Third Space Podcast: Recent Episodes
Bennett and Daniel
When you've been friends for so long, you find that your best conversations can enter a special space of extra-enjoyableness: Third Space. Laugh, learn, and be entertained with us as we try to reach it!
Bennett and Daniel discuss conspiracy theories. It seems like society has grown more prone to conspiracies in recent years, so Bennett and Daniel weigh in on which ones are plausible and which are not. JFK, the moon landing, birds... all are judged. They also discuss why conspiracy theories form and how they can be dangerous.
Wisdom of the Ages, a segment about analyzing common cultural wisdom, makes its return in this pain-themed episode. Bennett has Daniel analyze common sayings that have something to do with pain, and in the process, they ask many thought-provoking questions. What are the differences between physical and mental pain? What is the value of loyalty, and when is it okay to break confidentiality? Is it possible to "pause time" and never allow pain to heal? All of this from common, trite sayings. But that's the point of the segment: to reexamine wisdom that might be taken for granted.
How do people who wear glasses manage it? That is what Bennett asks after getting his first pair in over 25 years. Warping, shrinking, and chromatic aberration... why not just get contacts?! Bennett and Daniel discuss, and then a long dormant segments returns, just in the nick of time: Bennett Fixes Sports. Bennett, a known fan, and some might say expert, analyzes the pros and cons of football and then suggests a number of improvements to make this fading sport truly stand the test of time.
Turnabout is fair play, and in this episode, Bennett avenges himself on Daniel for past gotchas. Daniel has in the past sprung a segment called "Father Bennett" on Bennett, where he puts Bennett in the hypothetical role of a father and asks uncomfortable parenting questions. Bennett turns the tables and asks Daniel, now and actual father of two year old Cosmo, how he would handle situations such as potentially embarrassing high school choices, aesthetic decisions, and technological methods of disobedience.
In this aging-themed podcast, Bennett and Daniel muse on the adventure of getting older, beginning with a vaguely age-themed Adventures in Etymology. Next, they discuss retirement; what is the purpose of retirement? What are its benefits and drawbacks, and what would happen if we retired in the middle of our lives instead of at the end?
Bennett gives an 18 year out-of-date review of No Country for Old men, criticizing its postmodern qualities, and then Bennett and Daniel discuss surveillance. With the ever-present increase in technological sophistication and affordability, cameras are ubiquitous: doorbells, bodycams, traffic cameras, and more. Is this a good thing? Why do we value privacy? Is security worth it? What about cameras in the workplace, like in the classroom or in a technical field? The pros and cons are weighed, and Daniel and Bennett give their views (audio only, of course).
Daniel and Bennett discuss the Independence Day fireworks hangover, Costco evangelism, and penny pinching before diving headlong into a long-awaited Superpowers and Drawbacks. This time, they consider the benefits of salvaged food weighed carefully against hirsute bedspreads.
Bennett introduces a new segment called Wisdom of the Ages, in which he takes three common aphorisms that everyone knows and has Daniel assess the wisdom contained in them. How should we treat so-called enemies? How is it that people with seemingly incompatible characteristics end up together? Should one gravitate toward or reject stereotypes? All of these are examined, and Daniel also talks a little about the new house he's buying.
Bennett discusses the difficulty of digging holes, and then perhaps digs a metaphorical hole with this episode's spicy (or zesty?) Mind Your Morals, which focuses on homosexuality. What if a substance were invented that could eliminate the same-sex attraction and restore opposite-sex attraction? Bennett quizzes Daniel on multiple scenarios of this hypothetical drug's use to see what the moral implications of such an invention might be.
Avocados, pumpkins, and pee durations... oh my! In this episode, Bennett tests Daniel's world record intuition, seeing if he can guess which thing is biggest in a variety of categories. It's a wholesome game, until it isn't. After the game, Bennett and Daniel discuss the inclusion of arachnophobia modes in video games and discuss how it affects accessibility, artistic vision, and the cultural norms of creativity and consumption.
Slightly above average bats, phantom pitches, and a nightmarish, neverending ball game. Such is the content of the extended sports metaphor that Bennett presents to Daniel in this episode. The tale is a metaphor for dating in the current age, centering on the cultural and technological factors that make it such a dystopian hellscape. Is it uplifting? No. But it is entertaining, philosophical, humorous, and hopefully provides guidance on what is wrong and what we could change to make it better.
After a couple months' gap, Bennett and Daniel return from eventful holidays in this pregnant 2025. It's not pregnant with a child, but with possibilities, of course. In semi-journalistic fashion, they recount Bennett's first meeting with Cosmo, Daniel's current thoughts on fatherhood, Bennett's move into a new house, his newfound Renaissance man capabilities, and lay the groundwork for a discussion on the effects of screens on kids and how to handle their exposure.
Bennett and Daniel discuss technology! Bennett relives joyful childhood memories with Roller Coaster Tycoon, and Daniel discusses the infiltration of attention-fragmenting technology into schools. He explains how and why phones in schools are so harmful to success, how he addressed this issue in his school, and then he and Bennett talk more generally about the psychological and practical reasons why attention fragmentation is so bewildering.
With the 2024 US Presidential election looming, the media lying, the campaigns exaggerating, and everyone bringing their biases to the table, Bennett presents Daniel with clarity through the one medium that speaks directly to the human soul: poetry. He accrues poems about the candidates, issues, and events relevant to this election, brilliant specimens of art and language, and Daniel analyzes them (and tries to pick which are secretly written by Bennett). They try to keep it fair and balanced to protect your delicate political sensibilities, but also have a good laugh at politics and poetry.
Bennett and Daniel return after a long hiatus with lots of complaints stored up. At least they're interesting complaints! Bennett discusses the trailer for the upcoming movie, Wicked, and with Daniel analyzes its message and relation to modern movie trends (spoiler: they suck). Then Bennett and Daniel compare the experience of using the internet in the 90s and 00s to using the internet today. How has the internet gotten worse, why, and how can we fix it? How have SEO, AI, ads, and bias corrupted this useful tool? Finally, they discuss an AI tool that can analyze podcasts... and generate a podcast from it. They feed this very episode to the AI and include it at the end.
With the arrival of summer and intense heat, Bennett brings a relevant Mind Your Morals to the podcast pertaining to hot dogs. Not the food; no, the act of leaving dogs in hot cars unattended. When, if ever, is it acceptable, and under what circumstances? Bennett and Daniel attempt to balance animal welfare and property damage, discuss legal and scientific data, and consult internet comment sections for some answers.
The theme of this episode is adventure! That's right, beginning with an adventure... in etymology! Exciting! After that, Bennett shares his experience playing the game Outer Wilds, a game with a neat gameplay gimmick that deals with space exploration. This naturally leads into a discussion of space exploration in the real world; is it worth it? Do the benefits we've gained from space exploration justify the time, energy, money, and lives we've spent in the pursuit of knowledge?
Bennett and Daniel discuss one of the most annoying aspects of travel: airport security. This valiant system costs trillions of man-hours, billions of dollars, and even confiscates Bennett's toothpaste, which undoubtedly really pisses off the terrorists. Or, perhaps, it's just a gargantuan waster of time and money for little or no benefit. The negatives, positives, and possible technological alternatives are examined in this episode.
Daniel makes his transition from dude to dad, as they say, with the birth of his new baby boy, Cosmo, which is the reason for the long gap between episodes (that we will try to remedy going forward). Bennett peppers Daniel with questions about fatherhood, parenting, infants, the medical industry, and more.
Bennett discovers a game that somewhat embodies an old video game idea he had: exploring flooded ruins. Daniel and Bennett discuss this setting, underwater video game controls, human-computer interfaces in general, and then a piece of current tech in the news: Neuralink. How does it work, and how might it be used in the future, either for good (helping the disabled, de facto telekinesis, and music composition) or ill (brain hacking, puppeteering, or ad-beaming)?
Superpowers and Drawbacks returns after some hiatus, and Daniel and Bennett discuss a level 2 set of choices in this episode, debating the merits of various free foods and the economic viability of throwing trash in impressive ways.
Bennett grills Daniel with a very personal but not very tempting Mind Your Morals that deals with the "content creation" site OnlyFans. Would he be okay with his wife posting on the site if it meant a huge boost in income? What about under certain milder circumstances? We also discuss moral topics about purity, harm, self-exploitation, and technology.
Daniel and Bennett discuss rites of passage. In an increasingly digital age, do we even have traditional rites of passage anymore? In a culture that values marriage and families less and less, are we losing our collective ability to establish our identities or encourage identity-building in our children? How analogous are learning to drive a car and learning to use the internet? What possible remedies could we institute in order to get on the "rite" path?
Bennett briefly flexes his professional handegg knowledge in discussing the upcoming Level 3 Super Bowl, then leads Daniel on a somewhat Valentine's Day-themed adventure... an Adventure in Etymology, of course! And lastly, Daniel discusses the Pain Gate Theory, which postulates that pain can be mitigated with what is essentially physiological distraction. Is it real? How does it interact with psychological distraction or mitigation of pain?
Daniel and Bennett do some holiday cleaning in this episode. That is to say, they propose revisions to the US calendar of federal holidays, giving the axe to a surprising number of existing holidays and supplanting them with arguably better ones. See if you agree with the changes!
After a nice, lengthy holiday break, Bennett and Daniel return to report on how their 2024 is going thus far. Daniel's is boring, but Bennett's has started off pretty crappy, with incapable men, illogical women, and a whole lotta snow. After that, Bennett tries his darndest to convert Daniel to veganism using the strongest arguments he can, to a surprising degree of success.
Why do authors insist on having their characters whisper in unrealistic fashion? Are food delivery services trashy, lazy, and low-class or a luxury for people after a hard day? Are tips rewards for good service or blackmail? Is Chili's really a cool ghost kitchen or some garbage restaurant? Bennett and Daniel weigh the pros and cons of services like Uber Eats, discuss their experiences, and predict where they go in the future.
Bennett springs a surprise game on a suddenly very uncomfortable Daniel called: Is It Racist? Before the podcast, Bennett gathered three somewhat random things from Daniel, and the premise of the game is to have Daniel determine whether these things, by modern definitions, are racist. Bennett provides substantiating and totally irrefutable journalistic examples as to why these things are, in fact, racist. In addition to the obvious joke game, the topic of racism is also addressed at least semi-seriously.
Daniel reflects on his recent experience as assistant director of an absurdist play, and he discusses with Bennett whether and why absurdism is entertaining. Then, Bennett reads a very, extremely scientific and valid Forbes article touting the necessity of hugs and consequently discovers he should be dead multiple times over.
After some minor (or major) dispute over whether the universe is fundamentally musical, Bennett springs a Mind Your Morals on Daniel, resurrecting a popular gimmick: The Elimination Button. This is a magical button that can eliminate certain things from reality, and Daniel must consider the moral implications of its pressing. Unlike the last episode, Daniel is put in the position of preventing presses, and by the end of the episode, has saved some surprising things, like marijuana, bees, and pedophiles. Oh my!
All Hallows Month has begun, so Bennett and Daniel discuss when it's appropriate to start decorating for Halloween and whether or not adults who LOVE Halloween have issues. Daniel then introduces a segment called Concision Incision, which he bills as "questions that cut deep in time that's cut short." Essentially, it consists of a series of deep and/or personal questions delivered and answered with some rapidity.
Daniel is a teacher, so he should be hip to the modern pop scene, right? Well, in this episode, Bennett tests his pop music acumen with Pop or Slop! Just like in past episodes about rap or country, Bennett serves up a set of song lyrics, where some are penned by him, and some are real songs. Daniel is then tasked with discerning the difference. Truly, the state of pop is dire, so it's more of a challenge than you might expect, and also it's hilarious.
Daniel reveals his impending fatherhood, which fuels discussion on babies and naming and parenting philosophies. Bennett laments getting laughed at for hiking with an umbrella. And Daniel and Bennett discuss the genre of zombie entertainment.
Are spiders or ladders more dangerous? Doctors or car crashes? Bennett interrogates Daniel to see if he can guess which of a variety of categories kills more people each year. Then, they discuss creativity and its relationship to freedom. Does more freedom generate more creativity, or, paradoxically, does the imposition of limitation? Bennett and Daniel play with the idea, tossing out some examples and possible reasons.
Superpowers and Drawbacks returns after a bit of a hiatus, bringing discussion of candy bar births and crow supervillains. Then, Daniel and Bennett discuss the culture and practice of hunting. Is it moral to hunt? Which animals are okay to hunt, for what reasons, and should children be allowed to do it?
In this episode, Daniel and Bennett discuss the phenomenon of gossip. Is gossip inherently negative? Is there a way that gossip can be a good thing? What sorts of people are more prone to gossip, and what are Daniel and Bennett's experiences with it?
Alternate title: Come Hail or High Water. In this episode, Bennett recounts a very intense hiking experience that he classifies as perhaps the most physically demanding thing he's ever done. Daniel asks questions along the way, making for what is hopefully an entertaining story.
Should we stop shooting fireworks on Independence Day to protect little Floofy's sensitive doggie mental state? What about the supposed veteran with PTSD who gets triggered by the explosions? Or is it reasonable to celebrate a cultural event with fireworks? Daniel and Bennett discuss. Daniel also brings back Father Bennett, this time presenting Bennett with three hypothetical fatherhood scenarios ranging from premonitions of doom to vegetarianism.
Daniel brings multiple fascinating language-related topics to this episode, including an idea borrowed from Malcolm Gladwell about how memory and language are intertwined. This leads Bennett and Daniel to examine other instances of language affecting memory, how culture ties in with language and behavior, and how aliens and AI might play into it all. This was a fun one that certainly contained some third space.
Daniel celebrates his last day of work (for the school year) apparently by recording a podcast. In it, he and Bennett complain about adult obligations like car registration and insurance, but then they transition to a discussion of fear. What does it mean to feel fear? Is it different from anxiety or panic? Do Bennett or Daniel have any phobias? This and more is discussed, so don't be afraid to listen.
Acknowledgement. In this episode, Daniel and Bennett discuss greetings and how odd they can be. Daniel satiates his curiosity about light bulbs and learns why we can't just have TV technology inside them (or can we?!). And finally, they discuss houses; what kind of house would be best? What room is the most important? How valuable is land? Are tiny homes a sinister social engineering scheme?
Well, Zelda came out, so of course Daniel and Bennett discuss it a little. But considering the length of the game, it will likely be a recurring mini-topic. Afterwards, Bennett forces a Daniel Does Science, this time asking: is it alive?! Daniel does a surprisingly good job assessing the living qualities of things like milk, blood, and mildew. This leads into a little bit of discussion on the educational system as well.
Daniel introduces a new segment called Overrated Or Underrated Or Just Rated (OOUOJR) that really allows Bennett to flex his judgment muscles. Shopping malls, empathy, electric cars, and jerking before bed, among other things, all are judged. See if you concur.
Mind Your Morals returns, this time with a topic that is a little closer to the real world than those of previous episodes: the practice known as assisted suicide, or more recently, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). Bennett presents Daniel with situations ranging from the sympathetic to the slightly outlandish, and Daniel tries to weigh the weight weights of morality and whether people should be assisted in achieving their own deaths.
What do you think about birds? A simple question, but one that occupies Daniel and Bennett for half of the podcast. They then consider what a world might be like if cheap, nutritionally complete pills were readily available. Would restaurants disappear? Would fat people cease to be? Would it be overall a good thing or a bad thing?
The recent Super Mario Bros. movie serves as the backbone of this podcast. Bennett gives his movie review, but the discussion spawns tangents about mind-over-matter, identification with characters in media, video game design, and sequelitis. And somehow we forgot to even say "So long, gay Bowser!"
The snow melts away, leaving plentiful piles of pet poop, which Bennett complains about. Daniel muses on the sentience of AI and whether humans are the only beings with souls. And Bennett brings up Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, an interesting disorder that Daniel and Bennett speculate on in relation to some current societal issues.
Daniel returns from his honeymoon to discuss teenage risk assessment, Willene in the Ingles parking lot, and Io, the moon of Jupiter, with a little help from Bennett. The conversation then broadens to vacation and travel in general; why do people travel? What's up with the people who make travel part of their identity? Should we live in a van?
Daniel conceptualizes a brand new segment for this episode: Father Bennett. Bennett is not actually a father, whether biologically or Catholically, but nevertheless Daniel presents him with a particular parenting scenario and has him explain how he would behave. This scenario involves Bennett's hypothetical teenage daughter wanting to wear somewhat revealing clothing, and Bennett handles the situation with tact and grace (in Bennett's opinion).
Mind your Morals returns after a few episodes, this time examining the risque topic of strip clubs. Are they moral, either for the strippers, the patrons, or the owners? If not, on what grounds? What about weird futuristic scenarios with VR strip clubs and robo-boobs? Bennett and Daniel examine it all.
Daniel has a cough, which turned out to be Covid. If it wasn't called that, it wouldn't have mattered at all, but by that name, it meant wearing the Scarlet Letter of a mask. We talk about that a little, and then Daniel turns the tables on Bennett by asking him to defend poetry. And he actually does it, sort of. Enjoy the discussion and the return of the phenomenal jingle.
You can consider this the beginning of a new Third Space Podcast, one where we shift from roughly monthly multi-hour podcasts to weekly sub-hour ones. In this episode, we do a fair job at trimming down the time while still keeping a favorite segment: Superpowers and Drawbacks. We also discuss... aliens! And don't miss out on the super sweet AI-generated jingle. Maybe AI really will take over the world.
In this episode of Third Space Podcast (3SP, see what I did with the title there?), Daniel enthusiastically introduces the conversational topic of ChatGPT, the recently popular AI chatbot. They discuss its function, potential, limitations, and the implications of AI bots for education and society; whether we will be overtaken by AI or tame it and be better humans with better tools.
In this well-paced episode, Bennett blows smoke about smoke detectors, then Superpowers and Drawbacks returns to its roots with a level 1 set of choices, and finally Bennett and Daniel discuss a generally unpleasant but also strangely interesting topic: death. Namely, the associated costs and rituals that accompany death and the possibility of exploitation in the death industry.
This is a very fun episode. We begin with This or That, back for the third or fourth run, and then we launch Country or Crock, which is very reminiscent of episode 35's Rap or Crap. Bennett presents Daniel with snippets of stereotypical or hilarious country songs in a variety of categories and has Daniel try to guess which are real and which Bennett just made up. If you don't hear from Bennett again, it's because he's moved to Nashville to become a honky-tonk star.
Bennett and Daniel kick things off by wondering why we still bother with signatures, which spawns multiple mini-topics ranging from celebrity autographs to retro video games. Then, after a long absence, Mind Your Morals returns, and by the end of the segment, we've eliminated cancer, racism, and mosquitos. So moral!
It's been a while since the last episode, but for good reason: Daniel got married! Not only that, but he's also gotten a new job and moved to a new state, so there's lots to catch up on. We talk about all things wedding-related, but not before discussing the difference between generalists and specialists, and how the US seems to be specializing more and more, for both good and ill.
This episode is all about Star Wars! Bennett and Daniel both, at some time or another, have considered themselves Star Wars fans, and here they discuss how they were exposed to Lucas' creative world and how they came to love it. And then, Bennett recounts his recent experience watching all of the live-action Star Wars content, including the more recent Disney productions that he skipped (out of disgust). Has his opinion matured? Has Disney redeemed itself? Listen and find out. Beware of spoilers.
In this episode, Bennett once again does his social duty by fixing the world's worst sport in Bennett Fixes Sports, and then Bennett and Daniel discuss a classy topic: dressing up. Has society ceased valuing dressing up? Is there some moral component to how we dress? Should dressing up be preserved, or is it better for us to accept a more casual fashion?
Bennett divulges a dubious dating drama to Daniel, we wonder about the whereabouts of words like wheelbarrow in another Adventures in Etymology, and finally we fantasize about the fraught future of phones and how terrific or terrible two-way telepathic telecommunication might be were it to become reality.
In the introductory small talk section of this episode, Daniel and Bennett appropriately discuss small talk and its possible utility before quickly getting to the level 8 (!) Superpowers and Drawbacks promised in the last episode. Finally, we round off the podcast with a discussion on creativity. What is it, exactly? Can animals have it? What about machines? This leads us into discussing consciousness and AI and other similarly enjoyable rabbit holes.
This is a podcast filled with experience: Bennett's recent solo ski trip, a Christmas break where Bennett and Daniel both caught Covid, and a New Year where Bennett and Daniel got to hang out and play lots of VR games. We discuss the pros and cons of VR, the Oculus Quest 2 in particular, and some of the games on it, then we talk about whether catching Covid lived up to the hype, and we comment on how the world collectively responded.
It's been a few weeks since the last episode, during which time Daniel and Bennett both got a year older, and Bennett moved some 2000+ miles across the US. We kick things off by talking about these things, including B movies, midget wrestling, VR headsets, cowboy roadblocks, and more. Then Bennett tests Daniel's hip hop acuity by having him try to guess whether certain verses are from real rap songs or fake ones written by Bennett, AKA Lil' Bennett, reminiscent of Episode 8: Hereditary Poetry.
After some introductory minutiae about sleep and video game emulation, Daniel and Bennett discuss Bennett's impending cross-country move, his packing process, and how (un)stressful it is to him. Then, Mind Your Morals makes an appearance, this time involving a one-way wormhole and its potential uses as an alternative to current methods of capital punishment.
This episode kicks off with some musing on fear responses. What makes people startle easily? And can a person's susceptibility to jump scares depend on their class or even the surrounding technology? Then, Superpowers and Drawbacks returns with a delightfully-ranked set of level 2 choices, and we round the episode off by imagining what the world would be like if we had devices that could near-instantly replenish our sleepiness.
Are you ready for an adventure? YEAH! And Adventure in Etymology? Y-yeah! Adventures in Etymology returns with a few common idioms, then Daniel and Bennett discuss organization and efficiency for a bit before questioning the culture of tipping. Why do we tip, and should we continue to? An age-old debate sure to annoy waiters and waitresses everywhere (or maybe convince them).
This episode covers a wide range of topics, including Daniel's experimentation with a juice cleanse, another rendition of Bennett Fixes Sports with the timely subject of the Olympics, and a discussion about nostalgia, fantasy, and classic video games.
How much should those in a conversation consider their audience? Is it permissible to behave dis-harmoniously for audience benefit? How was Daniel's recent trip to Alaska? And, primarily: Bennett tries to present an argument against the claim that the world would be a better place with more empathy, and that instead sympathy is the better response to suffering.
After a four episode absence, Superpowers and Drawbacks returns to its level 1 roots with an enjoyably named set of options, and then Daniel and Bennett imagine a world where humanity has invented refrigerator-sized consumer teleportation devices. What would happen to shopping trends, vacationing, education, crime, and more with the restrictions of proximity broken?
In a beautiful springtime walkabout podcast, Bennett very cruelly grills Daniel in what is perhaps his weakest area, geography, in a long-awaited Daniel Does Science. Afterwards, we discuss whether it is ever useful for people to delude themselves, and if such a thing is even possible.
Up to this point, we've studiously avoided talking much about covid, but Daniel recently got a vaccine, which spurs much covid-related discussion on risk, reaction, and reflection. We also laugh at a weird guy playing strange music on a bow, and we introduce a new segment called Adventures in Etymology that starts off in the classiest way: poop words.
This or That makes its triumphant return, which spurs discussions about desserty delicacies, methods of death, and the offensiveness of drag. We also examine the "word gap," a proposed reason for differences in achievement of kids of different classes. Mixed in, there's some talk about entertainment, technology, the hero's journey, and more.
This episode is dominated by an intricate and outlandish Mind Your Morals involving genies and Christmas gifts. Is Daniel strong enough to resist the genie's temptations and threats? Are you? There's also some talk about minimalism and multivitamins, in case you're into that.
Why don't people return the shopping cart? Why are striped shirts usually horizontal? How important are eyebrows? Why are our pets fat? All of this and more is discussed in this episode, along with a level 6 (!) Superpowers and Drawbacks and a discussion on the anthropomorphization of pets.
In this episode, we cover a lot of ground, beginning with the educational system and its failings, as well as what a large-scale apprenticeship replacement might look like. The we introduce a new segment: This or That! It spawns multiple mini-topics. And lastly, we discuss the concept of intrinsic identity by basically psychoanalyzing Daniel.
This is a bizarre episode for reasons I explain at the start of the podcast, but at least it ended up releasable. We cover a range of topics from spam calls to wrinkle cream to horror movies and egg terrorism. Then we discuss a level 3 Superpowers and Drawbacks before diving into the topic of voting, not related to the 2020 election, but instead to how we might create a new voting system and what obstacles it would face.
Bennett creates a sport everyone -- literally everyone -- can enjoy in Bennett Fixes Sports, Daniel and Bennett discuss the benefits of skepticism, and then Bennett has an affair while Daniel defeats a Sith Lord (at least in an AI-generated story). We also have our most awkward ending yet, thanks to TECHNOLOGY.
Bennett experiments with a walkabout podcast while Daniel is chained to his desk, poetic remembrances of noble appliances are had, and we examine and complain about the ever-present, annoying world of advertising.
Kids whacking things with baseball bats! Unattentive drivers wrecking Bennett's car! (Im)moral situations of zapping phones in Mind Your Morals! This onomatopoeic episode covers it all, along with some discussion on the effects of social media in general.
Whoa! Daniel and Bennett do a "live" podcast! Well, live in the sense that they're both sitting at the same table in person instead of talking virtually. Topics are many and varied, including eye contact, virtual communication vs. live interaction, retro gaming on the SNES, and a tried-and-true Superpowers and Drawbacks.
Daniel and Bennett discuss fat-tired bikes, dive into a Mind Your Morals segment that handles both towel dirtying and cancer laser home invasion, and then examine the strange and uncomfortable phenomenon of "worlds colliding," and for some reason grandma's urn keeps popping up amid it all.
This episode features pandemic related broccoli tragedies, a set of extraordinarily lame Superpowers and Drawbacks, some examination of distance learning, and a rigged game where Daniel attempts to guess foreign accents, proving empirically that Bennett isn't as bad at accents as he suspected.
Daniel ponders the wisdom of refrigerator door opening strategies, we introduce a new segment, Bennett Fixes Sports, which will surely annoy sports fans (especially hockey fans), and we take a look at two interesting situations in another edition of Mind Your Morals.
Daniel introduces a new segment tentatively called "What Are Your Thoughts?" that, in this instance, examines professional cuddling. We also discuss intimacy and AI, the hardest video game Bennett has ever played, and Daniel Does Science (with body odor!).
In this episode, Daniel and Bennett talk about Lil' Wayne, touch on the hot topic of Corona virus, do a rank 5 Superpowers and Drawbacks, and examine a theory of meaningfulness that breaks the concept down into 5 easily communicable components.
A new segment graces this episode: Mind Your Morals, where we examine the intricacies of mild, medium, or spicy ethical dilemmas. We also discuss Kobe Bryant's death, hyper-theticals, and food labeling.
This first episode after Christmas kicks off with Superpowers and Drawbacks, and then delves into Bennett and Daniel's experience and thoughts on gifts, both how they're given and how they're received.
In this episode, we discuss Daniel's dental dilemmas, suss out the suckiness of cyclists, Daniel Does Science (Astronomy!), reminisce about childhood activities, and examine superstition. It also appears that Daniel's mic wasn't configured for this episode, so apologies for the lower audio quality on his end.
This episode contains a number of topics, including food delivery services, the etymology of the word testify, how attention works, auto-driving cars, and malware. This episode wraps up with another Superpowers and Drawbacks.
In this episode, Daniel and Bennett discuss family and the importance of lineage. Next, Bennett tests Daniel's English teacher cred with a set of poems, trying to see if he really knows his stuff or not, and trying to see whether poetry is worthwhile or just pretentious nonsense.
Daniel introduces a new game called The Test Results Are In, which deals with some unusual mental disorders. Another installment of Superpowers and Drawbacks follows, and then Daniel and Bennett discuss AI, robotics, and phonaesthetics, the beauty of words.
This episode begins with a lengthy and in-depth examination of words, how they're used, how they might come to be created, and how communication is influenced by word choice. Daniel also describes his first ski experience, and Bennett presents some (not so) surprising data and discussion on online dating.
In this episode, Daniel questions Bennett on how best to teach those who don't want to learn, they recall video games from their childhood (and the recent spate of video game movies), and Daniel recounts his bullying experience. They also make some predictions about the upcoming ski trip.
In this episode, Bennett and Daniel discuss the mysterious topic of dreams, the joy of terrible B movies, their preferences on fashion in the context of relationships, and the condition known as aphantasia, where one lacks a "mind's eye."
In this episode, Daniel and Bennett discuss the annoying aspects of being adults and paying taxes, Daniel Does Science (!), and we have a lengthy talk about personality psychology and the Myers Briggs Typology Indicator (MBTI).
Note: Due to a recording problem, Daniel's audio ends at about 1:11:15. Sorry about that. The remaining discussion is left in, despite it being one-sided, just in case the information Bennett mentions is interesting, even though his jokes don't make sense in isolation.
In this episode, Daniel introduces "Bennett Tries Trending," where he presents a popular topic that Bennett has inevitably never heard of for his thoughts. This time, it's the Yoni Egg, featured in a particular Youtube video that has unfortunately since been removed. Also, we examine more superpowers and drawbacks, the relationship between happiness and meaning, and more.
This inaugural episode kicks off the Superpowers/Drawbacks segment, then Daniel and Bennett discuss the scientific and psychological aspects of observation, hair management, brains "lighting up," and education, among other things.
Welcome to the Third Space Podcast! This episode will give a brief introduction to Bennett, Daniel, and the content of the podcast. While this intro is semi-scripted, the full episodes are unscripted and much longer. Each episode contains one or more main topics, undoubtedly some winding tangents, and a few silly recurring segments here and there. Feel free to start at any episode (though Bennett has a special fondness for episode 4, Of Dreams and the Mind's Eye, to start). Please enjoy!