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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:
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Why we absolutely hate the sound of our own voices
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The secret origin of the biohazard symbol
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America’s classified, Cold War plan to nuke the moon
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The Stanford Prison Experiment (and why it was actually kind of BS)
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Portland’s very own infamous Barbie-hacking culture jammers
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The unsolved mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
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And yes... the actual science of farts
What’s in an Episode?
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The Catch-Up: A little life banter between two longtime friends navigating the Rose City.
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Just the Headlines: A quick spin through the weirdest, wildest science and culture news of the week.
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The Deep Dive: A 20-minute, high-level plunge into whatever strange subject one of us couldn't stop reading about.
Meet Your Hosts:
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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.
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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 Oct 26, 2015
Monday Oct 26, 2015
We’re back! In this episode Todd explains the joy of dressing up and scaring people at “Fright Town,” Mark recounts (to a skeptical Todd) his experience with a ouija board both this past weekend and...
The post # 15 – Oily Ouija appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Sunday Oct 04, 2015
Sunday Oct 04, 2015
In space, no one can hear you 3D print. This episode takes us to Mars, where we’ve just found water (but can’t touch because of actual, literal “Space Laws”) and where scientists wants to print...
The post #14 – Space Printing — IN 3D! appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Monday Sep 28, 2015
Monday Sep 28, 2015
In which we explore an explosive example of surface tension in glass, as well as explore what it’s like to be hydrophobic. Also: Todd gets a mail-in ticket, the burrito pencil holder, Portland’s Joan of...
The post #13 – Dutch Tears and Hydrophobia appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Sunday Sep 20, 2015
Sunday Sep 20, 2015
In this very special episode, we interview Brian Kidd, aka the world-famous Unipiper! We talk about everything from the history and mechanics of bagpipes, how his amazing fire-spewing set of pipes work, being on Jimmy...
The post #12 – The Unipiper! appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Friday Sep 11, 2015
Friday Sep 11, 2015
This episode we talk all about how the internets work, right down to the packets and protocols. Also, Mark visits a crazy “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” hotel at an Eastern Oregon hot springs, how...
The post #11 – Series of Tubes appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Monday Aug 31, 2015
Monday Aug 31, 2015
All of Washington is ablaze, so what better time to discuss how fire works? (After a fantastic discussion about lock picking, of course.) We discuss the 4 states of matter (DON’T FORGET PLASMA!), the “Fire...
The post #10 – All About Fire. And Lock picking. appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Friday Aug 28, 2015
Friday Aug 28, 2015
How quickly can Amazon Prime Now deliver milk, Oreos, root beer, and a classic Spirograph game? Dang fast. Also – It’s OK to not be offended about everything, the return of the “I Barely Knew...
The post #9 – I Demand a Spirograph – STAT! appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Sunday Aug 16, 2015
Sunday Aug 16, 2015
We got new mics and sound equipment – the audio is fantastic! In this episode: Todd is rendered unable to process thought after Mark lays out his non-ironic argument for a Donald Trump presidency. Also,...
The post # 8 – Trump For President appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Sunday Aug 09, 2015
Sunday Aug 09, 2015
In which we discuss Todd’s cat in a tree, the USS Blueback submarine and the houseboat from “Body of Evidence”, “patent pending,” Don Cornelius & “Soul Train,” Mark’s Guinness Book of World Records, and the...
The post # 7 – Patent Pending™ appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.
Tuesday Jun 09, 2015
Tuesday Jun 09, 2015
Are batteries interesting? (Hint: sort of, but not really.) But our discussion still is, wherein we discuss ancient Egyptian Home Shopping Networks, sextants and nanoballs, Zambonis, why there aren’t size B batteries, penny farthing bicycles,...
The post #6 – Batteries? That’s the topic? appeared first on Mark and Toddcast.