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Tue. 06/15 - A Lunar Telescope Built From Moon Dust Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

A new report from fifty of the world’s leading experts on the need to combine solutions for combatting the climate crisis and our planet’s rapidly declining biodiversity. California’s historically low water levels may have inadvertently helped solve the case of a missing plane that crashed fifty-six years ago. And an update on that telescope NASA is now planning to construct on the far side of the moon.

Sponsors:

UTEP Connect, Apply at online.utep.edu or call UTEP Connect at 1-800-684-UTEP
Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast

Links:

How to Protect Species and Save the Planet—at Once (Ars Technica)
56-Year-Old Plane Crash May Be Solved by California's Drought (Gizmodo)
NASA Might Put a Huge Telescope on the Far Side of the Moon (Wired)
The fat bear cams at Alaska's Katmai National Park are back, baby (Mashable)
Wed. 07/01 - The Beer Garden Run By Nuns (Kottke Ride Home)
Kottke.Org
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Mon. 06/14 - The Full Tale of the Man Nearly Eaten By a Whale on Friday Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

The full story of the man who was swallowed by a humpback whale on Friday and lived to tell the tale. Calories. Who’s responsible for their inclusion in the world of nutrition? Some weird highlights from the history of this controversial measurement. And the growing need for a bill of neuro-rights.

Sponsors:

Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast
UTEP Connect, Apply at online.utep.edu or call UTEP Connect at 1-800-684-UTEP

Links:

Man swallowed by whale by Cape Cod; MA lobster diver survives humpback (Cape Cod Times)
A humpback whale swallowed Michael Packàrd as was lobster diving in Cape Cod (Washington Post)
Cape Cod: Diver Swallowed by Humpback Whale Story Doubted (Insider)
Humpback Whale Nearly Eats a Lobsterman, Then Thinks Better of It (NY Times)
I'm a lobster diver who recently survived being inside of a whale. AMA! (r/IAmA)
A Brief History of the Calorie (JSTOR Daily)
'This is not science fiction,' say scientists pushing for 'neuro-rights' (Reuters)
The Rise of Neurotechnology Calls for a Parallel Focus on Neurorights (Scientific American)
Limit on lab-grown human embryos dropped by stem-cell body news (Nature)
Bone Music: Forbidden Soviet Records Made From Used X-Ray Films (Kottke)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 06/11 - Why Are Tornado Warnings So Inaccurate & Last Minute? Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

Thanks to a new study that sequenced the genomes of several types of wild melons, we now have a better idea of the origins of the watermelon… but we still don’t know how tornadoes are formed. And that’s a problem. Plus, in a bid to continue dominating all Halloween-themed playlists, Danny Elfman released a new punk rock album today, his first since 1994.

Sponsor:

Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews

Links:

Tornado warnings lag behind hurricane predictions because of a meteorology mystery (Vox)
Where Your Watermelon Came From (NY Times)
Watermelon Was Domesticated in Sudan from Kordofan Melon, New Genetic Study Suggests (Sci-News)
Danny Elfman Came Here to Make a Big Mess (The Ringer)
Danny Elfman - Big Mess music videos (Epitaph Records, YouTube)
‘Lord of the Rings’ Anime Feature Fast-Tracked by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation (Variety)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/10 - The 1920s Transgender Clinic Destroyed By the Nazis Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

A new method of carbon capture that would turn carbon dioxide from the ocean into rocks. Mosquitos beefed up with virus-fighting bacteria have proven even more effective at preventing dengue fever than expected. And the often forgotten history of a turn of the century scientist way ahead of his time and his groundbreaking gender and sexuality clinic that was destroyed by the Nazis.

Sponsor:

Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews

Links:

To Combat Climate Change, Researchers Want to Pull Carbon Dioxide From the Ocean and Turn It Into Rock (Smithsonian Mag)
Market for carbon emissions (Wojtek Kopczuk, Twitter)
'Miraculous' mosquito hack cuts dengue by 77% (BBC)
Mosquitoes armed with virus-fighting bacteria sharply curb dengue infections, hospitalizations (Science Mag)
The Forgotten History of the World’s First Trans Clinic (Scientific American)
Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg
Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood
The First Man-Made Man by Pagan Kennedy
Transgender History by Susan Stryker
A member of the SA throws confiscated books into the bonfire during the public burning of "un-German" books on the Opernplatz in Berlin. (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Watch Andrew Garfield in trailer for Lin-Manuel Miranda's tick, tick, BOOM! (A/V Club)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/09 - Millions Lack a "Mind's Eye" & We're Not Sure Why Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

Why some people don’t have a mind’s eye and others can visualize things in incredible detail. Watermelons on Mars and human-animal hybrid babies born across the world––neither of those are true, but if you read two of the biggest newspapers in the US, you might have been led to believe they are. And El Salvador has become the first country to officially recognize bitcoin as currency.

Sponsor:

Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews

Links:

Can't See Pictures in Your Mind? You're Not Alone. (NY Times)
Are you a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 in this apple visualization exercise? (Twitter)
Ball on a Table - Visualization Experiment (r/Aphantasia)
We Don't All Have a "Mind's Eye" | Aphantasia (SciShow Psych, YouTube)
New York Times Publishes Then Deletes Article Claiming Watermelons Were Found on Mars (Futurism)
Netflix's Sweet Tooth Advertorial in USA Today Was Beyond Irresponsible (Gizmodo)
El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender after passing law (CNBC)
El Salvador Becomes First Country to Recognize Bitcoin as Currency (Gizmodo)
El Salvador 'Legal Tender' Move Unlikely to Change US Tax on Bitcoin: Former IRS Counsel (Decrypt)
The 'ring of fire' solar eclipse of 2021 will look like the 'Death Star' in front of the sun, astronomer says (Space)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 06/08 - New Giant Dinosaur, Same Boring Cereal Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

New ocean just dropped. And a new dinosaur species. Big release day. All about the fifth ocean and one of the newest, largest dinosaurs. Plus, what a new cereal says about current marketing trends, the state of cereal as a whole, fan-franchise relationships, and the contemporary fusion of ancient folklore.

Sponsor:

Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews

Links:

There's a new ocean now—can you name all 5? (National Geographic)
New Dinosaur Species Is Australia’s Largest, Researchers Say (NY Times)
Introducing Australotitan: Australia's largest dinosaur yet spanned the length of 2 buses (The Conversation)
Scientists say new dinosaur species is largest found in Australia (BBC)
Cereal: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Web Exclusive) (Last Week Tonight, YouTube)
John Oliver Accepts Cheerios Counter-Challenge – But With a Sick Twist (The Wrap)
Ghostbusters Afterlife Cereal Messed Up Bad (Gizmodo)
Loki Charms cereal: Marvel gets marshmallowy ahead of Disney Plus premiere (CNET)
Of Norse Loki and the Celtic Lugh | Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids (Druidry.Org)
Norse Loki = Celtic Lugh? (Fortress of Lugh, YouTube)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 06/07 - Squids In Space & Why Vaccine Lotteries Work Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

SpaceX just delivered a bunch of tardigrades and baby squids to the International Space Station. New research finding pupil size is an indicator of intelligence. And why it seems like vaccine lotteries are actually working.

Sponsor:

Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews

Links:

Why NASA Is Blasting Water Bears And Bobtail Squid Into Space (NPR)
NASA Squid In SpaceX Mission To International Space Station (Jalopnik)
SpaceX’s 22nd Commercial Resupply Mission to Space Station (NASA)
NASA’s Juno probe will get close to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede on Monday (The Verge)
Pupil Size Is a Marker of Intelligence (Scientific American)
FDA approves first drug to slow decline of Alzheimer’s disease (Washington Post)
Wait, Vaccine Lotteries Actually Work? (Wired)
A 6-Year-Old Requested A Birthday Cake Showing The Beheading Of Anne Boleyn And That’s Exactly What She Got (Buzzfeed News)
Girl, 3, requests morbid 'Lion King' scene on birthday cake so she can have it all to herself (NBC News)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 06/04 - Shark-pocalypse & Extinct Flu Strains (possibly) Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

COVID-19 precautions largely prevented outbreaks of the flu this past winter, and they also may have caused two types of flu viruses to go extinct. Spinking of extinction, sharks apparently lost 90% of their population 19 million years ago and never fully recovered. And what day-to-day life is like for the first team to arrive at the Tokyo Olympic campus.

Links:

Flu virus became less diverse, simplifying task of making flu shots (STAT News)
[January] Flu Cases Dramatically Low So Far This Season (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
2 types of flu viruses may have gone extinct (LiveScience)
Certain Strains Of Flu May Have Gone Extinct Because Of Pandemic Safety Measures (NPR)
Mystery event caused shark populations to crash 19 million years ago (National Geographic)
The world saw a shark-pocalypse 19 million years ago, and we don’t know why (Ars Technica)
90% of Sharks Were Mysteriously Wiped Out and Never Recovered, Scientists Find (Vice)
Australian Team Arrives at a Constricted Tokyo Olympics (NY Times)
Why 'Cursed' Olympics in Tokyo Are Pressing Ahead Amid Covid (NY Times)
Elon Musk Files Trademark Paperwork for Tesla Restaurant Concept (Bloomberg)
What dishes could Elon Musk's upcoming Tesla drive-in serve us? (A/V Club)
Apple WWDC 2021: iOS 15, new MacBook Pros, and what else to expect (The Verge)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/03 - Why Unique People Are More Attractive Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

What if your pick-up truck could power your whole neighborhood? That’s the potential people are imagining with the new Ford F-150 Lightning. The science behind why unique people are more attractive. And updates from the annual State of NASA address, including the latest planet they’ll be returning to.

Links:

Can Millions of New Ford F-150 Trucks Become a Clean-Energy Storage Grid? (Curbed)
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Revealed! The Electric Pickup Has a Shockingly Low Price, Mega Specs (Motortrend)
As electric vehicles take off, we'll need to recycle their batteries (National Geographic)
Why 'quirky' people are attractive (BBC)
State of NASA tweets (NASA, Twitter)
NASA will send two missions to Venus for the first time in over 30 years (The Verge)
NASA Picks Twin Missions To Visit Venus, Earth's 'Evil Twin'? (NPR)
New NASA Missions Will Study Venus, a World Overlooked for Decades (NY Times)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/02 - John Steinbeck's Unpublished Werewolf Murder Mystery Novel Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

John Steinbeck’s secret unpublished werewolf novel that his estate doesn’t want you to read. Lithuania built a portal to Poland and more may soon follow. And set your alarms for the “ring of fire” solar eclipse next week.

Links:

Yes, Steinbeck Wrote a Werewolf Novel. Don’t Expect to Read It. (NY Times)
John Steinbeck’s estate urged to let the world read his shunned werewolf novel (The Guardian)
John Steinbeck's Lost Werewolf Novel Is HBO Max Gold (Jezebel)
Beast of Eden tweet (Erik M. Gregersen, Twitter)
Opinion | John Steinbeck’s editor removes all the werewolves from his work (Washington Post)
Vilnius, Lithuania built a ‘portal’ to another city to help keep people connected (The Verge)
How to watch next week's rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse (CBS News)
2021's first solar eclipse will show off a 'ring of fire' in the sky (CNET)
'Ring of fire' solar eclipse on June 10 'Ring of fire' solar eclipse on June 10 (EarthSky)
Annular Solar Eclipse of 2021 Jun 10 (NASA)
Seth Rogen's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle reboot has a release date (A/V Club)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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