We Have Concerns

New anaysis suggests that the bronze computing device known as the Antikythera, discovered at the bottom of the Aegean Sea in 1901 is even older than previously thought.  In fact, this computer dates back to 200 BC and represents a incredible feat of pre-historic human engineering.  Anthony and Jeff marvel at a people that could devise such a thing, and rail at the Dark Ages for stealing away so m...

According to quantum physics, Planck's Constant is the smallest unit of measure in the universe, beyond which nothing can be further divided.  Scientists at the Fermilab are building a Holographic Interferometer, or Holometer, with which they intend to test this theory.  If true, it could mean that our entire dimension is a hologram, projected into 3D space like a pixelized image on your computer...

Researchers at the University of Bristol are using ultrasound to create invisible objects in the air that you can reach out and touch.  Of course, Anthony and Jeff see this as the first step toward full holodeck technology, and and try to determine which industry can accelerate progress to that goal fastest. Hint: it's porn. This show is entirely listener supported. To find out how to help AND get...

An NPR story about NBC's Peter Pan Live television event points out that a significant portion of the audience of major TV hits are people who self-identify as "hate-watching" the programming.  In fact, some networks are even programming to take advantage of these tendencies, embracing the live-tweeters who mock and add snide comments to the viewing experience.  Jeff and Anthony have a m...

We are consuming more chocolate than we produce, and at the current deficit we may soon be facing a global cocoa shortage.  As a fan of chocolatey goodies, Jeff is worried about a potential joyless chocolate-free future, while Anthony welcomes a forced worldwide dietary shift.  One thing's for certain, this episode is totally sweet. This show is entirely listener supported. To find out how to help...

By actually printing DNA, researchers are now able to create entirely new species.  They started with a glow-in-the-dark plant, and now have plans to design microbes that will live in your stomach and actually change the smell of your fecal matter. Even crazier, they may be able to associate particular gas odors with biological states, so you can effectively have an early warning system built insi...

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have synthesized crystalline materials that can bind and store oxygen in high concentrations. That means that we may be able to use crystals to replace oxygen tanks or even allow divers to simply draw oxygen directly out of H2O through the crystal.  Anthony has always wanted to breathe underwater, but Jeff is worried about sucking on crystals for...

Anthony and Jeff's debate about the joy to be found in running and exercise contuinues.  This time, Jeff has an article from the New York Times about a study which showed that mice will spend time on a running wheel, even when they don't have to.  When placed out in the woods, completely unattended, mice and other creatures would jump onto a wheel, and spend time running on it... for fun.  Is this...

An open source group has recreated the brain of a worm, neuron for neuron, and recently programmed this data into the body of a Lego Mindspring robot.  Rather than dictating specific behavior into the software, the program simply fires each neural imulse exactly as a worm's brain would.  The result is remarkably worm-like behavior in Lego form.  While Jeff can't exactly pin down the size of this c...

A British performance artist is raising money to live inside the Oculus Rift virtual environment nonstop for 28 days.  He will be connected at all times with another human being - someone he has never met - seeing what he sees, eating what he eats, sleeping and going to the bathroom only when he does.  Jeff and Anthony are fascinated by this idea, but wonder when and how this experience will break...

Scientists have found the most well preserved mammoth ever- so fresh they even took a bite of mammoth meat. Does its DNA contain enough complete information to clone it? If so, should we? What happens if we bring back exctinct species? This show is entirely listener supported. To find out how to help AND get early episodes and bonus content, head to  http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you'r...

Arizona schools are ripping pages about contraception out of text books and Anthony can't believe it.  Jeff tries to figure out the motivation behind such a bonehead move, but both guys can't understand why less knowledge is ever good.  It's enough to make them jump off a roof without an inflatable helmet. This show is entirely listener supported! For early episode, extra clips and bonus content,...

Join us TODAY on our video hangout. Chat with us. Have a beer. Share your concerns. More info on how to join: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Researchers have just created the world's most precise atomic clock- but what do we get out of it? Isn't time just a human construct? What does 'precise' even mean in a universe where time changes depending on where you are? All of this kinda freaks Jeff o...

The Foodini is an example of the new wave of 3D printers for food.  Just fill it with fresh ingredients, and out pops meals like ravioli, pizza, and hamburgers, ready to cook.  Anthony detests the tyranny of food, and doesn't have time for anything that stands in the way of productivity and effeciency.  Jeff, on the other hand, can't wait to eat delicious meals shaped like all sorts of things, and...

Scientists studying the brain's ability to make choices note that the fewer inconsequential decisions you put in front of yourself, the better you'll do when it is time to face a really challenging one.  Armed with that knowledge, many prominent deciders like President Obama and Steve Jobs removed the decision of what to wear from their lives.  They simply wear the same clothes every day.  Anthony...

Jeff is intrigued by an interview he read about Nasa's one and only Planetary Protection Officer.  Her job?  To protect OTHER planets from us and ensure the galaxy isn't contaminated by microbes, particles, or other detritus that might ruin it.  Anthony hopes for the same attention to detail in his own life, and everybody hopes we don't ever accidently create avacado creatures. This show is entire...

Park Rangers are asking visitors to state park and forest areas to please stop taking #bearselfies. Anthony and Jeff try to figure out what would possess a person to approach a wild, deadly creature in the woods and snap a pic, decide which type of bears are the most dangerous, and discover the absolute worst clinic to attend when you've been mauled. This show is entirely listener supported! For e...

Researchers at MIT have developed a new pill that is much more efficient at delivering medicine into the bloodstream.  Instead of a simple spheroid, it is covered in a multitude of tiny spikes, which stick into the stomache lining and ensure the medicine is absorbed rather than passed through the body undigested.   Jeff is fascinated by the evolution of the swallow-able tablet, from its roots thou...

It's counter-intuative and perplexing, but the truth is, the less human beings know about a particular subject, the more they THINK they know about it.  This has become known as The Dunning-Kruger Effectific. A new article in the Pacific Standard by David Dunning himself attempts to explain this phenomenon of confident idiots.  Jeff and Anthony can relate, and try to come to terms with their own a...

A new article describes the benefits of long-form reading and suggests that the tactile feedback of printed books results in better retention than e-readers.  While Jeff and Anthony are definitely on board with reading, they challenge the idea that enjoying books on digital screens is any less effective.   This show is entirely listener supported! For early episode, extra clips and bonus content,...

On this special Halloween episode, Anthony and Jeff consider the nature of of the trick or treat tradition and the urban legend of poisoned Halloween candy.  Is asking strangers for food an inherently unsafe activity, or did we manufacture a scare that isn't real? Like the show? Want early episodes and extra content? Support us on Patreon!  http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying...

A new Wired article recounts the medieval myth that beavers, when cornered by hunters, would castrate themselves by chewing off their own testicles.  Jeff and Anthony unpack the myth and try to figure out why the Dark Ages were filled with so much dumb. Like the show? Want early episodes and extra content? Support us on Patreon!  http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show,...

Previously on We Have Concerns... in the Welcome to the Hoverboard Future episode Anthony mocked Jeff's enthusiasm for a mind-bending new technology that indicated that hoverboards may, in fact be possible.  Now, there is a new article on Engadget that describes a working prototype soon making its way onto Kickstarter.  Does Jeff get the last laugh, hovering his way back into the future he's alway...

A new article describes a study in which doctors told patients they would just be getting a shot of vitamins, but instead gave them something a thousand times more powerful.  Whether these subjects thought something strange was happening or not depended entirely upon what the doctors told them they should expect.  This leads Jeff and Anthony to wonder just how much impact our conscious mind can ha...

Anthony found an article that describes the community around the IBM Model M keyboard, a sublimely clicky keyboard that has spawned cult-like devotion and a second hand black market.  It makes him consider our fetishization of things, and the ties to productivity they create.  Jeff just thinks all those objects are yelling at him. Like the show? Want early episodes and extra content? Support us on...