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Tue. 04/19 - Holoportation & the Real Scream Queen Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

A doctor was beamed up to the ISS in the first-ever holoportation to space. Plus, a new chopsticks invention that makes your food taste salty without adding any salt. And inside the world of a professional scream artist.

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Links:

Innovative 3D Telemedicine to Help Keep Astronauts Healthy (NASA)
NASA Beamed a Doctor to The ISS in a World-First 'Holoportation' Achievement (ScienceAlert)
Saline solution: Japan invents 'electric' chopsticks that make food seem more salty (The Guardian)
Japan researchers develop electric chopsticks to enhance salty taste (Reuters)
Experience: my scream is famous (The Guardian)
Professional Scream Artist Ashley Peldon (60 Second Docs, YouTube)
CHILD OF RAGE - (FULL DOCUMENTARY) (YouTube)
Netflix will launch Exploding Kittens animated cartoon series and mobile game (VentureBeat)
Fri. 11/19 - The Fake 2000s Yo-Yo Career of 'What We Do In the Shadows' Mark Proksch (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 04/18 - The Old Villains Are the New Heroes + the Big Mac Index Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

Why indie booksellers went from hating Barnes & Noble to defending it, and what that means for the future of publishing. Plus, a look at inflation through the lens of the Big Mac Index.

Sponsors:

Outer, Get $300 off and free shipping at liveouter.com/kottke
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Links:

How Barnes & Noble Went From Villain to Hero (NY Times)
Inflation comes for the Big Mac (Axios)
The Big Mac index (The Economist)
Thor: Love and Thunder's Trailer Is Wilder Than You Even Imagined (Gizmodo)
Thor: Love And Thunder Is So Crazy 'It Shouldn't Make Sense', Says Taika Waititi (Empire)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 04/15 - We Need a Time Variance Authority Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

In a more serious take on yesterday’s musings, how is the pandemic and modern technology changing how we communicate about and understand time? Plus, speaking of time, why do Passover and Easter sometimes occur so far apart from one another? Let’s talk about the messy world of human-constructed calendars and natural cycles. And that startup trying to slingshot satellites into space has officially booked a test launch with NASA.

Sponsor:

The Jordan Harbinger Show, jordanharbinger.com/start

Links:

Chronemics and the Nonverbal Language of Time (JSTOR Daily)
The Ancient Math That Sets the Date of Easter and Passover (The Atlantic, 2019)
Clocks Are Too Precise (and People Don't Know What to Do About It) (The Atlantic, 2015)
Private Ax-1 astronaut Eytan Stibbe to celebrate Passover in space (Space.com)
Second Family to hold first-known Passover Seder at vice president's residence (CNN)
Old episode featuring SpinLaunch (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
NASA to Test SpinLaunch, a Giant Slingshot for Launching Satellites Into Space (CNET)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 04/14 - Redefining Units of Time for the Techno-Era Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

Should we be measuring time differently now that we spend more time with digital technology than nature? Paul Ford has some suggestions. Plus, how the heck is AriZona Iced Tea still just 99 cents and not playing any nefarious shrinkflation games like the other guys? And a new study analyzing the personality profile of absolute a-holes.

Sponsor:

The Jordan Harbinger Show, jordanharbinger.com/start

Links:

Time Got So Much Weirder. The World Needs a New Lexicon (Wired)
How is AriZona Iced Tea still 99 cents as inflation soars? (LA Times)
From 5 fewer Doritos to shrunken Gatorade bottles, here are the insidious ways companies are charging the same amount for less stuff (Insider)
Scientists Ran an Experiment to Identify the Personality Profile of an A-Hole (ScienceAlert)
What makes an a--hole an a—hole? (EukekAlert)
How an early 2000s bop shaped the 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' multiverse (Mashable)
How Son Lux Crafted a Maximalist Soundtrack for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (Rolling Stone)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 04/13 - That's A Big Ol' Comet Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

A very big comet. How sewage monitoring could transform public health beyond just its applications for COVID-19. Plus, libraries are relinquishing local library card requirements for eBooks in a bid to fight back against book bans. And a new National Park annual pass that won’t be valid for 150 years.

Sponsor:

The Jordan Harbinger Show, jordanharbinger.com/start

Links:

NASA Just Confirmed The Largest Comet Ever Detected, And It's Truly Gargantuan (ScienceAlert)
Hubble Confirms Huge Incoming Comet Has Largest Known Nucleus (Gizmodo)
Hubble pics reveal the mega comet is wider than Rhode Island (Mashable)
Hubble Confirms Largest Comet Nucleus Ever Seen (NASA)
The secrets hidden in sewage (Vox)
Books For All (NYPL)
NYC libraries are offering free digital library cards to people across the US (Time Out)
Yellowstone is Offering a $1,500 Annual Pass That You Won't Be Able to Use for 150 Years (Backpacker) h/t Kottke.org
Inheritance Pass guarantees entrance to Yellowstone in 150 years (Billings Gazette)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 04/12 - Social Media as the Fall of the Tower of Babel Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

How social media has created a Tower of Babel-like fragmentation of society. Plus, the infrastructure secrets behind a new-to-the-US reality show starring some very busy toddlers. And the brewing beef between Spirit Halloween and the King of Halloween.

Sponsors:

The Jordan Harbinger Show, jordanharbinger.com/start

Links:

Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid (The Atlantic)
So You've Been Publicly Shamed a book by Jon Ronson by Jon Ronson
How Japan Built Cities Where You Could Send Your Toddler On An Errand (Slate)
Old Enough: the Japanese TV show that abandons toddlers on public transport (The Guardian)
Watch Old Enough! (Netflix)
Spirit Halloween Store Film in the Works Starring Christopher Lloyd, Rachael Leigh Cook (EXCLUSIVE) (Variety)
Christopher Lloyd and Rachael Leigh Cook to Star in Spirit Halloween Film (Collider)
Nick Lutsko on Twitter
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 04/11 - You Have Livetweeted Dysentery Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

The Maryland man livetweeting his bout of dysentery––don’t worry, he’s okay. Plus, scientists have managed to de-age human skin cells by thirty years. And an implausible NASA artifact was taken back to space this weekend by one of the Axiom Space private astronauts.

Sponsor:

The Jordan Harbinger Show, jordanharbinger.com/start

Links:

Beginning of dysentery thread (Jake Eberts, Twitter)
A Man Is Tweeting Through His Dysentery, But Don’t Worry, It’s For Science (BuzzFeed News)
Jake Eberts' Campaign for Water (The Water Project)
Norovirus person (cydbird7, TikTok)
Old skins cells reprogrammed to regain youthful function (EurekAlert)
Scientists Rewind The Clock of Human Skin Cells to Make Them Act 30 Years Younger (ScienceAlert)
Scientists make further inroads into reversing ageing process of cells (The Guardian)
Private astronaut brings an item of mythic proportions to space station (Mashable)
First All-Private Astronaut Team Arrives at the International Space Station (Gizmodo)
IT'S ALMOST TIME | CREEL CLOCK LIVESTREAM (Stranger Things, YouTube)
‘Stranger Things’ Hosting a Mysterious Countdown Livestream (All Hallows Geek)
'For All Mankind' season 3 lands June 10 on Apple TV Plus (Space.com)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 04/08 - Short Kings & Barbie Girls Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

We turn back the clocks to 1997 for a history of the song “Barbie Girl” and a look at its influence on music. Plus, the Neolithic origins of Short King Spring. And mark your calendars for the Great North American Solar Eclipse.

Sponsors:

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Links:

The Oral History of Aqua's 'Barbie Girl' (Rolling Stone)
Aqua - Barbie Girl (Official Music Video) (Aqua, YouTube)
TikTok says it's officially short king spring (iD Vice)
First European farmers' heights did not meet expectations (Penn State)
We're two years away from the Great North American Solar Eclipse of 2024! (Space.com)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 04/07 - Scaly Dino Fossil From the Day the Asteroid Hit Found (maybe) Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

An impressively well-preserved dinosaur leg fossil has been found that could be the first-ever fossil evidence of the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Plus, Amtrak is stirring up some beef with their Twitch streams. And a new dream job opening: counting penguins in Antarctica.

Sponsors:

Novo, Sign up for a free business checking account and get access to over $5,000 in perks and discounts at novo.co/kottke
Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews

Links:

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Wed. 04/06 - The Darwin Book Thief Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

Some libraries cancel late fees, others get Interpol involved for missing manuscripts. Either way, missing books can become fascinating treasures when they’re finally returned. Plus, Hubble has spotted a rare planet in the earliest phase of formation. And the United Kingdom has announced plans to mint its own NFT.

Sponsors:

Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews
Novo, Sign up for a free business checking account and get access to over $5,000 in perks and discounts at novo.co/kottke

Links:

New York City Libraries End Late Fees, and the Treasures Roll In (NY Times)
Darwin's missing 'tree of life' notebooks mysteriously returned after 20 years (NBC News)
Missing Darwin notebooks returned to Cambridge University Library (Cambridge University)
Rare glimpse of giant planet still 'in the womb' yet nine times the mass of Jupiter (The Guardian)
Psst! Wanna see an actual Hubble image of a planet forming around a nearby star? (Bad Astronomy, Syfy Wire)
Hubble Finds a Planet Forming in an Unconventional Way (NASA)
Britain announces plans to mint its own NFT as it looks to 'lead the way' in crypto (CNBC)
Rishi Sunak to launch an NFT issued by the Royal Mint to help make UK 'global cryptoasset hub' (Sky News)
Rishi Sunak asks Royal Mint to create NFT (The Guardian)
HBO Max wants multiple TV spin-offs of Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes movies (A/V Club)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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