted by a buddy of his who is now selling his beans online at The Deer and the Bear, check it out! And Ryan has The Great Return IPA from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery which helps support restorations efforts of the James River in Richmond, VA, so that’s good. 00:32:53 - Our moon is a notably dry place with no oxygen, but an Indian probe recently detected hematite, aka rust, at the lunar poles. How could rust form in such an environment? Orbital dynamics and Earth’s magnetotail may provide the answer. 00:46:29 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like rust on the moon, you’r

00:00:00 - Charlie, Abe, and Ryan are joined by Sommelier Kristy Wenz because we’re talking about wine! Why wine? Stay tuned to the drinks segment to find out! But first up, they discuss the effects of geology, soil pH, and precipitation on the quality of wines from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. 00:20:04 - This episode What Are We Drinking is sponsored by Glasses Up Social, a service that sends wine to you and your friends and sets up a group chat for you all to enjoy the wines together! It solves the issue of ending every call with “We should do this more often!” but never actually doing it. Plus you get try boutique wines from wineries you probably can’t currently visit. Our listeners get 20% off their first month, just use the coupon code SCIENCESORTOF at checkout. This episode, Kristy talks the boys through a dry riesling from Three Brothers Wineries & Estates in New Yorks Finger Lakes Wine Country. 00:42:45 - 66 million years ago the earth was hit by a giant rock going faster than a bullet. So wha

00:00:00 - We're doing another Anchor-themed clip show! Following up on episodes 266 and 282, we have another round of short audio clips that Ryan created for the podcast startup Anchor under the banner of Organized Curiosity (explanation of the name here). Before we dive in, two things: the correction and the drink. The correction is an explanation of a misspelling. The drink is a Mystic Mamma IPA from Jackie O’s, it’s especially good while cooking a spicy dinner. On to the show! 00:05:01 - A flight with a window seat prompts a promotion of the Flyover Country App. 00:07:31 - It’s the Ides of March and the thought of a historic stabbing makes Ryan want to discuss the science of human blood. 00:12:56 - Better know a root: haemo- 00:15:11 - Bio bios: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) 00:20:46 - Bio bios: Mangrove Finch (Camarhynchus heliobates) 00:26:12 - Abby from Let Me Google That calls in to share her love of all things blood. It prompts a discussion of blood types. 00:32:29 - In celebration of

00:00:00 - First up, we discuss the evolution of thalattoscuhians, or crocodilians who evolved to live life in the seas, based on CAT scans of their skulls and what that means for their convergent evolution with whales.   00:20:39 - Crocs have returned to the drink and so have we. It’s an older joke, but it checks out. Patrick has what feels like an inappropriately named Goram IPA from Butcombe Brewing Co. Following by Ryan’s double buzz-inducing PBR Hard Coffee. And finishing out with Joe’s homemade mocha latte.   00:26:48 - Based on his recent reading about cities discovered in the Honduran rain forest, Patrick stumbled across a story that made him wonder: Did the Mayan culture make it to Georgia? One researcher claims yes, others claim no. An excellent case study regarding the sort of side of science ensues.   00:43:49 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like debates in science; people get fired up, but the stakes are kind of low. Joe fields a comment from someone who identifies as Angry on Podbean who left a comment on

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Lisa Lundgren and Gabriel Santos, two of the heads of Cosplay for Science, an organization that uses elaborating costuming (called cosplay) to advocate for science! But first, we talk about the science. Lisa is a social scientist who studies informal science learning and Gabe is a paleontologist and outreach coordinator who has studied marine mammals including the excellent group Desmostylians. Some papers by Lisa: Social Media Interaction as Informal Science Learning: a Comparison of Message Design in Two Niches Scientific Twitter: The flow of paleontological communication across a topic network Profiles in Practice: Stories of Paleontology Within an Online, Scientific Community Some papers by Gabe: A new tuskless walrus from the Miocene of Orange County, California, with comments on the diversity and taxonomy of odobenids New data on the ontogeny and senescence of Desmostylus (Desmostylia, Mammalia) 00:31:34 - Drinks: they keep us social, so let’s have some. Ryan d

00:00:00 - This episode Ben and Ryan are joined by Ph.D. student and podcaster Kathryn Cogert (@KathrynIsabel), who specializes in mimicking the microbial nitrogen cycling as seen in Oxygen Minimum Zones of the ocean with the aim of improving wastewater treatment. We begin with the basics of why nitrogen pollution is an issue and how nitrogen is currently removed in wastewater treatment and why it’s sort of a hot mess. 00:21:42 - Nothing like talking about wastewater to build up a thirst. Ben, self-described sleepy fella, sneaks in an ad for cherry-wild cherry tea from Canada’s own teadesire.com. Kathryn feels judged but still enjoys her hometown’s own Olympia Beer. Ryan enjoys some cold-brew made from Perky Perky birthday coffee beans sent by his sister. 00:34:11 - In part two of our chat with Kathryn, she walks us through all the improvements she’s helping to make to the nitrogen removal process using their weird critters called Annamox and Ammonium Oxidizing Archaea. Saving money, saving energy, cleaning u

00:00:00 - We are joined by cartoonist Jeffrey Brown to talk about his work. First up, we discuss his Lucy & Andy Neanderthal series about a Homo neanderthalensis family that’s just trying to get by in the Stone Age. 00:32:11 - drinks But the Homo sapiens are here now and we have learned to distill. Patrick takes advantage of distillation with the Spirit of Cambridge Islay Single Malt Scotch which prompts many questions from Ryan. And Ryan also sips some scotch in the form of Balvenie Doublewood 12, which may be why he was so eager to learn more from Patrick. 00:39:01 - For the second half of our chat with Jeffrey, we talk about his new series Once Upon A Spacetime, which is decidedly more sci-fi than science, perfect for a show all about the “sort of’. You can learn more at Jeffrey’s website and follow him on Instagram @jeffreybrownrq. 01:13:05 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like Neanderthals, we know they existed but aren’t totally sure where they went. First up, Ryan reads an e-mail from Crue T. who needs help

00:00:00 - New experimental research shows that there might still be volcanoes active on Venus, which is a big deal since it has long been thought that Venus didn’t have active plate tectonics. Abe breaks down how the hottest planet in the solar system may have just gotten a bit hotter. 00:22:00 - Drinks would evaporate quickly on Venus, so we better drink them fast before they’re gone! Abe has the thematically appropriate Volcano Sauce by Aslin Beer Company. Ryan supports a local cidery with a Nevertheless by ANXO. Joe eschews juice with his Pepsi Zero Wild Cherry, but even though he’s not a beer drinker he advocates supporting his local trivia spot Transplants Brewing, who are doing take out and delivery if you’re in the area. 00:31:23 - When you think of invasive species, you probably don’t think of hippos, yet that’s exactly what happened in Colombia when the hippopotamus pod that was part of Pablo Escobar’s menagerie went native. New research suggests that they may actually be fulfilling the ecological n

00:00:00 - Patrick puts forth proposals for less automobile-focused cities (see more on his Twitter feed @pvwheatley) before we dive into part 1 of Ryan’s interview with UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography Ph.D. Student Maya Becker. She attended the UN’s climate change conference last year (COP25) and then wrote an op-ed about climate change for her local paper. We talk about how scientists can find advocacy that works for them. 00:28:52 - Getting a lot done can be aided by the right beverage. Maya is a coffee fiend and enjoys The WestBean Coffee Roasters for her local fix. Ryan got to go to a farm for beer, which lured him into trying the white IPA Barred Owl from the Brookeville Beer Farm. 00:35:12 - Since Patrick hasn’t been around for a minute we double down on the drinks segment. You’re welcome. Patrick walks Ryan through his home fermentation experiment trying to make some homemade ginger beer. You’ll have to listen in for the results. Ryan has a beer mimicking a style from across the pond with a P

00:00:00 - We welcome back our old buddy Jacob Stump as he joins to discuss the evolution of the human big toe, which is more interesting than you might think because it showed up sort of lake to the walking around on two feet party. 00:30:21 - Using circular logic we have reason to celebrate with a drink because Joe is having a drink! A White Russian, to be precise. Jacob extols the virtues of Aldi, including their version of a Blue Moon. And Ryan is having a beer for charity in the form of Lifesaver from Solace Brewing Company, and a portion of the proceeds are going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 00:42:26 - and how Elon Musk is single-handedly ruining the night sky for astronomers (sounds absurd, but it's true). That plus the usual segments coming your way soon! 01:23:18 - PaleoPOWs mix it up by putting the Patron thesis last, for reasons. So instead, Jacob reminisces about Science… sort of Theater with an e-mail from Cameron L. M. about how much those episodes made him laugh. Joe then reads a fol

00:00:00 - Asher Elbein (@asher_elbein) is still back but this time he and Ryan get really nerdy (if you believe that’s even possible after the last episode). The first half of super nerd talk begins with a brief remembrance of Tom Spurgeon, who passed away last year. But it is mostly about the new status quo regarding the X-Men, which kicked off with Johnathan Hickman’s House of X and Powers of X. Ryan has also discussed this topic over on iFanboy. 00:30:28 - Time is a flat circle so Ryan is still having the Thai spice teas from Running Byrd Tea Co. Tweet about your first tea with hashtag #firsttimeteatime, for some reason. 00:31:47 - In the second half of their chat (or really, the fourth quarter if you think about it), Asher and Ryan dig deep on some Star Wars (this was recorded just prior to the release of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker). It gets real, feelings are felt. 01:04:03 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wars in the stars, they can sometimes end in disappointment. But no disappointment today because

00:00:00 - Asher Elbein (@asher_elbein) is back to talk about feral hogs! If you listen to Reply All you may have already heard some of his reporting on the issue, but we were able to dig deep and really get it into. 00:14:54 - Drinking alone means making healthy choices (sometimes), like this nice bottle of Thai spice tea Ryan has from Running Byrd Tea Co. Free ad for some fine tea. 00:16:40 - We keep it invasive in part two of my chat with Asher where we talk about ‘invasive’ donkeys on public lands. Are they really invasive? Who decides and then who decides what to do about it? 00:48:21 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like interviews, they can go on longer than you expect. But not this episode, this time because we just have a quick iTunes review from isisddog. Thanks and tune in soon for part two of my chat with Asher. Also, Flowers in the Gutter, the book by former guest Kristina Gaddy, is now available for purchase. Check it out! More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon! Music Cred

00:00:00 - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to the show to talk about his new book, Letters from an Astrophysicist. In addition to book chat, he and Ryan also touch on the culture growth of pseudoscience such as people who believe the earth is flat, and 1960s sci-fi films like 2001 and Planet of the Apes. 00:26:46 - We have a segment for drinks. This is that segment. Abraham keeps it on topic with an Orbital Tilt IPA (Citra) from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. Joe is back onto the Rocket Fizz with a Gene Autry Root Beer, which leads to a discussion of root beer rankings. Ryan philosophizes about west coast IPAs thanks to a gift from Abe in the form of Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing. 00:36:57 - In part two of their chat, Ryan and Dr. Tyson talk about his philosophy regarding Twitter, and how he learns from making online mistakes. As well as why an espoused liberal scientist might work for a conservative presidential administration. And, finally, how science has and hasn’t progressed in terms of r

00:00:00 - For our first topic, Ryan, Ben, and Joe explore the theory that the oddly-shaped space rock Oumumua is actually an alien reconnaissance ship. Seriously. 00:23:38 - If the threat of alien invasion doesn’t make you want a drink, then we applaud your restraint. But it makes Ben want to hydrate and have sugar, so he’s having some homemade sports drink. Which causes things to go more off the rails then one might expect. Ryan is finally getting around to the Beyond Resin IPA from Upland Brewing Company, which leads to a much more expected discussion on hop varietals. A brief cut later and Joe tells us that he’s having a Butterbeer from Ozark Mountain Bottleworks. Which is “very butterbeer-y”, according to Joe. 00:35:51 - Next, we talk about how busting apart asteroids, a la Armageddon, is actually a tougher job than we thought because of a pesky little thing called gravity but we’re going to test some other asteroid deflection techniques with the upcoming DART mission, so don’t despair yet! 00:55:22 -

00:00:00 - For this episode, we’re joined by Peter Brannen (@PeterBrannen1), author of the book The Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past Apocalypses, which explains all the times when life has nearly been wiped out on our pale blue dot. Discussion ensues. 00:27:47 - In what may be the shortest drinks segment in the history of the show, we get right to it. Peter is having his favorite beer on planet earth, a Mexican Chocolate Stout from copper kettle brewing company in Aurora, CO. Ryan is also having a chocolatey beer from Off Color Brewing called Dino S’mores! 00:29:01 - Part 2 with Peter Brannen continues the chat about the worst days earth has ever had. No big deal. Probably not gonna happen again, except it probably will. Prepare. 01:03:39 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like mass extinctions; few get out alive. Ryan goes first with an e-mail from Joel S., who gives us an update on Tasmanian eucalyptus and their invasion of California as discussed in episode 296 and other forgo

00:00:00 - Paleontologist Adam Pritchard (@PTPritchard), post-doc at NMNH and future Assistant Collections Manager at VNMN, joins Ryan to talk about all things reptiles! Diapsids, crown versus stem, mass extinctions; this segment has something for everyone (who likes reptiles)! 00:32:59 - A brief drinks interlude to keep everyone (especially Ryan) awake. He’s sipping on an Americano made with Ethiopian Mordecofe beans from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, so put that in your hopper and drink it! 00:36:06 - Adam and Ryan keep talking about reptiles, including best individual reptile (spoiler), and which reptile group is best overall (spoiler). Adam also does his own podcast Past Time, and it’s past time you checked it out while you wait for your next fix of Science… sort of. 01:04:48 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like reptiles, more diverse than you may have originally thought. Dan W. writes in with some kind words but also to tell us about some sloth-y shoes he saw online, but instead of promoting those shoes directly, her

00:00:00 - Joe brings his friend and historian Kristina Gaddy (@kgadz) onto the show to talk about Chessie, the supposed sea monster of the Chesapeake Bay (bay monster?). She wrote a piece about the history and cultural perception of this cryptid. 00:35:39 - It may not be surprising to hear that as a bona fide icon, Chessie is featured by some local breweries. Kristina is having a beer from RAR brewing that features a little Chessie on every can. Joe argues that his King Kong Cola is an appropriate choice given the theme. And Ryan enjoys a Grampus Smoked Nut Brown Ale from Hellbender Brewing to celebrate a beloved amphibian. 00:42:50 - Kristina also has a new book coming out about the true story of French teenagers resisting the Nazi occupation titled Flowers in the Gutter, available for pre-order now! 00:51:31 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like livestreams; we’re not really sure how they work. This particular PaleoPOW was actually recorded during a Patreon livestream hangout where Ryan began by reading an e-mail fro

00:00:00 - The boys are back and they’re talking about meat. Specifically, how the idea that neanderthals ate mostly meat is being challenged by the idea that the chemistry can be tricked if the meat is already rotten when it’s eaten. Yum. But also, healthier diets are actually better for your carbon footprint, so put that moldy steak down and eat a vegetable already. 00:38:11 - And then wash it down with something. For example: Charlie is having some fancy juice. Ryan finally embraces an Old Pal with some Far North Spirit. And Patrick eschews the mixers for some wallet-friendly blended Scotch whisky. 00:44:38 - 3D scans are all the rage these days, but for paleontologists, they present a bit of a conundrum. When you scan a fossil, who owns the scan? The spread, or lack thereof, of this new kind of data, and what the future holds for the field is discussed. 01:06:42 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like scanned fossils; everyone is willing to fight over them. Patrick begins by giving an overdue thanks to recurring PayPa

00:00:00 - After seeing a twitter thread about a recent publication, Ryan invited Jesse Alston (@IntegratEcology) on the show to talk about that paper and his scientific journey. They met up in Laramie and started with the latter, which is this segment. 00:33:30 - A brief interlude wherein Ryan is joined by Joe to discuss beverages. Joe is having leftover apple juice, and Ryan is having a cocktail in a can that he gussied up with some fancy homemade ice. 00:42:05 - Since Ryan and Jesse were chatting at Coal Creek Tap in Laramie, they’re also having a drink. Ryan is having a Wyoming Toad Rye IPA, which prompts a discussion of a very rare montane amphibian. Jesse is having the Molly Blond Belgian Blonde, which seems to involve a dog. The rest of the segment is spent discussing Jesse et al.’s new paper which challenges some of the things we’ve talked about before regarding carnivore reintroduction and its knock-on effects. And be sure to check out Jesse’s podcast Field Surveys. 01:10:04 - PaleoPOWs are a lot lik