Episode 566: Skeletons Or It Didn't Happen

Real Life This week, Steven finally found a superhero movie that didn't make him want to throw his popcorn at the screen. Superman (2025) has arrived, and according to him, it's the best take we've had on the character in years. No origin story nonsense, just straight into Supes doing good and being good. James Gunn gets it—Superman is an immigrant, a boy scout, and a damn firefighter (not a cop). The moral core is there, the cape looks good, and apparently, if you hate it, it's because it's "woke"? Whatever. Steven liked it. You probably will too. Meanwhile, Devon has been dodging storms, not floods. He lives far from the Texas chaos but has had his fair share of wet weekends. That hasn't stopped him from grinding away at backyard renovations. Fake grass is coming soon. In the process, he's tearing out ivy and ground brush—bad news for copperhead snakes, which are venomous, and good news for anyone walking around barefoot. Speaking of venom: Ben brings us the delightful fact that some birds are venomous. No, really. There are birds that store toxins from insects and plants and use them to defend themselves. The pitohui says hi. Nature is weird. More bird venom facts here. Devon also dove into evolution this week, thanks to a Hank Green video about the great leap from water to land. Turns out the hardest problem evolution ever solved might just be how to turn gilled swimmers into four-limbed land mammals. Spoiler alert: it involves lungs, fins, and a lot of time. Watch the video here. Ben, when not thinking about venomous birds, asked an important question: What do people do for fun in Palmdale? The answer, apparently, is "hang out near electrical poles." He also recommends the board game The Red Dragon Inn for those nights when you're too tired to fight dragons and just want to drink with them instead. Game info here. Future or Now Only Steven showed up for this segment, and he brought ancient lion maulings. A new article from ScienceDaily describes a skeleton found in a Roman cemetery in York—with bite marks matching a lion's jaw. It's our first archaeological evidence of gladiator-style combat between a human and a lion, which is equal parts horrifying and fascinating. Steven points out that if curses were real, this would be prime material—digging up gladiator graves seems like an express ticket to ghost lion attacks. Book Club This week, we read The Last Question by Isaac Asimov, a story about entropy, immortality, the heat death of the universe, and one computer's ongoing existential crisis. Devon raises a solid point: the story's final punch line hits different if you grew up with the Judeo-Christian idea of divine creation. If not? It still works, but maybe not quite the same way. You could easily sub in other creation myths—or just throw in some Terminators and call it a sci-fi remix. Ben had Siri read him the story aloud via Mobile Safari and recommends the experience. Read it here or watch this animated version. Next week: There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury, a classic tale of loneliness, technology, and automatic breakfast machines still flipping eggs long after humanity is gone. You can read the story here or listen to a reading. Oh, and if you missed it, Captain Kirk is coming back—sort of. He's being resurrected for Star Trek: The Last Starship, a new comic set in the far future. We have thoughts. Mostly confused ones.