Episode 593: The Horse Cannot Be Contained
Science Faction Podcast
This week we cover a little bit of everything, including a brutal browser puzzle game, new tabletop RPG pickups, meditation meetups, comic books, and a short film with a great twist. REAL LIFE Ben kicks things off talking about the puzzle game that has completely taken over his brain, Enclose the Horse (). The goal is simple but cruel: build the biggest possible enclosure using limited walls, while the horse avoids water, ignores diagonal movement, and sometimes teleports through portals. Steven shares some new tabletop RPG pickups including Orbital Blues from and Star Borg by , plus updates...
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Episode 592: A Vertiginous Experience
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life Ben opens the show by talking about vertigo—both experiencing it firsthand and wondering if Devon might be dealing with it too. He shares that he was diagnosed with a mild case and offers genuinely useful advice: if you’re experiencing vertigo, see a doctor, figure out what caused it, and which side it’s affecting. In some cases, it can be an easy fix, which is reassuring for something that can feel pretty alarming. Steven checks in with some family time, talking about Perils & Princesses and enjoying it as a group activity. Devon, meanwhile, is riding the simple but...
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Episode 591: Oral Frailties
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life We kick things off with a round of Real Life check-ins, because apparently none of us are allowed to simply exist quietly. Ben opens with Bedroom Talk with Ben Lawless, which is exactly as awkward, candid, and vaguely alarming as it sounds. No further clarification is offered, nor requested. Devon reports that snowboarding with his kids was actually great. No injuries, no disasters—just genuine fun on the mountain, which frankly feels suspicious but we’ll allow it. He also shares that he’s been practicing guitar for an hour a day, really locking in on technique. That means...
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Episode 590: The Christmas Fallout
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life This week’s episode starts where a lot of us have been living lately: sick, tired, and mainlining comfort food. Steven is still sick for Christmas and counting, while Ben also got hit, which pushed Christmas celebrations down the calendar a bit. The upside? More chili. More Fritos. No regrets. Holiday illness also turned into a surprisingly serious soda tasting panel. Steven gives a strong thumbs-up to Sunset Sarsaparilla, while Nuka Cola Quantum lands squarely in the “fine, I guess” category. Ben, meanwhile, makes a passionate case for Canada Dry Fruit Splash Cherry Ginger...
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Episode 589: They Still Make These Films?
Science Faction Podcast
This week’s episode is a little different—Steven is out sick, so it’s just Devon and Ben holding down the fort. The result is a loose, thoughtful conversation that bounces from pop culture overload to philosophy, creativity, and the art of not trying so hard. Real Life Devon kicks things off with a trip looming on the horizon, bringing equal parts snow, stress, and snowboarding. That spirals nicely into media consumption: thoughts on Switch 2, Mario Maker 2, and catching up on a new Wes Anderson film alongside a Knives Out rewatch. Cozy movies, big style, and just enough...
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Episode 588: Ben-nip and the Non-troversy
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life We kick things off with Real Life, where Devon is suspiciously chipper and ahead on billing (don’t worry, it doesn’t last forever). Steven recounts The Great Lice Infestation of ’25, a saga that will echo through the ages—or at least the household laundry room. Ben crowns Sektori as his game of the year, describing it as the best Dreamcast game that never existed and somehow got a remaster. If that sentence alone sells you, here’s the deal-tracking rabbit hole via . Bennnip. Steven also recommends Arc Raiders, a loot-em-up that caught his attention, which leads to a...
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Episode 587: Birthday Overload Apocalypse
Science Faction Podcast
Real Life We opened this week’s episode with real-life updates, starting with Steven’s full-on birthday blitz — his birthday, his kids’ birthdays, all packed into the same window. There was dinner out, a rowdy round of Ransom Notes, and the proud report that his kid nailed a fully successful sleepover. Parenting achievement unlocked. Devon, meanwhile, came in questioning reality: The Onion is still a newspaper? That somehow turned into a whole debate about debates (1 vs. 20 participants), which feels about right. And then his kid dropped the big question at home: how do we stop an...
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Episode 586: Space Clinics & Wartime Critters
Science Faction Podcast
Thanksgiving came and went, and somehow all three of us survived… though some of us survived more deviled eggs than others. Let’s jump in. Real Life Steven kicked things off with the tale of a very boring Thanksgiving that was only made notable by the sheer volume of deviled eggs involved. When you commit to making 36 eggs—times two—you’re basically catering your own side quest. After recovering, he cleansed his palate by watching Jurassic Park with his kid, which is exactly the kind of comfort cinema the holiday demands. Ben had a more people-filled holiday: his mom visited...
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Episode 585: Pass the Physics, Hold the Simulation
Science Faction Podcast
It’s a big week over here, full of visiting parents, cosmic philosophy, and at least one host wrestling with the concept of leftovers. Let’s get into it. Real Life Ben is officially in pre-Thanksgiving hype mode because his mom is coming to visit (hi Martha!). There may or may not be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the table—Ben is thinking about it, which is basically the same as committing, right? He’s also deep into a full-spectrum Percy Jackson immersion program: watching the movie, reading the books, and watching the new show. You can check out the show’s current...
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Episode 584: Inheriting the Atom Bomb
Science Faction Podcast
This Week on the Pod: Rain, Parades, Hive Minds, and… Ben’s Brain for Rent? This week’s episode opens with a very rainy round of real-life updates. Ben has been slammed with work and declares—formally, officially, irrevocably—that poetry is better than parades. (He is fully prepared to defend this position.) Meanwhile, Steven reports that the local parade and festival still happened despite the rain, because sometimes community spirit just refuses to check the weather. And Devon? He keeps forgetting that he’s technically a Texan now, which raises several questions about residency,...
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We kick things off with a round of Real Life check-ins, because apparently none of us are allowed to simply exist quietly.
Ben opens with Bedroom Talk with Ben Lawless, which is exactly as awkward, candid, and vaguely alarming as it sounds. No further clarification is offered, nor requested.
Devon reports that snowboarding with his kids was actually great. No injuries, no disasters—just genuine fun on the mountain, which frankly feels suspicious but we’ll allow it. He also shares that he’s been practicing guitar for an hour a day, really locking in on technique. That means working through BPMs, tightening up tapping and sweeping, and grinding away at the Blackened solo like a man possessed. Progress is being made, fingers are suffering, and discipline is winning (for now).
Steven talks about Hawaii, which lands somewhere between “kinda cool” and “why did we do this to ourselves.” The travel was awful, the resort was pretty great, and Moana… apparently isn’t Moana anymore? We don’t resolve this, but we are confident Disney has a lot to answer for.
Ben also brings in Blippo+, a surreal streaming service that feels like channel surfing through an alternate universe. If you’re curious (or concerned), you can explore it directly at https://blippo.plus/ or read more context over at The A.V. Club: https://www.avclub.com/blippo-makes-art-out-of-channel-surfing.
Future or Now
In Future or Now, Ben highlights a sobering study out of Japan linking poor oral health in older adults to higher mortality rates and increased need for long-term care. The research, conducted by Osaka Metropolitan University and the Institute of Science Tokyo, suggests brushing and dental care might matter more than we’d like to admit. You can read the full breakdown via The Japan Times:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/05/japan/science-health/elderly-dental-hygiene/
Devon follows up with This Week in Space, reacting to the news that the U.S. has effectively killed NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission. What happens now? Confusion, disappointment, and a lot of unanswered questions. The full story is covered here:
https://www.iflscience.com/us-just-killed-nasas-mars-sample-return-mission-so-what-happens-now-82148
Book Club
This week’s Book Club pick is “The Janitor in Space” by Amber Sparks, a short story that sparked very different reactions around the table. Steven enjoyed it, Ben didn’t care for it at all, and Devon—rather than choosing a side—asked ChatGPT to turn it into a song, which may be the most Devon response possible. You can read the story yourself here:
https://americanshortfiction.org/janitor-space/
Looking ahead, next week’s selection is Ted Chiang’s “What’s Expected of Us”, originally published in Nature (July 7, 2005). We’ll be digging into free will, determinism, and the uncomfortable feeling that the universe might already know what you’re about to do.
As always, thanks for listening, reading, and continuing to question whether brushing your teeth might actually save your life.