Stuff To Blow Your Mind

We encounter sticky surfaces and sticky substances everyday, but what exactly IS “stickiness?” In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the physical properties of stickiness and look at some very sticky examples from the natural world. 

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As businesses adopt AI, a new era of problem-solving, innovation, and creative decision-making can be brought to scale. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Goldstein explore the future of AI in enterprise business AI for business with Kareem Yusuf, senior vice president of product management and growth for IBM software. They discuss the advent of foundation models, how AI can transform data storage and decision-making, and how next-generation AI platforms like watsonx from IBM can empower businesses to use AI at scale.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM.

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In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the standard nugget of textual thought: the paragraph. (originally published 8/23/22)

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Smart Talks with IBM returns this September 5th. This season, host Malcolm Gladwell and a team of correspondents from Pushkin Industries explore how businesses can integrate AI into their workflows — to help them do exponentially more — drive real change, and thrive in this new era of AI.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM.

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In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the nature and history of human whistling – including the subject of whistled languages. (originally published 08/16/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss the 1976 Greek horror film “The Devil’s Men,” also known as “Land of the Minotaur.” Horror legends Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing head-up the cast, but the electronic score by none other than Brian Eno certainly deserves attention. 

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In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert chats with Kevin Jon Davies about his new book “The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams,” detailing the mind of the author who gave us “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.” 

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In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the Hand of Glory from European occultism… 

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We encounter sticky surfaces and sticky substances everyday, but what exactly IS “stickiness?” In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the physical properties of stickiness and look at some very sticky examples from the natural world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once more, it's time for a weekly dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and Weirdhouse Cinema listener mail...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the nature and history of human whistling – including the subject of whistled languages. (originally published 08/09/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe venture into the weird, wild world of Coffin Joe with the 1967 Brazilian horror film “This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse.”

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We encounter sticky surfaces and sticky substances everyday, but what exactly IS “stickiness?” In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the physical properties of stickiness and look at some very sticky examples from the natural world. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special omnibus episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, enjoy all four episodes concerning the chaos daemons of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe: Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh.

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In this classic episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, Robert and Joe discuss the history and principles of the vacuum airship or null ship. Will futuristic materials ever make this 17th century concept possible? (originally published 08/18/2022)

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Once more, it's time for a weekly dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and Weirdhouse Cinema listener mail...

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In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the nature and history of human whistling – including the subject of whistled languages. (originally published 08/04/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss 1968’s “The Green Slime,” a surprisingly procedural sci-fi film full of rubbery monsters, serious men, model rockets and more than a little bit of green slime. 

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In recent episodes of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discussed low-resolution images that have provoked paranormal and fringe explanations, despite convincing and even conclusive expert analysis. In this episode, they continue this line of inquiry through a discussion of Ancient Egyptian pseudohistories and fringe ideas regarding modern technology in ancient inscriptions. 

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In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses Swamp Thing from DC Comics…

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In the last episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discussed the so-called Eltanin Antenna and how it is at once an identified image of a deep sea organism and an icon of paranormal intrigue. In this episode, they continue this line of inquiry with another underwater image.

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Once more, it's time for a weekly dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and Weirdhouse Cinema listener mail...

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In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the nature and history of human whistling – including the subject of whistled languages. (originally published 08/02/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss Panos Cosmatos’ “The Viewing,'' a delightfully psychotronic 2022 short film featured on Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. There's no smoking in the Obelisk Chamber. 

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In this episode of Stuff to Blow your Mind, Rob and Joe discuss the alleged Eltanin Antenna and the natural-world explanation for the image. What does this case and others like it reveal about our craving for extraordinary explanations of perplexing evidence?

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In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses Doomsday, slayer of Superman…

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In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Joe chats with physicist Suzie Sheehy, author of "The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World."

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In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert chats with Martin Wallen about his 2021 book “Squid,” which covers the history of humanity’s scientific, folkloric and literary interest in cephalopods – from Aristotle’s understanding of the creatures to their treatment in weird fiction of the 20th and 21st centuries. (originally published 06/21/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe venture into 1953’s “The Maze,” a 3-D haunted castle film with an incredibly weird twist. 

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The interaction between oil and water has fascinated us since ancient times, and it has factored into practices as diverse as divination rituals and attempts to calm turbulent waters at sea with storm oil. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the effect of oil on troubled waters. (Part 2 of 2)

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In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses one of the most monstrous characters from Batman’s rogues' gallery: Killer Croc…

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In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert chats with paleoanthropologist Lee Berger about his team’s amazing discoveries in South Africa's Rising Star cave system and previously unknown extinct species of hominin named Homo naledi. His new book is “Cave of Bones” and it’s also the subject of the Netflix documentary “Unknown: Cave of Bones.”

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In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert chats with theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor Antonio Padilla, author of the new book "Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them." Strap in for big numbers, fantastic numbers, black holes and more. (originally published 07/28/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe return to the 21st century to discuss the 2004 space opera sequel “The Chronicles of Riddick,” starring Vin Diesel and a powerhouse supporting cast. It was a Flash Gordon for a new generation, even if they weren’t ready for it. 

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In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert chats with Michael Denis Higgins, Professor Emeritus of Earth Science at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and author of the new book “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Science, Engineering and Technology.” What was the Colossus of Rhodes, why did it impress the ancient Hellenistic world and how might we recreate it in the modern world? 

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In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses the Mister Mind, a Venusian supervillain mind-control worm from the pages of DC Comics… 

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The creation of atomic weaponry changed human civilization forever, but it also left its mark on the Earth itself -- in both obvious and subtle ways. In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss some of the ways in which the world would not be the same. (originally published 9/24/2020)

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History. Science. Dethroned emperor. In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe travel back to the third century CE to discuss the Battle of Edessa, in which the Sasanian Empire not only defeated the Roman army but also took its Emperor as a prisoner of war. How did the emperor’s capture impact the already crisis-ridden Roman Empire, what do scientists make of his alleged grisly fate and how was Valerian’s fall possibly mythologized by Christian historians? Find out… (originally published 07/21/2022)

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In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss Hayao Miyazaki’s 1984 masterpiece “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” an environmental post-apocalyptic anime fantasy full of weird bugs, warring factions and terrifying, technological remnants of humanity’s greatest mistakes. 

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The interaction between oil and water has fascinated us since ancient times, and it has factored into practices as diverse as divination rituals and attempts to calm turbulent waters at sea with storm oil. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the effect of oil on troubled waters. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses Ulvar, a most peculiar giant from the Marvel Comics universe… 

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What exactly is mud? Where does it occur and how does it factor into animal behaviors and human activities? In this multi-episode Stuff to Blow Your Mind exploration, Rob and Joe immerse themselves in the mysteries of mud. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once more, it's time for a weekly dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and Weirdhouse Cinema listener mail...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History. Science. Dethroned emperor. In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe travel back to the third century CE to discuss the Battle of Edessa, in which the Sasanian Empire not only defeated the Roman army but also took its Emperor as a prisoner of war. How did the emperor’s capture impact the already crisis-ridden Roman Empire, what do scientists make of his alleged grisly fate and how was Valerian’s fall possibly mythologized by Christian historians? Find out… (originally published 07/19/2022) 

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On this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe return to the world of Spanish horror with another Paul Naschy movie: 1981’s “Night of the Werewolf.” This time, Naschy’s tragic werewolf character Count Waldemar Daninsky goes up against vampire Countess Elizabeth Báthory!

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What exactly is mud? Where does it occur and how does it factor into animal behaviors and human activities? In this multi-episode Stuff to Blow Your Mind exploration, Rob and Joe immerse themselves in the mysteries of mud. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.