Podcast posts, episode notes, and the Weird Things archive.
What makes Andrew’s new friend Elizabeth Ann so special? The oldest DNA ever sequenced. Deepfakes are taking over the world. Got something weird? Email [email protected], subject line “Weird Things.” Links: MyHeritage deepfakes Deep Tom Cru
Andrew’s new book “Black Coral” is out and it’s another #1 hit! What does it look like publishing through Amazon’s publishing house and how do you treat a series? Andrew shifted his email list over to Substack–what’s good and imperfect? Sen
The Texas cold storm has us looking back and forward 100 years. How has life progressed and what might happen in another century? Eyes and ears are now on Mars! See the sights and hear the rumble of the red planet. Got something weird? Emai
Just a short update today: Bryce’s first official marbles stream happened! What worked, where to go from here, and a messy situation. Send your project questions/ideas to [email protected], subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Substa
A Super Bowl ad wants to take a FANTASTIC crew of FOUR civilians up to space. Jeff Bezos will step down as Amazon’s CEO–will he turn his focus to Blue Origin? Avi Loeb is again saying Oumuamua, the cigar-shaped comet, is definitively an ext
Accidental financial fraud, the inspiration to make a bigger anything, and an update on Bryce’s marble league project after lots of After Things advice. Send your project questions/ideas to [email protected], subject line “After Things.” Pi
Remember that story about phosphine on Venus, suggesting life on Venus? Well, it was more likely to be sulfur dioxide, a common compound found in Venus. What are problems in science funding and could you do double-blind research funding? Al
Bryce shares an update on his marbles league project. Should he interface with the company that develops the game? The boys re-iterate the power of email lists and ways Bryce can capture people who are interested before going live. The mail
SpaceX sets a record for most satellites launched in one launch with their rideshare program. Brian and Justin have had Quest 2s for a little while now–what are their impressions of the wireless VR device? Andrew got into the Facebook Horiz
Long-time listener Salina has a question about how to convert her Kickstarter backers to follow her next project. Bryce brings his new marbles game project to the guys for a once-over. Send your project questions/ideas to [email protected],
NASA’s SLS dress rehearsal test ended in failure. What does that mean for the future of NASA development? Blue Origin completes its test of New Shepard NS-14. What are their ambitions? Space tourism? Virgin Orbit finally achieves orbit. Got
Short and to the point this week! Listener Reddicent asks us how to handle a troll that has co-opted their Reddit SEO. Do you handle the trouble or don’t feed the trolls? Send your project questions/ideas to [email protected], subject line
The next Starship test could be as soon as this week! A new game, “Contact, Arrival, or Something Else?” What type of data would you send to an advance civilization? Or taken another way, what essential information would you send 1,000 year
Andrew caught a strange commercial and found an incredibly successful creative project. How do you condense your project into a simple, quick story? Contains some broad discussion of The Mandalorian season 2 and the strengths and weaknesses
It’s a new year and a new episode of Weird Things. COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out and we dissect some of the attitudes and policies that got us here. Would it be ethical to cut costs and only give people a single-shot dose instead of two
To round out the year, we all saw Wonder Woman 1984 and have…critical thoughts! What works, what doesn’t, and why Justin can have a public opinion on Captain Marvel now. Send your project questions/ideas to [email protected], subject line “
Another amazing discovery in Pompeii leaves us wondering about ancient cuisine. We clearly need to talk about what makes a movie a rom-com. What is adermatoglyphia and what barriers does it make in the modern world? Octopi will go fist-cuff