The Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: Ben survives choking on water, then attempts to survive one full year of quarantine. Listen in to see if he makes it. ……under pressure: Researchers build a swimming robot that works in the Mariana Trench. To deal with the immense pressures, researchers split their circuit boards, similar to the skull of the…

This episode contains: Who loves Girl Scout Cookies? We do. Technology Can Go To The Hot Place: Stanford study into “Zoom Fatigue” explains why video chats are so tiring. We talk about the various ways that video conferencing can take a toll. Except for Devon, who is superhuman. https://newatlas.com/telecommunications/zoom-fatigue-video-exhaustion-tips-help-stanford/ Pumba, With You Everything Is Gas:…

This episode contains: Ben has something to say about the state of grape buying in this country. Steven is still reminding everyone he has a 3D printer. Lend Me Some Sugar, I Am Your Neighbor: NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover safely lands on Red Planet! We talk about the rover and how it is taking samples…

This episode contains: Ben tells us about a Covid scare that his family had. Steven has been 3D printing stuff for Terraforming Mars. Help Me Wander: There are age-differences in mind-wandering. A study was conducted about young and restless, old and focused and other things about mind-wandering. We also talk about interruptions and focusing. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210210133327.htm…

This episode contains: We kick off this episode with some real Devon talk. Ben is using libraries correctly. Steven watched a little bit of TV. Spiders, Is There Anything They Can’t Do?: Tiny spider engineers use silk pulley systems to lift prey 50 times their weight. The Theridiidae spider not only has an impressive name,…

This episode contains: We all survived the recent storm in California, some of us more than others. Watch out for those downed power lines, Ben! If You Liked It You Should Have Put A Ring On It: Saturn’s tilt caused by its moons, researchers say. The influence of Saturn’s satellites can explain the tilt of…

This episode contains: We talk about President Biden’s inauguration, and what we did to celebrate (like buy a bone folder or a hot tub). Debunking Pseudoscience: Ineffective ‘learning styles’ theory persists in education. Were told you were a ‘visual learner’ or an ‘auditory learner’ or something similar? Turns out that 89% of teachers also believe…

This episode contains: This week we kick off the episode with some computer problems. Ben’s PC failed him, and Steven attempts to diagnose it. World Beat: How Earth’s oddest mammal got to be so bizarre. Scientists have mapped the platypus genome and have found some very interesting things: 10 sex chromosomes, one of three egg…

This episode contains: This is a podcast about Science and Science Fiction, but when the world is on fire, we have to talk about it. We start this episode talking about the coup / insurrection attempt by Trump. You Spin Me Right ‘Round Baby, Right ‘Round: What happens when your brain can’t tell which way…

This episode contains: We talk about some items we received for Christmas, and then get right to business. Water Bear Don’t Care: Water bears (tardigrades) are stuck on the moon after crash landing (in  2019). Tardigrades are under a millimeter long and can survive extreme conditions, 150C to almost absolute zero. We talk about the…