Mark and Toddcast: Recent Episodes
Mark and Toddcast
This week we're back in the saddle to discuss some of the amazing things that have been happening, including our trip to see the Savannah Bananas baseball game, as well as the history of the Banana Ball league. Come for the Bananas, stay for the review of the bananas-good new Madonna album "Confession 2," as well as the wonderful new Rolling Stones albums of all things -- all that and iron lungs, the Portland world-champion of Yo-Yo, Meta "misses the mark with Instagram AI tool," and a "Mexican Batman" who keeps tying thieves to telephone poles. Enjoy!
In this episode, you'll learn that you really are enough. You'll also learn about quantum computing, Wenatchee, Todd and the Unipiper's trip to see "Back to the Future: The Musical," how wi-fi routers can identify people with 95% accuracy, and Grandma goes street racing.
This week we take a look, um, "inward" with a discussion about the very real science of finally figuring out flatulence -- and more specifically, just how they do that, and what we can learn. Also, we take a trip to the small town of Dildo, Canada (located in Conception Bay), then to space with Artemis 2, transporting antimatter at CERN, finding out who's filling the sidewalk cracks of SE Portland, and one of the best phrases you'll ever hear: "non-sentient monkey 'organ sacks.'" All that and no politics!
This week we take a rollicking journey through Mark's gluten and boat news, the rise of Clavicular and LooksMaxxing, how much clouds weigh, Mark's ChatGPT humiliation fetish, hacking the French language, Ohio tries to steal Sasquatch glory, and finally, digging into the biggest selling product of all time -- what is it, and how did it come to dominate? Find out this week!
Creating a new symbol to reflect the deadly consequences of something completely undetectable required two essential components: the symbol had to be meaningless enough to carry zero current meaning to any culture on earth, yet had to be memorable enough for people to remember what it means. This week we go from Ancient Egypt and the pyramids to the creation of the biohazard symbol in the 20th century. Also, we learn wtf is going on with beavers and their hatred of running water.
There's a lot more happening when we hear our own voice than you'd think. We've all heard "it's because the bones in your head are conducting sound," but that's only part of it. Find out the rest of the reasons in this week's show. I won't be listening, because I hate the sound of my own voice.
"Ugly Laws" were ordinances across the United States disallowed anyone who was “diseased, maimed, mutilated or in any way deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object” for appearing in public places. Not shockingly, this was used to discriminate and dehumanize the poor, needy, disabled, and anyone else that gave the vapors to people terrified of people different than them. All that and talk about Pluribus, Diddy, Star Wars, Frank Gehry, and Mark's debut as a runway model. Enjoy!
This week we take a look into space by discussing the weird interstellar object known as 3i/Atlas, conspiracy theories about what the object may be, and how the original Apollo astronauts figured out their exact location on the moon without the aid of any GPS.
We're finally back after a two month hiatus, and we threw out the format of the show to see where the conversation took us. The discussion veers from drying off after a shower to AI cats to what g-force actually is, to our final hero of the week: the teacher fired for using fart spray. Enjoy!
It's been a minute, but Mark and Todd are back for an end-of-summer news wrap-up, including great news for promiscuous koalas! (And for those looking for a break from last week's big news story, we don't discuss that here at all, so we're a nice escape from that particular news cycle.) Come hear about Texas's new maggot factory, DOGE's lack of efficiency, Oregon's fallout from Medicare cuts, the Denmark zoo wants your pets, bugs that cause "Kissing Disease", the West Coast's new health alliance, and magic dust that prevent the Amish from getting allergies. Enjoy!
The Unipiper noted that this movie begins like "Stand by Me," but ends up like "Reservoir Dogs." While not exactly right, he's not far off describing this 2000 movie with some legitimately shocking twists and compelling turns. But because this is a movie made around Portland (Vernonia, to be exact), it falls short of being an actual good movie. Find out why on this month's episode.
Our Portland at the Movies server is having issues, so in the meantime, here's the latest episode of PatM, which looks at the 2006 Alan Arkin film "Raising Flagg."
"This month we head out to the Oregon countryside (and St. Helens!) for this family comedy (?) drama (?) about a cantankerous old man (Alan Arkin) healing the relationships (?) between him and his many, many children. Also, there's a lawsuit about sheep piss. Can Glenne Headly or Lauren Holly save this? Cook yourself some organic, fertilized eggs and pull out that rocking chair to find out."
A mile underground under the tiny city of Lead, South Dakota -- a former gold mining town -- is home to one of the most sensitive scientific measurement systems ever created, all to find and measure one of the most abundant and mysterious particle in the universe. So what is a neutrino, and how do you find and measure something practically invisible? Find out on this week's episode.
After graduations, sicknesses, hospitalizations, travel, and more, we're finally back in the saddle catching up on all the news we missed while we were out. Come for the measles, and stay for a bath!
In this exciting all-news episode, we take a look at the dozens of attendees at Idaho's "Heterosexual Awesome Fest," asbestos is back, Washington State's proposed speed laws, Idaho brings back the firing squad, baseball might be coming to Portland, a Star Wars experience at Lloyd Center, a breakthrough for fighting HIV, environmental characteristics turn a male mammal into a female, and much, much more. Enjoy!
Our planned interview fell through for this week, but that gives us an opportunity to catch up on all the news we've been putting off. Come with us as we meander through 250 million bees on the loose, acid leaks and new venues in N. Portland, no more thicc plastic bags, what happens in your brain during an 'a-ha!' moment, RFK Jr.'s "MAHA" report based on non-existent studies, night owls and dementia, a Utah study on trans people finds conservative sponsors of that study wrong, AI resorts to blackmail, and bear cubs raised by people in bear costumes. Enjoy!
With so many so-called "alien encounters" throughout history, has there been any consistency in people's descriptions? This week we dive into the top 5 most recounted alien types who may be living among us right now. Yes, there are lizard people (two kinds!). In the news, Oklahoma forces schools to teach conspiracy theories, Utah bans fluoride, U.S. cities are sinking, life expectancy in the south is now on par with the year 1900, RFK Jr. implores people to not listen to him about medicine and science, who falls for pseudo-intellectual bullshit, and monkeys using leaves as...um..."tools." I want to believe.
This week Todd is joined by Dave Baehler from the NotNerd podcast to plow through the giant pile of news accumulated since our last show. Join us as we dive into AI police robots, RIP Alpenrose Dairy and artificial coloring, Minnesota Republicans introduce vaccine bill written by a hypnotist, Measles Watch 2025, great news for those who love salmonella in their chicken, a deep dive into why conservatives distrust science (even when science agrees with them), a Texas Furry ban, and a happy Hetero Awesome Fest to you and yourn.
Aum Shinrikyo was an active doomsday cult in Japan throughout the 1990s, and were responsible for the Sarin gas attacks on the Japanese subway, and threatened attacks around the world -- including Disneyland, which is where our story intersects with one Dr. RIP VHS. FInd out all about them on this week's show. In the news segment: "Illegal Ideas," Mein Kampf in and Maya Angelou is out at Navy libraries, the "truth decay" of congress, both a womb transplant and sperm transplant (unrelated to each other), AI upends fingerprinting, the moon is drifting away, the "Dire Wolf" situation, and more. Enjoy!
Many of us know about the Mars Opportunity rover currently on Mars, but some may not know about a self-piloting helicopter called Ingenuity that traveled with Opportunity. Designed for 5 flights, it ended up making over 70, collecting all sort of data as well as a proof of concept that a drone helicopter can fly in Mars's atmosphere. Hear Ingenuity's story this week! In our news segment: Wienerschnitzel eyeing Portland, YouTube is almost bigger than Disney, more book bans from people wanting "freedom," the saga of the I5 Uncle Sam Billboard (iykyk), a computer that runs on human neurons, hallucinogenic barbarians, and more! Enjoy this Opportunity.
Most of us know his theorum: a2 + b2 = c2. But few of us knew Pythagoras was the leader of his own cult/religion that lasted centuries -- and BOY did they hate fava beans. Find out more on this week's show. In our news segment: Oregon Children's Theater fails, the measles thrive, the Smithsonian's "Improper Ideology," the founder of Pirate's Booty attempt a coup of his city, sonic weapons, "spare" human bodies, and you'll never guess what happened to the Senator who thought "Trump Derangement Syndrome" should be a thing (you'll probably guess). Enjoy!
As tech companies keep convincing us A.I. is the way of the future, we stop to take a look at what that means for the power consumption necessary to produce results nobody really cares about and wants to avoid anyway. Dust off those nuclear power plants, because A.I. is here to stay regardless of whether we want it. In the news, we discuss federal cuts to protecting our dams, Amazon Echo won't let you record locally, scientists turn light into a solid, bananas that never brown, the Amazon forest gets plowed for climate change, and a dog shoots his owner. Enjoy!
We all know prepared foods and snacks are highly researched and studied to give us exactly what we want, but how do they do that? Are there measurements? When did it all start? Is that why we're all fat now? We'll answer those questions and so much more about the process of "Sensory-Consumer Science." In our news segment, we chat about Space X, Portland losing the "World's Smallest Park" crown, Gen Z is more pro-marriage than Millennials, a new unmanned Navy cruiser, why women age better than men, disappearing butterflies, the Enola "Not Gay," diamonds are forever (in your stomach), and much, much more. Enjoy!
One of the push-backs we often hear from critics of evolution is how unreliable the method of Carbon-14 Dating is. Which is correct. Sort of. But Carbon-14 Dating is far from the only method we use to figure out how old the earth and galaxy around us is, and this week we explore the many different ways we can understand, test, and know the relative age of what's around us. Plus, the most decorated military dog in history, you may die of dysentery, Montana wants to ban vaccines, Trump's meme coin quasi-rug pull, obligatory Elon Musk news, and Utah bans fluoride. What a time to be alive.
Many of us remember the late 90s ska-fueled song "Zoot Suit Riots," but many may not know the song is based on a real event, in which racial tensions in 1940s Los Angeles exploded into a series of attacks on Mexican-Americans by Navy servicemen, culminating in a 5-day riot. This week we dive into that story, as well as talk current news stories like what on earth is happening with DOGE and "The Gulf of America," Portland's shortest race with the Unipiper, who is most likely to fall for disinformation online, and a viscous banana attack in 7-11. This shit is B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
This week we celebrate Todd's birthday by welcoming our wonderful friend Cara from Ohio. She joins us for the news, then takes on the role of judge as Mark and Todd go head-to-head for 5 rounds of "Wheel of Wikipedia" (which I'm now realizing is actually called "War of Wikipedia," but whatever). Cara is hilarious and the best person ever -- the perfect birthday show!
As we close out one year and face down another one, we clear out the news and go for a wild ride involving crystals, "brainspotting," "Severence," Todd's favorite documentary, Clackamas Town Center and Washington Square malls, Dr. Pamplin steals from his employees, the Belmont Goats, "brain rot," the speed of human thought, RFK Jr. and chemtrails, the DOJ recognizes the Tulsa Massacre, our slow brains, and a cow swims the Columbia River and takes on I-84, and much, much more.
It's one last stocking stuffer from the Mark and Toddcast! Enjoy our final show of the year - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
For a Christmas treat, we recorded an extra long episode....which our recorder stopped recording at 32 minutes in for some reason. So while we didn't get to all of our stories or Mark's great topic about quantum measuring for GPS, we did manage to get in a few stories. And aren't a few stories better than none? No, of course not. But here they are anyway.
Dave Baehler of the NotNerd Podcast joins Todd this week to plow through the news pile, which includes the Willamette Valley Ornament Hunt, freezing your corpse for a monthly fee, life in the most inhospitable place on Earth, Mattel's "Wicked" mistake, Portland's Yelling Choir, the dangers of standing desks, Harriet Tubman awarded rank of general, and the Onion buys InfoWars. Then we pivot to talk about the science of corruption, and what can be done to curb it. Enjoy!
Bananas are the most popular fruit in the United States, as well as all over the world. But banana-flavored candy sits at the bottom of our candy taste list - probably because it tastes nothing like bananas. Find out the weird history of both banana flavoring, as well as how we got to the bananas we have in the store today (spoilers: colonialism and the US overthrowing democracies). Peel and enjoy!
This week we look at something called "Game Theory," which is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions, and has applications in many fields of social science, economics, logic, systems science, computer science, and more. We've also got an action-packed news segment, including Warhol- and cheese-related thefts, a new "Oregon Trail" movie, the new January 6 monument, vibrating spiders, and the clowns who built the Astoria Bridge.
Mark is out sick, so Todd is joined by NotNerd's very own Nate - who just had one of his Instagram posts hit a million views. Find out what it's like to go suddenly viral, as well as a news roundup that you have to listen to to the very end. I promise.
The $64,000 Question" was one of many 1950s game shows that was caught up in cheating scandals. We tell the story of the show, the senate hearings, and a woman named Joyce who defied everyone.In our news segment, we chat about a neo-Nazi falling to his death on Hitler's favorite mountain, Mt. Adams is rumbling, Mt. Rainier is shrinking, NASA heads to Jupiter, New York hates Salt & Straw, everyone lives in a haunted house, and more.
Along with the grand volcanic dames of Mt. Hood, Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams, there are many extinct volcanoes and lava fields dotting the entire Portland area. This week we take a look at Mt. Tabor in specific, and the Boring Lava Field in general. In our news segment, we cover the end of tedious passwords, Earth's new second moon, which companies are undermining democracy, a second asteroid hits the dinosaurs, the cost of the "American Dream," and more.
It's a world-wind tour around the news from the last couple of weeks, including Todd and the Unipiper's trip to Celtic Fest, Portland's stolen (or not) cat statue, the WNBA expansion, billboards hacked by furries, pickleball in Lloyd Center, our brains are now .5% plastic, Doritos make mice see-through, the mystery of the dead "spy" whale, and more. Enjoy!
This week we recap Todd's trip to Yellowstone, and focus on one of the earliest businessmen to set up shop in the new National Park: Steamboat owner/operator E.C. Waters, who was such a legendary a-hole that he was eventually completely banned from even entering the park. And in our news segment - school cellphone bans, LiveNation's Portland venue proposal, Boeing's ongoing astronaut disaster, Americans die younger, a next-gen battery storage lab in Richland, Wa., gallons of urine, Todd's new lifestyle, and much, much more. Enjoy!
"How dare one interfere with the mighty judgement of God and His wrath?!" Who knew the lightning rod was such a, well, lightning rod of controversy? Benjamin Franklin gave a gift to the world, and much like the still relevant battles pitting science against (a person's own definition of) God, not everyone wanted that gift. Burn the witches, we've got some history to learn. In the news segment: Oregon gets a C-, a person's morality changes with the season, Google declared a monopoly, a beaver causes internet outages, you won't believe where this one guy shoves an eel, and much, much more. Enjoy?
After a trip through our news stories, including the creation of "dark oxygen" by lumpy nodules on the bottom of the ocean, stuck astronauts, Amazon's WalkOutShops super don't use humans in India to run their stores, more record heat, escaped turtles, and cocaine sharks, we take a closer look at a catastrophic explosion that happened in downtown Roseburg, Oregon, in 1959, completely destroying the city.
Esperanto is a language created in the late 1800s as a way for everyone in the world to have an incredibly easy-to-learn and standardized secondary language, and has had enough success that it's still used for some government, military, and wikipedia translations today - and even spawned a movie starring William Shatner speaking the language. Find out all about Esperanto in this week's episode.
After a hefty portion of news, including plans for Lloyd Center, the Portland Pickles' THC drink, the Herman the Sturgeon conspiracy, the deletion of MTV News's entire back catalog from the internet, a man with 175 children, and much, much, much more, we focus on a man called Stanislav Petrov, a Russian soldier who received warning that Americans had started a nuclear attack on Russia and had to make the ultimate decision - hope it was a fake warning, or start the nuclear annihilation of the entire planet and everyone on it. So how was your day at work?
After a hefty dive into our news pile, which includes stories about sinking Panama islands, a look at what's happening in Cannon Beach, Baker City, and Oaks Park, a steer taller than Hollywood beefcake Jason Mamoa, bilingual AI brain implants, PSU vs. Boeing, the death of InfoWars and other right-wing propaganda sites, and another lawsuit against Madonna, and much, much more, we take a look at the mysterious disappearance and underground selling of the iconic paintings that adorned Taco Bells around the country in the 1990s. Hollywood beefcake Jason Mamoa is 6'4".
This week we chat with special guest the Unipiper about his return to playing the National Anthem at the Portland Timbers game, after muffing it the first go-around. He also stays to chat about our news roundup, including the advancement (or not) of AI political ads, the language of sperm whales unlocked, magnets made the earth flourish with life, a defrocked AI priest who suggested baptism via Gatorade, and much more.
In 1993, TV news studios started receiving calls from kids who opened their Barbies and GI Joe dolls for Christmas only to discover Barbie shouting militaristic slogans and GI Joe talking about shopping. Later parodied on The Simpsons, this bit of "culture jamming" has its origins right here in Portland (which also involves ipecac, mashed potatoes, and vomiting at a Dan Quayle appearance). All that, and much more on this week's episode.
In 1993, TV news studios started receiving calls from kids who opened their Barbies and GI Joe dolls for Christmas only to discover Barbie shouting militaristic slogans and GI Joe talking about shopping. Later parodied on The Simpsons, this bit of "culture jamming" has its origins right here in Portland (which also involves ipecac, mashed potatoes, and vomiting at a Dan Quayle appearance). All that, and much more on this week's episode.
It's nice to find a library that has every book. But what if there's a library with every book ever printed, but also every sentence, paragraph, and page that could ever be written in the future? It's a heady concept, and it's called "The Library of Babel," which has more "books" than atoms in the entire universe. It's a lot, so join us this week as we crack the book open on this fascinating subject.
And if you thought those three things weren't enough, we also dive into sending the "essence of humanity" to the moon, Oregon's "devil comet" and Dark Sky Sanctuary, giant hybrid sheep, and Deez Nuts get arrested.
Pressed into the asphalt of Philadelphia, Boston, Richmond, Kansas City, and even Santiago and Barcelona are these mysterious tiles talking about Kubric, resurrection, and Jupiter. What are they? Where did they come from? And do they mean anything? Take a dive into the weird world of the Toynbee Tiles. Also, another successful pilot project for Universal Basic Income, violent crime in the US is dropping, measles outbreaks in Florida, and a woman has maggots rain down on her during a flight. Whee!
After an entire year of waiting, the Madonna concert finally happened! Take a ride with Mark and Todd as they travel to Seattle to catch Madonna's fantastic Celebration Tour on Part 2 of Mark and Todd's Big Adventure!
In this mostly real-time episode, Mark has a surprise adventure for Todd to celebrate both their birthdays, which ends up being quite the ride. Get to the choppa!
It was sort of the Segway before the Segway: a commuter monorail system balanced by a series of gyroscopes. While this innovation never took off, there are still modern-day companies working to revive the concept. Find out more this week, along with an apocalypse of cicadas, ungrateful fans sue Madonna, cold Tesla batteries, video proof that plants communicate with each other, Portland's biggest eyesore buildings being sold, and controversy around Bobi, the Guinness Record holder of "world's oldest dog."
Everyone has heard of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, which purported to show that anyone could become a monster warden or beaten-down prisoner in the matter of a week. But what if that whole experiment was kind of bullshit? This week we take apart the experiment, and discuss news including the end of the beloved Fruit Stripe gum, federally rescheduling marijuana, the rich owning 90% of stocks, and the feel-good story of the week: Bill O'Reilly's books being removed from Florida schools.
This week we blow up a story about one of the most famous non-famous people in the world: Treb Heining, whose work with balloons has transformed, well, ballooning, I guess. Hear his wonderful story (the ups and the downs), as well as news stories about the new Portland waterfront skate park, a new study about the regret rate of transition surgeries, things Portland were in the top 10 for in 2023, a pastor tries to deep fry a McDonald's employee, and more. Happy new year, weirdos!
It's that time of year again - let's go back and revisit Mark's top-of-show Dad Jokes for 2023. Happy new year!
This week Todd welcomes Dave Baehler of the NotNerd Podcast to give a final news roundup up the year! Join us as we tackle news about the "holy grail" of male contraception, ChatGPT gets seasonal affective disorder, First Thursdays at the Portland Art Museum, Big Pink's new security robot, Google's top searches of 2023 (and forever), a rare pair of Nike's gets donated, and more. Happy holidays!
Looking for a fun holiday excursion or something to do with out-of-town folk? Why not take a tour of some of Portland's finest hand-made chocolatiers? Mark takes us on a first-hand journey -- with samples! -- to some of the best. All that, as well as a look at "Greedflation," retail stores lying about consumer theft, PlayStation takes your purchased movies back, Oregon's first humanoid robot company, Texas wants to leave the union (so do it already, Texas!), "rizz," a new rhino at the Oregon zoo, and someone gets assaulted by a sausage. It's a Christmas miracle!
This week Todd is joined by co-host of the NotNerd podcast Nate Heath to discuss everything from flying hamburgers, to Portland's new ice rink, "super pigs," woolly mammoth resurrection, Banksy's identity, retailers lying about theft issues, and a closer look at some of the successful Universal Basic Income experiments happening all over the United States. Be sure to subscribe to the NotNerd podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Fonts didn't suddenly spring into existence with the word processor in the 1980s. In fact, fonts have been around since people have been writing things down, back to 8500 BC. Take a ride with us to see how we go from cuneiform to comic sans on this episode.
From tracing apps to stranded astronauts to MDMA to Lloyd Center to ABBA to Best Buy to Netflix to Twinkies to the Jantzen Beach carousel to black holes to photons to Costco selling out of gold bars, I think we pretty much cover everything in this episode.
The human body is 2.5% metal, which we need in order to produce electricity, heal our skin, and make us move and think, among other things. We're not saying we're robots, but we're sort of robots. This week we dive into the weird world of metals, and how exactly our bodies need and use them to pilot the other 97.5% of us that's an organic, goopy pile of flesh and guts.
This week we discuss both the question "What exactly is radiation?" as well as the history of the most ubiquitous word on the entire planet: "OK." Where did it come from? How did this tiny word take over the whole world? All that, plus lots of Portland news, and angry Furries fighting on beaches. Enjoy, ok?
After discussing how submarines surface and dive (in other words, "how do you store buoyancy?) and our one-of-a-kind "Just the Headlines!" segment, we take a look into the history of red food dye, and what to look out for if you want to avoid the "bad" kind of food coloring. Spoilers: You want the dye made from smashed up bugs grown on a cactus. Now go paint the town red!
This week we veer from Netflix to Amazon to Silver Falls to asking the most important question: wtf is going on with TikTok's new NPC trend? We try to make sense of it all on this week's show. Enjoy it like ice cream yum yum.
Todd recaps his recent vacation to eastern Idaho, Craters of the Moon, and Mark's old Navy training area, and recent science/Portland news. Then we take a look into the real-life Johnny Appleseed. Was he a mythical Paul Bunyan story, or was he a real person? Find out this week.
Most of us maybe know one thing about George Washington Carver -- that he invented peanut butter. Not only is that not true, but his work with peanuts was just a tiny slice of the botanical and agricultural advances - from crop rotation to use of organic fertilizers - he pioneered. Find out more on this week's show.
This week we dive a bit further into the world of AI art, specifically in how AI works around the world of copyright protection. Who does AI art belong to? Can it be protected? Find out this week.
Many of us have heard of the Biosphere 2 project - it was one of the main news stories of 1991, which Todd just visited in Arizona. But many don't know the full history, controversy, and eventual take-over of the project from the genius hippy theater freaks who built it to.....yes, Steve Bannon, and then eventually the University of Arizona.
Look who found their way back to the studio! We're back for an all-news catch-up show detailing some of the bigger stories we flagged over the past month or so.
This week we take a short look into an indigenous South American warrior named Galvarino, who, despite having his hands cut off by Spanish Conquistadors, strapped knives to his stumps to rally his fellow Mapuche community into fighting back. In the news: the Portland Wolverine is sighted again, a promising anti-Alzheimer enzyme, remembering Darcelle, the USS Robert Smalls, a Sriracha shortage (or is there?), REI closes its Portland location, and more.
This week we have a nice CozyCast™ discussion about science and Portland news, including meatballs made from mammoth meat, the closing of Cracker Barrel, Portland's wolverine sightings, Walmart eliminates grocery bags, US renewable energy outpaces oil, the Exploding Whales baseball team, the power of Dad Jokes, and a very special edition of Hero Citizen, from a Tualatin woman and her penis shrub.
This week we revisit the topic of moral panics, and discuss some of the elements into what makes a moral panic, from switchblades to saggy pants to everything in between. In the news segment: Naval space lasers, facial recognition laws, can money buy happiness?, a fungus named after Keanu Reeves, the price of insulin drops, and the Trail Blazers get a Bigfoot.
After catching up on a months-worth of science and Portland news, we take a look at a little company from Ridgefield, Washington that had one simple idea: "What if I could borrow a truck to help me move my stuff to a different city?"
Like it or not, Artificial Intelligence -- in many different areas -- will have an enormous impact on the future. This week we take a look at where AI is right now, some of its current applications, and some of the ramifications coming in the future. But the most important thing, McDONALD'S IN AUSTRALIA IS NO LONGER CARRYING DIET COKE THIS IS NOT A DRILL
This week we bring you the story of Mark's neighbor Rose, a woman in her late 20's who has already had two heart transplants, and is now on the waiting list for both a heart and liver transplant. She honored us by telling her story about navigating the emotional burdens, as well as the medical and insurance nightmares that come with long-term care. Please check to see if you are listed as an organ donor, and please make ethical and moral choices when it comes to who gets medical care in this country.
We also talk about an 88-year-old man who gets a WW1 missile stuck up his rectum, but don't let that take away from the organ donation thing.
It's that time of year again where we take a look back and compile all the Dad Jokes from the beginning of each episode. Enjoy, and thanks for another great year!
This week we're joined by Brock Dittus and Aaron Flores (you may recognize them from the Sprocket Podcast), who talk about the process of recreating a long-lost song found on a demonstration cassette tape. All that, and plenty Rick Emerson talk, ending with Emerson's epic 8/8/08 radio speech. Enjoy!
Find out more about Brock and his music here: https://sites.google.com/view/brock-dittus?pli=1&fbclid=IwAR26hRXccyCOvTGpec1bYU5hmkHf9YS6S2iyyz0L2tUn4FavxyEjHIFEPo8
If you've seen "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?," you know Pepsi doesn't have a great track record with promotions. This week we're joined by guest Ryan Zeinert, who talks about yet another Pepsi marketing fiasco from 2003 when they tried to give away a billion dollars.
There's not a lot of places where conversations can pivot from boiling water to aging Twinks to (thought-to-be) extinct clams to a man robbing a bank with his own birth certificate to NASA's new Artemis moon mission program, but that's just what makes the Mark & Toddcast so special.
Fall is here, and it's time to get comfortable under a warm blanket and just have a cozy, comfortable, meandering chat about the Portland Timbers, the Portland Elk Statue, van abductions, mosquito magnets, grenades washing ashore, and, of course, Cheetle™.
This week we present a "cozy cast" as we kick back and wonder about why lemons make your face pucker when you eat them, how Auto Tune is the new electric guitar, Lloyd Center turning into a roller skating rink, more about Havana Syndrome, Biden puff-puff-passes marijuana reform, Nixon exposed to radiation, and that time a nursing home in Taiwan ordered a stripper for its wheelchair-bound elderly resident patients.
This week we recorded live from behind the Unipiper merch booth at the Vancouver Mall during the first annual CouveCon! Enjoy the retro sounds of a bustling mall in this "nature is healing" episode of the Mark and Toddcast.
A wise man once said, "We were so occupied with the fact that we could, that we didn't stop to ask if we should." So 30 years later, here we are formulating plans to bring back extinct species like the Woolly Mammoth and carrier pigeon. Find out all about the real-life science behind bringing species back to life. In the news segment: the Willamette Falls area gets a new name, COVID antibodies, thermostat lockouts, Portland's Museum of Cartoon Arts, no In-N-Out for Beaverton, and South Dakota's new Corn-bassador. Enjoy!
While James Strang, "The Mad King of Lake Michigan," has nothing to do with the ousted bratwurst queen, both get highlighted in this week's episode. That, and the evolution of club/dance music. So really, we're just all over the place.
While James Strang, "The Mad King of Lake Michigan," has nothing to do with the ousted bratwurst queen, both get highlighted in this week's episode. That, and the evolution of club/dance music. So really, we're just all over the place.
Most likely you've at least heard (or seen a meme of) Alex Jones at some point over the past two decades, and more recently during his trial for defamation about his Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. But who is he, really? Where did he come from? And is a dangerous true believer, a con artist, a ringmaster, a manipulator, or just a soulless, narcissistic troll? We speak with Joni DeRouchie about the man behind the meme.
We finally put the "Mark" back in the Mark & Toddcast as Mark rejoins the show after his hiatus. This week we catch up on Todd's family vacation to Colorado, science, culture, and Portland news, and then give an little overview of how the VHS and Beta formats work.
This week we dive into one of the most useful personality type tools out there: the Enneagram, which has been used throughout human history. Special guest Chelsea Heath joins the show to give an overview of what the Enneagram is (and isn't), how it works, and what it can mean for people who are striving to know themselves and their traumas better.
Nothing is more predictable about society than the fact that old people panic about how everything they don't understand is a sign of the end times. Aristotle complained about how rude the youth were to the elders. Authority figures freaked out about Teddy Bears and cars. Parents rended their garments about the Satanic grip radio and comic books had on kids. All you have to do is substitute the nouns, but the panic remains the same. This week guest host Nate Heath joins the show to talk about how the more things change, the more they stay the same. You can find Nate Heath weekly on his podcast NotNerd.
This week special guest host Dave Baehler of the NotNerd Podcast joins the show to take us on a trip from the theoretically smallest things in the universe, to the incomprehensibly largest things, and everything in between, from yottameter to zettameter. Meter? I barely knew her!
"Go Ask Alice" was a publishing and cultural phenomenon, with ramifications felt from the household level to the actual White House, and whose very real fallout included both the War on Drugs and the "Satanic Panic" of the 70s and 80s. But as Emerson discovered, perhaps not all was as real as it seemed with the mysterious, "Anonymous" book that still today is a best-seller and a cultural touch point. Find out the wild story, which is the basis for Emerson's new book "Unmask Alice," available in July.
This week we take a look at an international renowned chef and cookbook author James Beard, whose impact was so large that even Julia Child was a fan. We take a look at his start in Oregon, and his rise to be one of the most influential chefs in history. All that, and a special appearance by Zymo! "What is Zymo?" you may ask? Find out this week.
Humans are the only species on earth that can "understand" music. Why is that? What exactly is music, and why can't animals seem to put the pieces together? This week we take a look at what goes on inside the human brain to turn sound into that magic entity -- which has the capacity to help us heal, grow, learn, recover, remember, and more -- we call music. (It also makes the bourgeoisie and the rebel.)
Yes, we've explored blockchain and bitcoin and NFTs before, but we're heading back in with a special guest (Mark's business partner Brett) who actually knows what he's talking about - so again we take a dive into just what this all means, especially for us "regular people."
Mark's away, which means Todd can play - and record an extra long episode with Nate and Dave from one of our favorite podasts, The NotNerd Podcast. After a wrap-up of news stories, Nate and Dave go head-to-head for this latest round of War of Wikipedia, in which each present a short, weird Wikipedia article to be judged by Todd as to whose is the most amusing. It's a Christmas miracle!
Much like "Tiger King," the story of the famous flight of the 1984 Olympic JetPack Guy takes some turns that go from mildly interesting to downright shocking. This week we find out how the jet pack (which isn't a jet pack, it's a rocket) was created, and what happened after its most famous flight.
After a lengthy discussion of science and Portland news, we dig into the story of the person who inspired the successful Montgomery Bus Strike against segregation -- 9 months before Rosa Parks became the face of the campaign. Find out all about 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, and how her actions led to a revolution.
From 1932-1972, the United States government purposefully injected black men with syphilis - without their knowledge or consent - with the intent of not treating it, in order to study the effects of the disease. This week we take a look at this vile experiment and its effects on the black community to this day.
This we we're joined by TikTok creator Kyle McCarthy, whose short, life-affirming, documentary TikTok content is gaining a significant audience. We talk with him about how the future will always be better than the past.
We're finally back after an extended holiday, and boy do we have a lot of news to catch up on! Join us as we recap the last couple of weeks in science and Portland news. Farts in a jar! Who could resist?
It's a Christmas miracle! Here are all of Mark's quality "Dad Jokes" from this past year of the Mark and Toddcast.
We finally did it! Celebrate 200 episodes of the Mark and Toddcast with this extra-sized news wrap-up, and dive into the notes and subjects that we've meant to get to before but haven't had the chance. Thanks to everyone for listening!
We all grew up seeing those weird, illustrated creatures in comic book magazine ads - the promise of "Instant Life!" in the form of "Sea Monkeys." So what are those things? How does "instant life" work? And who created them? Find out on this week's episode.
We once again welcome (5 years later) Dr. Ethan Siegel, theoretical astrophysicist, author, speaker, and smartest guy ever, about next month's launch of the James Webb telescope, how it works, why it's such an advancement from Hubble, what we hope to find, and how Todd gets to believe he is the literal center of the universe. Enjoy!
This week we have an amazing conversation with Al Goncer, an aerospace engineer at NASA, who also happens to be legally blind. We talk to him about his journey to NASA, his loss of sight late in life, and the amazing accessibility technology he uses to navigate life, work, and the internet.
This week we take a look at the astonishing success of giving kids (and adults) what is called an "ambiguous gestural or verbal praise" -- things like a fist bump, a pat on the shoulder, or shouting "Yeah!" to encourage someone along -- over standard character- or behavior-based praise. High five!
The Voyager space mission, which is now in interstellar space, far beyond our solar system, has a gold record attached to it containing images, words, pictures, greetings, and more, just in case it's discovered by alien life forms. So what's on it? We fire up our cosmic record player to find out.
It's that time again for our favorite segment "War of Wikipedia," where Mark and Todd go head-to-head to attempt to find the strangest, most interesting, most amusing, or all-together crazy Wikipedia articles trying to sway special guest judge Brian "The Unipiper" Kidd to choosing their story as the victor.
This week we start taking a closer look around our own celestial neighborhood and diving into the weirdness of Uranus. And no, we're not mature about the name. In the news this week: El Salvador eyes Bitcoin, TikTok takes the lead, Mercedes reads our minds, RayBan/Facebook's new sunglasses, Marshawn Lynch goes Beast Mode in Portland, the I-5 freeway cap through the Rose Quarter, and Ned Flanders Crossing.
What does one do if they're losing the space race? If that person is America, there's only one obvious answer: blow up a nuclear weapon on the moon to show how bad-ass we really are. How far did this plan go? Find out on this week's episode. In the news: Willard Scott dies, Mississippi River flows backwards, you can make $6 billion starting an opioid crisis, China's space plans, what the hell is Grimace, and the return of ABBA! Gimme Gimme Gimme!
This week we take a short look at just which private companies are currently working on getting themselves into space. We've all heard about Musk, Branson, and Bezos, but who else is there, and what are their plans? In the news this week: LED streetlights decimate moths, the "Tesla Bot," Portland's iconic Mary's Club to move, Google's "time crystals," a new carnivorous plant discovered in the NW, Ron Popeil sets it and forgets it, and the most important of all the news: CREME SAVERS ARE COMING BACK, BABY!
History repeats itself, of course. But is it possible that it's repeating in cycles of 80 years that can be divided up into 20-year chunks? We explore this idea, as well as discuss moon conspiracies, Jeff Bezos in space, the Louvre sues PornHub, Canada opens its borders to the US again, a bran implant allows a paralyzed man to communicate, and the Oregon Zoo extends its hours.
Presidential historians and US News & World Report have updated their list of Presidential ratings now that we're in a new administration. Spoilers: the guy who has always been at the bottom of the list continues to be dead last. Who is it? And why is it universally agreed that he was the absolute worst president? We'll find out why in this episode.
Alan Turning was a visionary in mathematics, cryptography, computer science, code-cracking, philosophy, and more. He set the foundations for modern computing and artificial intelligence, and helped crack the Enigma Code - saving an estimated 2 years of continuing war and up to 14 million people in the process. He was also openly gay, which led to his arrest and chemical castration by the British authorities. It's a tragic story of a brilliant life cut too short by society's inability to view gay people as human.
Robert Smalls was born into slavery, and through his wit, patience, bravery, and skill, was able to steal a Confederate war ship and sail himself, his wife, and several other families past Fort Sumter and to freedom during the Civil War. But that wasn't the end - Smalls went on to become one of the most important figures of the fight against the South, gained the ear of Lincoln, and secured voting rights for African-Americans after the war.
We also read a story about anuses.
We're back after our extended break, and this week we take a closer look at how Bernoulli's principles of pressure work to create things like airplane lift and curve ball curves - unless you're in space.
Like any good story, this one begins with Kruschev and Nixon, drenches itself in vodka, and ends with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Grab yourself a soda (or pop?) and take a ride through Russia's relationship with Pepsi, the first American product sold in the soviet block.
Found in a shipwreck and dating back to A.D. 100, the Antikytheria Mechanism proved to be one of the most fascinating devices ever: it accurately predicted the positions of the earth, moon, sun, and planets -- more than 500 years before we even realized the sun was the center of the universe.
To celebrate one year of remote recording, we actually recorded a show with both of us in the same room! Join us as we review some of the topics and news stories that have been piling up over the past couple of weeks.
Few substances have changed the world more than stainless steel, yet its magical properties often go uncelebrated. This week we change that, as we look in to the history (and future) of stainless steel.
Hello, world! This week we take a look at a handful of hidden-in-plain-sight "phenomenons" that appear in films, music, and even computer programs. That's all I feel like writing.
This week we take a look at one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World - the Colossus of Rhodes. How much do we actually know about it? How was it built and how long was it there? Find out on this week's episode.
This week we take a look at some things we all thought we had figured out...that we still don't have figured out. Namely, how does a bike self-correct to keep itself upright when moving? And how does the Coriolis Effect make water drain in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere? Or do either of those things really happen at all? Find out this week.
Triangulating a location on a perfectly round globe is relatively easy, but how do you do it on a globe that's squished in the middle -- an "oblate spheroid"? This week we take a look at Gladys Mae West, a pioneering African-American mathematician whose work in the mid-20th century is still used for global positioning systems today.
Mark is out this week, which means Todd is joined by a very special guest: Nate Heath of the NotNerd podcast! This episode we do a news roundup of the stories that have been piling up over the past couple of weeks. Be sure to check out the NotNerd podcast wherever podcasts can be found!
Company towns are nothing new. But company towns trying to replicated the Michigan suburbs in the Amazon rainforest are not. And when you hear about the calamities of Henry Ford's rubber plantation city experiment deep in the bowels of Brazil's Amazon jungle, you'll know why. Have you driven a Ford into the middle of nowhere lately?
In 1902, the biggest meteorite ever found in North America was found.....in West Linn? Through thievery and lawsuits, the meteorite made its way through various owners and now resides in the Natural History Museum in New York. Find out the forgotten story of the Willamette Meteorite on this week's show. I couldn't think of any meteorite puns. Sorry. I'll regroup and come back with a great one next week.
Sure, 2020 will go down as a hot mess of a year. But was it really so bad in the grand scheme of things? This week we'll check out the year 536 A.D., which has a scientific consensus of being the worst year to ever be alive on the planet. All that, and a ton of news catch-up. Enjoy!
Ada Lovelace (or Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, if we're being particular), is often called "The world's first computer programmer," which is quite the claim to fame considering she lived in the mid-1800s and that, well, she was a "she." This episode we look into the mind and life of a pioneer and visionary whose work laid the ground for how computers work today.
This week we take a look at the life and work of MC Escher, an artist more embraced by mathematicians than he was by the art world. His work endures, and his singular style infused a realism to absurd perspectives, impossible objects, physics-defying landscapes, warped geometry, and infinite tessellations. I had more written about our oversized discussion and news segment, but it all got deleted and now I don't care. Enjoy!
This week we take a look at inventions that occurred either way earlier, or way later than we all might expect. From crossword puzzles to plywood, we find out the who's and whens of some of history's biggest innovations. In the news: Roseburg's historic ammonium nitrate explosion, the new Burnside Bridge, desalinization using solar energy, and Slurpee assaults. High-five!
Why has gold been valued since the beginning mankind? Does it have any use outside of being pretty and tiny, or is it really just that humans really, really like things that are pretty and shiny? Find out how gold became the standard, and why humans have valued it since the beginning of humans - as well as how our technology has utilized this literal space-age material. It's gold, Jerry!
Instead of spoiling what our episode is about this week, I want you to be just as surprised and delighted as I was. It's what the world needs now. But in the news this week, we've got a small Washington town who's made its own COVID currency, something about llamas, three legendary Rick Emerson Show news anchors get the axe, squirrels with bubonic plague, and more. Wave your hands in the air like you don't care!
We've been off for a few weeks, so what better time to catch up on all the news that's been piling up. Join us as we discuss Portland's reallocation of police funds, NASA's design for "Pulse," how to dodge sonic weapons, Oregon legalizes mushrooms for medicinal use, Exploding Whale Memorial Park, Segway rides into the sunset, Vancouver's Old Apple Tree dies, the worst drivers in America, and a topless woman and her norks save the day. Enjoy!
Almost a quarter of all wild west cowboys were African-American, and they were an indispensable part of building the American West. So linked to the work, the term "cow boy" was created because Blacks at the time were referred to as "boy." This week we take a look at Black American Cowboys in general, and Bass Reeves specifically. Reeves was the most accomplished, respected, and well-known cowboy-turned-US Marshall, capturing 3,000 criminals through disguise, detective work, and marksmanship. He was so revered that many give him credit for inspiring The Lone Ranger. Yes, that Lone Ranger. We also talk some news stuff, as always. Giddyup, and happy trails!
Garbage management has been, and always will be something the human race needs to address. How did (or didn't) they do it in the past? This week we take a dumpster dive into the history of municipal waste management. There's some other stuff too, including the bizarre flavoring of Necco Wafers, clams that control the water supply of a city, and more. Get ready for some meandering conversation that literally turns to trash.
How do you go about building underwater? Whether it's a dam, a bridge, or a Chunnel (not a C.H.U.D., you have to figure out how to remove water from where water wants to be. So how do you manage that? Find out on this week's episode. We also talk about the news and stuff, but I've closed that document and don't feel like finding it again. Enjoy!
We all know how the story ends, but how did it begin, and how did it all culminate in one fateful 30-second explosion? And can I get the Hindenburg radio guy to read all my news stories? Find out this week! In the news: Billy Michell and his Donkey Kong record, X Æ A-12, visiting shy eels, the Portland Naked Bike ride may or may not be happening, and an underwear-clad hero jumps aboard a moving semi to drink wine straight out of the trailer. Enjoy!
This week we dive into the strange world of holograms. How do they work? How do you create them? And how do they differ from regular photography or filmmaking? Well, the short answer is "lasers," and the long answer is just listening to the full show. We also talk murder hornets, people getting hit by meteorites, quarantining at Disney, and the exciting world of Teledildonics. Enjoy!
Sometimes the conspiracy theories are true. Sort of. MKULTRA was a real CIA operation meant to study the effects of different kinds of drugs and psychological interferences that could lead to mind control. Developed in hopes for use in Cold War spy espionage, the program was eventually discovered and confirmed by 20,000 documents that survived a CIA purge because they were misfiled. It's a fascinating (and terrifying) look at some of the secret ways our government acts. Also discussed: Hubble's 30th anniversary, smart toilets who read your "anal print," rocket launcher-fired drones, MAD Magazine's Mort Drucker passes away, and panda bears get it on. Enjoy!
This week we walk down memory lane, as we find out the tips, tricks, and techniques of people who compete in the World Memory Championships. We also learn how Todd shouldn't place his mic where he did, because there are a lot of popped P's and exhales into the mic. Sorry. We also discuss more covid updates, Alex Jones loses again, and a man pulled over for letting his dog drive at 100mph down the freeway.
War of Wikipedia™ is back! Join Mark and Todd as they go head-to-head to find our who has the most fascinating and entertaining short Wikipedia entries in 7 different categories, and are judged by none other than the Unipiper himself! Who wins? Who loses? IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS! Sort of. I mean, not really, but whatever.
How do you program something to be random? Doesn't that take the randomness out? This week we take a look at some different ways machines and computers are able to produce random results. We also learn why people hoard toilet paper, and discuss Bill Gates leaving Microsoft, Japan's new weapons, and more. Enjoy the randomness!
The Mona Lisa is the most well-known piece of art on earth, and is the painting most people think of when thinking of "art" in general. But why? Is it the best? How did it happen that it became the universal symbol of popular, great art? Find out on this week's episode! In our news segment: CRISPR vs. blindness, coronavirus fallout, a tribute to NotNerd, and much more.Smile! You'll love it!
Special thanks to Funemployment Radio.com
On this episode we take a look at the start Betelgeuse, which has been behaving in a manner that indicates it may be at the end of its life cycle. It's a mini topic, but we've got plenty of other news, plus Tips On How To Not Look Old, the Unipiper, and more.
There was much more to the home video format wars of the late 1970s and early 80s than most know. And what most people know about it is probably wrong: for instance, porn or image quality had nothing to do with it. So what did? This week we go behind the fight between Sony and JVC over home video supremacy.
All that and an extensive conversation about the documentary "Paris is Burning," Madonna's 50th #1 hit, facial recognition security, and more. Be kind, rewind!
News about the coronavirus seems to be the only thing spreading faster than the actual coronavirus. This week we welcome Steve Rekant, who works with the Center for Disease Control, about the facts of the virus (known officially - and clunkily - as "2019 Novel Coronavirus" until they think of a better name), what it is, how it's spread, and the things you should and shouldn't be afraid of. All that plus an out-sized news section on this extended episode. Enjoy!
*20 minutes after this podcast was updated, they officially named the virus "SARS-CoV," or "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, Electric Boogaloo"
It's been a staple of horror movies, sci-fi, and even popular music ("Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys, most notably), but what exactly is the instrument that makes those whistl-y, spooky, other-worldly noises? Why, it's the Theramin, invented in Russia by a Mr. Theramin. Find out all about this neat electronic instrument that you can only play without touching. In the news: stuff, and things! Enjoy!
This is an episode of the Mark and Toddcast. Much like our magnet fishing expedition, this pretty much was a bust. Let us never speak of it again.
As we close out another year of the Mark and Toddcast, we celebrate with the one thing that brings people to our show: Mark's "Dad Jokes." Enjoy this string of jokes from the last 50 episodes. To hear all the jokes from the first 100 episodes, check out episode 100.5!
This week we take a look at the confounding, confusing, nonsensical origins and reasonings behind Daylight Saving Time, which wreaks havoc all of the world twice a year. Is there a reason we have it? Not really. Does that stop us from implementing it? Not really.
This week we take a look at another awesome pioneering Portland woman named Edna Kristofferson, who made waves in everything from aviation, to sharpshooting, to x-rays. We've also got a pile of rather depressing news, so happy Thanksgiving?
In an attempt to try and find the mystical "philosopher's stone," which would turn other metals into gold, one scientist from the 1600s decided that the key ingredient he must explore was...urine. But while he didn't find the key to alchemy, he did find one of the elements on the Periodic Table. Find out how on this week's show. In the news: Can you lose weight by thinking hard?, Tesla is America's most valuable automaker, Twitter bans political ads, America's food map, dead body space junk, and more.
We've all seen the old graffiti of the little man peeking over the wall with the caption "Kilroy was here." It's a world-traveling meme before memes were even a thing. So where did it come from? How did it start? Find out on this week's show. In the news: face scans at airports, Cameron's Books closes, Wapato Jail to be demolished, finding a location by eye reflection, local hero fights yellow lights, Oregon has the best Blue Cheese, and much more. Enjoy!
The US has a rather sordid history when it comes to witch hunts. From actual witch hunts to figurative ones, this week we take a look at the granddaddy of political witch hunts: the House Un-American Committee's communist trials of the 1950s, and the offshoot of Joseph McCarthey. In the news: "The Far Side" is back!, updates on the "sonic attack" in Cuba, Home Depot and Lowe's are stealing your face, man sues sperm clinic after fathering 17 children, Portland's David Walker gets picked up by Hollywood, and more. Enjoy!
For this special episode, we're running our last episode of Portland at the Movies, where we talk with Dan Fiebiger, Portland film historian and composer for the film “Courier of Death.” He tells us about his dealings with Tom Shaw, the notorious director of “Courier” that was an important hub in Portland film history, who loaned film-making equipment to the likes of Penny Allen and Gus Van Sant. It was a great discussion with a natural storyteller, and a wonderful look into the 80s Portland indie movie scene.
Portland radio legend Daria Eliuk (formerly Daria O'Neill) visits us to talk about her radio career, the changes radio has gone through during the 2000s, muckbang videos, Insectaurs, and much, much more on this special episode of the show. There would have been news, but Todd forgot to press record. Oops.
Homing pigeons have been around for over 3,000 years, and were even used to deliver the results from the literal first Olympics. So how do they work? How do you train them? All that and a wrap-up of Todd's trip to a Forest Airplane Rave with the Unipiper!
We hear it every hurricane season: "But if we could drop a nuclear bomb into a hurricane, it would dissipate the storm and we'd be saved!" This idea, along with terraforming Siberia, melting the arctic, and flooding the Sahara, are just some of the real-life ideas people have proposed using nuclear bombs in the past. In the news: 5G health concerns, Ring's doorbell surveillance, Apple apologizes, a "scooternado, and more. Enjoy!
Join us as we discuss a wide swath of topics on today's show, including the pressures of the bottom of the ocean, what's going on in Hong Kong, and a very special look inside an upcoming Unipiper project (with the Unipiper himself) with some of Portland's biggest luminaries. In the news: Proud Boys/Antifa wrap-up, more Democratic candidate talk, the Grand Ronde tribe gets Willamette Falls back, and more. Enjoy!
This week we learn all about cruise ships and the Alaskan Inside Passage as Todd took a family trip to see Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Glacier Bay. Hear all about the cruise ship, the glaciers, the towns, and plenty of boat facts. Plus, the answer to the question we've all been asking: what would happen if you fell into a pool filled with orbi's? Enjoy!
Like most modern materials, rubber is ubiquitous, but also hides a darker history than most of us know. And, like many of the materials that have built our world, its history involves a crucial mix of both science and global exploitation. Find out how the rubber met the road in this week's episode. In the news: Naomi comics, the last of the VW Beetles, you're always being recorded, Facebook fined $5 billion (yawn), the first photo of quantum entanglement, and the Corpse Flower blooms in America's Vancouver. Smell ya later!
Mark is back from his business trip to China, and he talks about his adventures to the Great Wall, not knowing that language, and traveling alone. He interviews a American ex-pat who is a social media influencer, and makes a video that ended up getting over one million views. And, most importantly, he brings back snack foods and souvenirs! Enjoy!
There are approximately 748 Democrats running for their party's Presidential nomination -- how many do you know? In this episode, Mark reads a random name and Todd has to figure out if its the name of a candidate, or someone currently on Oregon's death row for murder. All that, and a special drop-in from the Unipiper, who gives us the Pepsi/New Coke challenge. In the news: Madonna's new album!, the FBIs vast collection of facial photos, more psychedelic mushrooms go legal, Alex Jones has to pay Pepe the Frog $15,000, the last Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor closes, and more. Enjoy!
On this special episode, we visit W.L. Henry Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon to take a tour with principal Lisa Aguilar Fasel. W.L. Henry is a completely dual-lingual school, which means half the day is taught in English, and half in Spanish. It has a 90% Hispanic student population, and is implementing an amazing environment for learning and for emotional growth. The first half of the episode is a sit-down interview, and the second is a walking tour of the school. It's a fascinating and reassuring look at public education from a person whose goal it is to foster the inherent value of each and every student.
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It was Memorial Day, which means the Wilhelm Portland Memorial Funeral Home had its annual open house tour - and this year we both went. With over 7 miles of corridors and over 90,000, the Wilhelm is as astonishing place, and this week we talk all about it. Also covered: Cinetopia acquired by AMC, Burgerville closes a location while In-N-Out starts a new one, human composting, malaria vaccine, San Fran says "no" to facial recognition, and Mr. Pee and Poo flush down from Vancouver to teach us about what we can put in the toilet.
Mark is out for a second week with a continuing mystery respiratory/vocal ailment and can't speak, so no new show this week. Instead, enjoy this short compilation of sports announcers shredding their vocal cords, cracking voices, and goats screaming.
this week's episode we take a look into the beginings -- and ending -- of the fabled Library of Alexandria. Why was it special? And just what happened to it? Find out on this week's show. Also: Pepsi sues Indian farmers over potatoes, Daimler to build electric semis in Portland, chalking tires unconstitutional, Oregon Zoo train track won't be rebuilt, a baby T-Rex on eBay, and the Stroopwaffel McFlurry may be coming to a town near you. Think you're not going to listen? But YA ARE, BLANCHE, YA ARE!
The first photograph of a black hole was gigantic news in both the scientific community and the world at large. This week we take a look at how the picture was captured, what it means, and how we got here. In the news: Amazon is listening, Julian Assange is separated from his cat, the Willamette Falls project is a go, Republicans crush Net Neutrality again, Molalla woman's reversed organs, and the heartwarming story of one woman and the four bees that live in her eyes. All this, plus bell's palsy! Enjoy!
This week we celebrate the work of James West, an African-American inventor, who has over 200 patents, including the condenser technology found in over 85% of microphones that are still being sold. This week in the news: Google ends AI ethics council a week after it was formed, McDonald's AI changes menu based on your car license plate, Oregon votes for permanent Daylight Saving(s) Time, 51 facts you thought were correct are wrong, and the Loony Toons-esque ways the CIA tried to get rid of Fidel Castro in the 60s. Enjoy!
For the 40th anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown, we take a look at the details and timeline of what happened, and the aftermath of the incident. Also, Todd makes one giant leap towards his inevitability. News: Lawmakers address "Internet of Things," 4,000 mile American bike trail, electromagnetic weapons, Herpes.....In.....Spaaaaaceee, a library on the moon, man-of-the-week puts naked mannequins in yard to protest fence removal, and LOTS MORE! Grab a plate of tasteless carbs and join us!
We're back with a super-sized episode as we catch up with two weeks' worth of news, more Chinese presents for Todd's birthday, and Mark's recent trip. And that's before we get to the current state of 3D printing! In the news: Polar Vortex kills stinkbugs (hopefully), the Navy's room-temperature superconductor, YouTube demonetizes anti-vaxx channels, humpback whale in the Amazon jungle, a llama on the MAX, the science of "Dad Jokes," and the world's quietest room will drive you crazy in just 45 minutes. Enjoy!
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About 90% of all media in America is owned by just 5 companies. Who are they, and how did we get here? And join us for the best show-and-tell we've had in a long time! News stories: Portland's "Big Pipe" a success, Amazon pays $0 taxes (again), the Opportunity Rover dies, Eastern Washington storm kills 1,500 cows, Bridgeport Brewing closes, and "Acquired Savant Syndrome. Give us a spin!
Waiting is the hardest part, but sometimes it can be the best part. Brian "The Unipiper" joins Todd to talk bout the pop culture milestones of anticipation they remember throughout their lives. In the news: Dwarf tossing ban, $190M in crytocurrency lost, Verizon throttles the fire department, DNA testing companies and the FBI, and Bruce Wayne is born at the Portland zoo!
We're back with a boatload of news stories, and Round #3 of "WikiWar," where Mark and Todd go head-to-head to see who pulled the most interesting short articles from Wikipedia - with special guest judge Nick! Also: No Sweetheart Hearts, Anti-Vaccination and measles breakout, earth's magnetic field going crazy, dwarf tossing ban in Washington State, and a good boy runs a half marathon. Enjoy!
We're finally back! And we recorded an extra long, extra fantastic, extra perfect episode...........that Todd lost the second half of because he pressed the wrong button on the recorder, so now there's only 45 minutes of the show still in tact. But that 45 minutes is a great catch-up of stories from the past month that we've been away. It's great to be back behind the mics again - and we're looking forward to another great year! Thanks for listening!
Ask any parent, grandparent, teacher, babysitter, person with eyes: when a child eats too much sugar, they go bananas with hyperactivity. It's obvious -- literally the one thing everybody agrees with. Except it's just not true. There is no scientific evidence - and never has been - that kids who eat too much sugar behave any differently afterwards than if they had no sugar. So what's going on? How could this universal "truth" be, well, untrue? Hear the evidence on this week's episode. Also: Steel making videos, a billion seconds, surface temperature thermometers, China rewards and punishes citizens based on "merit," wombat faeces, peanut allergy treatment, NY pays Amazon $48,000 per job, and the Art Institute of Chicago releases high-res art for free. Enjoy this week's episode with a nice warm cup of sugar!
In the West, we tend to think of albinism with a low-grade curiosity at most, but in East Africa, being an albino means a lower lifespan due to skin cancer at best, and being hunted and slaughtered for your body parts at worst. This week we welcome Dan Holcomb of Lahash International to talk about the culture of albinism in countries like Tanzania. This week's news: Portland Podcast Festival round up!, the history of "Baby Shark," exciting new cheese news, Red Dead Redemption, Lou Dobbs's diction, Apple's laptop mic, Wapato Jail to be demolished, China goes to the moon, redefining the kilogram, and more! Enjoy!
This week we experiment with a very interesting type of metal called Nitinol, which has the ability to "remember" its shape and instantly return to it after being bent. Does our experiment work? Find out! Plus, a huge pile of news, including: YouTube rabbit holes, psychic gets busted, older people worse at telling news fact from opinion, parking fines at the Goonies house, Nebraska's new tourism slogan, Net Neutrality controversy update, and the "Be My Eyes" app.
You've seen them seemingly everywhere: the gross, dime-sized, shield-shaped "Hummer of the insect world," otherwise knows as the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. And it's not your imagination - they've invaded the US in staggering numbers, are causing hundreds of millions of dollars in agricultural damages, and are disgusting, smelly house guests. Learn their surprising history, and why they're different than most pest insects. Plus, the Unipiper is back! Also in the news: Mark gets married and visits a train museum, Banksy shreds, Will Vinton passes away, Oregon cell phone/driving law, space net captures space garbage, teenagers survives 49 days at sea, e-scooter injuries, LHC discovery could "break all of science," the Presidential text, and Pharaoh comes to Portland. Enjoy!
This week we take a look at a forgotten Portland icon named Marie Equi, a fiercely independent Oregon physician who was engaged in the political turmoil and social change of the late 19th and early 20th century. It's a fascinating story. Also: FCC lies, probiotics are useless, SpaceX's space customer (and Elon's sanity), airport security bins, California launching weather rockets, WalMart is listening, solar observatory mysteriously evacuated, Christopher Nolan takes a stand against crappy TV settings, and local hero solves the problem of teenagers on his lawn. Enjoy!
This week we give into good ole' self-indulgence, as Mark recounts his recent trip to Beijing and Shanghai, China, and Todd recounts his soft spot for Madonna, who turned 60 recently. We also catch up on some news and other things we've missed being gone for the past few weeks. News: Lloyd Center officially gets a LiveNation venue, Google still tracking you, the tale of the orca mom and her dead calf, a lonely dolphin just wants to fit in, and which prescribed medication will give you a flesh-eating genital infection? You may be taking it right now. I mean, probably not, but maybe. Enjoy!
This week we're joined by special guest Wayne Schwind, chemical engineer and owner of Periodic Edibles, and host of the Periodic Effects Podcast, who talks all about the science, medical, and social aspects of cannabis and the emerging industry of cannabis products and legalization. Also: Portland's latest protest, more NECCO candy drama, Google's censored Chinese search engine, the amazing book "Stuff Matters," and Todd's vacation travel thoughts. Enjoy!
Emmy Noether (1882-1935) was a mathematician in algebra and theoretical physics that Einstein himself called an inspiration and genius. The Noether Theorem helped make sense of things that science just couldn't make sense of, and led to huge advancements in math and science. Find out all about her this week! Also, the Unipiper calls in to talk Best Celebrity, Best Podcast, and other great Portland news! News: Are "laser AK-47s" real?, US weapons show up on dark web, the Great Plastic Straw Debate continues, Kah-Nee-Tah resort to close, oldest human tools found, a vaping pilot causes airplane to plunge 25,000 ft., and a woman has a tapeworm in her spine. Enjoy!
This week we take a look at an African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks who died of cancer in 1951 at the age of 31. Unbeknownst to her or her family, her cancer cells were taken and discovered to be "immortal"- which led to breakthroughs in the study of polio, herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson's disease, cancer, AIDS, cloning, and in vitro fertilization, and more. It's a fascinating look at where ethics meet science. Also: Boyd Coffee Company is sold, Multnomah Falls bridge back open, Disney's "stunt robots," crows reverse-engineer tools from memory, RIP Route 66?, and the FDA approves the first drug derived from marijuana. Enjoy, and happy 4th of July!
Synesthesia is a term for when a person's sensory inputs get crossed; it may cause them to see numbers as colors, or colors as tastes, or any number of different sensory combinations. Join us this week as we explore this fascinating condition! Also: Jerry Springer signs off, Koko the gorilla dies, Porltand's upcoming traffic hell-scape, roller derby talk, and more!
This episode Mark dives into some of the old and new internet scams that are making the rounds. In addition, we talk about our new video series with the Unipiper called "Bins Worthy" and let you know where you can find it before its official release! Also discussed: NASA's most/least realistic movies list, Necco Wafers are back!, half mammal/half reptile found in Utah, the plague is in Idaho, dust storm on Mars shuts down NASA rover, and the 10 millionth US patent is approved.
Conspiracy theories are thriving in the internet age, even as access to facts become easier. So what's going on? Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? Greg Nibler of Funemployment Radio and Digital Trends sits in this week to talk about his favorite theories and why these theories continue to thrive. Also: American Airlines' therapy animal guidelines, lie-detecting computer kiosks, world's oldest living person: "every day is a punishment," Google removes "Don't Be Evil" from mission statement, Top 50 websites, and Bitcoin takes up .5% of the world's electricity. Enjoy!
Hear Greg every day on Funemployment Radio!
In this episode we go to war! Both Mark and Todd pick a dozen random and fascinating short articles from Wikipedia and go head-to-head to see who uncovered the most interesting and obscure entries. Cut your hair accordingly! Also: the Unipiper finds his own Wiki-hole and brings us along for the ride. In the news: Amazon record profits!....and Amazon Prime's price increase, ABBA reunites, tinnitus treatment, vomit-inducing caterpillars, Harvard to resurrect woolly mammoth, an undercover Lego crime ring in Portland, and breaking news about exploding urine. Players....FIGHT!
Concrete is such a fundamental aspect of humanity that we barely even notice it anymore. It's literally pedestrian. This episode we find out why and how concrete came to be, and how it formed the modern world we live in. Also: "King of Kong" winner controversy, the sound of black holes colliding, the rapture is upon us, Wapato Jail sold, "Pirates of the Caribbean" ships on Oregon coast, Art Bell dies, Japan's robot mayor, world's most hipster cities, throw out your romaine lettuce, and the world is in the grips of a Necco Wafer panic! Enjoy!
Black holes and dark matter are such a mystery, scientists are still trying to unwrap their secrets. In this episode, we take a look at the basics of black holes, and struggle to understand dark matter, which is the mysterious substance that makes up most of the universe. Plus, the Unipiper joins us in studio to talk fake Unipipers, Sasquatches, and WWeek's "Best of Portland 2018." Also: LED street lights causing headaches, world's largest dinosaur footprint, zombie raccoons, fart detectors, and what 167 theramins sound like playing Beethoven. Enjoy!
If I can't exhale at the speed of sound, how does my voice travel the speed of sound? How do the Eastern Oregon hot springs work? And who knew Alyssa Milano's dad was such a successful Hollywood sound editor? These questions and more will be answered in this meandering and interesting episode. Also discussed: "Embiggen" added to the dictionary, oil companies buy Utah monuments for drilling, Amazon patents drones to recognize flailing and screaming gestures, the Texas-sized (?) Pacific Garbage Patch, earliest North American footprint found, China face IDs and tickets jaywalkers, mind-reading technology, new human organ discovered, and turtles develop karate-chopping flippers. Cowabunga, dude!
Between movies, TV, and advertising, our heads are full of songs we know note-for-note, but know nothing else about. This week, Brian "The Unipiper" sits in for a vacationing Mark and digs into the history and origins or some of the most famous songs we don't know the origins of. Also, "Toys R Us" and "I Heart Radio" file for bankruptcy, autism neurology breakthrough, WalMart patents robot bees, and "Weird" Al makes history. Enjoy!
Like most of us, you probably think of Michael Jackson on the cover of the National Enquirer when you hear "Hyperbaric Chamber." Surprisingly, they're not just kookie, weirdo nonsense, but hold legitimate, scientific purpose. This week we learn all about them, and hear a first-hand account of what it's like to use one. Also, the Unipiper is in-studio to tell us all about the First Annual Tonya Harding Film Festival! Also: Detecting autism, eradicating polio (also, what is polio?), SpaceX, Foreign Accent Syndrome, Best Buy stops selling CDs, Bitcoin heist, and drones take over the fashion runways. Enjoy!
This week Todd recaps his journey into opening his third eye as he describes his sensory deprivation salt water float experience. Then we dive into the surprisingly fascinating and innovative history of a much maligned (well, maligned by Todd) RC Cola! All that, plus: The Unipiper is art!, liquid mirror telescopes, Amazon tracks and "nudges" workers, Amazon/Berkshire Hathaway/JP Morgan insurance, SF clears marijuana convictions, and amateur astronomer finds missing NASA satellite. Enjoy with a frosty cold Nehi!
In 1984, 751 people in the town of The Dalles, Oregon were sickened with salmonella when a group led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh poisoned the salad bars of local restaurants. It was the beginning of the end of one of the largest and most invasive cults in the United States, and came complete with a fleet of Rolls Royces. Discover the Rajneeshes on this fascinating episode. Plus, the Unipiper joins us to chat about a new project! Also discussed: RIP Rosie the Riveter and Mort Walker, electric barges, solar tariffs, super blood moon, Musk's flamethrower, and scandal in the world of camel beauty pageants. Enjoy!