In a slightly-abbreviated episode, we look at the hormonal minefield that is teenage dating, why cosplay armor would be a terrible idea in actual battle, and look at the next technological innovation that Congress won't understand but will try to legislate anyway. Show Notes: • The hazards of flattering women's armor - http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/05/boob-plate-armor-would-kill-you (which isn’t to say unisex is the way to go) http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/2011-04-22-women-soldier...
May 14, 2013•29 min
Daggor returns to share how to save water and your dignity when destroying the bathroom at a stranger's house, then we ponder the role of slavery in the Star Wars universe, and why the Jedi couldn't pass the damn hat to buy Anakin's mother out of bondage. Then we risk our immortal souls to do an audio play based on a Chick tract that deals with the evils of Dungeons and Dragons. Listen. If. you. Dare. Show Notes: • Fake Shower - Save water and your dignity! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/akatu-...
May 07, 2013•49 min
As Daggor fills in for the AWOL Repeater, we talk about Daggor's date night WITH SCIENCE, selling out (and the opportunity therein), habitable planets, invading snails, and then debate the eternal question of primal forces versus civilization. Show Notes: • New planets! The scene of the Lyran Wars? (That's a throwback to the Commander Ashtar episode, btw): http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/planet-discovery/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 • Invasion of the SSSSNNNNNAAAAAIIIIIILLLLLSSS….! http://www.cnn.com/2...
Apr 30, 2013•51 min
The Conduit catches up with a couple of past topics, including one that scarred him as a teen, and may scar you this very day. Also, The Repeater points out a Bigfoot film that, horror of horrors, might be fake, and Kentucky Slim runs down some products that never, ever should have existed. Show Notes: • The Truth about "Splash" (apparently, it exists): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splash!_(TV_series) and http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/splash • Meet the film that scarred the Conduit: http://www.av...
Apr 25, 2013•1 hr 12 min
We escape the Tower to take part in Conglomeration 2013, recording live with all those who would join us. Join us, won't you? Among other things, we talk about geek feminism, first geekhood memories, and a sure-fire money making cottage industry scheme! Show Notes: • We were here, at ConGlomeration 2013 - http://www.conglomeration.info • Our new friend Jessie was a speaker about sexual harrassment in the geek world (This is as geek-friendly a podcast as you're likely to find, but seriously, guys...
Apr 16, 2013•57 min
We go over some conspiracies and then run down some information on aliens - both those who want to eat us and those who want to save us. Turns out we have a friend in Ashtar. Remember, if it's on the Internet, it must be true. Show Notes: • Roger Ebert, R.I.P. - http://jezebel.com/5993693/roger-eberts-twenty-best-reviews?tag=roger-ebert • A ghost-free look at a poll about conspiracies (apparently, four percent of voters say they believe “lizard people” control our societies by gaining political ...
Apr 09, 2013•1 hr 5 min
Towerbot give some advice to the lovelorn that will most likely go terribly, spectacularly wrong. Kentucky Slim finally moves into SimCity, and The Repeater, recently scarred by a movie released last year, retreats to a television show secretly celebrating it's 20th anniversary, The X Files. Show Notes: • Petitioning for a Better SimCity: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2013/03/26/gamers-turn-to-ftc-with-new-simcity-petition-aimed-at-protecting-consumers/ • X-philes: It's the 20th anniv...
Apr 02, 2013•1 hr 13 min
We go just a tad dark as we talk about Jedi marriage and nihilism, machines heading out into the inky blackness, mass suicides, mass hysteria, and a host of other uplifting topics. Also, information on how you can see us live at a local upcoming event. If you dare. Show Notes • We’ve left the solar system. Maybe: http://gizmodo.com/5991527/ladies-and-gentlemen-we-have-left-the-solar-system • Jedi could perform marriages, says Free Chuch of Scotland: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highland...
Mar 26, 2013•1 hr 6 min
Towerbot discovers a new hero and a talent for rap, then we talk about people freaked out by a strange animal washing up on a beach, we discuss kickstarter, and on the occasion of the new Pope, the Repeater the about some, shall we say, less reputable men who have filled those robes. Show Notes: • The power of Kickstarter compels you! - Veronica Mars Movie Project http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project - Rifftrax "Twilight" Project http://www.kickstarter.co...
Mar 19, 2013•1 hr 11 min
Towerbot attempts to do the impossible, while we talk about the increasingly improbable, including Spontaneous human combustion, bigfoot co-pilots and signing on to play SimCity. Also, Kentucky Slim gradually increases his self-medication to fight a cold. Show Notes: • SimCity requires constant online connection, leads to a disasterous launch: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130305/14551022206/launch-day-punishment-simcitys-online-only-drm-locking-purchasers-out-servers-purchases.shtml • Wate...
Mar 12, 2013•52 min
We have a visitor! Sean Reck of ConGlomeration 2013, Louisville's own multimedia science fiction and fantasy convention, stops by to tell us what it's all about. Show Notes: ConGlomeration 2013 official site - http://www.conglomeration.info
Mar 04, 2013•58 min
Towerbot's new hobby leads to wacky, possibly lethal consequences on this weeks episode. Will the crew escape the Grim Reaper's icy grip, or will the show be renamed "Keeping up with Towerbot?" Only time and medical science will tell! Show notes: We were all so very sick.
Feb 27, 2013•7 min
We look at some real end of the world stuff. I mean, ghost-hunting, pope-quitting, rocks-falling-out-of-the-sky kind of situations. Towerbot also drops some existential bombs in our Ask Towerbot section, The Repeater continues to get his geek hole filled, and there's finally proof about Bigfoot. The only question is if it's crap proof. Show Notes: • The Belle of Louisville is haunted? The Ghost Hunter guys are coming to investigate? Good luck getting EVP readings by the highway, there, fellas! h...
Feb 19, 2013•59 min
We get an update on the Repeater's MySpace adventure, and then go into other outdated forms of communications. Towerbot answers a question about the tower's emergency equipment we have when our roughhousing gets too severe, and then it's the repeater's turn to get his geek hole filled. Show Notes: • Who's on MySpace, anyway? http://www.quantcast.com/myspace.com • CONSPIRACIES! MULTIPLE RANDOMLY GENERATED CONSPIRACIES! http://www.verifiedfacts.org • How AOL STILL makes most of its money: http://g...
Feb 12, 2013•1 hr 2 min
Daggor comes by to discuss the new director of "Star Wars," along with his odd man crush on Josh Holloway. We also talk about the nature of fandom, how the bullies of "Glee" took it to the little guy, Towerbot kicks some knowledge, and the Repeater shows his social media "prowess." Show Notes: • Young Justice, Green Lantern and Tron: Uprising cancelled: http://io9.com/5979661/powerpuff-girls-will-live-again-but-young-justice-is-dead • Glee ripped off Jonathan Coulton: http://www.wired.com/underw...
Feb 05, 2013•1 hr 12 min
After Towerbot pushes us off the microphone to answer a couple of your burning questions, we go over some hulk-able situations, examine the sea people and ponder the beginnings of the universe by questioning whether Dino from "The Flintstones" was a real creature. Show Notes: • Reasons, both reasonable and ... odd, as to why David Bruce Banner hulked out in "The Incredible Hulk." http://kennethjohnson.us/HulkOutList.html • Dolphins are sea people! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266794/...
Jan 29, 2013•51 min
We examine sending your job overseas, finding true love (or something) for the low, low price of three dollars, translating the untranslatable, and looking at the new world order (or conspiracy of your choice) threat lurking in your billfold — even as we speak. Show Notes: US employee 'outsourced job to China': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21043693 Love Is Blind and Costs $3 at OKCupid: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-15/love-is-blind-and-costs-3-at-okcupid Words and emotion...
Jan 22, 2013•56 min
We strive to be proactive and go over a list of things to plan for before they happen. Topics include babies, aliens, the Super Bowl, pumas and a host of other eventualities. Remember - it's not if. It's when. Also, a call from Bigfoot Bob! Show Notes: None - go out and prepare for yourself! Your guess is as good as ours, really....
Jan 16, 2013•1 hr 16 min
We kick off our 100th episode and our third season just like you imagine we would. Completely unprepared. We look at drug dispensing daughters, Twilight piddle, why spider-man has become a mexican soap opera and the exciting case of bigfoot in a box. Show Notes: Daughter of The Year (and not a well-thought-out-plan); http://gawker.com/5972860/daughter-of-the-year-puts-sleeping-pills-in-parents-milkshake-so-she-can-use-the-internet Twilight star marks his territory: http://gawker.com/5972803/twil...
Jan 08, 2013•1 hr 7 min
We kick off the new year right - being knocked out and left to Towerbot's bedside manner. Turns out, he's very binary about his biohazard emergencies: "Class 1 protocols" or "meh." Show Notes: Sorry - too busy being probed to have proper show notes this time.
Jan 01, 2013•2 min
This week, we dive into our Christmas festivities by pointing out that "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" is a terrible, terrible story to tell children, and then go into Christmas myths that aren't quite as jolly as our modern society is used to. Show Notes: Intro - Why is Ben so upset that the world didn't end? http://www.brianstoys.com/Category/2603_1/AFA_Star_Wars_Carded.asp The sad, discriminatory story of Rudolph: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer Knecht Ruprecht: ht...
Dec 22, 2012•1 hr 15 min
This week, we prepare to kiss our sweet asses goodbye as we get ready for the Mayan apocalypse. C'mon in, grab a beer, and settle in as we run down the highlights of the late, great planet Earth. Take off your shoes and stay awhile. Hell, take off your pants, too, because it's all over in a few scant days. Set phasers to Par-tay! Show notes: There's no time for homework! It's the end of the world!
Dec 18, 2012•1 hr 1 min
This week, we discuss getting teenage mice drunk, why racists, douchebags and other undesirables on the Internet should expect no mercy or privacy (and why it's kind of funny when they do), and examine why the scientific method takes such a brutal beating when it comes to bigfoot "evidence." Show Notes: Teens with genes: why binge-drinking is not their fault! http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_22134041/scientists-find-gene-link-teen-binge-drinking Discussion Pit: Shaming the racists and those who beh...
Dec 11, 2012•1 hr 3 min
This week, after a brisk round of pledge driving (and appologies to Diane Rehm), The Repeater asks a trick question, we go over the strange and tragic tale of Pope John VIII, find out what social media platform Russians are gaga over and take a ride with a space knight. Show notes: Pope Joan - http://wais.stanford.edu/Religion/religion_FirstFemalePope(110503).html Romney Tattoo dude has the regrets - http://gawker.com/5964224/romney-face-tat-guy-wants-the-ink-removed-says-romney-has-no-dignity R...
Dec 04, 2012•49 min
A heartfelt wish for holiday cheer from the Tower crew, along with a dire warning for safety in the kitchen. Show Notes: Cumin - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumin Coumadin - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfarin
Nov 27, 2012•2 min
Our show quickly flies off the rails as we talk about, believe it or not, Former Senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole's genitalia. It's not quite as gross as it sounds. Almost, but not quite. We also talk about Britney Spears, but back when she was hot. And was in a commercial with Bob Dole. Show Notes: Pepsi Is Releasing a New Brand of ‘Fat-Blocking’ Cola - sure not to cause tumors or anything…. http://jezebel.com/5959880/pepsi-is-releasing-a-new-brand-of-fat+blocking-cola-that-will-obvi...
Nov 20, 2012•42 min
It's apparently Angry Day at the ol' Tower - from Towerbot's depressive spiral to the Conduit's anger at an (Austrian) national treasure. Pick an opinion and stick with it this week! Show Notes: Towbot's not in the Robot Hall of Fame...yet.: http://etc.cmu.edu/site/RHOF_Induction_Ceremony/RHOF2012.html and http://www.robothalloffame.org/news.html Italian Scientists get six years in prison for failing to predict an earthquake: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20025626 'Fearless' Felix Baumg...
Nov 13, 2012•54 min
We're so gob-stopped by the news of Disney buying LucasFilm, and therefore Star Wars, that we had to send out for an extra geek to spread the load. Bryan from Movie Meltdown joins our Tower team this week. Show Notes: Man, swing a dead cat on the Internet and you'll find stuff on this. This was a particularly good article, we thought: http://updates.io9.com/post/34698824522/what-we-want-from-a-new-star-wars-trilogy The Site where our guest hangs his hat: http://moviemeltdown.com...
Nov 06, 2012•1 hr 13 min
We venture outside, in the spirit of halloween, and tell ghost stories out by the nuclear exhaust port (since we don't have an actual fire pit). Things get strange when the topic of key parties come up. Kid's, for God's sake, don't ask your parents. Show Notes: No Tresspassing (turns out Dave lied and it wasn’t a true story at all) - http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2008/10/no_tresspassing.html The Tale of Colonel Buck - http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/6159 Stiffy Green - http://www.roa...
Oct 30, 2012•53 min
The repeater revamps the sound effects desk for everyone's benefit, we talk about space, far-flung planets and plunging skydivers, and finally get to the bottom of a battlestar galactica mystery that has plagued a member of the technobabble team for decades. Show Notes: Space! • Space jump - at peak, set a record of 8 million viewers on YouTube http://www.dailydot.com/news/felix-baumgartner-space-jump-live-stream-record/ • Scientists discover Earth like planet (size-wise, anyway) in alpha centau...
Oct 23, 2012•57 min
