After Things Podcast

The episode opens with a discussion of Westworld and how rewatching earlier seasons changes the experience, followed by a broader complaint about storytelling that relies too much on surprises. The hosts pitch prequel-style ideas for Westworld and Jurassic Park before moving into a long segment on the scrubbed Artemis launch, including the failed wet dress rehearsals, valve and thermal-alignment problems, and the larger political and engineering mess behind the SLS program. A large middle section turns to Rocket Lab’s planned Photon mission to Venus, including discussion of using a probe and MIT work to scan cloud vapors for signs of life, plus speculation about extremophile biology and possible practical applications if Venus life existed. The show then wanders through stories about an Arctic Ford F-150 retrieval, StoryFile and digital memorials, therapy and AI-assisted therapy, and ends with TV and film recommendations including House of the Dragon, What We Do in the Shadows, Hellraiser, and Andrew’s book p