22.7K
Downloads
304
Episodes
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
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
This week we take a look at an international renowned chef and cookbook author James Beard, whose impact was so large that even Julia Child was a fan. We take a look at his start in Oregon, and his rise to be one of the most influential chefs in history. All that, and a special appearance by Zymo! "What is Zymo?" you may ask? Find out this week.
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Humans are the only species on earth that can "understand" music. Why is that? What exactly *is* music, and why can't animals seem to put the pieces together? This week we take a look at what goes on inside the human brain to turn sound into that magic entity -- which has the capacity to help us heal, grow, learn, recover, remember, and more -- we call music. (It also makes the bourgeoisie and the rebel.)
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Yes, we've explored blockchain and bitcoin and NFTs before, but we're heading back in with a special guest (Mark's business partner Brett) who actually knows what he's talking about - so again we take a dive into just what this all means, especially for us "regular people."
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Mark's away, which means Todd can play - and record an extra long episode with Nate and Dave from one of our favorite podasts, The NotNerd Podcast. After a wrap-up of news stories, Nate and Dave go head-to-head for this latest round of War of Wikipedia, in which each present a short, weird Wikipedia article to be judged by Todd as to whose is the most amusing. It's a Christmas miracle!
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Much like "Tiger King," the story of the famous flight of the 1984 Olympic JetPack Guy takes some turns that go from mildly interesting to downright shocking. This week we find out how the jet pack (which isn't a jet pack, it's a rocket) was created, and what happened after its most famous flight.
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
After a lengthy discussion of science and Portland news, we dig into the story of the person who inspired the successful Montgomery Bus Strike against segregation -- 9 months before Rosa Parks became the face of the campaign. Find out all about 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, and how her actions led to a revolution.
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
From 1932-1972, the United States government purposefully injected black men with syphilis - without their knowledge or consent - with the intent of not treating it, in order to study the effects of the disease. This week we take a look at this vile experiment and its effects on the black community to this day.
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
This we we're joined by TikTok creator Kyle McCarthy, whose short, life-affirming, documentary TikTok content is gaining a significant audience. We talk with him about how the future will always be better than the past.
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
We're finally back after an extended holiday, and boy do we have a lot of news to catch up on! Join us as we recap the last couple of weeks in science and Portland news. Farts in a jar! Who could resist?
Tuesday Dec 28, 2021
Tuesday Dec 28, 2021
It's a Christmas miracle! Here are all of Mark's quality "Dad Jokes" from this past year of the Mark and Toddcast.