We Have Concerns

The praying mantis is the only known invertebrate with 3D perception, so, of course, scientists have created tiny 3D glasses and a tiny theater to test whether the same kinds of 3D techniques used for humans will work on them, too. Did the mantises perceive 3D? Were the glasses able to work? Did they stay for a second showing of Avatar? Jeff and Anthony answer all these questions and more. Get all...

On the barren Moroccan island of Mogador, falcons seem to imprison small birds by trapping them in crevasses, presumably saving them to eat later. Scientists have never seen this kind of behavior in non-human vertebrates. Anthony and Jeff have some theories about what's going on. Also, they are super excited to talk about falcons. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://weh...

Google Cardboard has helped save the life of a baby who was born missing a lung and half a heart. Surgeons used the inexpensive VR device to map out the experimental operation. Anthony and Jeff envision more world-changing applications of VR, but also take time to highlight other important technologies... like tables. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.c...

A Mountain View startup called Knightscope has developed a fleet of crime-fighting machinery it hopes to rent for less than minimum wage to malls. Are mall cop jobs in danger? Will punk kids cower in fear at the vaguely Dalek-shaped mall security robots? Anthony and Jeff predict a very different outcome. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! I...

In their continuing series on things that want to kill you, Anthony and Jeff discuss the Manchineel tree, whose poison is so potent, even standing under it during a rainstorm can result in blistered skin and excruciating pain. Join them in a trip down terrifying vegetation lane! Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show...

An essay in The American Journal of Bioethics claims dragons and other spectacular animals could be brought to life using the targeted gene-editing system known as CRISPR-CAS9. Jeff and Anthony are on board! Let's play god and bring mythical creatures of lore into existence! What could possibly go wrong? Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! I...

Over half the Antelope population in Kazakhstan died in 4 days, and scientists are baffled as to the cause. Jeff and Anthony have a few theories, though. Don't worry. It's probably not all dark magic. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen....

Are dogs getting dumber because of their association with humans? New new study comparing intelligence of wolves to domesticated canines seems to indicate that might be the case. Anthony, Jeff, and special guest Christian Spicer talk about relative dog dumbness and what might be the cause. Patrons get a bonus, double length episode with Christian! Check out our Patreon to listen to it: https://www...

Jeff and Anthony uncover the remarkable true story of that iconic symbol of the American west, the tumbleweed. Turns out, it was all a lie. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And her...

A giant squid, rarely seen outside of deep waters, was filmed swimming near a pier in central Japan. Even crazier, a local dive shop owner decided to leap into the water and swim with the deadly creature. What happens next may surprise you. It certainly surprised Anthony and Jeff, who take a moment to enumerate the various ways this is a stupid thing to do. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merc...

Melody Jackson, a computer scientist at Georgia Tech, has been outfitting service dogs with computerized vests, so that in an emergency they can find another human and pull a mechanical lever on the vest that triggers an audio message like, "My handler needs you to come with me!" Anthony and Jeff ponder how they might react when faced with that situation, and discuss use cases for animal...

This year, efforts will resume to drill deeper into the Earth than ever before. In fact, scientists believe this new effort, drilling from a ship at sea, will finally cross the barrier between the crust and the mantle. Jeff and Anthony wonder what horrors wait to be released when we crack into new layers of the Earth, and also take time to rediscover their love of the 2003 film, The Core. Get all...

To combat an epidemic of rabies spread by wild foxes, the Swiss government, from the late seventies through the early nineties, showered their countryside with vaccinated chicken heads. Jeff and Anthony are completely flabbergasted by this plan, and wonder what life must have been like in a Europe littered with thousands of disembodied chicken heads. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by sw...

South Korean companies think they've figured out how to help depressed employees: throw them into coffins and give them fake funerals. One of us loves this idea, one of us is weirded out by it. CAN YOU GUESS WHO? Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you us...

A woman born incapable of feeling pain has been hurt for the first time, thanks to a drug normally prescribed for opioid overdoses. Jeff and Anthony discuss what it must be like to feel pain for the first time, and whether this is a positive breakthrough, or a terrible thing to do to someone with a superpower. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop...

Over the last 5 years, 283 wooden boats have washed up on the shores of Japan, full of decomposing human bodies. No one knows where they came from, who was aboard, or why they died. Of course, that doesn't stop Jeff and Anthony from solving the case. It's gotta be ghost ships, right? Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the...

The problem of splash-back at the urinal has been tackled by Researchers at Utah State University who have developed a new device that's being called a "black hole for urine." Jeff and Anthony discuss the problem of pee splash, and are mystified that this powerful technology isn't being used for more important things. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehave...

The recent International Summit on Human Gene Editing brought scientists from around the worth together to debate the benefits and potential dangers of experimenting on the human genome. Anthony and Jeff have their own debate, and imagine a future where DNA is the ultimate creative canvas. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoyi...

New research by an archaeologist at the University of York suggests that betrayals of trust were the missing link in understanding the rapid spread of our own species around the world. Jeff and Anthony discuss whether the dark side of human nature might be as useful as the light. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the sho...

An astrophysicist by the name of Matt Ginsberg believes he will revolutionize the way we will watch sports. He is patenting technology that will predict and display the results of a basketball shot the instant it leaves the shooter's hand by calculating the trajectory of the ball in real time. Jeff and Anthony discuss the merits of data against the notion of knowing too much. Get all your sweet We...

Biologists at Tufts University have succeeded in inducing one species of flatworm to grow heads and brains characteristic of another species of flatworm without altering genomic sequence. The discovery could help improve understanding of birth defects and regeneration by revealing a new pathway for controlling complex pattern formation. Jeff and Anthony imagine a world with new, programmable heads...

Scientists from James Cook University’s Singapore campus have published a study which seems to suggest that modern technology is affecting perception of time. Individuals who use smart phones and tablets report a swifter passage of time than those in analog information streams. Jeff and Anthony have their doubts about the conclusions of this study, but spend much of their time-discussion trying to...

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, a measure that lets US companies own any non-organic resources they harvest from asteroids and other space objects. Now that space mining is officially legal, Anthony and Jeff discuss the ramifications, and plan their new lives as Space Pirates. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch...

Scientists have created a kind of cyborg flower: living roses with tiny electronic circuits threaded through their vascular systems. Jeff and Anthony discuss the idea of robot plants, and whether that might be a good thing or a bad thing. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it...

Previously, on We Have Concerns, Jeff and Anthony pitched the idea of a Jetpack Rescue Squad - a group of first-responders equipped with personal propulsion devices. In fact, you can buy a shirt emblazoned with the Jetpack Rescue Squad emblem, directly from the We Have Concerns store! Now the guys discover that this idea has gone IRL. The Dubai Civil Defense is investing in 20 jetpacks to be able...