Episode 563: Aspergillus Strikes Back

Real Life

This week, real life got weird, itchy, nostalgic, and just slightly chaotic.

Ben celebrated a birthday by dragging his family through a hike in tick-infested grass. Friendly reminder: Don't go into the long grass. We've seen Jurassic Park, we know how this ends.

Devon may or may not be living in Foreverware straight out of Eerie, Indiana. Start checking those Tupperware lids, folks.

Steven escaped a house overrun with cousins the only way he knows how: board game store therapy.

Here's what we're playing:

• Burnout Paradise Remastered is only $5 on Steam right now and it still rules. Devon showed us how to pull off some in-game stunts. Sadly, not applicable to real life.

• Steven got cozy with Harmonies, a gorgeous little nature-builder where you balance habitats and critters.

• Ben brought in Infinite Board Game (Piecepack)—a modular system that spawned classics like Worm Derby and 9 Ball.

• Steven also shouted out Tak (playable with Piecepack!) and unboxed his shiny new copy of Slugblaster.

Future or Now

We talk a lot about the future, but this week, the past clawed its way back into the conversation.

Ben shared a killer quote from Ray Bradbury:

"I'm warning you now, so you don't have to pay a psychiatrist 20 years from now…"

It came from a great piece of writing advice for screenwriters, poets, novelists—anyone with a keyboard. TLDR: read other stuff, write other stuff. Don't get boxed in. Read the whole post here.

Devon brought space horror to the table: a NASA satellite that's been dead for 57 years just pinged Earth out of nowhere.  Read more

Steven dove into the fungal unknown: scientists have turned Aspergillus flavus—yes, the tomb fungus found in places like King Tut's burial site—into a potential treatment for leukemia. Cursed no more. Science article here

Book Club

We're still steeped in the gentle robot comfort of Becky Chambers' A Psalm for the Wild-Built. This week, we covered:

• Audible Chapters 6–8

• Book Chapters 4–6:

  • An Object, and an Animal

  • Remnants

  • Grass Hen with Wilted Greens and Caramelized Onion (legit sounds delicious)

Next week:

• Book Chapters 7 & 8 (The Wild, The Summer Bear)

• Audible Chapters 9–10

Bonus recommendation: Devon says you should read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, if you want philosophy, talking apes, and big "what's-wrong-with-the-world" energy.