Darren explores how we might communicate about different and difficult subjects including race and policing, and things to keep in mind when doing so. Pat looks into suggestions that the supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park is overdue for an eruption any day. Adam asks whether Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are actually human.
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Talking About Race, Police, Anything?
USGS – Yellowstone June Update
Forbes: Nearly 300 Earthquakes in May
USGS: How Often Do Earthquakes Occur At Yellowstone?
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Are Luke Skywalker And Han Solo Human?
Movie physics – Luke and the Tauntaun – Timaios
The Reality Check #22: Big Pharma Inconcistencies+Alien Faces+Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day
Been listening to some of your slightly older episodes and this one caught my attention.
The Yellowstone situation is a lot more complex than you described. This does not mean that Yellowstone is overdue. It is more a case of we just don’t have any way of knowing when an eruption might occur although there is no current evidence that would lead to an immediate upcoming eruption.
Some super volcanoes appear to have only erupted once but it appears as if the source of Yellowstone has erupted many times. There is basically a string of super volcano caldera leading to the Pacific Ocean leading back tens of millions of years all believed to be part of the Yellowstone hot spot.
The Bruneau-Jarbidge caldera between 10 and 12 million years ago is believed to have been caused by the Yellowstone hot spot. It created deposits tens of meters thick within around one hundred kilometers and buried creatures as far as Nebraska in ash.
There is also basalt covering much of central Washington state. Know as the Columbia River Basalt Group, these are also believed to have originated from the Yellowstone hot spot.
Thanks for the comment and the clarification, Richard. The intention of my segment was to point out that we don’t have a clue when, or even if, it would erupt again. Perhaps I could have done a better job with that and placed less focus on the math being wrong even if it were appropriate to average past eruptions. Appreciate the feedback.