Mark and Toddcast

Dec 12 2024 100 ep. 61 mins 857
Mark and Toddcast Podcast artwork

Science is funny.

  Comedy  Science  Technology
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


The Long and Short of It

Dec 12 2024 36 mins  
For a Christmas treat, we recorded an extra long episode....which our recorder stopped recording at 32 minutes in for some reason. So while we didn't get to all of our stories or Mark's great topic about quantum measuring for GPS, we did manage to get in a few stories. And aren't a few stories better than none? No, of course not. But here they are anyway.

The Science of Corruption w/ Dave Baehler

Nov 18 2024 72 mins  
Dave Baehler of the NotNerd Podcast joins Todd this week to plow through the news pile, which includes the Willamette Valley Ornament Hunt, freezing your corpse for a monthly fee, life in the most inhospitable place on Earth, Mattel's "Wicked" mistake, Portland's Yelling Choir, the dangers of standing desks, Harriet Tubman awarded rank of general, and the Onion buys InfoWars. Then

This $h!t Is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Nov 12 2024 53 mins  
Bananas are the most popular fruit in the United States, as well as all over the world. But banana-flavored candy sits at the bottom of our candy taste list - probably because it tastes nothing like bananas. Find out the weird history of both banana flavoring, as well as how we got to the bananas we have in the store today (spoilers: colonialism and the US overthrowing democracies)

Would You Like to Play a Game Theory?

Nov 04 2024 55 mins  
This week we look at something called "Game Theory," which is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions, and has applications in many fields of social science, economics, logic, systems science, computer science, and more. We've also got an action-packed news segment, including Warhol- and cheese-related thefts, a new "Oregon Trail" movie, the new January 6 monumen

Nate's Millions and Other News

Oct 22 2024 70 mins  
Mark is out sick, so Todd is joined by NotNerd's very own Nate - who just had one of his Instagram posts hit a million views. Find out what it's like to go suddenly viral, as well as a news roundup that you have to listen to to the very end. I promise.

Joyce vs. The $64,000 Question vs. the Senate

Oct 15 2024 51 mins  
The $64,000 Question" was one of many 1950s game shows that was caught up in cheating scandals. We tell the story of the show, the senate hearings, and a woman named Joyce who defied everyone.In our news segment, we chat about a neo-Nazi falling to his death on Hitler's favorite mountain, Mt. Adams is rumbling, Mt. Rainier is shrinking, NASA heads to Jupiter, New York hates Salt &a

Mt. Tabor is Dead, Boring

Oct 08 2024 56 mins  
Along with the grand volcanic dames of Mt. Hood, Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams, there are many extinct volcanoes and lava fields dotting the entire Portland area. This week we take a look at Mt. Tabor in specific, and the Boring Lava Field in general. In our news segment, we cover the end of tedious passwords, Earth's new second moon, which companies are undermining democracy, a s

Spy Whales, Plastic Brains, and See-Through Mice

Sep 24 2024 62 mins  
It's a world-wind tour around the news from the last couple of weeks, including Todd and the Unipiper's trip to Celtic Fest, Portland's stolen (or not) cat statue, the WNBA expansion, billboards hacked by furries, pickleball in Lloyd Center, our brains are now .5% plastic, Doritos make mice see-through, the mystery of the dead "spy" whale, and more. Enjoy!

E.C. Waters: The Biggest A-hole in All of Yellowstone

Sep 03 2024 69 mins  
This week we recap Todd's trip to Yellowstone, and focus on one of the earliest businessmen to set up shop in the new National Park: Steamboat owner/operator E.C. Waters, who was such a legendary a-hole that he was eventually completely banned from even entering the park. And in our news segment - school cellphone bans, LiveNation's Portland venue proposal, Boeing's ongoing astrona

The Church vs. The Lightning Rod

Aug 12 2024 63 mins  
"How dare one interfere with the mighty judgement of God and His wrath?!" Who knew the lightning rod was such a, well, lightning rod of controversy? Benjamin Franklin gave a gift to the world, and much like the still relevant battles pitting science against (a person's own definition of) God, not everyone wanted that gift. Burn the witches, we've got some history to learn. In the n