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
This Is Water by David Foster Wallace
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
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
Corrections Department (because of course): Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland
Seth Meyers' Corrections on Late Night
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
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)
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
Battlestar Galactica's Pyramid
Armada by Ernest Cline
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
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
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
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
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
DOC, AOC, and many other foods aiming for protected status
Sorry, Github.
This week Aaron and Joey talk about the importance of making space for weird. They don't talk about being normal and forgotten or weird and remembered.
references
Where does your justice threshold rest?
This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Lana Del Rey, LEGO, the arenas of justice, the TSA, Aaron's personal space, and taking umbrage. They don’t talk about the Molecular Lego of Knots.
references
Lana Del Rey's "Video Games"
Corrections Department: Jan (pronounced Yon) Vormann discusses his Dispatch Work
LEGO Masters Season 1, Episode 6: Aaron and Christian's Bridge
Veritasium on Knot Theory
What is the role of truth and how should we think about how it's changing?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about misinformation, wallets, the replication crisis, journalism, radical candor, and trust. They don’t talk about the word "cap."
references
In what ways is procrastitivity useful ... or not?
This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about procrastination styles, Maya Angelou, procrastavoidance, urgency, anxiety, and Éric Ripert. They don’t talk about The Soul of an Octopus.
references
What's in a name?
This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Cher, dysmorphia, name commonality, De'Coldest Crawford, permutations, and nick names. They don’t talk about Major Danger.
references
Revisiting Critical Nonsense 139! Teenage Girl Power and Sharing Names
How Many of Me? (a variation)
What things should we be leaving up to chance?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about the expectation of rightness, hiring, outsourcing decisions, smart coins, Level 5 Engineers, and proposing. They don’t talk about DJ Screw.
references
How do we wrestle with history?
This week, Jess and Aaron talk about rote learning, putty, history as study vs. history as culture, stories, empathy, and erasure. They don’t talk about the history of Play-Doh.
references
Giving credit where it's due: "Molly Ivins, lively columnist who dubbed Bush 'Shrub'"
See also: Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush by Molly Ivins
This week, Joey and Jess talk about Chuck Klosterman, Bluey (again), the Mona Lisa, High Fidelity, Kafka, and Shakespeare. They don’t talk about Slick Rick.
references
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
What things that we need should we be gamifying?
This week, Joey and Jess talk about not getting enough sleep, Pokémon, mixed expertise, incentivized behavior change, Duolingo, and eating. They don’t talk about superconductors, no matter how badly Joey wants to.
references
The Atlantic: Did Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely Fabricate Data for the Same Study?
The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson
The New York Times: Sleep Better at Every Age
The New York Times: 500 Days of Duolingo: What You Can (and Can’t) Learn From a Language App
How do we deal with contradiction?
This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about Björk, Barbie, G-strings, Elf on a Shelf, multiverses, and compartmentalization. They don’t talk about Green Day.
references
Where might we find more empathy for each other?
This week, Jess and Joey talk about etiquette, niceties, deplaning, consideration, the inverse crush, and villains. They don’t talk about Brother Bear.
references
