Science... sort of

00:00:00 - Something a little different this week as Ryan presents some audio from a project he did with the startup Anchor.fm earlier this year producing some science segments for a channel called Organized Curiosity. He's drinking a Manta Ray from Ballast Point Brewing Company, which will become relevant later, but for now, here are the topics that get covered:

00:03:40 - First up, an explanation of the station and why I chose the name Organized Curiosity. (Spoiler: It's from a quote in Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography)
00:07:14 - Better know a root: astro-
00:09:33 - News you probably cannot use: Monkeys pass the mirror self-recognition test
00:12:41 - Bio bios: Mexican blindcat (Prietella phreatophila)
00:15:48 - Q&A: What is a theory?
00:18:37 - Falsifiability response from Ian Shapiro
00:19:43 - My response on falsifiability
00:24:46 - Bio bios: Indian vulture (Gyps indicus)
00:29:56 - News you probably cannot use: NASA announces new exoplanets
00:35:08 - Better know a root: osteo-
00:37:58 - Bio bios: Pygmy devilray (Mobula eregoodootenkee)
00:42:53 - News you probably cannot use: What the deep ocean sounds like
00:47:01 - Bio bios: Gemsbok (Oryx gazella)
00:50:19 - Q&A: How do animals know what to do? 
00:56:03 - Finally, we end with a quick PaleoPOW thanking Billy Nitro for his recurring PayPal donation and his sweet sweet radio voice. Thanks, Billy!

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon!

Music for this week's show:
Add And - Broke For Free

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan and Ben are joined by Dr. Rachel Brown Reid to tell us about her work with road killed coyotes. But first, we have to make sure Ben is up to speed with the basics of stable isotope analysis. Rachel and Ryan do their best to explain.

00:32:56 - Now that we've supped from the font of knowledge, how about just having some sips of a normal drink? We make the mistake of letting Ben go first. He's having some sort of nonsensical overly complicated health drink. Whatever. Rachel keeps it local with a 2011 B.C. India Style Brown Ale from Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, her favorite brewery in a region with lots of good options. Ryan rounds out the segment with a Tart Mango Cart from Golden Road Brewing given to him by listener and pickle-friend of the show Jerrold D.

00:44:19 - Rachel just had a paper come out, which you can read for free from PLoS One where she's analyzed stable isotopes of scat from road killed coyotes. What did she learn? Listen and find out! Also, sometimes coyotes and badgers team up and we think that's great. Also also, be sure to check out episode 206 which features Rachel's husband talking about his ecology research in Costa Rica.

01:22:13 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like coyotes: they're tricksters. Ben begins by thanking Randy D. for becoming a Gravity Pusher patron on Patreon, which means he gets a thesis title. The title of Randy's research is: Temporally-integrated listening habits of mesopredator canids under SO31 transformation. Thanks, Randy! Ryan fields some lightsaber questions from new listener ToRy, with Ben's help of course.

Cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon!

Music for this week's show:
Old Coyote - The Weepies
Forgot About Dre [Feat. Eminem] - Dr. Dre
Coyotes - Don Edwards

00:00:00 - We are stoked to have returning guest Daphne Pringle back on the show! And while it's not the most upbeat topic, she is indeed here to talk about cancer. Turns out, cancer evolves just like any other organism, but we don't always study in the same way. Maybe we should? Discussion ensues based on the following papers:

• Cancer as an evolutionary and ecological process
• Metastasis as an evolutionary process
• And somehow: Sweaty T-Shirts and Human Mate Choice

00:36:34 - Nothing like talking about cancer to make one want a carcinogen. Daphne reps her local scene with a Tastes LIke Citrus from Two Row Brewing. Ryan has a Brazilian beer called Belô Petroleum: The Great Discovery, which gives him a chance to rant about the North Dakota Access Pipeline. Charlie honors our Utahn guest with his choice of a Uinta Hop Nosh IPA. 

00:50:36 - We try to be the science podcast that actually follows up on stories from time-to-time, so it's well past time for us to update y'all on what's going on with the Tasmanian devil face cancer epidemic, first discussed in episode 21. Turns out there is some good news (source 1 and source 2), thanks to evolution if you even believe in that. But they're not out of the woods yet, so if you'd like to help conservation efforts you can do so by donating to the Save The Tasmanian Devil Program. If you'd like to help cancer research more generally, you can donate to the American Associate for Cancer Research. 

01:24:11 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like face cancer, you don't want to get bit but it may be hard to avoid. Charlie goes first so he can thank Patron Courtney Brooke Davis, who donates monthly on Patreon at a level where she gets designated a thesis title and her title is: Nonlinear Metastatic Transmissible Neoplastic Cancers in Ancient Marsupials from Midden Remains in Mainland Oceania. Thanks, Courtney! Daphne, since she's been on the show before, has some feedback of her own, from Jen G. who teaches at Daphne's alma mater and wants to let folks know about some improvements since Daphne was an undergrad. Ryan's paleoPOW also spawns from Daphne's first appearance because Tyler F. who wants to talk more about speciation, which is a pretty complicated topic, including wackiness such as ring species. 

We're now on Patreon! Please consider supporting us financially there and get cool rewards for doing so.

Music for this week's show:
Countdown (Sick For The Big Sun) - Phoenix
Royal Oil (Live) - The MIghty MIghty Bosstones
Kiss The Devil - Eagles of Death Metal

00:00:00 - First up, Ryan, Abe, and Joe discuss some research showing that arctic foxes inadvertently grow herbivore-friendly gardens above their dens, making them ecosystem engineers, which is pretty freaking cool. 

00:20:45 - Arctic foxes bring the produce, but we bring the drinks. This time Joe is enjoying a Sprecher Cherry Cola. Abe is all about his Fancy Pants V3 from Jessup Farm Barrel House, complete with fox logo. Ryan tries out his Spanish to describe a Vieja Compa Picante (or Spicy Old Pal) made with Dominican Bermudez Aniversario 1852 and Habanero Bitters.

00:27:45 - After reading Catching Fire (not that one) geographer Michael Medler had an idea about humans and volcanoes. A map of volcanoes in the African Rift Valley where humans first evolved suggests that maybe our first fires came from lava, allowing us to cook our food and get big brains. Also, ravens (and corvids generally) are super smart, but the Canary Islands are named after dogs. You're welcome.

01:00:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like volcanoes, easier to run away from than you might expect. Abe begins with a donation from Matthew J. who felt bad that his recurring payment fell out so he tosses us a lump sum. Thanks, Matthew! Next up, former guest of the show and current Paleopatron Dr. John Pohl MD has signed up to support us on Patreon and has earned himself a fake thesis title. John's title is: Applications of the Bristol Stool Scale to Winter Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) Fecal Production and Deposition. Lastly, Joe shares a 5-star iTunes review from nh800. 

We're now on Patreon! Please consider supporting us financially there and get cool rewards for doing so.

Music for this week's show:
Garden - Miike Snow
Sour Cherry - The Kills
We Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel 

00:00:00 - Kelly Weinersmith is here and she's got a book coming out co-written with some dude named Zach Weinersmith, whoever that is. The book is called Soonish, it's coming out soon, but you can pre-order it now. Pre-ordering is super important for their rankings on the sales charts, plus you get super cool rewards so get on it!

 00:21:48 - One thing we hope doesn't change anytime soon is our enjoyment of delicious beverages. Ben has some "Boss Coffee" which Kelly and Ryan thought was a joke, but it's apparently not. Next up, Ryan gets bitter thanks to his wife. Seriously, she bought him some Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters added to some fine St. Lucian rum. Kelly unwittingly makes a London Fog with some Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme tea.

00:33:37 - Wolves are known for many things: pack mentality, becoming dogs, and howling. Tourists really like the howling part, including faking it to get the wolves to howl back. But how does that make the wolves feel? For the first time, a team in Canada has checked to make sure that induced human howling isn't messing with the way wolves use the space. The good news? It's not, the wolves clearly don't care, which is good, but also good that someone thought to double-check. 

00:45:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wolves: they do move in herds. Now that we're on Patreon, if you support us at the Avogadro's Army level or higher, we will make up a fake thesis title for you. Our first recipient of this reward goes to Becky Wertz and her thesis is titled: Stochastic methods for testing differences in adhesion between lingually wetted stamps versus sticker stamps. Thanks, Becky! Next up, Bob M. has some words about Lagrange as discussed in some of our AGU coverage. And finally, Kelly reads a glowing 5-star iTunes review from Susie Haupt, aka Ryan's mom. 

We're now on Patreon! Please consider supporting us financially there and get cool rewards for doing so.

Music for this week's show:
The Future Soon - Jonathan Coulton
London Calling - The Clash
Dela (I Know Why The Dog Howls At The Moon) - Johnny Clegg & Savuka

00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by Rachel Silverstein (@irrelephantidae) and Marina Chanidou (@marinaloveschem) who were featured by Marvel as the inaugural Agents of G.I.R.L. In the first segment, we chat about Rachel's proboscidean paleontology at the Saltville Valley site, and Marina's work using chemistry to figure out what food was kept in very old pots. 

00:21:32 - In the past, both elephants and ancient people had drinks, so let's keep the tradition alive! Rachel stays responsible with some water. Marina enjoys some Bramble Scotch Liqueur. And Ryan tries to keep things thematic with a Prop Culture from Odell.

00:30:46 - The reason this interview came about was because of comics, so we can't help but have a free-wheeling discussion about how Rachel and Marina wound up in Marvel's The Unstoppable Wasp #1, representation, and comics we love. The list of comics mentioned or discussed includes:

• Princeless
• Motor Crush
• The Secret Loves of Geek Girls
• Chew
• Saga
• The Autumnlands
• Black Road
• Heathen
• Unfollow
• The Flintstones (Yes, it seriously is good.)
• Welcome Back

01:08:54 - A quick PaleoPOW to thank Maria C. who gave a one-time PayPal donation to help make this show possible. If you'd like to support the show, consider checking out our recently launched Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/sciencesortof

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
I Am Chemistry - Yeasayer
Science/Visions - Chvrches
Hank Pym - Adam WarRock (Free album, click here)

00:00:00 - This week Ryan interviews W. John Calder, who just finished his Ph.D. studying fire ecology and paleoclimate. We spend the first segment talking about the basics of his research, and some admittedly nitpicky differences between their fields.

00:36:30 - Fires are best put out with liquid, but maybe not this kind of liquid. Ryan is sipping on some Bone Snapper Rye Whiskey with Bittermens Burlesque Bitters, both gifts from his wife. 

0038:43 - In part two of Ryan's talk with John, they discuss his paper published in the prestigious PNAS as well as some of the work from his recently submitted dissertation. If you want to keep up with John and his work, you can follow him on Twitter: @W_John_Calder

01:31:38 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like fire, cool in the kitchen for a second, but then they aren't. Ryan thanks Philip O. for a recent donation, and asks how the rest of the audience feels about doing something special for the upcoming eclipse in North America. Also, we're now on Patreon if you're interested in supporting the show and getting some sweet rewards for doing so. 

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
The Burn - Matchbox Twenty
Store Bought Bones - The Raconteurs
Fire Lake - Bob Seger& The Silver Bullet Band

00:00:00 - Kelly has a new paper out! It's about wasps being parasites within other parasites right on campus where she works, so that's about as nifty as it gets. You can watch a video about the study here, and read the open access paper here.

00:20:15 - Nothing like thinking about having your brain infected by parasites to make you want a drink, right? Joe thinks he's being original but doesn't realize he's just Jacob because they both thought it would be cool to drink Soylent on the show. Joe's is chocolate flavored instead of coffee, so there's that. Ryan feels cheated with his supposedly 'Scandanavian' Cider that's actually made in Estonia. Not cool!

00:29:16 - Frog tongues, how do they work? Part of the answer is in their selectively stick spit. Also, they swallow with their eyes somehow? That's weird. Frogs are weird. But that doesn't mean you should steal them. Listen to Chunk and don't take amphibians that aren't yours. Joe also reminds us of dirty misspellings and makes puns, feel free voice your disapproval directly to him.

00:50:12 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like frog's swallowing; they both involve more moving parts than you'd expect. Kelly begins with a donation from Eric W. who wanted to thank us for getting him through some tough times. You're welcome and thank you for supporting the show! Joe has more to say about frogs thanks to an e-mail about American Bullfrogs invading Canada as researched by Hans C. And Ryan wraps up with a new 5-star iTunes review (our favorite kind!). 

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Smile Like You Mean It - The Killers
The Sporting Life - The Decemberists
Speaking In Tongues - The Eagles of Death Metal

00:00:00 - Do you ever wonder how those music ID services work so well? Well wonder no further because we've got Tim Dobbs here to explain it!

00:24:49 - That noise on the microphone? That's us drinking, but don't worry, we'll tell you what's in the glass. Patrick continues his quest to try beers Ryan hasn't had, this time with a Sierra Nevada Single Hop Cascade IPA, but you'll have to listen to see if he's bested Ryan. Ryan classes up the joint with a Chateau Palais Cardinal 2011 St. Emilion Grand Cru from Bordeaux. Dang. Tim finishes up the segment with a Shade of Gray, Black, and White IPA plus some silly RadioLab noises, because we're fairly sure that's not an overdone joke just yet.

00:33:05 - If you enjoy food then you should think about what you're listening to while you eat it, because research is showing that the sounds in your ears can affect the feeling and flavors in your mouth. Plus, super spooky ghosts and the sounds that make them (maybe).

01:02:48 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like seasoning, necessary but if you overdo it everyone is unhappy. Tim starts off with a donation from Brandon J., which makes the show possible, y'all. Thanks, Brandon! Patrick ponders a question from Terry R. asking about maps of earth through the ages. You can check out this website for some cool maps, plus Stephen Jay Gould's The Book Of Life and Ryan's joke answer of The World of Ice and Fire for a map of Westeros. Also, check out this debated island in a lake which is on an island in a lake on an island. Finally, Ryan reads a 5-star iTunes review from Mateo L. who assures readers that the show gets better.

Be sure to check out Tim's podcast Encyclopedia Brunch and Ryan stint on Jurassic Park Minute beginning with minute 67. 

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
5-Sax Piece - Moon Hooch
Many Shades of Black - The Raconteurs
Wires - Matt & Kim

00:00:00 - Usually whenever you want to make up nonsense that sounds plausible, you throw in the word 'quantum'. We're all guilty of it from time to time. Fortunately, we have Ben Tippett here to explain the actual quantum happenings behind our first observation of quantum distortion in empty space. You can read the paper on the arXiv here. 

00:27:19 - Extra long drinks segment because there's just so much to talk about! Ben's perfect memory of every previous episode fails him just this once when he has the Swedish holiday soda Dryck Julmust, just like Ryan already had on episode 234. Silly, Ben. Ryan is feeling ambitious, so he drinks an entire Galaxy from Funkwerks. Jacob, an adult with stuff to get done mixes a meal with his caffeine by giving Coffiest from (probably not using people as an ingredient but still suspicious) Soylent a try. 

00:45:45 - When you think of radar, you probably think of green blips signaling enemy aircraft, but Google's ATAP group has just announced Project Soli, which aims to put a microchip with radar sensors in your phone so you can make things happen just by moving your hands around. Jacob thinks it's a big deal, and he's usually right about these sorts of things so listen up.

01:08:36 - ben has donation from Peter P. (@vituanpeterphan), who also supports The Titanium Physicists because he's a doubly awesome dude. Thanks, Peter! Jacob is up next with a story from Joe S. about a thruster that seems to violate the laws of physics. DOES IT?! You'll have to listen to find out. Ryan winds things down with a quick correction regarding chlorophyll from episode 254 sent it by Paul K. 

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the Brachiolope Media Network for more great science podcasts!

Music for this week's show:
Collapsing Stars - The Mountain Goats
Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part I) - Kid Cudi
The Hardest Button To Button - The White Stripes