We Have Concerns

One of the world's deadliest spiders - the funnel-web spider is native to Australia. No surprise to Anthony and Jeff, who have been chronicling the various ways Australia is dangerous for a while now. What is surprising, is the Australia has tasked ordinary citizens with capturing these terrifying creatures and bringing them - alive - to spider repositories. Have fun, Australia!

A team of Japanese engineers has designed an adorable robotic bear to aid in assisted suicide. Capable of 23 different methods to end a life, including hands that are powerful enough to crush human bone, the SeppuKuma is an all-in-one suicide solution. Special guest Adam Sessler joins Anthony and Jeff to talk about the concept of gentle-looking killing machines, and what form they'd all like for their own personal death robot.

Several amateur astronomers, gazing at data from the Kepler telescope, discovered an odd flickering from one particular star, usually caused by objects in space passing in front of it. But that usually means the star is very young, and this one is not. In fact, the phenomenon is so strange in this case, that some scientists are considering some wild theories to explain it. Could we be witnessing an alien super structure? Jeff and Anthony talk through all of the wildest ideas and decide if they's aliens.

Bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a mathematical algorithm that can "see" your intention while performing an ordinary action like reaching for a cup or driving straight up a road -- even if the action is interrupted. The idea is to use this algorithm to design machines that could correct the course of a swerving car or help a stroke patient with spasticity. Anthony and Jeff imagine a world with psychic robots and wonder if it will be better or worse.

A new study find that people who like bitter foods are more likely to display psychopathic tendencies. Since Anthony loves his coffee black, this leads to some awkward moments as Jeff tries to survive another episode.

In their ongoing debate over whether running is cool or stupid, Anthony and Jeff consider the new study which links the euphoric feeling from long distance runs not to endorphins, as previously assumed, but to the body’s own endocannabinoids. On a chemical level, is "runner's high" actually like the high from marijuana?

Roboticists have created an automaton with the appearance and behavior of legendary science fiction author, Phillip K. Dick. Quotes from actual interviews are augmented with an AI system that actually learns as it communicates. And recently, it told one interviewer it would eventually put humans in a "People Zoo", Anthony and Jeff find this information alarming, but oddly exciting. At least the robot uprising will start with fantastic authors.

David Whitlock is a chemist who hasn't showered in 12 years, but reportedly does not stink. Instead of bathing, he has been spraying himself with a concoction of his own devising that he claims breaks down ammonia, which is what causes body odor. Anthony and special guest Allie Goertz are ready to give the shower-free lifestyle a try, while Jeff mourns the loss of this favorite daily activity.

One day in June, the Value Village in Fairbanks, Alaska was alerted to a 15 foot long bloodsucking fish in their parking lot.. What could possibly cause a lamprey to materialize so far from water? Even crazier, fish were discovered all over the city, as if they fell from the sky. Anthony and Jeff are perplexed by these phenomena, but that doesn't stop them from offering some theories on how they might be happening.

Jeff and Anthony have often discussed the brain's annoying propensity to latch on to erroneous conclusions by relating two disparate pieces of data, and a new article in FiveThirtyEight Science breaks down the "illusion of causality" and other problematic human tendencies even clearer. Why is the brain so determined to mislead itself? And what can we do to be less dumb?

When Phillip and Paula Dupont learned their dog Melvin was going to die, they decided to spend $100,000 at a South Korean lab to have him cloned. The process and results are both questionable, and lead Jeff and Anthony to label these people as the absolute worst. But, like, would YOU clone your dog if you could?

A Russian scientist admits injecting himself with 3.5 million year old 'eternal life' bacteria, and reports working harder, with reviewed energy. Anthony and Jeff have serious reservations about this scientist's methodology, but are excited that there are still people in the world crazy enough to experiment on themselves.

Anthony has become fascinated by British psychologist Elizabeth Stokoe's studies into how simple, subtle phrasing changes can have a huge impact on behavior. Just by substituting a single word here or there, people show a much different response. Jeff is fascinated by language, too, but worries Anthony will not use his newfound semantic powers for good.

A new study using eye-tracking software finds that chimps enjoy watching movies featuring humans dressed in ape costumes. Even more surprising, the primates are able to anticipate story turns based on previous viewings. Jeff and Anthony wonder if the eventual planet of the apes is going to look much like this one, with lazy monkeys binge-watching trashy television.

A Shaolin monk in China recently ran 125 meters across 200 thin planks of wood floating on the water, an incredibly difficult and unprecedented feat some have dubbed "running on water". He trained for 10 years to accomplish this task, which, let's be honest, doesn't even look particularly impressive on video. This gives Jeff and Anthony a chance to consider the application of one's life in pursuit of perfection - even obscure, meaningless perfection. Is it worth it?