460: Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board
Summary
Hank and John discuss Hank’s renewed Twitter activity, exploring how social media structures impact discourse and personal agency. They then answer listener questions, debunking the "light as a feather" party trick, calculating the lethal dose of pickles, and explaining how probiotics survive stomach acid. The episode also touches on John’s new adult novel, Hollywood Ending, and offers advice for writers stuck in a rut.
Topics discussed
Introduction and Something Worth Knowing event announcement
Opening banter: Dad jokes and colonoscopy humor
Hank's Twitter activity and the nature of online discourse
Celebrity power, fan agency, and Elon Musk's influence
The science behind the 'Light as a Feather' lifting trick
Superstitions, magical thinking, and preventative worry
US vs the World Cup and the thermodynamics of bald heads
Lethal dose of pickles and historical salt poisoning
Sponsors: Shopify, Quince, and Factor Meals
Book acknowledgments and Shakespeare comparisons
How probiotics and kombucha survive stomach acid
Overcoming writer's block and John's new novel
News from Mars rover design and AFC Wimbledon football
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