Episode 591: Oral Frailties

Real Life We kick things off with a round of Real Life check-ins, because apparently none of us are allowed to simply exist quietly. Ben opens with Bedroom Talk with Ben Lawless, which is exactly as awkward, candid, and vaguely alarming as it sounds. No further clarification is offered, nor requested. Devon reports that snowboarding with his kids was actually great. No injuries, no disasters—just genuine fun on the mountain, which frankly feels suspicious but we'll allow it. He also shares that he's been practicing guitar for an hour a day, really locking in on technique. That means working through BPMs, tightening up tapping and sweeping, and grinding away at the Blackened solo like a man possessed. Progress is being made, fingers are suffering, and discipline is winning (for now). Steven talks about Hawaii, which lands somewhere between "kinda cool" and "why did we do this to ourselves." The travel was awful, the resort was pretty great, and Moana… apparently isn't Moana anymore? We don't resolve this, but we are confident Disney has a lot to answer for. Ben also brings in Blippo+, a surreal streaming service that feels like channel surfing through an alternate universe. If you're curious (or concerned), you can explore it directly at https://blippo.plus/ or read more context over at The A.V. Club: https://www.avclub.com/blippo-makes-art-out-of-channel-surfing. Future or Now In Future or Now, Ben highlights a sobering study out of Japan linking poor oral health in older adults to higher mortality rates and increased need for long-term care. The research, conducted by Osaka Metropolitan University and the Institute of Science Tokyo, suggests brushing and dental care might matter more than we'd like to admit. You can read the full breakdown via The Japan Times: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/05/japan/science-health/elderly-dental-hygiene/ Devon follows up with This Week in Space, reacting to the news that the U.S. has effectively killed NASA's Mars Sample Return Mission. What happens now? Confusion, disappointment, and a lot of unanswered questions. The full story is covered here: https://www.iflscience.com/us-just-killed-nasas-mars-sample-return-mission-so-what-happens-now-82148 Book Club This week's Book Club pick is "The Janitor in Space" by Amber Sparks, a short story that sparked very different reactions around the table. Steven enjoyed it, Ben didn't care for it at all, and Devon—rather than choosing a side—asked ChatGPT to turn it into a song, which may be the most Devon response possible. You can read the story yourself here: https://americanshortfiction.org/janitor-space/ Looking ahead, next week's selection is Ted Chiang's "What's Expected of Us", originally published in Nature (July 7, 2005). We'll be digging into free will, determinism, and the uncomfortable feeling that the universe might already know what you're about to do.   As always, thanks for listening, reading, and continuing to question whether brushing your teeth might actually save your life.