We Have Concerns

The community of Delta, B.C. is looking at updating its Annieville playground with riskier equipment, after a public health expert told the council that kids who play safe when they're young show more signs of depression and anxiety later in life. Anthony and Jeff have some strong opinions about playing it safe, and debate the merits of "helicopter parenting". We Have Concerns is entirel...

Scientists from Cornell University and the Italian Technology Institute in Pontedera have developed an elastic robotic skin that is able to stretch up to five times its size, change colors, and even detect pressure. Anthony is ready to replace his own skin immediately... until Jeff tells him it basically makes him just like an octopus. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad...

A mountain lion miraculously surviving in the urban mountains in Los Angeles is believed to have breached a 9-foot fence at the Los Angeles Zoo and mauled an 18-pound koala at night. However, all the evidence is circumstantial. Jeff and Anthony take a look at those circumstances and come to their own conclusions about the mountain lion known as P-22. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported...

A medical condition called Witzelsucht causes people to compulsively create puns and bad jokes all day long. Anthony thinks this might explain Jeff's Dad Joke tendencies, and starts the episode ready to diagnose Jeff with the disease. But Jeff pulls out possibly the most deft bait-and-switch of all time, to avoid it. You don't want to miss this one. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported!...

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that neighbors of lottery winners are unusually likely to go bankrupt, and the larger the lottery prize, the more likely bankruptcy becomes. Jeff and Anthony talk about keeping up with the Joneses, and Appleby's riblets. There's a surprising amount of discussion of riblets. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us a...

Residents of Windsor, the industrial Canadian city that lies just across the river from Detroit, have been experiencing a monotonous type of noise pollution that is usually just referred to as 'The Hum,' and it's been happening for years. No one knows what it is, but Jeff and Anthony have some theories. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonu...

Psychologists at Sussex University published a new study that claims a horse can not only tell whether a human might be in a bad mood by simply looking at the human's facial expression, it can do so from a photograph. Anthony and Jeff discuss the emotional empathy of animals, and also perform the entire, full-length Mr. Ed theme song from memory. So no one would blame you if you skip this one. We...

Fire behaves very differently in zero gravity, and NASA wants to study it. The problem? It is very, very foolish to set fire to something inside a spacecraft, and there are specific rules prohibiting flammable material even being on board. But those clever NASA scientists have come up with a very smart solution. Jeff and Anthony take a look at their the plan and consider the issue of space fire. W...

Nineteen-year old British programmer Joshua Browder has created a robotic appeal system for parking tickets. Since its inception in 2015, this robo-lawyer has successfully appealed $3 million worth of tickets. Anthony is ready to move all of his legal affairs to non-humans, while Jeff wonders how long it will take the government to out-bureaucracy the robot. We Have Concerns is entirely listener s...

For centuries, Peruvian locals talked about a river in the Amazon that burns so hot it can kill. Now, Peruvian geoscientist, Andrés Ruzo has actually found it. Jeff and Anthony discuss Indiana Jones-esque adventures into the jungle, boiling rivers, and, for some reason, Jolt Cola. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out ou...

In an extremely strange case that can’t be found anywhere in medical history, a girl from Deesa, Gujarat in India has been unlucky enough to be chosen as the host for an ant nest — right inside of her ear. Indeed, at least 10 to 15 large ants are emerging from the girl’s ear everyday. Jeff, Anthony, and special guest Travis McElroy contemplate the horror of having an ant's nest inside your skull....

A scientist at the University Medical Centre Maribor, Slovenia has presented a way to encode data directly into the DNA of plants, which would continue to pass along that genetic information to all subsequent generations. Jeff is enamored with the idea of plant life that can be used for archival purposes, but Anthony is much more interested in new plastic data discs that will last forever. We Have...

An 18-year old in Florida posed as a doctor for a year without, apparently, any qualifications whatsoever. Anthony can relate, and he and Jeff discuss what is more important, having a skills, education, and certification of the medical field, or the pure, unfettered desire. Turns out, it's those first three. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes...

Certain birds of prey are picking up burning sticks from brush fires and dropping them in dry grass. Why? Because then all the little critters will run away from the fire and out into the open, where the birds can snatch them up. Jeff and Anthony delve once again into the intelligence and dickish nature of birds. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early epi...

Writer Jeff Wilser ate nothing but processed, packaged junk food for an entire month, and still managed to lose 11 pounds. His hypothesis: If you limit your caloric intake to a moderate amount, but eat garbage, can you still be healthy, feel great, and lose weight? Anthony and Jeff tackle this question, too, and wonder if this is junk science as well as junk food. We Have Concerns is entirely list...

New research published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that being an early riser is in some people's DNA -- and not in others'. The study isolated 15 areas in the human genome that are associated with the tendency toward or against "morningness." Anthony and Jeff discuss their own struggles with rising early, and whether they think it is built into their DNA. We Have Conce...

While investigating non-English words associated with positive emotions and concepts, a British researcher recently discovered 216 foreign words for which there is no English translation. The conclusion being that without words for so many positive emotions, perhaps English speakers represent a demonstrably less positive culture. Jeff and Anthony are both fascinated with language, but argue about...

A very different kind of episode of We Have Concerns, this one was recorded live at the PAX South convention in San Antonio Texas, and consists entirely of questions from the audience. It also features not one, but two eulogies for the very much alive Anthony Carboni, and Jeff Cannata's bid to play Mr Fantastic. This episode was recorded LIVE at PAX South 2016 in San Antionio. Thanks to everyone w...

An article on Fox News says that scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany have reconstructed the Black Death! Oh no, we're all doomed! Why would scientists bring back a long dormant killer disease? Well, buried beneath the alarming rhetoric is the truth: they reconstructed the disease in a computer to learn more about its origins. Anthony and Jeff take t...

The prairie vole, unlike 97 percent of mammals, are monogamous, forming bonds that last long after mating, and scientists have been doing experiments to try to understand if the hormone they share with humans - oxytocin - may be the reason. Unfortunately, these experiments are pretty rough on the voles. Jeff and Anthony talk about the so-called "Love Hormone" and what it may mean for hum...

Jumping spiders, members of the Salticidae family of arachnids, have a level of cognizance rarely seen in creatures of their diminutive size, which enables them to plan ahead and work out the most appropriate route to catch their prey. Scientists proved thi fact through a series of obstacle course-like tests, that have Anthony and Jeff terrified of the abilities of eight-legged predators. We Have...

Australian startup company Humai claims to be working on a way to transfer a person’s consciousness into an artificial body after they’ve died. This is something Anthony and Jeff have been dying to see happen, but they have some serious reservations when they hear some details about how the startup is working. This episode was recorded LIVE at PAX South 2016 in San Antionio. Thanks to everyone who...

The exceptionally mild winter in many areas of the world caused by global climate change has led to squirrels across Europe and North America piling on the pounds. They prepare for frigid temperatures that never come, and end up larger than ever. Jeff and Anthony decide whether fat squirrels are a problem, or just more ticklish. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehav...

Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced that they have found new evidence of a giant icy planet lurking in the darkness of our solar system far beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are calling it "Planet Nine." Jeff and Anthony try to work through what this means for our civilization, and all of the styrofoam solar systems in science fairs everywhere. Get all your swee...

In the Norwegian town of Longyearbyen, it is forbidden to die. The reason? The Arctic region is so cold year-round, that bodies simply do not decompose. Anthony and Jeff are fascinated by anywhere that asks you to kindly leave town if you're about to die, and wonder if there might be a union of ice wizards in the area who want you to live forever. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swing...