That's Absurd Please Elaborate

This week, Julian launches an investigation into “Big Sun” and its wild claim that humans can somehow absorb vitamins from a giant nuclear fireball 93 million miles away. Unfortunately for conspiracy theorists, that actually does somehow happen. Later, Trace ventures into the unexplored corners of the human mind to ask whether there are any feelings that nobody has ever experienced before—and whether humanity migh...

In this TAPE Classic episode, Trace explores the science of stasis, diving into hyper-sleep, cryogenic freezing, and whether humanity might one day be able to snooze our way through long journeys. Meanwhile, Julian applies rocket science to one of humanity’s least celebrated forms of propulsion, uncovering just how much thrust it would take to achieve the dream of self-powered flight. As a bonus, an unexpected detour reveals ...

This week, Trace and Julian are joined by special guest Dr. Ella Hubber as they embark on a quest to stop natural processes both big and small. Julian combines a little physics and engineering, a smidge of meteorology, and a dash of aerodynamics—and, yeah, he brings up airplanes, because he’s Julian—to potentially stop the wind. Meanwhile, Ella explores solutions to one of humanity’s most persistent inconven...

If our magic button killed every microbe on Earth — all bacteria, all viruses, gone — what would be left standing? Spoiler: You'd be missing something powerful. Julian goes full overachiever and zooms in on FOUR questions all on this devastating topic. Then, Trace, somewhere else in the solar system, is singing in the rain. But does it even rain elsewhere? Is rain weird? Find out this week!

Julian answers:

"What would be...

Did you know our very own Trace Dominguez is the host of another podcast, Health vs Hype with the American Medical Association? Every week on HvH Trace talks about health-related trends circulating online. Everything from protein, creatine, fasting, red light therapy, you name it! Each episode centers on one trend and separates what's actually backed by science from what's over-promised hype.

In this episode, Trace uncovers the scie...

This week, Trace and Julian accidentally stumble into what may be the most in-depth discussion of a certain food-based weather movie ever recorded. To determine whether giant pancakes, spaghetti tornadoes, and burger-based weather systems would actually be fun or the beginning of humanity’s downfall, Trace recruits our associate producer, Sabrina Capello. Longtime listeners may know her as the person who bullies us on social ...

This week, Trace conducts a cosmic investigation into whether our nearest celestial neighbor is secretly trying to sunburn us, only to find that the real danger lies in UV radiation’s nasty habit of finding creative ways to reach your skin—even on a cloudy day. Later, special guest Chelsea Gohd dives into nature’s version of Battle of the Bands, investigating which animals have the skills, creativity, and stage pr...

This week, Julian explores whether animals can be allergic to humans, digging into all things histamine to find out if nature has ever collectively decided that people are, medically speaking, just too annoying to be around. Later, Trace investigates a deeply cursed question: how many holes do humans really have? Oh, and he also tackles the ACTUAL question of what it would be like if humans were born full of holes—think a wal...

If we had a nickel for every time Julian answered a question involving pigeons, we’d have two nickels. Not that many, but weird that it’s happened twice. This week, he investigates pigeon logistics, excreta coverage, and everything about the Great Wall of China, all fueled by the power of basic research and—horrifyingly—firsthand investigation. Meanwhile, Trace attempts to outsmart the cruel economics of hol...

Hi fellow nerds! As many of you may know, Julian is back at school as an engineering student. As many of you may ALSO know, that's freakin' hard! So to give Julian a bit of a break, we're re-airing one of our favorite TAPE classics featuring friend-of-the-Absurd, Tom Scott. Please enjoy the episode as much as we do, and see you guys very soon with a brand new episode! 🤘

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You’re at a hockey game. You grabbed nachos and your...

Is that a slogan for hair shampoo or fizzy drinks? Well, kick back, relax, and crack open a can—or, you know, be like us and choose from one of the many flat ones you forgot on your desk. Either way, if you’re serious about your bubbles, Julian has a proposition for you: skip the middleman and suckle straight from the teat of the soda fountain. On the flip side, Trace embarks on a trek to the follicular frontier to disc...

This week, Trace digs into whether life could’ve ever gotten its start somewhere else—say, Mars, for example—quickly pointing out that our lovely planet's existence is already pretty insane on its own. Meanwhile, Julian takes a simple “why hot things glow red” question and follows it straight through Max Planck to the idea of whether the universe itself has a maximum possible temperature. Naturally, we...

If you’ve been itching for a cross-country trip, you could just book a flight like a normal person… but where’s the fun in that? This week, Julian (heroically) avoids talking about aviation and instead explores his second-favorite mode of transportation: a Mazda Miata outfitted with two Ferrari engines bolted to the sides. Yes, it has training wheels. No, that does not pass inspection. Meanwhile, Trace is busy fi...

This week on the pod, Julian makes a groundbreaking discovery: contrary to popular belief, humans and squid are, in fact, very different animals. One species commonly needs glasses, and the other…sometimes may also need glasses? Meanwhile, Trace tries to figure out if sound could travel slower in the dark, and the answer is yes! As long as you’re okay with being instantly vaporized. 😊

QUESTIONS

Julian: “Do squid n...

This week, Trace turns a completely normal human behavior into a full-blown scientific investigation, uncovering how airflow, temperature, and mouth geometry can make you feel like you’re secretly developing budget-tier superpowers. Meanwhile, Julian takes a bold step forward for both science and dairy by stress-testing the limits of cheese in a scenario it was never meant to survive. Along the way: thermodynamics, questionab...

Hi all! As I'm sure those of you with the patience to sit through the end credits know, the show is edited and produced by Kyle Sisk. Kyle is the glue holding this podcast together, taking the loose collection of pocket lint that makes up the brains of the two hosts and stitching it together into a beautiful audio tapestry. Without Kyle there truly would be no show. How do we know this? Because this week, we had no Kyle. Kyle came ...

Hey all! This week, we're rebroadcasting a very memorable TAPE episode from last June to give ourselves a bit of a break: Julian's flight school classes started up again in full force and Trace is traveling back and forth to Brazil to visit his partner while they're undergoing their IVF journey. Don't you fret, though, because this episode contains ⚡️SHOCKING⚡️ and 🪽SOARING🪽 content! Trace tries to inhale a lethal dose of ozone f...

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In this episode, we learn that Julian will never be employed as a telegraph operator, but he might have a future as a Soviet janitor named Ivan who works at a nuclear research facili...

This week, Trace takes a closer look at one of the boldest maneuvers in pirate cinema: whether a determined crowd could actually flip something the size of an aircraft carrier by running from one side to the other like in the documentary “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Meanwhile, Julian investigates the logistics of purchasing the Sun—who exactly you’d pay for it, what ownership might legally mean, and how tempt...