Science... Sort Of

We had so much fun with Jurassic Park that we've decided to come back with our second installment of Science.. sort of Theater 3000! Or something like that. This round we're tackling J. J. Abrams 2009 reboot of Star Trek! If you don't have the movie, don't worry, it's available for instant play from Amazon at this link here. Jacob and Ryan start things off with some instruction for how to sync up the audio then they're joined by Kelly, Ben, and Charlie to watch the movie. We hope you enjoy listening be cause we sure enjoyed talking!   Thanks for listening and be sure to check out all the great content available from the Brachiolope Media Network!   (Obvious) Music for this week's show: Star Trek Theme (2009) - Michael Giacchino

00:00:00 - Science keeps chugging along, and the media keeps reporting it wrong. This week Patrick and Ryan go toe-to-toe in the friendliest of ways with recurring guest Brian Switek and newly minted guest Derek Mead in a discussion of how the science gets reported based on an article by Derek and a how-to guide by Double X Science. 00:32:27 - Having been told that reporters drinks, the Paleopals decide to do the same. Derek downs a Modelo Especial sin Lima, because apparently cirtrus in "chincy." Don't worry, Ryan asks what it means while he also drinks a Restraining Order cocktail. Patrick isn't sure if he's drinking a Magic Hat #9, and he also isn't sure if he likes it. 00:36:40 - Time travel may not yet be possible, but if it was don't expect a warranty especially if you're responding to the classfied ad which inspired this week's Trailer Trash Talk: Safety Not Guaranteed. 00:42:41 - The Paleopals et al. discuss the recent failures of mainstream science journalism that prompted the discussion part 1 of

This short special edition is a recording of the speech I gave to a group at a rally on April 14, 2012 opposing HB0386 and supporting good science education in TN. My open letter to the governor is available here, and the following is a transcript of my speech: My name is Ryan Haupt, I'm a graduate student at Vanderbilt University. I came to Nashville specifically to study how species evolve in response to climate change, so this bill hits very close to home. I was raised in a state where evolution and other "controversial topics" were not taught in schools, but in my home I was taught to question everything, so by actively taking courses that challenged me in college, I was able to learn about evolution and its role in the natural world. This knowledge inflamed a passion that has driven me to dedicate my life to the study of science, and the exploration of the natural world through the scientific method. However, my story is likely the exception, not the rule. I should not have had to wait until college t

00:00:00 - Jason Head joins us to talk about Titanoboa, the largest snake ever found and subject a new documentary starring Dr. Head himself. Part 1 tackles the initial discovery and piecing together of the biology of the snake. We actually recommend watching the documentary (or play the game) first, but you're a smart person, you'll figure it out regardless. 00:27:29 - Some snakes function better in the water, some scientists podcast better with a drink. Charlie tries his hand at cider, Patrick calls back to an old-faithful Pinot Noir, and Ryan compliments his recently acquired Biere De Mars from Jolly Pumpkin. 00:31:28 - Trailer Trash Talk tangents into board game territory, i.e. anything to avoid talking about how bad Battleship looks. 00:43:50 - Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Jason Head finishes the story of The Infamous Biting of John Bloch, as well as discussing the paleoecological significance of this awesome find. We also ask about the process of having a documentary made about your work. All in

00:00:00 - This week the Paloepals are joined by Ryan Brown of the Glacial Till blog! He joins us to break down some space rock basics for diving into our second segment. SYNERGY! 00:16:55 - In the future drinks might come from asteroids. For now they just come from bottles. Ryan B. has a Down Under Stout by Red Hook. Charlie believes in Ninkasi's Believer. Patrick wades into Heavy Seas with a Loose Canon. And Ryan H. tries to balance confusing weather with a Dogfishhead 75 Minute IPA. 00:23:34 - This week on Trailer Trash Talk the guys all start by giving their opinion of Wes Anderson, then their opinion of fonts, then finally their opinions on his new movie Moonrise Kingdom. 00:36:33 - Charlie pulls his PaleoPOW trigger early by using an e-mail from Michael S. as the introduction to our second segment discussion the new startup Planetary Resources, which hopes to mine asteroids for all their astro-goodness. Can they do it? What does Jacob think? Will they hire Charlie? We tackle the big questions! 00:54

00:00:00 - Tyranosaurs be feathered! David Hone joins Patrick and Ryan to talk about the cuddliest of all megapredators just released from the fertile fossil fields of the Orient! 00:27:57 - With new dinos out of the way the guys kick back for a cold one. Charlie keeps consistent with a Coors Light, Patrick thinks it's a lovely day for a Guinness, Zach Weiner has a NEW handcrafted cocktail: Thai Iced Weiner. And Ryan harkens back to Zach's first appearance and tries to show him how to do a fruity malt beverage right with a Bridgeport Brewing Stumptown Tart! 00:34:14 - The criticisms flow like water for the upcoming shock-umentary Last Call at the Oasis which is the subject of this week's Trailer Trash Talk! 00:49:36 - Hyenas will eat just aobut anything, so what happens when the nearby humans drastically change their diet for 40 days? Well the hyenas have to go on lent too, at least that what scientists have found by going through their poop. Donkeys beware when Ethopians stop chowing down on delicious goa

00:00:00 - A new study sheds light on the effects of social hierarchies in monkeys, which may then help us understand why those of lower social status are less healthy than their well-to-do peers. Finally, monkeys helping the poor instead of just messing stuff up. 00:11:39 - Drinks, they're what monkeys wish they had to unwind. Charlie ups the ante with a Drake's IPA. Patrick keeps it local with a Starr Hill Jomo lager. And Ryan is perplexed by the hipster can of his Sixpoint Resin Imperial IPA. 00:16:11 - This week's Trailer Trash Talks discusses the pleasant lack of found footage, the creepiness of little girls, and the propensity of Russians for drink all contained within the preview of Chernobyl Diaries. 00:26:04 - Fossil raindrops be falling! We know they happened, but under what conditions? A new study sheds light upon the status of the atmosphere whence old rain fell. Further, this also helps explain the 'faint young sun paradox'. All that science from one old rock with dimples! Thanks for Manuel G.

00:00:00 - What's the point of being smart if you don't get to argue about the little things? The Paleopals start the show by breaking down some of the pedantic scientific distinctions brought up on io9.  00:27:09 - While there may be no real distinction between left and right, we know for sure that at least one hand of each Paleopal holds a drink, the question is, what is it? For Patrick it's and Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout. Kelly enjoys a Real Ale Rio Blanco, complete with a drawl. Ryan enjoys an Aviation from Juliana. It's a classic pre-prohibition cocktail, and Juli has been mixing up a storm. Finally, Charlie imbibes a silver bullet.  00:32:42 - Will Ryan been able to let the others speak when Trailer Trash Talk tackles Marvel's The Avengers? The only way to find out is to listen. 00:45:37 - We now know newts use their kidneys for sex. We're not sure exactly how, we're not sure exactly why, but we know that it happens. Thank you, science! 00:54:24 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like sex kidneys, if you real

00:00:00 - The LRO, everyone's favorite lunar orbiter, has taken some photos of Space Race era Soviet landers which has finally answered pressing questions such as: did the lander fall over? and, why was this rock so weird? 17:24 - It's easier to drink on Earth than on the moon, especially carbonated beverages such as Ben's Canada Dry ginger ale or Jacob's Cold Nose brown ale. Ryan, however, would be sipping just fine on his Balcones Rumble, whatever the gravity. 00:23:22 - Trailer Trash Talk gets cutesy with the upcoming Disney documentary Chimpanzee.  00:36:23 - Jacob wishes we could live long enough to take advantage of ion thrusters (which he's written about before on the Paleocave blog), Ryan wants to know what this means for TIE fighters, and Ben finally understands the aerodynamics of the Star Wars universe. 00:53:47 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like ion thrusters, they take a long time to get going but are hard to stop. Ben has a tangent promoting e-mail from Peggy. Jacob helps Randy answer an elementary

00:00:00 - Amateur astronomers have been pouring over a cloud on Mars. What could it be? No one is quite sure, but no matter what it's a game-changer for the red planet. 00:16:55 - Mars may be dry but the Paleopals are not. Charlie has an IPA that would be good if not for a better one earlier in the week. Ryan cracks open a microbrew in a tallboy. And Kelly supports gay rights with a decaf Starbucks coffee. 00:22:49 - This week's Trailer Trash Talk is on the trail of a The Hunter, a new movie about looking for Tasmanian tigers amidst intrigue and drama. The Paleopals also spend some time talking about Thylacines and marsupials in general. 00:36:15 -  For awhile the Universe was missing mass. An Australian student finally looked in the largest objects ever known and found it. What were the odds? 00:48:28 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like galactic filaments; they both take up more space than expected. Ryan has a new recurring donation for Abigail A. Thanks, Abigail! Charlie answers a question about exoplanetary at

00:00:00 - Male fruit flies hit the bottle harder after rejection from females. There's brain chemistry involved which might actually help humans suffering from depression and PTSD. A study of drunk flies that could help humans? Potentially the perfect win-win science study. 00:16:26 - In the wake of St. Patrick's Day, what are the Paleopals enjoying? Jacob has a faux-Irish beer with a Killians. Charlie has a possible bourbon with Maker's Mark (including an excellent sounding recipe for bread pudding). And Ryan experiments in the world of Irish whiskey with a Charlie-approved Tullamore Dew. 00:24:14 - Ryan doesn't quite seem to get the title of this week's subject of Trailer Trash Talk: The Hunger Games. Thankfully, Jacob and Charlie are there to explain, along with helpful hints for how to utilize your town's digital library. 00:34:40 - Jacob is excited about the new hot thing in rocket launch technology, Ryan just wants to reminisce about the good old days. Can they find an accord? Yes, yes they can. 00

00:00:00 - Illustrator David Peters thinks a tiny pterosaur was a vampiric leach of larger sauropods. Does paleontologist Chris Bennett agree? Should we ignore evidence so we can live in a world with blood sucking pterosaurs? These are the important questions of our time, people. 00:23:28 - Some drinks that aren't blood include: a Kona koko brown as enjoyed by Charlie, water from a mug via Ben, Newman's own wine as imbibed by Kelly, and the classic beer and a shot combo Canadian style consumed by Ryan. 00:28:13 - Este semana en Trailer Trash Talk, actor Will Ferrell es en una pelicula nueva, llama Casa de Mi Padre, sobre drugas en Mexico. Todas las personas le gusta? 00:43:01 - Everybody knows lizards love to leap. Now biomechanical scientists from Robert Full's lab have tested just how their tails help them leap so well, by building robots. And of course, they had to test their findings against Jurassic Park. Did the movie get it right? Listen and find out! 00:55:58 - PalePOWs are a lot like pterosaurs,

00:00:00 - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson joins the Paleopals for the first time in 101 episodes to talk about NASA budgets, exploration, and his new book Space Chronicles! Be sure to check out Dr. Tyson's own podcasting efforts on the show Star Talk Radio. 00:36:17 - Drinks, they're a part of the show, so they get a segment. This is that segment. Ben has a typical (for him) weird coconut drink (with jelly). Charlie has a midday can of Cocoa-Cola Classic. And Ryan has a hasty gimlet. 00:39:31 - Trailer Trash Talk gets dark, and potentially boring, with the trailer for the quasi-historical Poe thriller The Raven. 00:49:22 - Even though Ben just did an entire show on warp drives, there's always something new to talk about, and he does just that. 01:03:45 - PaleoPOWs are lot like space, both are worth investing in. Charlie has our "bread and butter" of feedback, an iTunes review from Brittany Vegas. Ryan has a Facebook comment from Matthew P. concerning our Science... sort of Theater, as well as more cinematic corr

00:00:00 - The Russians are repopulating their tundra with 30,000 year old squirrel leftovers i.e. they germinated a plant from a 30,000 year old seed (sort of)  and now they have a pretty flower. Awesome. 00:13:18 - Drinks are needed to make plants and Paleopals grow. Jacob has BAWLS, don't ask. Kelly has a favorite win. And Ryan has a Dark Depths Baltic IPA that he's happy to explain. 00:17:38 - Ryan subjects Kelly and Jacob to the insanity of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie on this week's trailer trash talk. Will they be charmed or disgusted? Listen and learn! 00:29:03 - Finally! A fungus has been found that eats plastic and likes it. Stop worrying about conservation, apparently it's all taken care of. 00:41:07 - PaleoPOWs are like plastic eating fungi, they probably won't amount to much. Kelly has an e-mail to Ryan from Cameron about our Special Edition Jurassic Park commentary! Ryan has an iTunes review from the DepressionMachine that is anything but. And Jacob has a blog comment from an old blog

00:00:00 - Lake Vostok is perhaps the most difficult to get to lake in the world. Yet the Russians have spent over a decade attempting to tap it. What's the deal? Why so interesting? And is it even a good idea? There's a lot to say about Vostok and the Paleopals waste no time diving right in. (Also: Secret Nazi Hilter clones from the South Pole, you can't make this stuff up.) 00:22:00 - Many people enjoy drinking near lakes. The Paleopals are no exception. Patrick is sitting on and sipping on a Red Chair from Deschuttes. Charlie has his the mark with an affordable Cotes du Rhone. And Ryan is slamming down a Hopslam. 00:26:00 - This week Trailer Trash Talk feels like its rehashing familiar territory as the Paleopals discuss Thin Ice. 00:35:00 - If lakes weren't already taking up enough space on land, now they're hiding out at the bottom of the ocean! While Patrick gets pedantic, Charlie and Ryan discuss the trippiness of these wicked "subaqueous lenses." 00:46:15 - PaleoPOWs are lot like lakes, Patrick is

00:00:00 - Brynn Metheney joins us to talk about coffee, aparently, but also her new world-building project 'The Red Valley' and her new print for sale featuring a very familiar mascot. 00:18:31 - This week we're dealing with feedback asking about biology. Leslie L. wants to know about ring species and Summer F. asks about genetic bottlenecks. Charlie explains. (Just kidding, Ryan and Patrick explain, but Charlie asks good questions.) 00:40:35 - Everyone is drinking something new. Charlie has a Wee heavy that Ryan suspects may be a trap. Patrick learns the value of a porter done just right. And Ryan is quaffing Spanish brandy, from a snifter and everything. 00:48:15 - Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a movie that apparently got made. Does its trailer do anything to sway opinions in its favor? Tune to find out! 00:57:04 - And finally, two folks, Manuel G. and Kyle H., asked about multicellularity with a link to the same article. Coincidence or cooperation? You decide! 01:11:41 - PaleoPOWs are a lot lik

And now for something completely different! We Paleopals figured it might be fun to watch a movie together. We also figured it might be fun for you to join us. Thus this experiment was born. So the entire crew sat down and watched the 1993 cinematic classic Jurassic Park, while simultaneously on Skype and these are the results. This show is intended as a fun and scientificially informed running commentary to be listened to while watching the movie. Jacob provides instructions in the first few minutes on how to sync up your viewing with ours then it's off to the races! Hold onto your butts and enjoy the show! Thanks for listening! We really want some feedback on this so let us know how you liked it. We want to do more but only if there's sufficient demand. And if you come up with a more efficient way to title these episodes, send that our way too. As always, we are are proud member of the Brachiolope Media Network, so check out our other shows for more fun science podcasts. (Obvious) music for this week's sh

00:00:00 - Bora Zivkovic chats with Ryan about Science Online 2012, the unconference that we're happy to have clutter our twitter feeds! Then Jacquelyn Gill returns to tell us about her experiences as a participant as the very same conferences. Two perspectives?! It's like real journalism in here. 00:34:34 - Taking a cue from #Scio12, the paleopals also kick back with a beverage. Guest Jacquelyn is chilling out with some hot ginger lemon tea. Patrick is searching for nirvana in a Japanese barley ale. And Ryan is getting wet with Old Burly. Ryan also uses the label as an excuse to drop some New River facts on the crew in preparation for an upcoming segment. SYNERGY! 00:40:40 - A surprising origin, director, cast, and writer leave the paleopals conflicted on the trailer for the upcoming oddly-titled movie John Carter. 00:53:53 - Plants and rivers have been shaping the earth dramatically since they both showed up on land. Nature did a special feature concerning some new discoveries on the matter and the paleo

00:00:00 - Are you dying to know how diamonds make it to Earth's surface? Well the answer just might kill you. Abraham Padilla joins the Paleopals once more to talk about gas-powered kimberlite super-volcanoes on steroids. BOOM! 00:22:20 - Beer is also gas powered... sort of. Charlie has a beer of a different sort with his Bundaberg ginger beer from the land down under. Ben is stocked up on weird pop and this week choses to enjoy a Blue Sky Cherry Vanilla Cream Natural Soda. The name is as long as the taste is good. And finally, Abe has brought Ryan some hard to pronounce Icelandic beer: Kaldi Dökkur Lager Bjór and Skjalfti (photo of Ryan podcasting at the link!). 00:28:15 -Movies often show you an occurrence of events in a temporal sequence, but few are as on the nose about it as the upcoming found footage superpower flick Chronicle. 00:37:11 - Thanks to science, we now have a better idea of what color Archaeopteryx might have been. This also sheds light on it's abilities as a flyer. Ben gets distracted b

00:00:00 - David Shiffman, from the Why Sharks Matter blog, joins the Paleopals to discuss the recently discovered hybrid shark in Australia. He has a lot to say about the media coverage of sharks, global warming, and this story in particular.  Be sure to check out Southern Fried Science for more marine science blogging! 00:33:04 - Fact: sharks are found in water. Fact: Water is a drink. Fact: The Paleopals have drinks. Conclusion: the Paleopals are actually sharks. Charlie breaks out a Boont amber ale. Patrick slums it with an old Blue Moon. And Ryan has a Yeti-Christ from Ben. 00:36:05 - This week on Trailer Trash Talk the Paleopals are breaking down the ice of Big Miracle. A movie in the "whale genre" according to Patrick, and based on some real world events involving far fewer white people.  00:49:18 - The Hominid Hunting blog from Smithsonian Magazine had a post suggesting that Gigantopithecus may have been the inspiration for prehistoric Sasquatches. The article is... interesting, but it all gets sil