We Have Concerns

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...

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. Watch the vid...

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. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swin...

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 decid...

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? GET BONUS EPI...

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. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://pat...

A group of 25 scientists has proposed an ambitious project to create a synthetic human genome, or genetic blueprint, in an endeavor raises concerns over the extent to which human life can or should be engineered. Anthony and Jeff imagine if, why, and how this process should be implemented, and what kind of bizarre parent-less beings we can expect to deal with as a result. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO...

An Australian town was reduced to breaking point by the sudden arrival of more than 100,000 giant bats who screeched incessantly and left carpets of foul-smelling droppings. Jeff and Anthony marvel at yet another example of what life can be like in Australia, and wonder how they might deal with such a problem. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Ge...

Carol Howarth, 65, was amazed when a swarm of over 20,000 insects flew down onto her silver Mitsubishi Outlander, covering the back end of the vehicle. It took a team of 5 beekeepers to deal with the problem, and no one is quite sure why it happened. Anthony and Jeff have some ideas, though. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We...

Wearing a Straw Hat after September 15th was such a fashion faux-pas in 1922 that a group of street toughs began attacking anyone with the gall to do it. The result was a series of violent outbreaks that became known at the Straw Hat Riots. Anthony and Jeff discuss fashion, unwritten rules, and the thing that would make them take to the streets themselves. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MO...

Japanese research company ALE is bidding to create an artificial meteor shower for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. Jeff and Anthony discuss the tradition of the Olympics, the spectacle of opening ceremonies, and the audacity of humans to control celestial activity for entertainment. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Ge...

Moon Ribas is a ‘cyborg artist’ who can feel every earthquake on the planet through a tiny sensor permanently grafted under her skin near the crook of her elbow. She moves to these vibrations during her artistic dance performances. Jeff and Anthony ponder whether this extra-sensory sensitivity through tech is useful, and if Moon Ribas is using it in the best way. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS...

A Texas woman sold her seven-year-old housebroken pet bison named Bullet on Craigslist for $5,960. So, of course, Anthony and Jeff take this opportunity to discuss exotic pets, selling things online, and the curious intersection of each. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcer...

In order to become a member of the Sateré-Mawé, a tribe of roughly ten thousand members that inhabits the northern region of Amazonas, boys as young as twelve will thrust their hands into gloves full of bullet ants, whose sting is said to be the most painful thing on the planet. Anthony and Jeff discuss initiation rituals, and whether there is ever a good reason to subject oneself such intense ago...

Using an unprecedented technique of matching stars to the locations of temples on Earth, a 15-year-old Canadian student says he’s discovered a forgotten Mayan city in Mexico. Anthony and Jeff talk about what it takes to be a young person with a useful hobby, and speculate on how cool it might be to contribute to science at an early age. Be sure to stick around to the end of this episode for a surp...

MIT says that every year in the US there are more than 3,500 reports of swallowed batteries. If left in the stomach or esophagus these can burn the tissue. They have designed a new indigestible origami meat robot could be deployed in these scenarios to find the battery, pulling it free from the tissue and guiding it toward the colon for evacuation. Jeff and Anthony discuss the idea of robots wrapp...

A small mammal has sabotaged the world's most powerful scientific instrument. The Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile superconducting machine designed to smash protons together at close to the speed of light, went offline due to a small weasel who gnawed through a power cable. Jeff and Anthony discuss the animal kingdom's knack for causing problems, and wonder if there is more to this story than a si...

Certain people, researchers have discovered, can’t summon up mental images — it’s as if their mind’s eye is blind. This month in the journal Cortex, the condition received a name: aphantasia, based on the Greek word phantasia, which Aristotle used to describe the power that presents visual imagery to our minds. It turns out, our own Anthony Carboni might have this condition, a revelation he and Je...

According to a new patent filing, Google has devised a method to inject a device directly into your eyeballs. Per the patent filing, the device is meant to replace your eye's natural lens and is injected in a solution that congeals and attaches to your lens capsule. While this sounds like science fiction, Anthony and Jeff use this opportunity to discuss the industry of patents and the business of...

A small city in southern Germany may be the first place in the world to introduce in-ground traffic lights. The move by authorities in Augsburg comes in response to distracted smartphone users increasingly putting themselves at risk by not looking up while crossing roads. Jeff is worried about what this means for encouraging bad habits, but Anthony actually thinks this is a fantastic idea. Listen...

A growing body of research in cognitive science illuminates the physical and mental toll bland cityscapes exact on residents. It turns out boring architecture may take an emotional toll on the people forced to live in and around it. Jeff and Anthony discuss the effect of architecture on mood and the importance of being stimulated by your environment. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VI...

The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every expert scientific witness gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. Specifically, cases where hair samples, fingerprints, and other scientific evidence led to conviction, almost every single expert witness misled the...

The Toronto Zoo is investigating a video that shows a woman climbing into part of its tiger enclosure to retrieve her hat. That's right, she scaled a fence and got into a tiger cage to save... a hat. Anthony and Jeff discuss the type of person who might do this, and wonder what kind of item would compel them to do the same. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and ge...

Robert Fidler built a castle at Salfords in Surrey, England without planning permission and hid it behind straw bales for four years. He has now been ordered to tear it down or face 4 months on prison. Jeff and Anthony discuss the merits of having your own castle, and the strategy of hiding it inside 3 stories of hay. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get earl...

Although Boaty McBoatface decisively won a public poll that Britain's Natural Environment Research Council launched last month to whip up enthusiasm about science, it turns out that will not be the name of their $300 million new vessel. Jeff and Anthony talk about crowdsourcing, the internet, and missed opportunities. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get earl...