SGU Episode 960

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SGU Episode 960
December 2nd 2023
"Researchers seem to have solved the puzzle of LK-99. Scientific detective work has unearthed evidence that the material is not a superconductor, and clarified its actual properties."
SGU 959                      SGU 961
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind.
John Dewey, American philosopher
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Evan's distal biceps tendon rupture

Voice-over: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

Internet Use and Mental Health (16:20)

• Internet Use and Mental Well-Being 

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Methane Capture (33:14)

• Capturing methane from the air would slow global warming. Can it be done? 

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Bitter Revenge (47:15)

• Revenge Is Rarely Sweet 

Underground Microbes (1:01:11)

• Minimalist or maximalist? The life of a microbe a mile underground 

PopSci Magazine Closes (1:09:02)

• After 151 years, Popular Science will no longer offer a magazine 

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Quickie with Steve (1:17:40)

• LK-99 isn’t a superconductor — how science sleuths solved the mystery  
   (Note: this article is not from the SGU show notes page)

[_mention_of_previous_discussion_]^{[link needed]}

Who's That Noisy? (1:20:33)

Answer to previous Noisy:

RIDGID NaviTrack® Scout

here's a video that has a similar sound to the Noisy

sonde locator

here's some info about this technology

[High-pitched warblings]

New Noisy (1:23:38)

[Deep, airy pulses]

short_text_from_transcript

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups (1:26:25)

Email #1: Dr. GPT

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Science or Fiction (1:35:06)

Theme: Mushrooms Item #1: Evidence shows that many mushroom species will increase their growth after a lightning strike, with shiitake crop yield doubling. Item #2: Three popular supermarket mushrooms, cremini, button, and portobello, are all the exact same species. Item #3: Although originally classified as plants, the kingdom of Fungi is genetically closest to the kingdom of Protista.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Fungi closest to Protista
Science	Growth after lightning strike
Science	Supermarket 'shrooms same

Host	Result
Steve	win

Rogue	Guess
Evan	Fungi closest to Protista
Bob	Growth after lightning strike
Cara	Fungi closest to Protista
Jay	Fungi closest to Protista

Voice-over: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Steve Explains Item #2

[_mushroom_nutrition_past_SOF_or_news_item]^{[link needed]}

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:52:26)

Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind.  – John Dewey (1859-1952), American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer

Signoff

S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

S: Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information, visit us at theskepticsguide.org. Send your questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. And, if you would like to support the show and all the work that we do, go to patreon.com/SkepticsGuide and consider becoming a patron and becoming part of the SGU community. Our listeners and supporters are what make SGU possible.

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Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References