260! Tree Timebombs

Why should we be concerned wth generationally slow timebombs? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about trees, the Bradford pear, city planning, Barcelona, pilot programs, and the candy bowl theory. They don’t talk about Cameo. 

references 

• @jjvincent on the tree timebomb in the UK. 

• The Guardian: Hidden giants: how the UK’s 500,000 redwoods put California in the shade 

• The New York Times from 1964: BRADFORD PEAR HAS MANY ASSETS; New Ornamental Fruit Offers Sturdy Form And Early Bloom 

• The New York Times from 2021: A Tree That Was Once the Suburban Ideal Has Morphed Into an Unstoppable Villain 

• Superilla 

• Biological Control 

• The Psychology of the Candy Bowl 

• Dunbar's number 

• Street activity sensors in NY 

• Definitely Maybe 

259! The Trend-Mill

What does this "trend-mill" mean, what does it say about us as people, and how bad is it, really? 

This week, special guests Claire and Chloe join Jess and Joey to talk about the mob-wife aesthetic, accessibility, TikTok, blueberry milk nails, social networks vs. social media, and Trader Joe's totes. They don’t talk about why the combination of peanut butter and jelly is a gotdamn abomination. 

references 

• Vogue: Blueberry Milk Nails Are Summer’s Most-Wanted Manicure 

• Zaria Parvez: How the Comment Section became Duolingo's new Push Notification 

• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt 

• onika burgers 

258! Cringe Aversion

What happens if we're all deathly affraid of the cringe? 

This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about pain, yips, shame, fremdschämen, the Apple Vision Pro, and Michael Jordan. They don’t talk about Gracious K. 

references 

• Skanking 

• Revisiting Critical Nonsense 253! Teaching Agency and the Scandinavian Swimmers 

• Fremdschämen 

• The actual King of Belgium 

257! Sports Scandals

Why is cheating in some places treated differently than cheating in other places? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about fairness, tribalism, insider trading, meritocracy, winning, and wallpaper. They don’t talk about Pete Shelley. 

references 

• Veridis Quo 

• USA Today: Who is Shohei Ohtani and what is his connection to the gambling scandal that's rocked baseball? 

• ESPN: NBA eyes Raptors' Jontay Porter for betting issues 

• The Meritocracy Myth by Stephen J. McNamee 

• Jayson Tatum 

• Aaron's Interior Decorating Corner: Anthropologie, Spoonflower, Hovia, Janovic, and Lamps Plus 

Progress Report: Awaiting the Eruption

This week, a takeover! Joey shares his latest edition from SYLVAIN’s Progress Report newsletter: Awaiting the Eruption: Innovation Strategies for a Post-ZIRP Era.

For more from SYLVAIN's Progress Report, see progressbysylvain.co.

256! Finding the Right Answer

Why are we always searching for the right answer?  

This week, Jess and Joey talk about gray spaces, equifinality, value judgments, hiring, multifinality, and quantum physics. They don’t talk about the Alignment Theory.  

references  

• Joey's nerd piece: Progress Report: The State Of...Awaiting the Eruption 

• equifinality 

• multifinality 

• the secretary problem 

• The New York Times: ‘I’m Sick of Seeing My Face,’ Says the Internet’s Kombucha Connoisseur 

255! Crying

What are the rules about crying in public? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about benchmarking emotions, psychic tears, showing your belly, laughter yoga, pickled sadness, and ... farts. They don’t talk about Mary. 

references 

• When Joeys cry 

• Lacrymatory 

• Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown 

• National Library of Medicine: "The social impact of emotional tears" 

• The Swaddle: Psychic Tears and the Science of Crying 

• Laughter yoga 

254! Dopamine Culture

How do we survive dopamine culture?

This week, Aaron, Joey and Jess talk about neurotransmitters, The Good Place, Sheryl Crowe, Wall-E, Type 2 fun, and the mortal sins. They don't talk about the important nuance of the many antihistamines for all you allergic people out there.

references

• Cleveland Clinic: On Neurotransmitters

• Inc: "Why Your Brain Prioritizes Instant Gratification Over Long-Term Goals, According to Science"

• The Honest Broker Substack: "The State of the Culture 2024" where you'll find that dopamine culture chart

• Corrections Department: it was NOLS Rocky Mountain Outdoor Educators Semester

• WaPo: "What is Type 2 Fun?"

• WaPo on the joy, and if you can believe it—newfound mess—of Marie Kondo

253! Teaching Agency

What's our responsibility to teach agency for the next generation of workers? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about Scandinavian Swimmers, in-flight wifi, lawnmower parenting, consent, waffles and ice cream, and pipe cleaners. They don’t talk about ABBA. 

references 

• Scandinavian Swimmers 

252! Obscure Analogies

Is it better to be a nerd with your analogies and attempt to be right, or is it better just to be relatable? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about Mister Rogers and his (boring) neighborhood, The Big Bang Theory, nerds, the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, linking things, and the Ig Noble Awards. They don’t talk about Lewis Skolnick or Gilbert Lowe. 

references 

• "Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen!" 

• Baader–Meinhof phenomenon 

• concatenate 

• Also, CONCAT(ENATE) 

• The Ig Nobel Prize: Celebrating Science with Humour 

251! Rituals

Why do people love rituals so much? 

This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about medicine, Lunar New Year, habits, disease, leg washing, and flossing. They don’t talk about Jane's Addiction. 

references 

• twitterpated 

• Yale School of Medicine: Phenylephrine, a Common Decongestant, Is Ineffective, Say FDA Advisors. It’s Not Alone 

• Gregorian calendar 

• Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies by Colin Renfrew 

• National Geographic: "Why do humans embrace rituals? Disease and danger may be at the root of the behaviors."" 

• cephalocaudal 

• Gonggong 

• Not-so-late-breaking: OSU microbiologists propose updates to the Linnaean System 

• Recapitulation theory 

250! Aquariums

What can we learn about reality from aquariums? 

This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about Barbie, virtual reality, augmented reality, Sphere, interactivity, and raccoons. They don’t talk about Phish. 

references 

• BBC: Aquariums 'deliver significant health benefits' 

• Sphere 

• This Is Water by David Foster Wallace 

• Disney Imagineer Makes History 

249! Goodhart Overhang

When should we change the target? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about SATs, grade inflation, games, goals, dating, and wine. They don’t talk about French Kiss. 

references 

• Joey missed you. 

• The New York Times' The Daily Podcast: The Messy Fight Over the SAT 

• @AnthonyLeeZhang on former-Twitter discussing the Goodhart Overhang 

• vintner 

• Concord grapes 

• How Save Scumming Makes Baldur's Gate 3 Better 

248! Correcting People

When is it okay to correct someone? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about Vander-ism, otaku, pedantry, language, Ryan-ing, and comments sections. Thankfully, they don’t talk about the Oxford comma. 

references 

• Otaku 

• Corrections Department (because of course): Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland 

• easter eggs 

• propinquity 

• Merriam-Webster on X 

• Seth Meyers' Corrections on Late Night 

247! Wild Prognostications 2024 + 2023 Year In Review!

How did our predictions play out in 2023, and what's to come in 2024? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess serve a combo platter of Wild Prognostications, reviewing nogs past from Episode 206 and progging forward into the new year. They talk about influencers, chickens, stuffies, egg nogs, algae, and AI hardware. They don’t talk about quail eggs. 

references 

• Happy New Year for Cutie 

• Puffer Onesie 

• Omlet 

• solidwiggles 

• The New York Times: The Secret Weapon of Celebrity Stylists? Comfortable Shoes. 

246! Inventing New Sports

Thank you for the love and support you've shown us in light of Alain's passing. If you want to make a donation in Alain's memory, his family suggested they be made to the following organizations: 

• Family Defense Practicum at Main Street Legal Services (write "Family Defense Practicum" in the Additional Comments section) 

• Anseye Pou Haiti 

• Haitian Education Leadership Program 

Typically, we close the year with our Wild Prognostications year in review, instead, we just wanted to leave you with a light-hearted episode to counter the heaviness with a bit of whimsy. …

When did we stop inventing sports? 

This episode, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Cher, sports, spectators, Esports, cyberwarfare, and The Ocho. They don’t talk about the Techno Parrot. 

references 

• I Hope You Dance with the Scatman 

• Echolalia 

• Channeling Emerson 

• Future Tense Fiction: Stories of Tomorrow 

• Battlestar Galactica's Pyramid 

• Pickleball 

• Quidditch (real-life sport) 

• Mayan Ball Game 

• Calvinball 

• Jai alai 

• Armada by Ernest Cline 

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 

• ESPN8 The Ocho 

• блядь 

• North Figueroa Bookshop 

• This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves 

• The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks 

• Thank U 

245! Childhood Independence and Mental Health

How do we loosen the reins? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about latchkey kids, parenting, protectiveness, perfectionism, social narrative, and lawnmowers. They don’t talk about driveways vs. parkways. 

references 

• Latchkey kids 

• "Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Wellbeing: Summary of the Evidence" (PDF) 

• Science Daily: 'All work, no independent play' cause of children's declining mental health 

• Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant 

• Parental rights movement 

244! Pet Parenting

How much is too much, and how far do you take it for your pets? 

This week, special guest Amanda Medina joins Joey and Jess to talk about chicken tenders/tendies (again), dogs in baby-carrying apparatuses, therapy, working dogs, diets, and parenting. They don’t talk about pet chickens. 

references 

• Eater: A New Hampshire Restaurant Says it Invented Chicken Tenders in 1974 

• Belgian Malinois 

• anthropomorphize 

243! Sourcing Criticism

Where are you sourcing your criticism? 

This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about critics, movie reviews, Dan Gilbert, unintentionally laxative candy, mind bleachers, and overcorrecting. They don’t talk about criticizing nonsense. 

references 

• The Aaron and Joey of Wine 

• Norio Ohga 

• Plain English podcast: Disney’s Downfall: The Rise and Fall of an Entertainment Giant 

• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert 

• Daniel Gilbert Ted Talk: The surprising science of happiness 

• Vox: Stop watching movie trailers 

• BuzzFeed: Sugarless Haribo Gummy Bear Reviews On Amazon Are The Most Insane Thing You'll Read Today 

• Call Me Al(ain) 

242! Unlocking the Fifth Gait

Where haven't we unlocked the fifth gait?

This week, Jess and Joey talk about Icelandic horses, Stardew Valley, Japanese craftsmanship, molecular gastronomy v. farm to table, biohacking, and "the source code." They don’t talk about how galloping is an elongated canter, because we only just found this out.

references 

• The fateful non-conversation about bracts.

• American Museum of Natural History: Horse Gaits

• "The Five Gaits of the Icelandic Horse" and this generously paced video version to see for yourself

• Lil' Sebastian in the tribute song "5000 Candles"

• Jess's favorite, Plato's Allegory of the Cave

• The fifth gait of puzzles: Magic Puzzles

• Achieving Perfection in Stardew Valley

• CBS: Is licorice (ammonium chloride) the sixth taste?

• DOC, AOC, and many other foods aiming for protected status

• Time: Bryan Johnson's Quest for Immortality

• Sorry, Github.