Mark and Toddcast

Presidential historians and US News & World Report have updated their list of Presidential ratings now that we're in a new administration. Spoilers: the guy who has always been at the bottom of the list continues to be dead last. Who is it? And why is it universally agreed that he was the absolute worst president? We'll find out why in this episode.

Alan Turning was a visionary in mathematics, cryptography, computer science, code-cracking, philosophy, and more. He set the foundations for modern computing and artificial intelligence, and helped crack the Enigma Code - saving an estimated 2 years of continuing war and up to 14 million people in the process.  He was also openly gay, which led to his arrest and chemical castration by the British authorities. It's a tragic story of a brilliant life cut too short by society's inability to view gay people as human.

Robert Smalls was born into slavery, and through his wit, patience, bravery, and skill, was able to steal a Confederate war ship and sail himself, his wife, and several other families past Fort Sumter and to freedom during the Civil War. But that wasn't the end - Smalls went on to become one of the most important figures of the fight against the South, gained the ear of Lincoln, and secured voting rights for African-Americans after the war.

We also read a story about anuses.

We're back after our extended break, and this week we take a closer look at how Bernoulli's principles of pressure work to create things like airplane lift and curve ball curves  - unless you're in space.

Like any good story, this one begins with Kruschev and Nixon, drenches itself in vodka, and ends with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Grab yourself a soda (or pop?) and take a ride through Russia's relationship with Pepsi, the first American product sold in the soviet block.

Found in a shipwreck and dating back to A.D. 100, the Antikytheria Mechanism proved to be one of the most fascinating devices ever: it accurately predicted the positions of the earth, moon, sun, and planets -- more than 500 years before we even realized the sun was the center of the universe.

To celebrate one year of remote recording, we actually recorded a show with both of us in the same room! Join us as we review some of the topics and news stories that have been piling up over the past couple of weeks.

A supercut of Mark's opening "Dad Joke" from the past year of episodes.

Few substances have changed the world more than stainless steel, yet its magical properties often go uncelebrated. This week we change that, as we look in to the history (and future) of stainless steel.

Hello, world! This week we take a look at a handful of hidden-in-plain-sight "phenomenons" that appear in films, music, and even computer programs. That's all I feel like writing.