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Pour yourself something warm. Let it drizzle outside. This one's for the curious.
The Mark & Toddcast is your weekly escape from the algorithm, the outrage cycle, and whatever fresh hell is trending. Broadcasting from the rainy heart of Portland, Oregon, two friends have spent 11 years and over 300 episodes doing exactly what you wish you could do at your favorite dimly lit neighborhood pub: sitting down with a pint and wandering through whatever's genuinely interesting.
Consider us comfort food for your brain.
Instead, expect pure Pacific Northwest chill and unfiltered curiosity about topics like:
-
Why we absolutely hate the sound of our own voices
-
The secret origin of the biohazard symbol
-
America’s classified, Cold War plan to nuke the moon
-
The Stanford Prison Experiment (and why it was actually kind of BS)
-
Portland’s very own infamous Barbie-hacking culture jammers
-
The unsolved mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
-
And yes... the actual science of farts
What’s in an Episode?
-
The Catch-Up: A little life banter between two longtime friends navigating the Rose City.
-
Just the Headlines: A quick spin through the weirdest, wildest science and culture news of the week.
-
The Deep Dive: A 20-minute, high-level plunge into whatever strange subject one of us couldn't stop reading about.
Meet Your Hosts:
-
Mark spent his twenties operating nuclear reactors for the Navy before coming home to Portland's Silicon Forest to keep the machines that build microchips running. Now, he’s a technical director helping companies get found online.
-
Todd has lived several lives—ad copywriter, artist, Newsweek-published writer, and an unrepentant Madonna superfan. Today, he’s a local therapist helping people untangle their stories and reconnect with the humans around them.
Pull up a chair. Grab a local beverage.
Science is funny.
Pour yourself something warm. Let it drizzle outside. This one's for the curious.
The Mark & Toddcast is your weekly escape from the algorithm, the outrage cycle, and whatever fresh hell is trending. Broadcasting from the rainy heart of Portland, Oregon, two friends have spent 11 years and over 300 episodes doing exactly what you wish you could do at your favorite dimly lit neighborhood pub: sitting down with a pint and wandering through whatever's genuinely interesting.
Consider us comfort food for your brain.
Instead, expect pure Pacific Northwest chill and unfiltered curiosity about topics like:
-
Why we absolutely hate the sound of our own voices
-
The secret origin of the biohazard symbol
-
America’s classified, Cold War plan to nuke the moon
-
The Stanford Prison Experiment (and why it was actually kind of BS)
-
Portland’s very own infamous Barbie-hacking culture jammers
-
The unsolved mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
-
And yes... the actual science of farts
What’s in an Episode?
-
The Catch-Up: A little life banter between two longtime friends navigating the Rose City.
-
Just the Headlines: A quick spin through the weirdest, wildest science and culture news of the week.
-
The Deep Dive: A 20-minute, high-level plunge into whatever strange subject one of us couldn't stop reading about.
Meet Your Hosts:
-
Mark spent his twenties operating nuclear reactors for the Navy before coming home to Portland's Silicon Forest to keep the machines that build microchips running. Now, he’s a technical director helping companies get found online.
-
Todd has lived several lives—ad copywriter, artist, Newsweek-published writer, and an unrepentant Madonna superfan. Today, he’s a local therapist helping people untangle their stories and reconnect with the humans around them.
Pull up a chair. Grab a local beverage.
Science is funny.
Episodes

Monday Jan 26, 2026
Meaningless + Memorable: the Biohazard Symbol
Monday Jan 26, 2026
Monday Jan 26, 2026
Creating a new symbol to reflect the deadly consequences of something completely undetectable required two essential components: the symbol had to be meaningless enough to carry zero current meaning to any culture on earth, yet had to be memorable enough for people to remember what it means. This week we go from Ancient Egypt and the pyramids to the creation of the biohazard symbol in the 20th century. Also, we learn wtf is going on with beavers and their hatred of running water.

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