Episodes
Monday Nov 18, 2024
The Science of Corruption w/ Dave Baehler
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
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!
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
This $h!t Is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
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!
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Would You Like to Play a Game Theory?
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
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.
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Nate's Millions and Other News
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
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.
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Joyce vs. The $64,000 Question vs. the Senate
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
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.
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
Mt. Tabor is Dead, Boring
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
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.
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Spy Whales, Plastic Brains, and See-Through Mice
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
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!
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
E.C. Waters: The Biggest A-hole in All of Yellowstone
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
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!
Monday Aug 12, 2024
The Church vs. The Lightning Rod
Monday Aug 12, 2024
Monday Aug 12, 2024
"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?
Monday Aug 05, 2024
"Dark Oxygen," the OshKosh Airshow, and the great Roseburg Blast of 1959
Monday Aug 05, 2024
Monday Aug 05, 2024
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.