We Have Concerns
Episodes
Fly a Plane With Your Brain
18 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A quadriplegic woman who has trained her neural impulses to control a robotic arm, has now flown a jet airplane using only her mind. Anthony is thril...
Carbo Loaded
16 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A man in Britain has been diagnosed with "auto-brewery syndrome." Due to an overgrowth of yeast in his stomach, every time he eats carbohyd...
Get Pissed
13 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The residents of St. Pauli, a party district in Hamburg, Germany, were fed up with drunk revelers urinating on the sides of their buildings, so they t...
The Spike Lobby Makes Good Points
11 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
You've heard Anthony and Jeff warn you about the far-reaching influence of the dreaded Spike Lobby. Now it gets real. An article in The Guardian out...
Blind Insight
09 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
With a headline like "Man Gets Bionic Eye, Sees Wife for the First Time in 20 Years", you might expect a tearful moment of feel-good sentim...
Welcome to the Jetpack Future
06 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Company, now listed on the Australian stock exchange, is taking orders for the "world's first practical jet...
Zen and the Art of Suicidal Maintenance
04 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The mummified remains of a Buddist monk have been discovered inside a statue that dates back over 1,000 years. Even more fascinating, studies reveal ...
Gross Income (LIVE Episode 100 from the NerdMelt Showroom)
03 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A very special 100th episode of We Have Concerns, recorded in front of a live audience at the Nerdmelt Showroom in Los Angeles! Anthony and Jeff disc...
Why We Can't Have Mice Things
03 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A new article on i09 describes animal behaviorist John Calhoun's quest to create the perfect mouse city, complete with abundant food, recreation, and ...
The No Deathbot Guarantee*
25 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
*not necessarily a guarantee One robotics company, Clearpath Robotics, has promised never to make autonomous killing machines, and hopes all future te...
Hale Hydra
23 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The tiny organism known as the hydra is a half inch tube of jelly that inhabits fresh water all over the world, and it may well be functionally immort...
Harvest Moon
20 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Now that private companies are getting into space, the legalities of who can own celestial bodies comes into question. Specifically, a company calle...
Spousal Recall
18 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
According to researchers at Macquarie University, couples in long-term relationships develop inter-connected memory systems. Each partner can rememb...
Super Villain Face
16 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A Venezuelan man had his face surgically altered to look like the Red Skull - Captain America's arch-nemesis in Marvel Comics. His nose was removed,...
Running is for Dicks
13 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A new study shows that longer, fast-paced running sessions are just as bad for you as not running at all. How much exercise is genuinely good for you?...
Feels Like Forever
11 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What's more ethical: a life sentence in prison, or a drug that slows someone's perception of time to make them feel like they've spent 10 life sentenc...
Content with Content
09 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Songwriter and youtube song-a-day artist Jonathan Mann has a new video online advocating for abolishing the term "Content Creator" for peopl...
Under the Sea
06 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A Japanese corporation wants to build the perfect underwater city of the future. That is both a real thing that's happening and also something that ...
Sit Stand Die (with Justin Robert Young)
04 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How easily you can sit down and stand back up without using your hands can supposedly tell you how long you'll have to live. Jeff and Anthony are join...
Inception Made Easy
02 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A new article describes just how easy it is to induce false memories in subjects. In fact, researchers were able to to convice patients that they ha...
The Assassin Defense
30 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
NASCAR driver Kurt Busch is attempting to skirt allegations of domestic abuse by claiming that his girlfriend is a trained assassin. Jeff and Anthon...
Leaf it Alone
28 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian Gympie-Gympie plant is the one of the most painfully poisonous in the world. People who have just rubbed up against it have gone mad w...
This Has All Happened Before
26 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A 23 year-old man has been experiencing constant deja vu for seven years. What would it be like to have the feeling that everything you experienced ha...
Fertility Pro Grammar
23 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A new study finds that men who interact with women during the fertile period of their menstrual cycle tend to be more creative with their grammar. Ant...
We're Doomed.
21 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony found an article outlining the evidence that Earth is headed for its 6th great extinction event. Animals going extinct, global food tables i...
Two Birds With One Stoned
19 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A group of researchers studying the effects of alcohol on speech decided to get some birds drunk. They divided a group of zebra finches - birds that...
Do What You Scan
16 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A review led by a brain scientist at MIT found growing evidence that brain scans can predict future behaviors. If, one day, we are able to simply sc...
Lay Around on Your Astronaut
14 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
NASA is conducting a study about the long-term effects of weightlessness by asking applicants to stay completely horizontal for 70 days. In exchang...
Trial of the Planet of the Apes
12 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A court in Argentina just upheld an animal rights group's request to have an orangutan appear in a court, saying it's illegal to hold 'non-human perso...
The Bedbug Whisperer
09 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In order to find a way to stop bedbugs, Regine Gries allowed herself to be bitten by them 180,000 times over a period of five years. Also, did you kn...
Creeping Self Doubt
07 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What makes you you? Is the self somewhere in the body or the brain? If you downloaded your brain into a new body, would it be you? ANSWER ME (whatever...
Here There Be Dragons
05 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A woman has a condition that makes her see dragons wherever she goes. Anthony and Jeff discuss perception and reality, and if we know what we see is r...
Laser Trains!
02 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Every Autumn, falling leaves create hazards for the railways. Trains compress the debris by running over it, and the resulting surface becomes slick ...
Olfactory Produced
29 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Adrian David Cheok, the founder and director of the Mixed Reality Lab in Singapore, is attempting to record odors digitally, and recreate them without...
Dawn of the Planet of the Mice
26 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York have successfully implanted human glial cells into the brains of mice to shockin...
Past Word Passwords
24 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A New Yorker article all about passwords has Jeff musing on what Anthony's passwords mean about him. It is a secret people tell themselves every tim...
Drying Too Hard
22 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new study suggests that using hand dryers in public restrooms is actually less hygienic than using paper towels. This leads Jeff and Anthony to di...
Nature's Parasitic Hellscape
19 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony and Jeff delve into perhaps the most disturbing topic they have ever tackled. An article in National Geographic features the top 5 most terr...
200 PC
17 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
New anaysis suggests that the bronze computing device known as the Antikythera, discovered at the bottom of the Aegean Sea in 1901 is even older than ...
Work the Planck
15 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
According to quantum physics, Planck's Constant is the smallest unit of measure in the universe, beyond which nothing can be further divided. Scient...
Sound Shapes
12 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers at the University of Bristol are using ultrasound to create invisible objects in the air that you can reach out and touch. Of course, An...
Must Seethe TV
10 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
An NPR story about NBC's Peter Pan Live television event points out that a significant portion of the audience of major TV hits are people who self-id...
Cocoa Beware
08 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We are consuming more chocolate than we produce, and at the current deficit we may soon be facing a global cocoa shortage. As a fan of chocolatey go...
Your Sh@t Don't Stink
05 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
By actually printing DNA, researchers are now able to create entirely new species. They started with a glow-in-the-dark plant, and now have plans to...
The Crystal Method
03 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have synthesized crystalline materials that can bind and store oxygen in high concentrations. That...
Mouse Wheel Fun Run
01 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony and Jeff's debate about the joy to be found in running and exercise contuinues. This time, Jeff has an article from the New York Times about...
Lego Worm Brain
28 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
An open source group has recreated the brain of a worm, neuron for neuron, and recently programmed this data into the body of a Lego Mindspring robot....
28 Days Other
26 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A British performance artist is raising money to live inside the Oculus Rift virtual environment nonstop for 28 days. He will be connected at all ti...
Let's Clone a Mammoth
24 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have found the most well preserved mammoth ever- so fresh they even took a bite of mammoth meat. Does its DNA contain enough complete infor...
Tearable Information
21 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Arizona schools are ripping pages about contraception out of text books and Anthony can't believe it. Jeff tries to figure out the motivation behin...
Time is a Cat Circle
19 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Join us TODAY on our video hangout. Chat with us. Have a beer. Share your concerns. More info on how to join: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Resear...
You Art What You Eat
17 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Foodini is an example of the new wave of 3D printers for food. Just fill it with fresh ingredients, and out pops meals like ravioli, pizza, and ...
Dress For Succession
14 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists studying the brain's ability to make choices note that the fewer inconsequential decisions you put in front of yourself, the better you'll...
The Prime Director
12 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff is intrigued by an interview he read about Nasa's one and only Planetary Protection Officer. Her job? To protect OTHER planets from us and en...
Grin and Bear It
10 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Park Rangers are asking visitors to state park and forest areas to please stop taking #bearselfies. Anthony and Jeff try to figure out what would poss...
A Tough Pill to Swallow
07 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers at MIT have developed a new pill that is much more efficient at delivering medicine into the bloodstream. Instead of a simple spheroid, ...
I Don't Know
05 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's counter-intuative and perplexing, but the truth is, the less human beings know about a particular subject, the more they THINK they know about it...
One For the Books
03 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new article describes the benefits of long-form reading and suggests that the tactile feedback of printed books results in better retention than e-r...
Tricked by Treats
31 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
On this special Halloween episode, Anthony and Jeff consider the nature of of the trick or treat tradition and the urban legend of poisoned Halloween...
Leave it to Beaver
29 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new Wired article recounts the medieval myth that beavers, when cornered by hunters, would castrate themselves by chewing off their own testicles. ...
Back to the Hoverboard Future
27 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Previously on We Have Concerns... in the Welcome to the Hoverboard Future episode Anthony mocked Jeff's enthusiasm for a mind-bending new technology t...
Tell Me How to Feel
24 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new article describes a study in which doctors told patients they would just be getting a shot of vitamins, but instead gave them something a thousa...
Objects that Click
22 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony found an article that describes the community around the IBM Model M keyboard, a sublimely clicky keyboard that has spawned cult-like devotion...
Who's the Robo Boss?
20 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers have discovered that employees are actually more content taking orders from a robot than a human being in the workplace. This prompts A...
That Runner's High
17 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
As a runner himself, Jeff was very impressed to read of James Lawrence, the endurance athlete who is attempting 50 ultra-distance triathlons, in 50 di...
Spider House
15 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony has found a story about a Missouri family fleeing their home because between 4500 and 6000 spiders came "bleeding out of the walls"....
Photo Synthesis
13 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Google's Auto Awesome will take the best areas of slightly different photographs and combine them into one new, never-quite-was best version. A new ...
Saturday Mourning
10 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Saturday morning cartoons are no more! And Jeff has decided that this means something really bad for today's youth - but Anthony is certain that it's ...
Pet Smart
08 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony has been reading about Chaser, the wonder dog who has learned over 1,000 different words, which makes him wonder how smart Jeff believes canin...
Go Go Gadget Soul!
06 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Shipyard workers in South Korea have been using Exo Suits to assist them in loading and unloading scrap metal, and Jeff and Anthony desperately want...
The Part of 'No' We don't Understand
03 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
An article by Kevin Ashton proposes that saying "no" to things is vital to the creative process. Anthony and Jeff wonder why they have...
Virtual Empathy
01 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new article suggests that the Oculus VR headset may be the first step to allowing people to truly experience what it is like to live a different kin...
These Hugs Ain't Free
29 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A woman in Oregon has opened a cuddle service for those looking for a bit of personal contact, but definitely no sexy stuff. Anthony works through h...
Sleep Working
26 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers in Paris recently proved that the brain can continue to classify words into categories even after it has gone to sleep, causing Jeff and ...
Phantom Phone Menace
24 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new article about the phenomenon of "phantom" phone notifications - those strange moments when you senses a vibration from your cell pho...
Algorithm is a Dancer
22 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In an attempt to better understand pop music, Dr. Lior Shamir created an algorithm that can correctly identify and track the Beatles artistic output...
U Mad Bro?
19 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Across all cultures and geographies, humans scrunch up their faces in the exact same way when they are angry, and a new article examines several poss...
Positively Pessimistic
17 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff found an article in the Atlantic that posits that a certain type of negative thinking, called defensive pessimism, might actually be more conduci...
The Sun is Yellow and Other Lies
15 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony found an article explaining how astronomers gussy up space photography to convey the scope and beauty of the cosmos, and now he has to break...
Telepathy is Real! (kinda)
12 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers have now successfully transferred words from one conscious mind to another over long distances... is a sentence that is technically true,...
Cobra Soup
10 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Cooking a Chinese delicacy, a chef in Guangdong province died when the head of a cobra he was preparing bit his hand - long after it had been severe...
Mayo on Displayo
08 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A museum in Japan devoted entirely to mayonnaise prompts Anthony and Jeff to discuss the proper ways to consume condiments, the joys of seeing mundane...
Follow Your Dreeeeeeam!
05 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
An article about how one Chinese gamer turned his "gaming addiction" into a profitable business prompts Anthony and Jeff to discuss dreams, ...
Biome Sweet Home
03 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
There is evidence to suggest that a microbe that lives inside the human stomache may be the key to ending deadly peanut allergies. Indeed, the micro...
Robo Baby Buggy Bumpers
31 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Several high profile colleges have teamed up to create a universal index of basic knowledge for robots. The theory is that robot brains will need to...
Know More Data
29 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Plug your email address into a particular part of Google and you'll see a map of everywhere you (and your smartphone) have been in the last month. A...
Free Monkey Smiles
27 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When a monkey grabbed his camera in Indonesia, snapped the perfect selfie, and the photo went viral, British photojournalist David Slater assumed he...
Immortality Transfusion
25 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers in California are planning to treat Alzheimer patients by replacing their blood with blood of young people. Even crazier, there is reaso...
Like This
22 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A writer for Wired clicked 'like' on every single article, update, or advertisement that Facebook presented to him over the course of two days, and de...
Welcome to the Hoverboard Future
20 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The "impossible" propulsion drive, which uses microwaves and invisible matter to theoretically power space travel - and which seems to viola...
Salmon Fodder
18 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Humans controlling waterways by building dams has caused major problems for salmon, who must return to fresh water to breed. But a new company - Whoos...
Ant-y Social
15 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers have determined that individual ant colonies have their own distinct personalities, and that these personalities are shaped by their envir...
White Penguins Can't Jump
13 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Fossils discovered in the Antarctic reveal a penguin that reached the approximate size of Lebron James, 6'8 and 250 pounds. That's a big penguin. ...
Married to a Troll
11 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A woman on Reddit discovered that her husband had been leaving vile comments on web sites, so she kicked him out of the house. Anthony and Jeff cele...
Your Baby's Personal Brand
08 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new web service will provide baby name suggestions only for combinations that are still available as unregistered .coms, helping parents ensure thei...
Attention and the BraiSQUIRREL
04 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony read an article that argues in favor to short attention spans, and tries to convince Jeff that multitasking is the next step of evolution for ...
Let's Die in Space
01 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A simulated Mars mission on Hawaii comes to an end, prompting Jeff and Anthony to wonder whether they'd go to Mars, what it's like to knowingly go som...
Online Dataing
30 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
You think Facebook doing experiments on their users is creepy? Wait until you hear how OK Cupid has been messing with people trying to find love. An...
Luxury and Executioner
28 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony and Jeff are both on board for self-driving cars. But a new article that poses a thought experiment about what might happen if an autonomous...
Garbage In, Nothing Out
25 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Anthony take a look at an article which suggests the more we consume, the less we create. Would keeping track of all the time spent screwin...