Mark and Toddcast

Episode #200! The Marxist and Toddcast

We finally did it! Celebrate 200 episodes of the Mark and Toddcast with this extra-sized news wrap-up, and dive into the notes and subjects that we've meant to get to before but haven't had the chance. Thanks to everyone for listening!

What Even Are Sea Monkeys?

We all grew up seeing those weird, illustrated creatures in comic book magazine ads - the promise of "Instant Life!" in the form of "Sea Monkeys." So what are those things? How does "instant life" work? And who created them? Find out on this week's episode.

#198 - Dr. Ethan Siegel, Theoretical Astrophysicist, Talks the James Webb Telescope

We once again welcome (5 years later) Dr. Ethan Siegel, theoretical astrophysicist, author, speaker, and smartest guy ever, about next month's launch of the James Webb telescope, how it works, why it's such an advancement from Hubble, what we hope to find, and how Todd gets to believe he is the literal center of the universe. Enjoy!

#197 - Al Goncer, Aerospace Engineer at NASA

This week we have an amazing conversation with Al Goncer, an aerospace engineer at NASA, who also happens to be legally blind. We talk to him about his journey to NASA, his loss of sight late in life, and the amazing accessibility technology he uses to navigate life, work, and the internet.

#196 - Ambiguous Gestural and Verbal Praise

This week we take a look at the astonishing success of giving kids (and adults) what is called an "ambiguous gestural or verbal praise" -- things like a fist bump, a pat on the shoulder, or shouting "Yeah!" to encourage someone along -- over standard character- or behavior-based praise.  High five!

#195 - Voyager‘s Golden Record

The Voyager space mission, which is now in interstellar space, far beyond our solar system, has a gold record attached to it containing images, words, pictures, greetings, and more, just in case it's discovered by alien life forms.  So what's on it? We fire up our cosmic record player to find out.

War of Wikipedia #5

It's that time again for our favorite segment "War of Wikipedia," where Mark and Todd go head-to-head to attempt to find the strangest, most interesting, most amusing, or all-together crazy Wikipedia articles trying to sway special guest judge Brian "The Unipiper" Kidd to choosing their story as the victor.

#193 - Uranus is Thicc

This week we start taking a closer look around our own celestial neighborhood and diving into the weirdness of Uranus. And no, we're not mature about the name. In the news this week: El Salvador eyes Bitcoin, TikTok takes the lead, Mercedes reads our minds, RayBan/Facebook's new sunglasses, Marshawn Lynch goes Beast Mode in Portland, the I-5 freeway cap through the Rose Quarter, and Ned Flanders Crossing.

#192 - Projct A119: Nuking the Moon

What does one do if they're losing the space race? If that person is America, there's only one obvious answer: blow up a nuclear weapon on the moon to show how bad-ass we really are. How far did this plan go? Find out on this week's episode. In the news: Willard Scott dies, Mississippi River flows backwards, you can make $6 billion starting an opioid crisis, China's space plans, what the hell is Grimace, and the return of ABBA! Gimme Gimme Gimme!

#191 - The Private Space Race

This week we take a short look at just which private companies are currently working on getting themselves into space. We've all heard about Musk, Branson, and Bezos, but who else is there, and what are their plans? In the news this week: LED streetlights decimate moths, the "Tesla Bot," Portland's iconic Mary's Club to move, Google's "time crystals," a new carnivorous plant discovered in the NW, Ron Popeil sets it and forgets it, and the most important of all the news: CREME SAVERS ARE COMING BACK, BABY!