Mark and Toddcast

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.