Category Archives: The Reality Check Episodes

TRC #674: How Does AI Image Generation Work? + Why Is A Bug Called A Bug?

Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-e. Darren digs into an explanation of how artificial intelligence generates images and whether or not it is just copying.  Cristina looks at the fascinating history of why a computer glitch is called a bug.  Download direct: mp3 … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #673: UFO Whistleblower? + Will We Make Great Pets For An Artificial Super Intelligence?

Adam digs into recent headlines about UFOs and whistleblower David Grusch.  Does this give any promising evidence that aliens may be among us?  Next Darren ponders how our future AI overlords might treat us. Assuming they don’t eliminate us, will … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | 2 Comments

TRC #672: Are Fingerprints Really Unique? + What’s A Buttload? + Why AI Researchers Don’t Quit

Cristina kicks off the show with a deep dive into the history of forensic fingerprinting and challenges a commonly accepted notion that no two fingerprints are alike. Adam brings us a buttload of a segment when he probes into the … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #671: Uncertainty And AI Risk + Spot The Fake

Darren shares some thoughts and leads an interesting discussion about what might be reasonable approaches to the difficult and complicated topic of artificial intelligence. Pat brings us another smashing game of “Name That: Spot The Fake.” Can you do better … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #670: Mashup: Fire and Smoke

The TRC crew brings you a mashup about fire and smoke.  Adam looks into headlines about the Amazon rainforest. The facts may surprise you.  Pat addresses a listener’s question about whether the rainforest is the Earth’s lungs responsible for 20% … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | 1 Comment

TRC #669: Coronal Mass Ejection + The Technology Trap

In March of this year, auroras were seen in many places on earth.  Though the auroras are usually seen far up north on the globe they can occur further south.  But what are the risks associated with this kind of … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #668: Dark Chocolate Has Heavy Metals? + What Happened To The Dinosaurs?

A recent study done by Consumer Reports shows that dark chocolate bars contain lead and cadmium.  Should you be concerned? Cristina digs into it.  Next, after watching the movie “65”, Adam looks at the debate about how dinosaurs went extinct … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #666: The Number Of The Beast Origins + Name That: Spot The Fake

Welcome to episode 6-6-6! Darren does a deep dive on the digits steeped in the Book of Revelation and why some historically associate it with the ‘number of the beast’. Pat challenges the crew to a fresh and always fun … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #665: Is It Safe To Stand In Front of Microwave Ovens? Interview with Dr. Roman Yampolskiy About The Simulation Hypothesis

Cristina investigates a pervasive belief that standing in front of a microwave oven poses health risks. Darren and Adam have another fascinating discussion with Dr. Roman Yampolskiy. This time it’s about his recent work regarding the Simulation Hypothesis, which proposes … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment

TRC #664: Thundersnow + Customer Always Right? + A Look At “The Metaverse”

Cristina digs into the rare weather occurrence called thundersnow after witnessing lightning and thunder during a recent snowstorm. Adam checks the origins of ‘the customer is always right in matters of taste’, and asks, are they? Darren rounds out the … Continue reading

Posted in The Reality Check Episodes | Leave a comment