Science – SciTech Culture: Recent Episodes
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Steve and Ben discuss the impact of the impending bankruptcy of DNA ancestry test company 23andMe and what will happen to the DNA data of over 15 million people who used their service to learn of their DNA lineage. Steve and Ben also discuss how file and folder structures are concepts newer generations find foreign, […]
Steve and Ben discuss a list of the top ten countries for sugar consumption and how sugar is in so many foods that we eat, even the ones we do not suspect. Steve and Ben also discuss the internet archive being hacked, and how Apple may be moving away from an annual release cycle for […]
Steve and Ben discuss how experts have described the difference between psychopaths and sociopaths, and two health studies suggesting that cutting back imperial pints of beer to two thirds size can reduce consumption and improve health outcomes, and that a half hour of moderate to intense physical activity can offset ten hours of sitting down. […]
Steve and Ben discuss the reaction to Apple’s Glowtime event with the sentiment being that it was the most dull iPhone event Apple has presented. Steve and Ben also discuss Kamala Harris’ social media team trolling the Trump campaign, and the first ever private space walk conducted by SpaceX. Listen to the audio version of […]
Steve and Ben discuss the amusing story of social media comment chatbots being called out online by responding with instructions to provide non-related comments which they proceeded to do. Steve and Ben also discuss how astronomers have discovered more about the dawn of the universe thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, as well as […]
Steve and Ben discuss how hybrid vehicles are outselling electric vehicles in Australia and whether or not this demonstrates a reluctance by the public to accept EVs. They also discuss the use of NASA tech in the latest Olympic swimwear, as well as new studies looking at the long term impact on the body of […]
Steve and Ben discuss Open AI’s announcement of GPT-4o, the new version of its generative AI tool that appears to be much more conversational and interpersonal in its interactions with users. Steve and Ben also discuss Bumble using AI to assist in making the perfect couple, Microsoft’s Be My Eyes AI tool to assist blind […]
Steve and Ben discuss Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poet’s Department and the reaction by the internet, the leaking of carbon and oxygen from Venus, Apple’s plan to open up the NFC chip on the iPhone to third party payment providers and banks, and the furore generated by MKBHD’s negative review of the Humane […]
Steve and Ben discuss how the recent solar eclipse led to a spike in Google searches on why people’s eyes were hurting. They also discuss the Jewel at Singapore Changi Airport, the fallout from the Kate Middleton photo controversy, late stage Simpsons episodes still packing a cultural punch, and Microsoft and Qualcomm promising new PCs […]
Steve and Ben delve further in to the latest developments in AI, including Google’s deal with Reddit to lift the latter’s search information for new data, Nvidia’s incredible boost in its valuation due to its AI chip future, and the arrival of Sora which promises to generate high quality usable videos simply from a text […]
Steve and Ben delve further in to the latest developments in AI, including Google’s deal with Reddit to lift the latter’s search information for new data, Nvidia’s incredible boost in its valuation due to its AI chip future, and the arrival of Sora which promises to generate high quality usable videos simply from a text […]
Steve and Ben discuss Sam Altman’s recent and extraordinary call for seven trillion dollars of investment in to further development of chips to power artificial intelligence. Steve and Ben also discuss a recent Delta Airlines flight that was turned back due to maggots being discovered in carry-on luggage, as well as recent circulating social media […]
Steve and Ben discuss Disney’s latest announcements for their film and franchise slate for the next two years and how Disney needs to do a lot of work to regain the public’s faith in their ability to entertain. Steve and Ben also discuss the latest discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope around black hole […]
Steve and Ben discuss how knowledge from ancient civilisations has been lost over time that humanity has subsequently re-learnt, referring to the recent story of a geometric miracle tunnel being discovered in Egypt. Steve and Ben also discuss how calorie restriction is still the key component of any diet including intermittent fasting, and they also […]
Steve and Ben celebrate their 300th episode of SciTech Culture by discussing the current trend of many YouTube content creators announcing that they are quitting YouTube due to the toll it is taking on their lives. Steve and Ben all discuss the Japanese lunar lander and its power issues on landing on the Moon, as […]
Steve and Ben begin 2024 explaining the process of transferring SciTech Culture’s online presence to a new web hosting provider and the issues associated with that process. Steve and Ben also discuss the recent door plug incident with the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max-9 aircraft. Listen to the audio version of this episode at this […]
Steve and Ben close out 2023 touching on Die Hard as a Christmas movie, the ban on the sale of Apple Watches in the US, and discussing the future possibilities of SciTech Culture. Listen to the audio version of this episode at this link: MP3 Audio (RSS)
Has Mark Zuckerberg discovered an opportunity to steal some of Elon’s Twitter thunder with Threads? Steve and Ben discuss the extraordinary entry of Threads in to the social media sphere and how it may have a shot at taking the crown given Meta’s overall user base and market position. Steve and Ben also discuss the […]
Between Taylor Swift concert tickets going on a frenzied sale and a 4.6 magnitude earthquake hitting near the city, Melbourne experienced some drama recently. Steve and Ben discuss how earthquakes in Australia have been increasing in frequency in the past few years with a few earthquakes occurring on the East Coast, as well as the […]
The world was shocked to learn this week of the catastrophic implosion in the deep ocean of OceanGate’s Titan submersible vehicle as it was taking the company’s CEO and four passengers to view the wreck of the Titanic. However, with the mainstream media broadcasting wall to wall coverage of the story turning it in to […]
Apple’s AirTags were intended to be used to keep track of car keys, luggage, and other personal items, but they have also been used for more nefarious purposes, such as stalking individuals, with the tech giant coming under fire for not doing more to alert users of unknown AirTags within their vicinity. Steve and Ben […]
Sleep is one the most fundamental biological activities that humans engage with in their life that is vital and necessary to good health. However sleep patterns have changed over time, with humans living in the pre-industrialised age having bi-phasic sleep patterns which contrast with the current eight hours of sleep model recommended for good health. […]
A television show called Now On My Way To Meet You is a popular program in South Korea, and draws the ire of the North Korean regime given it features North Korean defectors talking about their experiences. Steve and Ben discuss the show and the concept of how radically different life must be for those […]
The finale of Star Trek Picard Season 3 stuck the landing on an impression reunion show for the cast of Star Trek The Next Generation, providing a satisfying story interwoven with numerous fan service moments that will delight those who enjoyed watching the original show. Steve and Ben give their take on Star Trek Picard […]
Some clever users have discovered that the photos of the moon captured via space zoom on Samsung Galaxy phones are faked using software algorithms. Is this a problem, or could it have been marketed as a very clever feature? Steve and Ben discuss the controversy of Samsung’s fake moon photos, and discuss the issues around […]
Avatar The Way Of Water has settled in to the number three spot on the top highest grossing films of all time list. James Cameron has done it again with his epic sci-fi sequel to the 2009 smash hit, with audiences attending cinemas in droves to watch the world of Pandora unfold in spectacular fashion, […]
In a rare January drop of new products, Apple has released the new M2 Pro and M2 Max updates for the 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros and the Mac Mini. With such powerful machines now available at reasonable price points, particularly for the Mac mini, the era of spending lots of money on a […]
Australia has received an unprecedented level of rainfall across the eastern side of the country, causing serious flooding events across four states on multiple occasions in 2022 alone. With residual consequences such as additional insect breeding, increased pollen issues and more, these events have re-focused the debate on climate change given the real world impacts […]
The turmoil continues at Twitter as Elon Musk locks out employees from the main company headquarters following an ultimatum to stay but only if they put out exceptional levels of performance. Meanwhile, Deliveroo announces they are exiting the Australian market, with local restaurants now removing their menus entirely from a range of delivery apps. Steve […]
Returning after a month off, Ben discusses his recent sarcoma diagnosis on his left middle finger and the outcome. Steve and Ben also discuss Elon Musk’s turbulent approach to changes at social media platform Twitter, and they also talk through Apple’s confusing 2022 iPad line-up and how Apple may have inadvertently pushed its customers to […]
Samsung may have another issue with its smartphones of all stripes as some YouTubers have discovered recently that models kept in storage for a long time show evidence of the back panels breaking with errant, and perhaps defective batteries, expanding in the chassis, causing the smartphone body to warp. Steve and Ben discuss this latest […]
With the world turning its attention to renewable sources of energy, the conversation has also started to include how long term storage of electricity in the form of batteries factors in to the mix. With traditional lithium ion batteries not suitable for larger scale requirements while also presenting sustainability issues, alternative battery technologies are being […]
Dogs truly are our best friends, displaying an empathy and intelligence that are truly incredible, leading to a wonderful and depth-filled relationship between the two species. Steve and Ben discuss intelligence in dogs and how we should treat dogs with the respect they deserve given their blind devotion to us as humans and owners. Steve […]
One of the biggest challenges in tackling climate change and environmental sustainability is how to generate clean, renewable energy for the entire world that is sustainable and does not negatively impact the environment. Global supergrids could be the answer, with its network of connector cables and high volage direct current providing the possibility of transferring […]
The CSIRO recently released a megatrends report outlining seven key trends that will have a major impact on the world and society in the coming decades, covering health, sustainability, climate change, automation and AI, digital and data economies, and geopolitical shifts. Steve and Ben discuss the report and these seven key megatrends as they pertain […]
Mark Zuckerberg turned up the heat on his employees in a recent conference call, claiming some of them should not be at Meta and that should those employees come to the conclusion that his company was not the place to be for them, that self-selection would be okay with him. With that frank admission, as […]
With the arrival of Apple’s new M2 chip, a swirl of controversy has erupted online around the MacBook Pro 13 base model and its slower SSD speeds and apparent overheating issues. Steve and Ben examine the apparent controversy and whether or not this is a result of click-baiting headlines, and if real world users will […]
Outlook for Mac has recently been updated to a brand new version with an appealing visual look and a streamlined interface but it does have some issues with basic functionality. Steve and Ben discuss the missing move to folder function between accounts that is causing workflow issues. Steve and Ben also discuss the recent and […]
Steve and Ben discuss the historic result for the 2022 Australian federal election, the advent of monkeypox, bioreactors generating meat and other animal food products, as well as the reports of delays for the upcoming iPhone 14 due to lockdowns in China, and the exciting announcement of Project Volterra by Microsoft as the tech giant […]
After two tumultuous years living through lockdowns and other measures to counter the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, many countries have now transitioned to a policy of living with the virus. With soaring case numbers due to the spread of the omicron variant, numbers that would have shocked people just a year earlier, living with […]
Apple had made another splash announcement with its new Mac Studio desktop, the first new Mac form factor it has introduced in many years, and simultaneously introducing the new M1 Ultra chip which fuses two M1 Max chips together for the system to recognise as one super-charged chip. With Apple course-correcting back to the desires […]
The AMC cinema chain in the US has announced that they will experiment with variable ticket pricing for the release of The Batman in to cinemas this month. Will this prove to be a new innovation in cinema pricing that will entice more people to venture to the cinema on the promise of better experiences, […]
With deepening polarisation and decentralisation of messaging in a much more interconnected world thanks to technology, it can lead one to think that the world is slowly going insane given how much we see and consume about what is going on in the world via all forms of media, whether it be traditional, mainstream, social, […]
2022 has kicked off in a wave of pandemic uncertainty with the Omicron wave of outbreaks around the world accelerating at breakneck speed, and governments attempting to find ways to navigate through it now that populations have been vaccinated. Steve and Ben discuss how the Omicron wave is impacting the world and any attempt to […]
Steve and Ben wrap up 2021 with a look back at the topics covered for the year, from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its intersection with a number of technology topics. They also have a look forward to 2022, with the prospect of the pandemic being re-written by the new Omicron variant. Listen to the […]
News spread fast of the recently announced coronavirus variant of concern, Omicron, in the past week, with the World Health Organisation raising red flags around this variant, and countries taking swift action to close off travel from the country it was first reported in, South Africa. Steve and Ben discuss how the new variant was […]
It was only a matter of time before a Star Trek actor made it to space, but in what can only be described as a press release that writes itself, Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, became the oldest person to go in to space courtesy of Blue Origin. The iconic Star Trek actor had a […]
Victoria experienced an extraordinary week of events. With metropolitan Melbourne still in lockdown, ongoing protests that became violent exploded on to the city streets in the past week, and to top it all off, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake was registered at the height of this activity. Steve and Ben examine Victoria’s extraordinary, anxiety-fuelled week, as […]
Steve and Ben cover a range of topics this week, from Microsoft saying no to Windows On Arm Support on M1 Macs, Apple unveiling its latest iPhones and more at its annual September launch event, the latest Indiana Jones film production being derailed by a virus outbreak that is not COVID related, SpaceX launching a […]
Faith in the mainstream media is at an all time low, with social media and other alternative platforms providing voices with different narratives on the truth. Steve and Ben examine the impacts of how the centralised mainstream media model is crumbling under the weight of decentralised platforms online, while also discussing the impacts of blockchain […]
Arguably the biggest podcaster in the world, Joe Rogan, recently announced that he had contracted the coronavirus. Media outlets carrying the story called attention to some of his controversial COVID comments on his podcast, and to his diagnosis and treatment, given the potential impact on his millions of listeners who follow his podcast. Steve and […]
Exploding from nowhere as a short term social media phenomenon is the milk crate challenge, where people attempt to walk over scaled milk crates, mostly with mixed success and causing injury. Where and why did this online activity come from and start? Steve and Ben examine the milk crate challenge and attempts by people to […]
Boston Dynamics recently demonstrated its Atlas Robots successfully navigating a parkour obstacle course with remarkable dexterity and fluidity after much trial and effort from its engineers and development team. Is this the beginning of true, fully functional robots that can interact with us just as we do with each other? Steve and Ben examine this […]