We Have Concerns

A new book called Real Food Fake Food: Why You Don't Know What You're Eating and What You Can Do About It, by Larry Olmsted, has caught Anthony's eye. When we buy fish and beef and olive oil, are we actually getting something completely different? Jeff reacts to these claims, and the guys try to figure out what they can do with the information.

With Rhinos on the brink of extinction, some bioengineers are 3D printing horns to flood the market with fakes, in an attempt to stop the decline. Jeff and Anthony debate the merits of this plan, and what it might lead to.

A researcher in US thinks he might have finally found evidence of humanity's sixth sense - the ability to detect, in some subconscious way, Earth's magnetic field. Jeff and Anthony consider whether this might in fact be a thing. Can you feel the magnetic field? And if so, what might that mean?

Scientists have built a robotic stingray made of heart muscle cells from a rat, a skeleton of gold, plastic fins, and light-activated algae proteins. The tiny, 16-millimeter-long robots take about a week to make and can be controlled with light. Anthony and Jeff discuss the nature of abominations, and try to decide if this qualifies as one.

More than 30 people were treated for burns in Dallas after walking on hot coals at an event hosted by self-help guru Tony Robbins. Jeff and Anthony talk about whether they buy into the self-help subculture. Does mind over matter really work? Is doing something you never thought you could do worth doing?

A Canadian funeral business is offering "green" funerals by dissolving the dead and pouring them into town sewers. Anthony and Jeff consider if this practice should cause alarm, or if they might one day prefer it to cremation or burial themselves.

Physicists have confirmed the existence of a new form of atomic nuclei, and the fact that it’s not symmetrical challenges the fundamental theories of physics that explain our Universe. This pear-shaped nucleus could change everything we think we know about the universe, including the possibility of time travel. Jeff and Anthony dive into this discovery and talk through what it means, and how it has been covered by the media.

Buying your first house is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but for young Tamara Holloway, from Nashville, Tennessee it was a terrible nightmare she couldn’t wake up from, because the man she bought the house from refused to move out. Jeff and Anthony are baffled by this problem. How could it occur? They work through the issue and come up with some ways this could have gone better.

Remains of found at an altitude of 2,803 metres in the Altai Mountains are being hailed as the first complete Turkik burial found in Central Asia. In the mummy's grave archaeologists found - alongside the human remains - a saddle, bridle, clay vase, wooden bowl, trough, iron kettle, the remains of entire horse, and what looks an awful lot like Adidas sneakers. Anthony and Jeff speculate on the origins of the fly-est mummy, and decide what kinds of things they'd like to be buried with.

WeLab Ltd., a Hong Kong-based online lender that makes loans in China, looks at what apps people have downloaded, where they go using the phone’s GPS tracker, their social networks and their school records. It offers discounted interest rates for each extra piece of personal information that helps profile customers for credit ratings. Even worse, some student put up naked pictures as embarrassing collateral for their loans. Jeff and Anthony consider what they might give up for the money to get through college, and try to figure out how to work the system in their favor.

The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is found above the Tianmenshan National Forest Park in the mountainous Hunan province of southern China, and is set to become the longest, highest, and most terrifying glass bridge in the world. Jeff and Anthony discuss whether they'd have the guts to venture out on this incredible architectural accomplishment, and what it might make them do.

The wreckage of a 500-year-old Portuguese ship filled with gold coins has been unearthed by miners in a Namibian desert. How did a shipwreck end up in the desert? Jeff and Anthony discuss the strange story, and speculate on the nature of pirates and their booties.

Archerfish shoot high-powered water jets from their mouths to stun prey. By training them to direct those jets of spit at certain individuals, scientists have shown that the little guys seem to be able to distinguish one human face from another. Does this mean fish are smarter than we thought? Or are human faces just very easy to differentiate? Anthony and Jeff have some theories, and try to decide what that means for sushi lovers everywhere.

In 2006, 20 families occupied the village of Xuenshanshe in China, but as people passed away from old age, and others moved due to the decline of natural resources, Eventually, just a single man remained, and he has lived alone in the village for nearly a decade. Jeff and Anthony discuss solitude, and what might lead a person to stay so isolated for so long. Could it be a good thing?

A new Indigogo campaign claims to offer an earpiece that can translate between languages. Anthony and Jeff have dreamed of a universal communication tool like those in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Star Trek, but could this thing really be it? They discuss the chances that it'll work, and how such a device could change the world.