364 episodes

Conversations about things that are science, things that are sort of science, and things that wish they were science.

A member of the Brachiolope Media Network.

Science... sort of Ryan Haupt

    • Science
    • 4.7 • 50 Ratings

Conversations about things that are science, things that are sort of science, and things that wish they were science.

A member of the Brachiolope Media Network.

    347 - Skipping Strikes

    347 - Skipping Strikes

    00:00:00 - Researchers have determined that if you want one big skip instead of many little skips you should select a potato-shaped rock instead of a flat one. If that’s what you’re into…
    00:23:00 - Another way to enjoy a day on the river is with a beverage. Patrick is back to basics with a Guinness. Charlie is legally enjoying a Rogue Ginger Yuzu CBD Seltzer. And Ryan is recovering with some maximum-strength cold medicine.
    00:31:45 - In the war between astronomers and lightning, the astronomers are now fighting back by using lasers to steer lightning across the sky!
    00:51:25 - The PaleoPOWs are a lot like lightning, we’re never sure where it’s going to hit but we can hope to guide it. First up, Patrick provides a Canadian Apple Podcasts Review from Peachy🍑Jess, who was kind enough to give us 5 stars! Next up, Charlie has an e-mail from Gerrit B. who provides some neat updates after listening to episode 342 and provides the following links:
    American Solar Challenge
    Inside the First Solar-Powered Flight Around the World
    US Navy synthesizes jet fuel solely out of seawater; costs $3-6 gallon
    Missing Link to a Livable Climate: How Hydrogen-Enabled Synthetic Fuels Can Help Deliver the Paris Goals
    ​​​​​​​​​​​​Fission Battery Initiative​​ Workshop
    And finally, Patron Adrian K. has earned their BSso by submitting for our consideration a thesis entitled: Ballistics and Skip-tistics: Laser-guided manufacture of fulgurite skipping stones. Thanks, Adrian!
    More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!
    Music credit: Smooth Stone - Blue Dot Sessions
    Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

    • 1 hr 9 min
    346 - Kenji and the Indestructible, Functional, No Fooling, Very Versatile Wok

    346 - Kenji and the Indestructible, Functional, No Fooling, Very Versatile Wok

    00:00:00 - Ryan is joined by cookbook author and YouTuber J. Kenji López-Alt to discuss his latest book The Wok: Recipes and Techniques, available wherever fine books are sold including our own page on Bookshop.org. Can you ruin your wok your first time using it? Is carbon steel superior to cast iron? Can you poison your guests with hot peppers? Tune in to find out!
    00:26:40 - Ryan enjoys an Americano made using Worka Sakaro beans roasted by Night Swim Coffee in Charlotte, NC.
    00:30:15 - Part two of Ryan’s hard-hitting no-holds-barred discussion of the wok with Kenji continues!
    00:58:30 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like cooking with woks: if you get all your ingredients together beforehand you’re done before you know it. This episode features three comments from the world of Facebook by Tom V., Shawn G., and Mike B., respectively. Thanks, guys!
    More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!
    Music credit: Juparo - Broke for Free
    Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

    • 1 hr 8 min
    345 - Evil Prevails

    345 - Evil Prevails

    00:00:00 - Manly Ryan North (@ryanqnorth) returns to the show to talk to Ben and Handsome Ryan (not a self-selected nickname) to talk about his new book, How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain, available now wherever fine books are sold!
    00:36:00 - Taking over the world is thirst work. Fortunately, we came prepared. Ben is enjoying some burdock tea, which comes from the roots of a bush. Ryan is having the debatably thematic Thespian Espionage by Weathered Ground Brewing.
    00:44:59 - The discussion with Ryan North continues. Learn more at supervillainbook.com or snag your own copy via our Bookshop.org affiliate page!
    01:25:56 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like supervillains, you want to trust them, but should you? Ben starts off with an e-mail from Brandon who enjoyed the live show where everyone met Ben in person, or were they only meeting a satellite android body of an AI still hanging out on a computer in a garage? Ben claims quantum computer-hood in response. Ryan then presents a 5-star Apple Podcasts review from RJM544. Thanks, RJM544! Finally, Patron Rj M. has earned a BSso by writing a thesis entitled: Applications of N.E.M.O. (Northern Ermergent Monstrous Occurrences) and their use in acquiring federal funding to topple city-states: A case study in training a Chessai (Chesapeakus monstorius) to commit villainy on behalf of coercive doctoral research. Thanks, Rj M.!
    More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!
    Music credit: Villano - Blue Dot Sessions
    Audio Production: Rob Heath

    • 1 hr 43 min
    344 - Stung by the Truth

    344 - Stung by the Truth

    00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are thrilled to be joined by her friend and colleague, Dr. Andrew Forbes! He’s a parasitic insect kind of guy (not meant as an insult!) and we discuss his journey a bit before diving into some recent and exciting research!
    00:35:37 - It could be argued that parasites drink the lifeforce of others, but hopefully that’s not the case with us. Ryan doubles down with an Americano using Jorge Raul Rivera Pacamara Honey #96 beans from Chalatenango, El Salvador via Black & White Roasters, which is delicious. Kelly doesn’t have a beer so is settling for a lactose-free White Salamander after wrapping up season 1 of her new project D.O.R.K.S. Andrew is enjoying some aged beer to celebrate the birth of his son in the form of a 2008-vintage Bigfoot Barleywine from Sierra Nevada. And Ryan comes back around to finish the segment with bourbon-barrel aged elderberry infused cider from Hawk Knob
    00:46:46 - We continue our conversation with Andrew, including a discussion of these two (open access!) papers:
    Quantifying the unquantifiable: why Hymenoptera, not Coleoptera, is the most speciose animal order
    Ormyrus labotus (Hymenoptera: Ormyridae): Another Generalist That Should not be a Generalist is not a Generalist
    For more parasitic insects in your life, you can follow Andrew on Twitter @Lord_Forbinton
    01:19:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like wasps; they can sting more than once and still survive. First up, Ryan and Kelly tackle a question from Brett H. about hyperparasitoids on Finnish islands (if you believe that Finland even exists) and then they come up with a BSso for patron Roberta A. R. who has impressively completed a study entitled: VESPA (Variability of ectoparasites on species of pollinating Apoidea): A study of a very cool wasps that infect bees then manipulate bee behavior to bury themselves underground so the temperature is better or something see the rest of the thesis for the details. Thanks, Roberta!
    More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!
    Music credit: Flutterbee - Podington Bear
    Audio Production: Rob Heath

    • 1 hr 50 min
    Special Edition 16 - Project Hail Mary

    Special Edition 16 - Project Hail Mary

    00:00:00 - Time for a special edition Science… sort of Book Club! Ryan, Joe, and Tim all read Andy Weir’s new novel Project Hail Mary. What did they think of it? How was the science? Should Andy Weir design escape rooms? All this, and more, is discussed!
    To buy the book, we recommend using our affiliate program with bookshop.org/shop/sciencesortof, we get a small percent for sending you there and the book will be sent to you by a local bookshop. Win win!
    More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!
    Music credit: Ave Maria - Podington Bear
    Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

    • 1 hr 11 min
    343 - Webb's in the Greenhouse

    343 - Webb's in the Greenhouse

    00:00:00 - There’s a new telescope in town to look out of town and see exactly what’s going on in this here galaxy. Introducing… the James Webb Space Telescope! What can it do? Where can it do it? And did we name it after a not so great dude? All this and more are discussed!
    00:36:36 - Drinks are any beverage that are consumed. Here, we talk about them. Joe is having tea with lemon and honey to help with a cough. Ryan recommends even fancier tea. Ryan waxes poetic about a Herkenrode Abbey Vesper (typical). Charlie is double fisting some red wine and a Rogue CBD seltzer, balancing the blend perfectly.
    00:47:26 - Trailer Trash Talk returns again to discuss the much-maligned but fun-looking Moonfall.
    01:00:57 - Climate Change is definitely a thing that is happening, we’ve known about it for awhile, but just how long? Turns out some folks as far back as the 1800s were figuring out the connection between carbon dioxide and atmospheric warming and we just haven’t been listening.
    01:23:15 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like… something. Listener feedback, probably. Teemu A. wants to know what we think about the geology/biology of the video game The Witness. Elizabeth D. wins a copy of Life’s Edge by Carl Zimmer for submitting her pick for weirdest life from (see episode 337), the sea salp! And Patron Bruce Haupt gets a BSso thesis for the second time, and that thesis is: SCRUB: SCUBA Carbon Removal Underwater Bioremediation - Using Sea Salps to sequester carbon in oceanic basins using a human propelled delivery mechanism. Thanks, Bruce!
    More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!
    Music credit: The Green Room - Blue Dot Sessions
    Audio Production: Ryan Haupt

    • 1 hr 58 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
50 Ratings

50 Ratings

Peachy🍑Jess ,

Super duper awesome

Very interesting, listened to the one about herp-o-compatibility. Banter is fun!

Hawkbox ,

Smart, funny, and ethical

I’ve been listening to this podcast for years and enjoy it greatly. Episode 292 had Ryan put his foot down on abusive behaviour and that inspired me to finally write a review. I’m behind in episodes but I’m working on catching up.

Keep up the great work everyone.

RandyD_VI ,

Funny, Entertaining and Educational

By far one of the best science podcasts out there. Don't think I've ever laughed so hard while learning something. The hosts and their guests are excellent at explaining somewhat complex ideas in way that someone with no knowledge in that area can easily understand. And the anecdotes, sidetracks and oddball tangents that the conversations usually take are both interesting but also give your mind a break from getting bogged down or overwhelmed with the details of some of the more difficult topics they cover.

Top Podcasts In Science

Ologies with Alie Ward
Alie Ward
Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
Radiolab
WNYC Studios
Unexplainable
Vox
Science Vs
Spotify Studios
Quirks and Quarks
CBC

You Might Also Like

More by The Brachiolope Media Network