Real Life

This week's episode starts where a lot of us have been living lately: sick, tired, and mainlining comfort food. Steven is still sick for Christmas and counting, while Ben also got hit, which pushed Christmas celebrations down the calendar a bit. The upside? More chili. More Fritos. No regrets.

Holiday illness also turned into a surprisingly serious soda tasting panel. Steven gives a strong thumbs-up to Sunset Sarsaparilla, while Nuka Cola Quantum lands squarely in the "fine, I guess" category. Ben, meanwhile, makes a passionate case for Canada Dry Fruit Splash Cherry Ginger Ale, which he insists is gooooood.

On the gaming front, Ben waves the bargain flag for Bang Bang Racing, currently just a dollar on Steam until January 5. It's tiny (about 200MB), has excellent controls, and punches way above its weight. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. You can check the deal details here:
https://isthereanydeal.com/game/bang-bang-racing/info/

Steven also dives deeper into Fallout Season 2, Episode 2, which naturally turns into more Fallout lore and nonsense. Possibly too much. Definitely too much. But that's the price of admission.

Future or Now

Ben brings some sobering science to the table this week. After the January 2025 LA wildfires, hospitals recorded a sharp rise in emergency visits for heart attacks, lung illness, and general sickness over the following three months. Researchers believe fine particles from wildfire smoke, combined with stress, played a major role. Blood tests even showed unusual changes that suggest health impacts lingered long after the fires were out. You can read more about the research here:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251220104619.htm

Steven talks about Plur1bus on Apple TV+, created by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad fame (and former X-Files writer). Ben keeps himself updated through Boars, Gore, and Swords:
http://boarsgoreandswords.com/

Steven, meanwhile, supplements his viewing with YouTube deep dives on color theory and visual storytelling. The consensus? An amazing show — but be warned, we eventually wander into spoiler territory. Go watch it first, then come back.

Ben also shares a very cool Google Earth exploration centered on Albuquerque. If you want to follow along, here's the link:
https://earth.google.com/web/search/Albuquerque/@35.16557795,-106.74593037,1672.53654999a,233.96919711d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=Cj4iJgokCUSJAsPilUFAEUCfJ-B8lEFAGTzU80gBr1rAIWpgL9d9sFrAKhAIARIKMjAyNC0wOC0zMBgBQgIIAToDCgEwQgIIAEoNCP___________wEQAA?authuser=0

Book Club

No book club this week — we're waiting on Devon, who seemed very excited, which somehow makes the waiting worse.

Next week's story is "The Janitor in Space" by Amber Sparks, available through American Short Fiction:
https://americanshortfiction.org/janitor-space/

Special Note

We're taking a week off. For shame.

But we'll be back on January 11th, refreshed, rehydrated, and hopefully no longer coughing into our microphones.

This week's episode is a little different—Steven is out sick, so it's just Devon and Ben holding down the fort. The result is a loose, thoughtful conversation that bounces from pop culture overload to philosophy, creativity, and the art of not trying so hard.

Real Life

Devon kicks things off with a trip looming on the horizon, bringing equal parts snow, stress, and snowboarding. That spirals nicely into media consumption: thoughts on Switch 2, Mario Maker 2, and catching up on a new Wes Anderson film alongside a Knives Out rewatch. Cozy movies, big style, and just enough distraction to keep the anxiety at bay.

Ben's week leans cinematic and slightly exasperated. Avatar: Fire and Ash clocks in at over three hours, which raises some questions about restraint. We also talk about the newly dropped Avengers: Doomsday teaser—officially slated for December 18, 2026—and the ever-growing pile of what Ben dubs AI slop. The hype machine grinds on.

Future or Now

Ben files this one firmly under Now, bringing in an essay titled "The Appropriate Amount of Effort Is Zero" from Expanding Awareness. You can read it here:
https://expandingawareness.org/blog/the-appropriate-amount-of-effort-is-zero/

The conversation clicks immediately, especially when paired with that classic Star Wars line: "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." Devon connects this idea directly to music—specifically guitar playing—and how tension kills creativity. No clenched jaw. No face squinching. Relaxed hands, relaxed mind.

Ben takes it further, pulling in some Eastern philosophy and the idea that over-effort can actively work against you. Trying less, it turns out, might actually get you more.

Book Club

No discussion this week, but we tee up next episode's reading: "The Janitor in Space" by Amber Sparks. If you want to read along, the story is available here:
https://americanshortfiction.org/janitor-space/

It's short, strange, and very much in our wheelhouse—perfect fuel for next week's conversation.

Steven will be back soon, Devon will (hopefully) survive the snow, and Ben will continue his quest to consume culture without being crushed by it. Until then: loosen your grip.

We kick things off with Real Life, where Devon is suspiciously chipper and ahead on billing (don't worry, it doesn't last forever). Steven recounts The Great Lice Infestation of '25, a saga that will echo through the ages—or at least the household laundry room. Ben crowns Sektori as his game of the year, describing it as the best Dreamcast game that never existed and somehow got a remaster. If that sentence alone sells you, here's the deal-tracking rabbit hole via IsThereAnyDeal

. Bennnip.

Steven also recommends Arc Raiders, a loot-em-up that caught his attention, which leads to a discussion of an AI-related controversy surrounding the game. Ben had heard about it, and we dig into what's actually going on, pulling from this breakdown over at Game Rant:
Arc Raiders Gen AI Voice Acting Controversy Explained

Back at the table, Steven ran a Mutant Crawl Classics game where a gravitational-lensing mutant plant man absolutely stole the show. As they do.

Ben brings science to the table with a discussion on tea, coffee, and bone health. He walks us through a decade-long study of older women that found tea drinkers had slightly stronger bones, while moderate coffee consumption caused no harm. Heavy coffee intake—more than five cups a day—was associated with lower bone density, especially when paired with higher alcohol consumption. Tea's benefits may come from catechins that help support bone formation, and the researchers suggest that small daily habits can add up over time. Ben even ran the ScienceDaily article through Google LM to compare it against the original paper. You can read the summary here:
Tea may strengthen bones in older women while heavy coffee weakens them

Devon tackles a much bigger question: why consciousness exists at all. The research suggests consciousness evolved in layers—starting with basic survival responses like pain and alarm, then expanding into focused awareness and self-reflection. These layers help organisms learn, avoid danger, and coordinate socially. Birds, interestingly, display many of these traits, implying that consciousness may be far older and more widespread than we once thought. The full write-up is worth your time:
Why consciousness exists at all

Steven had nothing this week, which is honestly its own kind of achievement.

This week's discussion centers on "The Red Thread" by Sofia Samatar, published in Lightspeed Magazine. The story features strong prose, an evocative world, and a compelling narrative voice. Devon respected it but didn't fully connect, while Ben loved it and Steven greatly enjoyed the ride. You can read it here:
"The Red Thread" by Sofia Samatar

Looking ahead, next week's pick is "The Janitor in Space" by Amber Sparks, which you can find at American Short Fiction:
The Janitor in Space

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As always, thanks for listening—and remember: drink some tea, question reality, and check your kids for lice.