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

—

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

Thanksgiving came and went, and somehow all three of us survived… though some of us survived more deviled eggs than others. Let's jump in.

Steven kicked things off with the tale of a very boring Thanksgiving that was only made notable by the sheer volume of deviled eggs involved. When you commit to making 36 eggs—times two—you're basically catering your own side quest. After recovering, he cleansed his palate by watching Jurassic Park with his kid, which is exactly the kind of comfort cinema the holiday demands.

Ben had a more people-filled holiday: his mom visited (hi Martha!) and there were Thanksgiving dinners with Matt (hi Matt!). Somewhere in between all the leftovers he squeezed in a rewatch of The Fifth Element, because sometimes the only thing better than turkey is multi-pass nostalgia.

Devon reported the chillest Thanksgiving of the group—Friday, low-key, nothing dramatic. Except for a family friend making chicken parm the hard way, which is an important detail because Devon would absolutely like everyone to know there is an easier way. Also: the LEGO Enterprise-D has been purchased… and may or may not have arrived. We're waiting for the inaugural "swoosh test."

Steven also tossed in that Devon watched Zootopia 2, which, according to Steven, is "about WW2." Take that claim as seriously as you should.

Ben brought a blast from the productivity past with the return of Freeter—a tool for organizing workflows, command line scripts, projects, and basically your entire work brain. It's cross-platform and designed to gather everything you need into one tidy dashboard. He's excited; we're cautiously optimistic this isn't the start of another "Ben reorganizes his life using eight apps" arc.
https://freeter.io/

Devon had nothing this week, which somehow felt on-brand after his aggressively uneventful Thanksgiving.

Steven highlighted A Doggone Shame, a study looking at CBD use in over 47,000 dogs. The data shows it's mostly used on older pups with chronic conditions, and while long-term use seems linked to reduced aggression, it doesn't do much for other anxiety-related behaviors. Also interesting: owners in cannabis-friendly states were the most likely to try CBD with their dogs.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251128050506.htm

We'll be reading "Dark Air" by Lincoln Michel — a speculative piece published in Granta.
https://granta.com/dark-air/

We dove into "Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station" by Caroline M. Yoachim, a choose-your-own-adventure-style story where your choices matter… except they don't. The story reminds you that in the clinic—just like real life—your decisions, your path, your careful strategizing… often end up being meaningless in the grand scheme of things. But weirdly, it's fun! We all really enjoyed it.
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/welcome-to-the-medical-clinic-at-the-interplanetary-relay-station/

We wrapped with a quick chat about Stranger Things Season 5. Steven and Devon have watched a few episodes, and the question came up:
Can a modern streaming show realistically handle actors aging when production takes years between seasons?

Do you lean into it? Write around it? Pretend nothing happened? Pretend it's Zootopia 2: The WW2 Years? Hard to say.

It's a big week over here, full of visiting parents, cosmic philosophy, and at least one host wrestling with the concept of leftovers. Let's get into it.

Ben is officially in pre-Thanksgiving hype mode because his mom is coming to visit (hi Martha!). There may or may not be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the table—Ben is thinking about it, which is basically the same as committing, right? He's also deep into a full-spectrum Percy Jackson immersion program: watching the movie, reading the books, and watching the new show. You can check out the show's current score here:
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/percy_jackson_and_the_olympians

This leads into Ben's latest tech spiral: trying to explain Valve to explain Steam to explain their new announcements. Yes, we're talking Steam Machine, Steam Frame, Steam Controller… all the greatest hits of "Valve makes hardware for some reason."

Devon is dealing with some extended-family logistics involving his sister-in-law and also took a firm stance this week: he hates Thanksgiving atmosphere. The vibes? Bad. The leftovers? Worse. Respect the honesty.

Steven stayed indoors and educated himself by way of extremely good YouTube movie documentaries. First up: a look at how Jurassic Park pulled off its groundbreaking effects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWtlIhVDl-M

And then a deep dive into the behind-the-scenes of Interstellar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH6qRaOr8YY

Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

Devon brings us the most brain-melting story of the week: physicists have now mathematically proven that the Universe is not a simulation.

A team from UBC Okanagan used Gödel's incompleteness theorem to demonstrate that reality requires a form of "non-algorithmic understanding"—something that no computational system can replicate. In other words: if this is a simulation, it's not one any computer could run.

Read the research summary here:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251110021052.htm

So the Universe might be fundamentally unsimulatable. Which is cool, unless you were really hoping to blame your life choices on a bored cosmic programmer.

We're jumping into a choose-your-own-adventure-style sci-fi story with "Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station" by Caroline M. Yoachim. It's weird, funny, sharply written, and perfect for discussion.
Read it here:
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/welcome-to-the-medical-clinic-at-the-interplanetary-relay-station/

We're covering "City Grown From Seed" by Diana Dima.
Content warning: domestic violence / domestic abuse.

This one is dense, metaphorical, unsettling, and beautifully written. It explores generational trauma, identity, and rebirth through surreal botanical imagery. Definitely one of those stories that sticks with you long after reading.
Find it here:
http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fiction/city-grown-from-seed/

This week's episode opens with a very rainy round of real-life updates. Ben has been slammed with work and declares—formally, officially, irrevocably—that poetry is better than parades. (He is fully prepared to defend this position.) Meanwhile, Steven reports that the local parade and festival still happened despite the rain, because sometimes community spirit just refuses to check the weather. And Devon? He keeps forgetting that he's technically a Texan now, which raises several questions about residency, identity, and barbecue obligations.

But the week wasn't all jokes—Ben also shared the sad news that Orion has passed. He was a very good boy, and the pod raises a collective toast. Ben's been spending time catching up on life, trying to relearn what "rest" even means, and also casually dropping the bomb that Affinity is now free. (Yes, really—go see for yourself at affinity.studio.) And while you're browsing, you can apparently rent Ben's actual mind at Penciledin.com, which sounds like a threat but is, in fact, a service.

Steven also let us know that the Fallout Season 2 trailer is out, so it's time to emotionally prepare for more post-apocalyptic chaos.

Devon kicks off this segment with actual real science: new research shows no clear link between acetaminophen (Tylenol) and autism, which is a big deal considering how long that concern has been floating around. (Links to ScienceDaily and the BMJ included in the show notes for the skeptics and science nerds.)

Then we collectively decide: yes, we need to talk about Plur1bus. And we go deep.

This is a full-spoiler discussion, so skip ahead if you're still watching. We cover everything—from the protagonist who's also the antagonist, to the messy moral math of a hive mind, to Devon's incredibly passionate speech about wanting to understand hive-mind psychology. Steven brings up that Internet-as-proto-hivemind theory, and Ben drops several very good points as per tradition.

If you want episode breakdowns, the Wikipedia page has everything laid out neatly and also serves as a reminder that this show is way smarter than any of us expected when we hit "play."

We skipped Book Club this week because there was simply too much Plur1bus to process.

Next week:
We're reading City Grown From Seed by Diana Dima.
Content warning: domestic violence / domestic abuse.
You can read it for free on Strange Horizons.

It's another week of real life, questionable decisions, and sci-fi tangents.

Does Devon Even Like Being on the Show?
We ask the question no one dared to before—and yes, Devon does like being here. Just… maybe not for the reasons you think.

Ben's Apology Tour Continues
Ben kicks things off with an immediate apology for this podcast. Again. But he makes up for it by diving into Apple TV's The Big Door Prize (IMDb link)—a show full of mysteries, midlife crises, and a machine that tells you your true potential. He's also been watching Zen for Nothing and Piece by Piece, and we learn something shocking: Steven hates LEGO.

Steven's Space Drama
Speaking of Steven, he's wrestling with another defeat in Shatterpoint (at the hands of Christina's husband, again), and somehow this leads to him buying a Camtono. Why does he have one? No one knows. But we do get a heated debate about the LEGO Enterprise and whether Ensign Ro or Tasha Yar had the raw deal in Star Trek.

Devon's Hive-Mind Obsession
Devon's been watching Plur1bus on Apple TV and can't stop talking about how eerily well it captures collective consciousness. For a guy who insists he's an individual, he sure sounds like part of a hive.

Ben actually brings good news this time. Seriously. His pick is a hopeful piece on how Solarpunk is already happening in Africa—how communities there are skipping the outdated infrastructure of the past and heading straight into a sustainable, decentralized future. Read it here: Why Solarpunk Is Already Happening in Africa

Meanwhile, Steven turns up the heat—literally—with a wild story out of Death Valley. Scientists studying Tidestromia oblongifolia found it doesn't just survive in brutal heat—it adapts on the fly, rearranging its cells and genes to keep photosynthesizing when everything else would fry. It's a real-life lesson in evolution under pressure. (ScienceDaily link)

This Week: In the Forests of Memory by E. Lily Yu (read here) – a haunting, quiet story about memory, commerce, and humanity told through the eyes of a trader and a stranger. It's as poetic as it is unsettling.

Next Week: City Grown From Seed by Diana Dima (read here) – content warning for domestic violence and abuse. It's an eerie, metaphorical story that we'll unpack next episode.

Between Ben's apologies, Devon's hive talk, and Steven's LEGO rage, it's another week of chaos, sci-fi, and accidental enlightenment.

You can listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts—or watch our faces slowly melt under studio lights on YouTube.