Episode 546: Overfilled Wine Glasses, Octavarium, and Overpopulation
Release Date: 02/26/2025
Episode 568: Bradbury Wasn't Kidding
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben spent the week playing nurse, but at least it was a summer cold—infinitely easier than juggling tissues and PTO requests during the school year. The only upside to a sick kid when the sun’s out? More cartoons, fewer emails. Hearing Ben wiping noses and handing out popsicles, Steven got nostalgic about Scrubs. Remember Scrubs? Wholesome chaos. Heartfelt weirdness. Probably due for a chaotic Gen Z reboot starring TikTok doctors and JD’s ghost AI. Devon was out of town. No details, just gone. Like a Vulcan on shore leave or a cowboy riding off into a logical sunset. We assume...
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Episode 567: Regular Human Shenanigans
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben showed up with a box of magic and a handful of links, and we spiraled from there. We started off with Piecepack, the infinitely expandable system of tile-based board games. If you haven’t seen it, The Infinite Board Game is a great intro — it comes with a full Piecepack set and over 50 games: 👉 Two standouts we tried: Whirlpool Pond (Tube Wars) — hilariously chaotic and surprisingly strategic. Steven said it reminded him of playing little games at a picnic table on camping trips. 🎯 Moto-X — a racing game with dexterity and movement rules that feel like...
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Episode 566: Skeletons Or It Didn’t Happen
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life This week, Steven finally found a superhero movie that didn’t make him want to throw his popcorn at the screen. Superman (2025) has arrived, and according to him, it’s the best take we’ve had on the character in years. No origin story nonsense, just straight into Supes doing good and being good. James Gunn gets it—Superman is an immigrant, a boy scout, and a damn firefighter (not a cop). The moral core is there, the cape looks good, and apparently, if you hate it, it’s because it’s “woke”? Whatever. Steven liked it. You probably will too. Meanwhile, Devon has been...
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Episode 565: Dark Energy, Glowing Yeast
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben took a family trip down to San Diego just in time for the other fireworks night—turns out, there are often more fireworks on the 3rd of July than the 4th. Devon also caught a local 3rd-of-July fireworks show, which has started to feel like the real deal instead of just a warm-up. Ben: “More fireworks on the 3rd than the 4th, easily.” The trend continues. While Ben and Devon were oohing and aahing at sky explosions, Steven stayed home and got some solid mini painting in while the family was off in LA. No notes, just vibes. He and Ben also snuck in a round of Walkabout...
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Episode 564: Becky Chambers Is My Therapist
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben Ben’s been quietly communing with the universe—and possibly with time travelers—through a book of accidental poetry called . These are poems born from Wordle guesses, wrangled into a strangely beautiful collection. The result feels like overhearing wisdom whispered from another dimension... or from your roommate’s weird dreams. Ben recommends reading it with an open mind and maybe a cup of tea. Or a flux capacitor. Devon Devon had to Dad some emails this week—calmly but firmly correcting errors from people who apparently do not know how email works. He also saw Elio,...
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Episode 563: Aspergillus Strikes Back
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life This week, real life got weird, itchy, nostalgic, and just slightly chaotic. Ben celebrated a birthday by dragging his family through a hike in tick-infested grass. Friendly reminder: Don’t go into the long grass. We’ve seen Jurassic Park, we know how this ends. Devon may or may not be living in Foreverware straight out of Eerie, Indiana. Start checking those Tupperware lids, folks. Steven escaped a house overrun with cousins the only way he knows how: board game store therapy. Here’s what we’re playing: is only $5 on Steam right now and it still rules. Devon showed us how...
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Episode 562: The Robot Seems Fun, but the Kids are in Trouble
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben had a pretty heartfelt Father’s Day. The kind that makes you wonder what to do with all those sentimental cards—save them? Repurpose them? Wallpaper a studio? He’s thinking bigger: moleskin notebooks and sketchbooks as repositories for meaningful letters, doodles, and moments. He also caught You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at SLOREP, which delivered all the nostalgia and Peanuts poignancy one could hope for. Devon saw Annie live and reports back that yes, the sun did come out. Meanwhile, he was also boots-on-the-ground at the No Kings march in Tyler, TX, where roughly...
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Episode 561: In Search of Small Comforts
Science Faction Podcast
with Travis Barker on drums. Yes, really. Future or Now Devon read and now feels like a hypocrite for still eating meat. The book’s argument: if animals can suffer, they deserve rights. Cue a deep dive into factory farming, animal testing, calorie efficiency, and whether “ethical meat” should be a rare luxury rather than a daily default. They talk about cows, chickens, and baby monkeys; the morality of milk and butter; and why our modern food system depends on people looking the other way. Steven questions how to get enough protein on a vegan diet, and Devon admits it’s complicated...
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Episode 560: Rat Hustlers
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Things kicked off with stories from Friday night’s bonfire, where the nature of reality was hotly debated between toasted marshmallows. That conversation somehow spiraled into a serious (and slightly absurd) discussion about Noodles and Soba—Ben’s son’s pet rats—and the potential benefits of getting female rats fixed. Apparently, doing so can add about a year to their lifespan by preventing reproductive cancers, but the surgery’s cost is a tough sell when you’re in what Ben called “debt paydown mode.” Devon floated the idea of unscrupulous “rat hustlers” faking...
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Episode 559: Yesterday’s Dream was a Full Page
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Roundup Let’s address the elephant not in the room: Devon is dead. Well, not dead-dead. Just birthday-visit-family-IRL-dead. We pour one out for our absent co-host, and prepare for his resurrection next week. Meanwhile, Steven has been watching robots get wild. The Wild Robot, that is. The new animated flick has dropped (), and Steven's verdict is in: heartwarming vibes, metal clanking emotions, and just enough kid-friendly existentialism to make you question whether your Roomba has feelings. Also, did you know Black Adam shows up in DC League of Super Pets? Steven does. And...
info_outlineReal Life Updates
Devon’s Redecoration Adventure
Devon has been painting and redecorating—at Jen’s request—to make things look more "adult." This involved taking down metal posters to put up a TV for gaming, which led to a frustrating experience with Displate (spoiler: they suck). While redecorating, Devon also came across a fascinating philosophy YouTuber, Alex O’Connor.
▶️ Watch Alex O’Connor: YouTube Link
Also, ChatGPT can apparently generate a perfect glass of wine… all the way to the top.
Steven’s Gaming Corner
Steven has been playing Avowed (part of Xbox Game Pass—so "free"). His verdict? "Pretty fun." Thanks to his beefy new graphics card, he’s playing on PC.
▶️ Check out Avowed: Steam Link
He also tried Keep Driving, a game about driving to the right, avoiding potholes, picking up hitchhikers, and helping a little girl find her parents—all while managing fuel, energy, and car repairs.
▶️ Try Keep Driving: Steam Link
Ben’s Solitaire Obsession
Ben has discovered Scoundrel Solitaire by Zach Gage and Kurt Bieg, a solitaire game played with a real deck of cards and a D20.
▶️ Learn how to play: Rules PDF
▶️ Play online: Itch.io Link
Future or Now: Music & Media
Renee’s Music Question:
Renee’s kid is getting into 90s rock (Weezer, The Offspring, etc.), and that sparked a conversation about favorite musical sounds and guitar solos. Here’s what we came up with:
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Ben: The sound of an orchestra tuning up (potential energy). Favorite solo: We Will Fall Together – Streetlight Manifesto
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Steven: Any heavy bass sound. Favorite solo: Waking the Demon
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Devon: Pinched harmonics. Favorite solo: Octavarium (Razor’s Edge) – John Petrucci
▶️ Dream Theater - Octavarium Guitar Solo: YouTube Link
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
We checked out Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which fills in gaps between the Tom Holland movies. Like X-Men '97, it takes some big swings.
▶️ More on the show: IMDB Link
Devon’s Disturbing Read
Devon is reading Animal Liberation Now by Peter Singer. It’s unsettling, to say the least. More thoughts after he finishes.
▶️ Read it here: Google Books Link
Steven’s Movie Night
Steven watched some of Wicked Part 1 with his kids. They haven’t asked to watch more. Suspicious. He also revisited Return to Oz, which remains a fever dream.
▶️ Return to Oz: Rotten Tomatoes Link
Book Club Corner
Next Week: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
A look at 22nd-century space exploration using somaforming—biological modifications that allow astronauts to survive hostile environments. But what happens when Earth moves on without them?
▶️ Audiobook: Audible Link
This Week: Billennium by J.G. Ballard
A classic dystopian short story exploring extreme overpopulation. But why "20,000 million"? And what would you do if you suddenly came into wealth? Would you help others?
▶️ Read it here: PDF Link
▶️ World population discussion: Worldometer