Robot wolves are now being used to scare bears away from Japanese schools, scientists have grown mini Neanderthal brains and plugged them into little robots, and snakes are quietly topping the lethality leaderboard while everyone keeps blaming sharks. This week, Will and Rod bounce between wildlife deterrence, prehistoric brain tech, and a public health reality check that hits harder than any movie monster. We start in Japan, where bears have been wandering into supermarkets and school grounds, and the solution is peak Japan: “monster robot wolves” with sensors, lights, and loud noises designed to scare bears off without harming them. They look like an 80s horror prop, but the goal is serious, keep people safe and avoid lethal control. Then we head into the lab, where researchers have grown tiny Neanderthal brain organoids, nicknamed Neanderoids, and connected them to small crab like robots. It is fascinating, slightly unsettling, and a reminder that science will always find a way to make the past feel uncomfortably present. Finally, we look at snakes as one of the world’s biggest killers, with India carrying a huge share of snakebite deaths, and we end with a cybersecurity story where a pen tester talked IT into handing over access on a phone call. Not ideal. 00:00 Japan Bear Surge 01:20 Meet the Hosts 02:58 Robot Wolf Deterrents 06:37 Upgrades and Risks 08:27 Neanderthal Mini Brains 12:03 Brains Wired to Robot Crabs 13:31 Fascism and Underlings 15:51 Torture Battalion Data 21:46 Animal Killers Teaser 22:35 Mosquitoes Kill Indirectly 23:30 Snakes Top the List 23:40 Floods and Snake Spikes 24:13 India Snakebite Mystery 25:07 Verbal Autopsies Explained 26:51 Antivenom Access Problem 28:22 Next Deadliest Animals Rundown 28:56 Parasites and Kissing Bugs 31:07 Elephants and Hunter Karma 33:15 Bears Sharks and Big Cats 35:06 Social Engineering Hack Story 38:40 Phone Calls Beat Security 39:05 Podcast Wrap and Callouts SOURCES: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-robot-wolves-high-demand-075406454.html https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japan-built-robot-wolves-to-thwart-bear-attack-and-theyre-flying-off-the-shelves/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01533-8/abstract https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098 https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489067/snakebite-antivenom-deaths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistosomiasis https://elifesciences.org/articles/54076 https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-neanderthal-minibrains-grown-dish https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/05/14/to-gain-root-access-intruder-just-had-to-ask/5239853 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/world/americas/actually-democracy-dies-in-hr.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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