Trial Run: Suggested Articles - A Naptime

Left all alone, Jeff decided to sit in his closet and attempt to read you to sleep.  Topics include: Cracker Barrel, the new head of the CDC, new solar cell technology, and a deep dive into the island of Tetepare.  But because this is still Suggested Articles, there's also talk about sci-fi movies, Wendy's, poop, and, of course, Taco Bell.  Feedback would be immensely appreciated!


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Suggested Articles as part of Odd Pods Media a podcast network.
Welcome to this week's Suggested Articles a podcast one. F
Jeff needed to spend some time with his family on
this Labor Day weekend, and I decided that this would
be a good time to try out a concept that
we recently talked about on the show, that being Thank

(00:23):
you Ryan for the name Suggested Articles a nap time.
Maybe don't listen to this if you're driving somewhere, but
please give it a listen and let me know what
you think. You can always reach out it Suggested Articles
podcast at gmail dot com. There will be some differences
this episode. No loud theme music, no jarring intros and

(00:46):
outros for commercial breaks. This will just be me reading
articles that were suggested by Google Chrome, and when it
comes time for a commercial break in the audio feed,
it will simply cut to commercial and then come back.
You can also find a video version of this on YouTube.

(01:09):
Please see links in the show notes or search for
Suggested Articles on YouTube itself. Any feedback would certainly be appreciated,
whether it's the audio or the video version. The video
version being really just my face in a dark, dark
closet where I'm trying to minimize as much background noise

(01:30):
as possible so we can just focus on the headlines.
This first article is straight from the headlines of the
week on aol dot com, written by Rudro Chakrabarti. Cracker
Barrel CEO founder ninety three blasts seven million dollar a

(01:54):
year CEO's pitiful rebrand fail and work with Taco Bell.
Is that unfair? When Cracker Barrel unveiled a sleek new
logo this August, scrubbing the beloved old Timer icon from
its branding, it wasn't just nostalgic fans who cried foul.
The chain's co founder went on the record expressing concerns

(02:15):
the chain had lost its way under CEO Julie Fel's Messino. Messino,
who took the helm in twenty twenty three after executive
stints at Taco Bell and Starbucks, had promised to reinvent
the fifty five year old brand for a new generation.
But her seven hundred million dollar transformation strategy, including a

(02:36):
logo redesign that stripped away the chain's beloved old Timer icon,
has been branded an expensive misstep. At ninety three, Tommy
Low didn't mince words, calling the chain's logo redesign pitiful
and accusing leadership of throwing money out the window. In
an interview with local outlet WTVF Lowe, who helped opened

(03:00):
the first Cracker barrel in Tennessee back in nineteen sixty nine,
warned that the chain risks losing the very identity that
made it beloved. If they don't get back to keeping
it country, then it ain't going to work. The controversy
began in August when the company revealed a new logo
that scrubbed its old timer visual. The backlash was immediate. Investors, fans,

(03:25):
and even President Donald Trump slammed the move. The stock slumped,
and within a week the board reversed course, but Lowe
argued the problem wasn't just cosmetic quote. They need to
work on the food and service and leave the barrel
the logo alone. He said, spending seven hundred million dollars
doing that is throwing money out the window. He criticized

(03:49):
new leadership's fast food background and questioned what Taco Bell
could possibly know about country hospitality. Appointed jab at current
CEO Julie fels Messino and her modernization vision. Investors have
been losing patients for years. Cracker Barrels shares have plummeted
nearly seventy percent over the past five years, with the

(04:12):
stock falling from highs above one hundred eighty dollars in
twenty eighteen twenty nineteen to around sixty dollars today. While
competitors in the casual dining space have thrived, with Darden
Restaurants and Texas Roadhouse delivering strong returns over the same period,
Cracker Barrel shareholders have watched their investment crumble. Their pain

(04:34):
was compounded by a dividend cut in May twenty twenty four,
when Cracker Barrel slashed its quarterly payout by eighty percent,
from a dollar thirty cents to twenty five cents per share.
That's in stark contrast to the company's historical nine percent yield.
The logo misfire seems to have deepened investor frustration. Shares

(04:56):
dropped as much as fifteen percent after the August reveal BEFO,
bouncing back roughly eight percent once the board reversed course.
But the whiplash underscored a bigger problem. Confidence in leadership
is eroding, and Wall Street is skeptical that expensive remodels
will fix the chain's underlying traffic declines. Thoe's criticism carried

(05:18):
extra weight because it echoed long standing concerns from activist
shareholder Sardar Biglari, who owns nearly nine percent of the company.
Big Lari has argued for years that the chain should
focus on food and service instead of costly makeovers, and
a twenty twenty four letter to shareholders he called the
modernization plan an obvious folly. When the logo roll out flopped,

(05:42):
his guidance ended up looking like fortune telling. He even
poked fun at the reversal through his Stake and Shake brand,
selling novelty caps that read Biglari was right about Cracker Barrel.
For CEO Julie Fel's Messino, who now takes home around
seven million dollars a year, this isn't just a branding setback.

(06:04):
It's a crucible moment for her leadership. Cracker Barrel's financial
backdrop is worrying. A near seventy percent drop and share
price over five years, an unpopular eighty percent dividend cut
in twenty twenty four, and stock tumbling as much as
fifteen percent after the logo redesign sparked backlash those shares

(06:25):
were covered by her by a bit. By her back pedaling,
the whiplash will likely erode investor confidence even further. This
kind of volatility has put retail analysts on edge, especially
giving Cracker Barrel's exposure to a shrinking core demographic and
leadership's bet on brand redesigns to drive traffic. Messino now

(06:48):
faces the difficult task of reconciling short term investor pain
with longer term strategic reinvestments, all while staying true to
the heritage that customers and co founder alike clearly value.
The logo flop may have been swiftly reversed, but the
cost could be lasting. Leadership is left with a shaken brand,
a shaken stock, and a CEO put to the test

(07:11):
on her ability to balance change with tradition. Moving on,
we have an article from Live science dot com written
by Ross Kelly. Scientists turn to a red onion to
improve solar cells and it could make solar power more sustainable.

(07:34):
Red onion dye could be the missing ingredient required to
bolster ultraviolet protection for solar cells. Scientists say solar cells
are typically coated with a petroleum based film to protect
them from UV induced degradation. These films include oil based
materials such as polyvinyl fluoride and polyethylene terophylate phalate. In

(07:57):
the quest to drive the adoption of films made from
more sustainable, biologically based materials, nanocellulose has emerged as a
front runner. Nanocellulose is derived from plant based materials and
is produced by breaking down cellulose into nanoscale fibers. The
researchers behind the new study found that combining nanocellulose with

(08:20):
a die made from red onion skin extract proved very
effective ub V protection. The team published its findings February
twenty fourth in the journal ACS Applied Optical Materials. The
study noted that they protect a film made from this
material eliminated ninety nine point nine percent of UV radiation

(08:43):
up to a wavelength of four hundred nanimeters. Notably, the
filter also outperformed a commercial pet based UV filter currently
available on the market. This represents quote a promising option
in applications where the protective materials should be bio based,
says Rustom Nismarov, a doctoral researcher at the University of

(09:07):
Turku in Finland. In the study. Researches compare the durability
of four protective films made from cellulose nanofibers. These were
variously treated with red onion extract, lignin, a polymer found
in the walls of some plant cells, and iron ions.
While all of these provided adequate protection against UV radiation,

(09:31):
the red onion die option emerged as the most effective.
Solar cells face a critical trade off, with UV radiation
below four hundred animeters moving proving harmful. The study noted, however,
the transmission of visible light wavelengths between seven hundred and
twelve hundred animeters is crucial in enabling the cell to
turn radiation into electricity. With this in mind, the development

(09:57):
of a material that protects both the solar cell and
PHAs facilitates energy absorption is key. Lignin, for example, has
a dark brown color, which limits its use in transparent films.
According to the statement, the transmittance of these lignin containing
films is typically fifty percent between four hundred and six
hundred nanometers and at most eighty five per cent above

(10:19):
six hundred animetres. The research is added, in comparison, the
nanocellulose film treated with red onion dye exceeded eighty percent
light transmission at longer wavelengths and maintain performance across an
extended testing period. The testing period assessed the durability and
performance of the filters by placing them under artificial light

(10:42):
for one thousand hours, the equivalent of roughly a year
of sunlight in a central European climate. Nisimov noted that
this examination period emphasized the importance of long term testing
for UV filters. The UV protection and light transmittance of
the other biobase filters chained significantly over time, he said.

(11:03):
For example, the films treated with iron ions had good
initial transmittance, which reduced after aging. Nissimov said that the
study has wide reaching implications for a range of solar cells,
particularly perovskite and organic photovotaics, as well as in other
industries where the use of a bio based filter is necessary.

(11:27):
This could include food packaging, for example, where biodegradable solar
cells could be used as power sources for sensors in
sterile environments.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
I'm Richie aka Midnight Agent Raw. I'm Devin aka Special
Delivery Dev. We're the Supermedia Bros. Podcast and each week
we give a comedically informative take on movies, music, television,
pro wrestling, and much more. Check us out at supermediabrospodcast
dot Com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else that you

(11:59):
can podcasts shades on We're all.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
Without adding any additional commentary at this time, I'll move
on to a suggested article that comes to us from
Fortune Magazine, written by Matthew Parone of the Associated Press.
The headline reads, the new head of the CDC has
no training in medicine and once helped Peter Teel develop

(12:30):
man made islands floating outside US territory. Here we go.
President Donald Trump has picked Jim O'Neill, a former investor
and critic of health regulations serving under Health Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Junior, to take control of the Centers for Disease

(12:51):
Control and Prevention following a tumultuous week in which the
agency's director was forced out. O'Neill, Kennedy's deputy at the
Department of Health and Human Services will supplant Susan Monarez,
a longtime government scientist, who have been the CDC director
for less than a month. Monarez's lawyers say she refused

(13:14):
to rubber stamp unscientific, reckless directives, and fire dedicated health experts.
O'Neill takes over as acting director of an agency that
has been rocked by firings, resignations, and efforts by Kennedy
to reshape the nation's vaccine policies to match his long
standing suspicions about the safety and effectiveness of long established shots.

(13:38):
An HHS spokesperson said Friday that O'Neill would continue to
serve as deputy of the department, but did not provide
details on his new role. A former associate of billionaire
tech entrepreneur Peter Teal, O'Neill previously helped run one of
Teal's investment funds and later managed several of his other projects.

(13:58):
Those included a non profit working to develop man made
islands that would float outside US territory, allowing them to
experiment with new forms of government. He has no training
in medicine or healthcare, and holds bachelor's and master's degrees
in humanities. O'Neill has kept a markedly lower profile than

(14:20):
Trump's other top health officials, who all joined the administration
as Washington outsiders. He's also the only one with experience
working at HHS, where he served for six years under
President George W. Bush. Those who know him say he'll
be likely tasked with trying to calm the situation at CDC,

(14:40):
though it's unclear what, if any independence he'll have from Kennedy.
Jim O'Neill is a health care policy professional, and I
don't think anybody can accuse him of being an RFK
junior sock puppet, said Peter Pitts, a former FDA official
Under Bush. The question becomes whether the role of CDC
director becomes a strictly paper tiger position for the only

(15:04):
person where the person only does what they're told to
do by the secretary. O'Neill is not closely associated with
Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement and its efforts against
food dyes, fluoride, and ultra processed foods. He was also
not a major critic of public health measures during the pandemic,

(15:25):
unlike Food and Drug Administration Chief Marty Mark Mackeray and
other Trump officials, Although O'Neill did use social media to
criticize FDA efforts to stop prescribing unproven treatments for COVID nineteen,
including the anti parasite drug ivermectin. O'Neill has long standing

(15:46):
ties to the libertarian wing of the Republican Party, including Teal,
one of Trump's leading supporters from Silicon Valley. Like Teal,
O'Neill has expressed disdain for many parts of the federal bureaucracy,
saying it hinders advances in metad technology and other areas.
During Trump's first term, O'Neill was vetted as a possible

(16:06):
choice to lead the FDA, although his past statements about
the agency raised alarms among pharmaceutical and medical technology executives.
In particular, O'Neill proposed doing away with the FDA's forty
sixty year old mandate of assuring new drugs are both
safe and effective in treating disease. In a twenty fourteen speech,

(16:27):
O'Neill suggested drug effectiveness could be established after they hit
the market. Trump ultimately nominated doctor Scott Gottlieb, a former
FDA official and supporter of the agency's regulatory approach, as commissioner.
After being nominated to the HHS post, O'Neill voiced his

(16:49):
support for the federal government's traditional system for overseeing vaccines,
including the role of the CDC while refusing to criticize
Kennedy's views on the topic. I support CDC's recommendations for vaccines,
O'Neill told Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy at a confirmation
hearing in June. I think that's a central role that

(17:12):
the CDC has. It's mandated in law. In follow up questions,
ranking Democrat Ron Wyden pressed O'Neal on statements made by
Kennedy downplaying the safety and effectiveness of vaccines to prevent
measles and other diseases. Secretary Kennedy has not made it
difficult nor discouraged people from taking vaccines, O'Neill responded. Within weeks,

(17:37):
O'Neill could be asked to sign off on new recommendations
from a CDC panel that Kennedy has reshaped with vaccine skeptics.
The group is scheduled to meet next month to review
vaccinations for measles, hepatitis, and other conditions that have long
been established on the government schedule for children. Traditionally, the
CDC director signs off by recommendations from the panel. Monarez

(18:00):
was ousted after, among other things, she refused to automatically
sign off the committee's recommendations. According to doctor Richard Besser,
a former CDC acting director who spoke to her as
an acting official, federal law limits O'Neil to no more
than two hundred ten days heading the agency before he

(18:20):
must step aside or be formally nominated to the post.
Doctor Ann shoe Chat, who served twice as acting CDC director,
says there are essentially no limits on the powers of
the acting agency chiefs besides the time constraints. I was told,
you're the director, do what you need to do, Shoechat said.

(18:44):
Both of O'Neil's roles at HHS and CDC are demanding
full time jobs that would be extremely challenging for one
person to do simultaneously. Shoechat also said, but if the
goal is to have an acting CDC director fulfill a
predetermined decision about vaccine, it's a different story. It won't
help O'Neill that there was that there was an exodus

(19:06):
this week of four veteran CDC Center directors, leaving the
agency with few leaders who have a background in medicine
science or public health crisis management. She added, sometimes I
can't explain the algorithm at all, but as I take
a drink here, I'm going to say that. The next
article is from the Smithsonian Magazine. The article, written by

(19:29):
Zach Thiler, is titled why is Tetepare the South Pacific's
largest uninhabited island. Roughly two decades ago, a group of
scientists embarked to Teta Pare, a remote island on the
southwestern corner of the Solomon Islands, to study a psychology.
They knew that this particular island, whose evergreen hills rise

(19:52):
from the choppy Pacific Ocean, is a refuge for a
wide variety of endangered animals. Leatherback sea turtles nest on
a its black sand shores. Dugongs feed on meadows of
sea grass that flow out from its coastline. Old growth
rainforest covers much of its forty six square miles of
rugged terrain, offering pristine habitat for endemic birds like Tetapare

(20:15):
white eyes and Sanford's sea eagles. But it was the
local population of coconut crabs that hooked the researcher's attention.
Coconut crabs are famously giant, growing up to three feet
across and weighing up to ten pounds, But while studying
these creatures. The scientists found that the coconut crabs on

(20:35):
Tetapare were even larger than those found elsewhere in the
Solomon Islands, a country of around one thousand islands situated
northeast of Australia. A key reason for this, they discovered,
was due to the lack of human contact and the
harvesting that often comes with it. Besides two short lived

(20:56):
coconut plantations, Tetapari hasn't held a permanent human settlement for
most of the past one hundred and sixty years. Today
the island hosts a research station and an eco lodge
with occasional staff and tourists, but with no permanent residence.
As a result, Tetapari lays claim as the largest uninhabited
island in the South Pacific, and the wildlife continues to

(21:18):
live undisturbed by hunting in most other human activity. But
this was not always the case. The history of Tetaparre's
native people is shrouded in ambiguity, and keeping the island
mostly untouched has been an ongoing struggle. The people of Tetapari,
who are a distinct ethnic group with their own unique

(21:38):
and today mostly extinct language, abandoned their ancestral land for
mysterious reasons more than a century and a half ago.
Over the years, various stories took root within the community
of displaced descendants to explain the loss of their homeland.
Some believe the exodus was caused by the curse of
a sea devil. Others believe disease swept through the island,

(22:01):
but oral tradition also suggests brutal head hunting raids drove
them away. They lived in fear of head hunting, says
Mary b a descendant of Teta Pare and co founder
of the Tetapare Descendants Association. She explains the headhunters had
little regard for human life. It's just like playing soccer somewhere,

(22:22):
she says. They came for trophies a lot of heads.
As the story goes, the raids became so severe that
only a handful of women managed to escape and dugout canoes,
paddling away to nearby islands. There they found refuge and
started families, ensuring the survival of their people. Today, nearly
four thousand individuals are officially registered with the Teta Parre

(22:46):
Descendants Association, that many more descendants are scattered throughout the
solemn islands. B says, since the mysterious exodus, Teta Pare
has remained uninhabited, despite its massive size, fertile soil, fresh
water sources, and abundance of valuable natural resources. According to Be,
this is because the spirits of her ancestors wish for

(23:08):
the island to remain abandoned. We call it the spirit
of this island. They're alive, and they can hear, and
they can make decisions, she says. Those who step foot
on the island experience a surreal sensation. According to Be,
you cannot stay more than three days, she adds, without
feeling that push to leave. Instead of living on the island,

(23:32):
many descendants are taught to connect to their ancestral homes spiritually,
starting from a young age. When Bee was a young girl,
her parents taught her to communicate with her ancestors, who
are believed to remain on Tetapari, through rituals, prayers, and storytelling. Today,
she teaches young descendants these same traditions. Our inheritance in

(23:54):
our blood is strong, she says, But the physical separation
from Tetepare has made it today, has made many nervous
that an outside group could seek to claim it. Today,
descendants live mostly scattered across the western province of the
Solomon Islands, which includes Tetapare. Rendova Island, where Be spent

(24:15):
her childhood, is nearest to Teta Pare, separated by about
a mile and a half of ocean at its closest point,
though many communities lie much farther away. Traversing the open
ocean by canoe or motorized boat, the most common means
of transport across the archipelago, can be dangerous. As a result,
some descendants, especially those living far away, rarely have the

(24:39):
chance to visit their ancestral home. The for example, first
stepped foot on Tetapare as an adult after her deepest
fear became a reality a logging company sought to plunder
Tetapari's forests. Wilco Bosma, a forestry expert from the Netherlands,
came to the Solomon Islands nearly thirty years ago as

(25:00):
the timber industry boomed, during which time he founded the
Natural Resources Development Foundation to promote sustainable forest management. At
the time, international logging companies turned their sights on the
Solomons for its abundance of untouched lowland rainforest with high
value hardwood trees such as Fusia delenea and Caliphylum. The

(25:23):
logging industry quickly spiraled out of control, fueled by supportive
government policies in high demand for hardwood timber in neighboring
Asian markets. But by the nineteen nineties, timber harvests more
than doubled over what would deem sustainable levels, leading some
analysts to predict in two thousand and five that forests
would be depleted in just fifteen years. Bosma describes how

(25:47):
the locking companies stripped the forest bare of all kinds
of trees, not just approved hardwood species, but even protected
species like rosewood, to satiate the market demands. Although the
Solid Islands have a code of logging practice, logging companies
ignored these rules, he says. They know that the government

(26:07):
has problems to enforce and monitor, Bosma says, which stem
from budget constraints and lack of staffing. As a result,
the environmental damage is massive. While deforestation is the obvious effect,
erosion and pollution runoff from logging activity also have disastrous
effects on surrounding reefs. The soil and pollutions smother corals

(26:30):
and slowly kill ocean habitat like the seagrass and dugogs
depend on I. Meanwhile, clearing trees wipes out the habitat
for animals like the tetapari white eyes, coconut crabs, which
are vulnerable to extinction, and saltwater crocodiles that nest among
coastal mangroves. Witnessing the ecological fallout of logging had a

(26:54):
lasting impact on Bee as a young woman growing up
on nearby Rendova Island. Logging has destroyed our lifestyles, She says.
The majority of Solomon Islanders are dependent on subsistence agriculture
and hunting. She describes how the loss of for She
describes how the loss of forest cover pushed bush dwelling

(27:16):
animals like wild boars into communities where they would eat
plants in gardens, while the pollution wrecks surrounding marine ecosystems
that locals depended on for fish. But over the decades,
many Solomon Islanders have invited logging companies to harvest their
lands due to the financial incentives they offer. Bosma explains

(27:36):
this sometimes includes a cash advance, which usually falls into
the hands of corrupt middlemen. Bosma notes that communities often
receive royalty payments, but the percentage is small and payments
usually run dry after a year or two following the
shipment of all the timber harvest. In a country where
around a quarter of the population lives under the international

(27:58):
poverty line, the US financial incentives, however dubious, can be enticing,
according to B. At the peak of the logging boom
in the early nineteen nineties, a group of descendants from
Tetapari met with an international logging company and offered up
their ancestral land to harvest, with the idea to resettle
it after it had been plundered. But B and a

(28:20):
group of like minded descendants caught wind of the plan
and intervened, leveraging traditional land owning rights to block the process.
The intervention earned her a few enemies, but she had
a different vision for Tetapari that she hoped she could
satisfy economic demands while conserving nature, opening the island as
an ecotourism paradise. With support from descendants who wished to

(28:45):
protect Tetapare from international environmental nonprofits such as the World
Wildlife Fund, B was able to co found the Tetapari
Defendants Association and launch a research station and an eco lodge.
The host wildlife rangers and touring on the island. Small
groups of visitors stay on the island to experience the
untouched wild Meanwhile, the association is headquartered on Munda, a

(29:11):
town in the western province, about an hour and a
half commute by speedboat away from Tetapai, and only essential
staff members travel to the island to support tourists and
confirmation programs conservation programs. None lives there permanently. For over
twenty five years, Tetapari has remained a wildlife refuge while

(29:32):
many other islands have been stripped of their forests. The
association's conservation team says that while coconut crabs and saltwater
crocodiles are rare across the archipelago, they are relatively abundant
on Tetapare Today. The rugged coastline hosts nesting colonies of leatherback,
green and hawksville sea turtles, all of which are vulnerable

(29:53):
or endangered. In twenty nineteen, a group of scientists camped
out near the swift waters of the Tongo Rongo River,
which weaves through tetapare and documented six frog, reptile and
mammal species for the first time. By protecting nature, you
protect the ancestors, says be According to her, the spirits

(30:14):
of the ancestors are directly tied to the land upon
which they once lived. When the land, including its wildlife,
is protected, so are the spirits. Meanwhile, the proceeds of
the Eco Lodge, as well as other funds raised by
the Association, are used to support economic and educational initiatives
for the descendants, including business training and a scholarship program

(30:35):
available to young descendants. Rangers paid by the association patrol
the island to thwart poachers, as well as to monitor,
tag and collect data on wildlife, but the workers live
on other nearby islands. Overall, the association has created dozens
of jobs, but despite these successes, the economic pressures of

(30:56):
modern life in the Solomon Islands, one of the lowest
income countries of the South Pacific, have led to clashes
among some descendants who still aren't convinced of the immediate
benefits of ecotourism. One night ten years ago, a group
of the associations wildlife rangers confronted a band of poachers
while patrolling the waters off Tetepari's coastline. The poachers were

(31:19):
possibly seeking trochuses sea snails, whose shells are used in
jewelry and fetch a decent price at local markets. Fishing
off Tetepari is highly protected by the Descendants Association, and
the confrontation quickly escalated, culminating in a challenge to fight
on the beach, as the story goes, during the sand

(31:40):
During the standoff, the sound of thunder and lightning came
from the surrounding rainforest, and the poachers fled, believing the
spirits of their ancestors were displeased by their actions. B
explains that she was watching over the Eco Lodge at
the time of this incident. Later that night, the poachers
turned themselves in. Instead of punishing them, be At dated

(32:00):
them on the values of conservation and eventually hire them
to work for the association. But not all rural Solomon
Islanders are so lucky to find employment. In the rural area,
there's very little formal employment, says Catherine Passmore, an economist
of the Asian Development Bank who works on the Solomon Islands.
Though she sees potential and tourism as an industry. Because

(32:24):
of the Solomon's remote nature, high utility costs, and limited infrastructure,
it is currently a niche market most likely to attract
intrepid backpackers. The kind of tourism you could do in
the Solomon Islands is very, very different to what you
can do in other countries in the Pacific. Pass More says.
It has one of the highest costs of electricity in

(32:45):
the world, she adds, which makes comforts like air conditioning
difficult to provide. According to government databases, only six two
hundred and ninety seven visitors to the Solomon Islands indicated
their travel was for vacation purposes in twenty twenty three.
Even then, only a small percent of tourists in the

(33:05):
Solomon Islands visit the far flung corners like Tetapare, which
generally requires a combination of domestic flight and boat to
reach when traveling from the capital Honiara. Meanwhile, b continues
to struggle to convince the community of descendants of the
immediate benefits of ecotourism. The demands of modern life are

(33:25):
too big, she says, money makes them go against what
they believe in. While the eco Lodge is ongoing, B
pins her hopes on a new conservation model that could
infuse further income into her community and alleviate some of
the economic pressure carbon credits. But the carbon credit system
is complex and controversial among environmental groups. Today. BOSMA works

(33:49):
for environmental groups including NACAO, a nonprofit that promotes forest
conservation carbon credit models in the Solomon Islands. One of
its success stories is Choice Will Island, where the local
landowners can serve their forest and sell the carbon credits
calculated by this program to an international market. The project

(34:10):
provides the community with annual payments through twenty forty five,
when the contract will come up for renewal. In Essence,
Basma explains, carbon credits are calculated by comparing the carbon
dioxide emissions that would result if a plot of land
would be logged, as opposed to if it is conserved.
One ton of carbon emissions awards one carbon credit, which

(34:32):
can be sold to companies around the world. Companies then
purchase the credits and factor them into their own environmental footprint,
claiming that the credits offset their carbon emissions. Critics argue
that the methodology used to calculate the offset can be
inaccurate and misleading. Allowing polluting companies to continue their emissions
while claiming carbon neutrality. But Bosma argues that many companies

(34:57):
are genuinely cutting emissions and purchasing carbon c credits as
part of their plan, while the sales of carbon credits
offer local communities a rare opportunity to conserve their forest
while also generating income. Yet the process to qualify and
apply for a carbon credit program is bureaucratic and can
take years to finalize, explains Bosma. To begin, the land

(35:19):
must have guaranteed protections under law, a complicated process in
the Solomon Islands guided by traditional land owning customs. The
project is then inspected by an international auditor before it
is approved for market, but even then there is no
obligation for companies to purchase these carbon credits. Descendants of
Tetapari were intrigued by the prospect and enlisted Bosma and

(35:42):
his colleagues to scope the carbon credit project potential of Tetapare,
But just bye having potential, as Bosma put it, the
process was upended by infighting among the community members who
couldn't agree on the best path forward. Part of the issue,
Bosma speculates, is that carbon credit products don't offer instantaneous benefits.

(36:03):
If you really start from zero, it takes at least
five years, he says. Landowners need to stay committed, motivated,
and patiently waiting. Such complicated, long term plans test the
patience of many Soloma Islanders who often survive on just
the resources and their immediate surroundings. B, who says that
convincing her community of the benefits of conservation is the

(36:25):
most difficult part of her job, is clearly frustrated by
the group of descendants who thwarted the carbon credit program
from moving forward. They want to control the island, she says. Yet,
despite this setback, b remains confident that her cohort of
descendants who believe in the potential of carbon credits will
ultimately persuade those opposed to the plan. Just give them time,

(36:47):
she says, to realize that they are doing the wrong thing. Well,
that was a very long article. Perhaps we should go

(37:34):
to something a little lighter as I move on and
take another drink of water. This from All Recipes dot Com,
written by Kennedy Dirck's. Wendy's just quietly rolled out four
new menu items from Cereal Milk flavored sparkling water to

(37:55):
sour gummy warm inspired soda and everything in between. The
beverage into is having a full on moment right now,
and as always, fast food chains are staying on top
of the trend with new and exciting drinks hitting menus
on a seemingly daily basis. Taco Bell recently announced the
launch of new Refresca's lineup and released a new Mountain

(38:17):
Dew Baja Blast flavor for the first time in twenty years.
Then there's what a Burger's Doctor Pepper BlackBerry milkshake, which
fans can't get enough of now. Wendy's is leaning into
the specialty beverage obsession with a line of not one,
but four new drinks that are the perfect pick me
up for a busy back to school session. While Wendy's

(38:42):
may be known for its Baconator, Frosty's and the four
dollars Biggie Bag, the chain is making clear its drinks
deserve attention to Wendy's is stepping up its coffee game
with an all new cold Foam cold Brew, which comes
in two sweet flavors. Fans can snag either caramel or
chocolate cold brew, each lined with delicious brownie butter or

(39:05):
caramel sauces, and yes, they are the same sauces used
in Wendy's delicious new Frosty Swirls and Frosty Fusions. Plus,
each coffee is pumped with chocolate or caramel syrups for
maximum flavor before being topped with a fluffy cold foam
that gives Starbucks a run for its money. If cold

(39:27):
foam isn't your thing, but you still want a delicious
cup of coffee, the chain is also introducing a customizable
cold brew, so Wendy's customers can mix up their brew
with vanilla, caramel, chocolate, or classic cane sugar syrups for
an extra sweet spin. Wendy's is also debuting two new
sparkling energy drinks. Customers can get a bubbly boost with

(39:50):
cherry limeade or pineapple citrus Sparkling Energy drinks dispensing exclusively
from the chain's Coca Cola Freestyle machines and topped with
a caffeinated energy syrup. Each sweet and tangy sip has
approximately eighty to one hundred and twenty milligrams of caffeine
plus vitamin B twelve for an extra energy boost. Whether

(40:12):
you're fueling your morning or looking for an afternoon pick
me up, Wendy's latest drinks are here to keep fans refreshed, energized,
and satisfied. It's clear it's unclear how long these new
beverages will be around for, so be sure to grab
one sooner rather than later, and maybe pick up a
limited edition Wednesday inspired meal while you're there too. Well,

(40:37):
that was some lovely, probably paid promotional content for a
fast food company. So let's move on to Collider dot com.
An article written by Marcel Ardevan the ten greatest hard
sci Fi movies of the last twenty five years, ranked
Marcel Rights. Hard science fiction is a subgenre of sci

(41:00):
fi that celebrates the science aspect in the genre. Instead
of leaning on fantasy tech or impossible shortcuts, these stories
root themselves in real scientific principles and plausibility. The classics
of this genre include Stanley Kubrick's two thousand and one,
A Space Odyssey in Andre Tartowsky's Solaris. The movies in

(41:22):
this genre explore how humanity might realistically respond to extraordinary circumstances.
While the drama doesn't come from bending science, but from
pushing it to its very limits. Over the past twenty
five years, filmmakers have crafted some of the most ambitious
and thought provoking entries the genre has ever seen. These
movies balanced spectacle with rigor, using meticulous research and consultation

(41:46):
with actual science to make their worlds believable. Here in
this list, we will take a look at the movies
that have been at the forefront of the sci fi genre.
The following movies represent the very best of what hard
sci fi can offer, smart, grounded, and utterly awe inspiring cinema.

(42:07):
Number ten The Wandering Earth two twenty twenty two, a
prequel to the twenty nineteen Chinese blockbuster The Wandering Earth iiO,
goes back to the beginning that eventually creates humanity's desperate
plan to move Earth out of the Solar System to
escape in expanding Sun. The film focuses on the decades

(42:29):
long preparation leading to this massive undertaking. Following following closely
two characters. One is Liu Pekwang played by Chinese superstar
Jeng Wu, a reluctant astronaut who emerges as one of
the leaders of the Moving Mountains project, and the other
is scientist U Hangyu andy Lao, who is directly involved

(42:50):
with the major scientific projects involving the Wandering Earth. As
hard sci fi, the film stands out for its commitment
to making an outrageous premise feel believable. Based on a
colossal book by Lucijin, who also wrote Three Body Problem,
the film dwells on the logistics of building engines, the
size of skyscrapers, the energy requirements of planetary propulsion, and

(43:14):
the global cooperation needed to even attempt such a project.
Rather than glossing over details, it leans into engineering obstacles,
orbital physics, and the politics of survival, showing how immense
the undertaking would truly be. While the concept is extraordinary
and may seem implausible, the treatment of scientific principles and

(43:36):
problem solving keeps the spectacle tethered to reality, making The
Wandering Earth Too a rare blockbuster that feels both grandiose
and grounded. Number nine Moon two thousand and nine Moon
centers on Sam Bell played by Sam Rockwell, the lone

(43:58):
human workers stationed at a li lunar mining facility harvesting
helium three, a vital energy source for Earth. Nearing the
end of his three year contracts, Sam struggles with isolation
and deteriorating health with his only companion, the bases AI
assistant Gerdy. When an accident outside the station leaves him injured,

(44:19):
Sam makes a disturbing discovery that changes his view of
reality and also the company that employs him. It's brilliance
within the sci fi genre lies in how it grounds
its drama in plausible technology and near future industry. The
mining of helium three is based on real scientific discussions
about future energy solutions, and the station itself is depicted

(44:41):
with realism, No flashy tech, just machinery that feels functional
and probably likely to be developed in the near future.
Diving into more realism. Moon also treats the psychological toll
of long term space isolation with accuracy, giving a warning
for future interplanetary labor. Anchored by Rockwell's stellar performance, Moon

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stands as a quiet, yet powerful example of how a
sci fi film can be both scientifically plausible and emotionally resonant.
Number eight Gravity from twenty thirteen. Gravity follows doctor Ryan Stone,
Sandra Bullock, a medical engineer on her first space mission,

(45:27):
and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski George Clooney as they carry
out routine work aboard the Space Shuttle Explorer. When debris
from a destroyed satellite tears through their shuttle, they are
left adrift in space with limited oxygen and communication, and
must rely on their training and ingenuity to reach safety
before time runs out. Much of the buzz around Gravity

(45:51):
when it was released was about its cutting edge CGI. However,
Alfonse or Quirone also depicts space in its fullest reality,
from the silence of the vacuum to the dangers of
microde be traveling traveling at orbital speeds, The film builds
its tension on scientifically grounded hazards. The depiction of spacecraft

(46:12):
like the Iss and soy Use capsules is highly faithful,
and the use of orbital mechanics adds weight to every
decision the characters make. As a film, of course, there
are a few liberties taken for dramatic effect, but its
immersive realism and commitment to portraying human vulnerability in space
make Gravity a landmark in the genre. Number seven Coherence

(46:38):
twenty thirteen, set over one evening. Coherence begins with a
group of friends gathering for a dinner party as a
comet passes unusually close to Earth. As the night unfolds,
they discover that the comet's presence has somehow created overlapping
realities with multiple versions of themselves crossing paths, rather than

(47:00):
on visual effects or exposition heavy dialogue. Coherence stands out
in this list as it leans on the many world's
interpretation of quantum mechanics as its backbone. It marries a
real scientific theory to a tightly contained human drama. The
story unfold volcanically, showing how ordinary people might realistically respond

(47:20):
to encountering alternate to encountering alternate versions of themselves. It
also helps that during filming the actors were kept on
location and that the script was mostly improvisational, adding spontaneous reactions.
With its small premise and a lack of marquee actors,
coherence remains underseen in the realm of hard sci fi.

(47:45):
Number six Sunshine from two thousand and seven. Sunshine follows
the crew of the Icarus II, a spacecraft sent on
a last ditch mission to reignite the dying Sun using
a massive nuclear payload. As they approach their destination after
years in space, the crew encounters the abandoned Icarus I,

(48:06):
their failed predecessor, and soon find their mission compromised as
they get closer to the sun. This film, by Danny
Boyle boasts a star study cast with Killie and Murphy,
Michelle Yoe, and Chris Evans, just to name a few.
While the Sun may not die out anytime soon, Sunshine
has all the concepts worked out. The ship's design, life

(48:28):
support systems, and radiation shielding all reflect real engineering considerations,
making it highly plausible. The depiction of dwindling resources and
the psychological toll of space travel adds further realism, grounding
the story and challenges the astronauts would genuinely face. Though
the final twist sees the last act fear into slasher territory,

(48:51):
Sunshine remains a striking example of science driven storytelling. It
also does not hurt that the film is excidentally produced,
excellently produced and shot. Number five Primer two thousand and four.
Primer follows two young engineers, Aaron Shane Caruth and Abe

(49:14):
David Sullivan, who make a groundbreaking discovery while tinkering with
a side project in their garage. They figure out a
machine that can send objects and eventually people, back in time.
This modest experiment quickly spirals into a labyrinth of overlapping
timelines and moral compromises. No other movie is a harder

(49:36):
sci fi film than Primer. Written and directed by Caruth,
who has a mathematics degree and is a former engineer,
the film is filled with technical jargon, and it never
pauses to spoon feed explanations to the general audience. It
trusts the audience to piece together the information and the rules.
The depiction of the time machine is not something spectacular

(49:58):
like in the Terminator franchise, but it's more like a
clunky box cobbled together with wires, pumps, and insulation. This
meticulous attention to detail and originality make Primer one of
the most challenging yet rewarding examples of hard science fiction
ever put on screen. Number four ex Machina twenty fifteen.

(50:25):
Ex Machina follows Caleb Donna Gleason, a young programmer who
wants to wins a contest to spend a week at
the secluded research estate of Nathan Bateman Oscar Isaac, the
reclusive CEO of the tech company he works for. Once there,
Caleb learns he's been chosen to evaluate Ava Alicia Vikandor

(50:46):
a humanoid robot with our advanced artificial intelligence to determine
whether she can convincingly demonstrate consciousness. The film's relevance only
grew with the advancement of artificial intelligence, as the Brassona
vocation of a highly intelligent AI ava is presented as
the logical outcome of the breakthroughs in machine learning, data mining,

(51:07):
and robotics. The film engages with actual debates in cognitive
science and computer engineering, from the nature of consciousness to
the ethical responsibilities of AI creators. Some of these topics
have already been discussed today and are due for a
reevaluation as the technology develops at such a breakneck pace.
By treating AI as an inevitable product of human innovation,

(51:31):
X Machina delivers a chillingly realistic vision of the near
future of AI. As Alex Garland's first feature film, it
is also one of the best directorial debuts in recent memory.
Number three Arrival twenty sixteen. In Arrival, when alien ships

(51:55):
mysteriously appear across the globe, linguist doctor Louise Banks Amy
Adams is recruited by the US military to lead efforts
in establishing communication with the alien visitors, working alongside physicist
Ian Donnelly Jeremy Renner. She begins the painstaking process of
deciphering the alien's complex language, all while international tensions escalate

(52:19):
as other nations grow impatient and fearful. Arrival excels in
a genre because it grounds its story in linguistics and
methodical problem solving rather than spectacle. This Denny Villeneuve film
treats language as a scientific system, depicting the process of
translation with precision and showing how misinterpretation could have world

(52:42):
altering consequences. The design of the aliens and their written
symbols is carefully constructed to reflect plausible non human communication,
while the integration of theoretical physics in the third act
adds further depth by focusing on how humans might realieistically
approach first contact. Arrival delivers a cerebral vision of extraterrestrial encounter,

(53:06):
making it one of the most thoughtful sci fi films
of the last quarter century. Number two Interstellar twenty fourteen.
The Earth is ravaged by environmental collapse in Interstellar, and
former NASA pilot Cooper Matthew McConaughey is recruited for a

(53:29):
secret mission to save humanity. Their Hail Mary mission is
to use a wormhole near Saturn to search for habitable worlds.
Alongside his crew, which includes doctor brand Anne Hathaway. Cooper
aims to find a new world for humans to live
in and return home to his daughter before the time
dilation separates the years between them. Interstellar Separate sets itself

(53:53):
apart from other films in the genre because of its
foundation in real physics. Thanks to the involvement of astrophis
assist Kip Thorne, who ensured the accuracy of its black
hole and wormhole depictions. Time dilation, gravitational forces, and orbital
mechanics all play central roles in the drama, showing how
physics can be as unforgiving as it is awe inspiring.

(54:17):
Even its most speculative elements, like the depiction of higher dimensions,
are extensions of real scientific hypotheses. By marrying these concepts
with the typical Christopher Nolan's style and moving human drama,
Interstellar delivers spectacle scientific accuracy and heart making it one
of the genres defining achievements and number one the Martian

(54:45):
twenty fifteen. In The Martian, astronaut Mark Wattney Matt Damon
is left behind and presumed dead by his crew. When
a violent storm forces a Mars expedition to abort own
on the hostile planet, he must rely on his training
as a botanist and engineer to survive from growing potatoes

(55:07):
and barren soil, generating water, and repairing life support systems
while NASA scrambles to mount to rescue mission. Wotney documents
his struggle with humor and determination, making his story of
survival a resonant tale for people back on Earth. Based
on the best selling book by Andy Weir, The Martian

(55:28):
is remarkable for how rigorously it builds its story on
real science, making it probably the most accurate space movie.
The challenges Wotney faces on Mars, like the thin atmosphere
and exposure to radiation, are based on actual research into
marching conditions and near future technology. The film most memorably

(55:49):
highlights problem solving through existing tools and scientific reasoning, showcasing
how creativity and persistence can overcome impossible odds. Its respect
for physics, engineering, and biology makes The Martian one of
the most grounded and inspiring depictions of space survival ever
put to screen. Well, I'm happy to say I've seen

(56:14):
about half of those, and now we should move on
a little more news. Here's one from ABC News, written
by Patrick Whittle and Mings and Lao of the Associated Press.

(56:35):
Swimmers face fecal contamination at beaches along US coastline. Thousands
of Americans will head to the beaches for one last
summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip
might be out of the question. Many of the beaches
will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination.

(56:57):
Beaches from Crystal River, Florida to quit Maine have been
under advisories warning about water quality this week because of
elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories
typically discourage beachgoers from going in the water because the
bacteria can cause gastro intestinal gastro intestinal illness, rashes, and nausea.

(57:23):
There have been closures this week at some of the
country's most popular beach destinations, including Keyes Memorial Beach in
the Cape Cod Village of Hyannas in Barnstable, Massachusetts, Benjamin's
Beach on Long Island in Bay Shore, New York, and
a portion of the Imperial Beach shoreline near San Diego.
Even on the pristine white sand beaches of Hawaii. The

(57:46):
Hawaii State Department of Health is warning of high bacteria
count at Kahalu Beach Park on the Big Island. It's
a long standing and widespread problem. Nearly two thirds of
beaches tested nationwide in twenty twenty four experienced at least
one day in which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially

(58:06):
unsafe levels, conservation group Environment America said in a report
issued this summer. The group reviewed beaches on the coasts
and Great Lakes and found that eighty four percent of
Gulf Coast beaches exceeded the standard at least once. The
number was seventy nine percent for West Coast beaches, fifty
four percent for East Coast beaches, and seventy one percent

(58:28):
for Great Lakes beaches. The report also said that more
than four hundred and fifty beaches were potentially unsafe for
swimming on at least twenty five percent of the days tested.
A key reason is outdated water and sewer systems that
allows contamination from sewage to reach the places where people swim,
said John Rumpler, clean water director and senior attorney with

(58:51):
Environment America. These beaches are a treasure for families across
New England and across the country they share. They are
a shared resource, said Rumpler, who is based in Boston.
We need to make the investment to make sure that
literally our own human waste doesn't wind up in the
places where we are swimming. Other factors have also played

(59:12):
a role in contaminating beaches, including increasingly severe weather that
overwhelms sewage systems and suburban strawl that paves over natural
areas and reduces the ecosystem's ability to absorb stormwater. Rumpler said,
but many people plan to jump in the ocean anyway.
Despite a two day warning of elevated fecal indicator bacteria

(59:34):
last month at Rohoboth Beach, Delaware, beachgoer Yarromeir or Reshkevich
was not concerned. I really don't expect to be in
any kind of danger of fecal contamination, said or Reskevich,
a retired dentist. He said he didn't think Rohoboeth was
close enough to notable pollution to be concerned, and he

(59:55):
expected the ocean's natural currents to take care of any
problems within the content ammanation area. Dana West, a federal
worker visiting Rohoboth Beach recalled an instance earlier this year
where a dozen members of his vacationing party experienced gastro
intestinal issues. The symptoms occurred after they went on a
snorkeling excursion and activity that increases the likelihood of swallowing

(01:00:19):
seawater off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It was
an unpleasant experience, but he doesn't expect to repeat this
weekend in Delaware. But generally, I have no concerns about
the level of fecal and bacterial matter, said West, while
admiring Rohobus Shore. I assume the local authorities will tell

(01:00:40):
us if there are higher levels than normal. Despite West's confidence,
some beaches in the area of Rahobuth, including nearby Rehoboth
Bay and Dewey Beach Bayside, where indeed underwater advisories this week.
Such advisories are not always posted on public signs. Environment
America assessed beach safety in its report examining whether fecal

(01:01:04):
bacteria levels exceeded standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The trigger and alert to avoid the water Fecal bacteria
at those levels could cause illness in thirty two out
of every one thousand swimmers in North Carolina. Five beaches
were under advisories in late August because of elevated levels
of fecal bacteria. The beaches are open, but swimmers are

(01:01:28):
advised that going in the water could be risky, said
Erin Brian Mullish, an environmental program supervisor with the North
Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Hurricane Airin caused extensive erosion
and storm surge in some coastal areas. According to the
Department of Environmental Quality, heavy rain events this summer also

(01:01:49):
exacerbated the contamination problem in some areas. Brian Mulish said,
those storm drains carry everything. Brian Mullish said it could
be really bad for someone who is immune compromised. No, personally,
I'm a fan of not going in the ocean, going

(01:02:12):
out in the sun. I'm an indoor kid who's seen
at least half of the movies on that list of
science fiction classics. And because of that. Now that we've
covered some news, some politics, some poop, let's end. This

(01:02:35):
is for you listener rob on WOODTV dot Com, wod
TV Somewhere in this Country written by Zach kaplan, Taco
Bell hits rewind with decades y two K menu featuring
five revived items. Taco Bell isringing back some of its

(01:03:00):
fan favorite menu items from the two thousands. The popular
fast food chain announced Thursday. The decade's y two K
menu is set to launch nationwide September ninth, and will
revive highly coveted items such as the Cool Ranch, Doritos,
Locos Tacos, Carmel Apple and Panada, seven layer burrito, double
decker Taco, and Chili Cheese burrito, all for under three dollars.

(01:03:26):
Taco Bell Rewards members will have special early access to
the caramel Apple and Panada from September second through the
eighth before it reaches menus around the country. To celebrate
the twentieth birthday of the crunch Wrap Supreme, Taco Bell
is also releasing the nine dollars Discovery Luxe Box, which
includes a crunch rap Cool Ranch, to Rito's Logos Tacos,

(01:03:46):
a Crunchy Taco nachos, and a medium fountain drink. No
one did the two thousands like Taco Bell. That era
gave us some of our most iconic menu items, including
the crunch Wrap Suprime. Which remains one of our best
sellers two decades later, said Taylor Montgomery, chief Marketing Officer.

(01:04:07):
Coinciding with the rollout of the revived menu items, Taco
Bell will also introduce three limited edition Y two K
themed merch drops, including a collaboration with legendary tattoo artist
Ed Hardy. Additionally, Taco Bell is introduced in the world
to the Crunchkin, an interactive digital pet that can be
cared for to unlock rewards on the app. The nostalgic

(01:04:32):
Taco Loving Fund doesn't stop there, as select Taco Bell
Rewards members were invited to attend Taco Bell's Decades y
two K Party Thursday evening. The special, one night only
event will feature a performance from two thousands, Icon and
Grammy winning artist Lil John. In other news, the chain
is re evaluating plans for its AI drive through experience,

(01:04:57):
but perhaps that is an article for another day. If
you were listening to this to put you to sleep,
I hope that by now sleep has reached you. If
you've listened to this while driving in your car, I
hope you're okay. Either way. I will end as we

(01:05:17):
always end, with a quick but gentle prayer as I
say to all of you and to the powers listening,
all hail the algorithm.