Episodes

  • The Evolutionary Case for REAL DRAGONS!

    The Evolutionary Case for REAL DRAGONS!
    Jun 13 2025
    How to Train Your Dragon is only the latest piece in a cultural puzzle that dates back thousands of years. How realistic are dragons, anyway?“While other places have ponies or parrots, we have…dragons.”When you think of modern day animated classics, the first projects that people tend to think of are the titans of Disney/Pixar. But under no circumstances should you sleep on the brilliant people at Dreamworks Animation who have their own share of legitimate masterpieces in the form of the Shrek franchise, last year’s brilliant The Wild Robot, and the endlessly impressive How to Train Your Dragon franchise. And when it comes to the central concept of that franchise, dragons, well…the folks at Dreamworks have done it about as well as anybody ever has!Think about it. The use of dragons in storytelling far transcends the “pop culture” label. Forget movies, TV, and animation, there’s literature, mythology, and something in our collective unconscious that compels us to keep returning to the familiar imagery associated with them. While we usually associate dragons with a particularly European flavor of fantasy, if you pick any culture or society, you’ll probably find a dragon myth or story. That’s how pervasive they are.Not only that, but they’re timeless! Some of the biggest franchises of not just the last century, but this century, prominently feature dragons. Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, Game of Thrones, and yes, How to Train Your Dragon are proof that some old-fashioned concepts never really go out of style. Is it possible that with a slight evolutionary shift we could have ended up with dragons crowding our skies? And why IS the dragon concept so universal, anyway?All this and more in the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here…https://youtu.be/Ww84E8udLrASUGGESTED VIEWING We based much of our discussion in this episode on the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, specifically How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. We hadn’t seen the live action remake that’s currently in theaters at the time of recording.But while we have your attention, we’d like to direct you to a nearly forgotten piece of dragon-related media. 1981’s Dragonslayer is a remarkably dark piece of fantasy from a forgotten period where Disney was experimenting with more adult themes in its work. It’s not quite Game of Thrones but there’s plenty of gore and some sexy themes that you wouldn’t expect. It’s also the rare dragon flick that’s genuinely scary at times!FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! Flying Reptiles?!?While it’s natural to think in terms of the pterodactyl when thinking of real world parallels to dragons, those weren’t the only flying reptiles of that long ago age. But you might also want to consider a reptile that is still flying around today, the Draco lizard, when you wonder how dragons might eventually evolve. As long as they have hollow bones….Convergent Evolution and Evolutionary BottlenecksHakeem takes us on quite a journey as he tries to explain the processes by which dragons could have evolved. But two fo the key concepts involve evolutionary bottlenecks (which likely influenced human development) and the concept of convergent evolution, which would help explain why dragons were to develop very specific and distinctive traits (check out a bunch of real world examples right here).But What About Fire-Breathing?You might think that a fire-breathing dragon is far-fetched, but we’d like to remind you of the existence of the electric eel, the bombardier beetle, and the spitting cobra, all of which have distinctive self defense mechanisms that are pretty alien to humans. So the idea that a dragon could contain methanogens in its gut that provide the fuel for a fire might not be that far-fetched after all!Read the Books!A quick reminder that the How to Train Your Dragon movies were based on a book series by Cressida Cowell. Check ‘em out!“We have wonder…”That lovely quote from Dean Deblois that Tamara found comes from the documentary special feature, Where No One Goes: The Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2, which covers a lot more ground than just that second movie!The Hero’s JourneyAs Tamara points out, if you haven’t read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, that will unlock so many touchpoints in the stories you love that you won’t look at your favorite franchise the same way again!WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?For some of our other takes on excellent modern animation, check out our episodes on The Incredibles and Big Hero 6!Need more Does it Fly? fantasy deep dives in your life? We’ve examined The Witcher and Lord of the Rings in previous episodes!FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DOES IT FLY? on:♦ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?...
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    51 mins
  • Could The Traps in The Goonies REALLY Work?

    Could The Traps in The Goonies REALLY Work?
    May 30 2025
    "Ye intruders beware.Crushing death and grief,Soaked with blood,Of the trespassing thief."With that ominous passage inscribed upon a map, the timeless adventure of The Goonies begins. And what an adventure it is! Equally influenced by golden age of Hollywood swashbuckling pirate movies like Michael Curtiz’s Captain Blood, vintage movie serials that also inspired the likes of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Carl Barks’ classic Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics, The Goonies is almost a literal thrill-a-minute film. Packed with (sometimes literal) cliffhangers, subterranean mazes, maps, mysteries, and traps. So many traps! The kinds of traps you might associate with classic Scooby-Doo cartoons but brought to live action with stunning realism and peril all with a Rube Goldberg flair. Traps that wouldn’t be out of place in producer Spielberg’s Indiana Jones franchise, made all the more perilous because it’s a cast of kids being put in danger.So when it came time for us to think up a concept to celebrate the (wanna feel old?) 40th anniversary of The Goonies, we had two choices: It was either the traps or how it’s possible that Cyndi Lauper could turn what could have very easily have been a mediocre soundtrack cash-in like “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” into a piece of songwriting perfection…or the traps. We went with the traps. And considering how much ancient history is riddled with real life deathtraps, well…you might be surprised at what we find when we start delving in to the mechanisms of these devices. It’s not just whether they work…it’s whether they would still work hundreds of years later!Watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here…if you’re good enough…https://youtu.be/-b-Pm2yTHYMSUGGESTED VIEWING Seen The Goonies? Good, go watch it again. Haven’t? Go watch it twice. You can thank us later.But also, you might want to check out a couple of other ‘80s classics that are part of this film’s DNA. The Goonies falls somewhere on the spectrum between Steven Spielberg’s (who produced this film) all-timer Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rob Reiner’s R-rated coming of age quest movie Stand By Me. You might also want to check out The Monster Squad as a film which tried to mimic this movie’s magic in a different context. And of course, its legacy is felt pretty keenly in Stranger Things…FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!There are two key ingredients to the traps as depicted in The Goonies, both of which are very rooted in real life: the legacy of Rube Goldberg and the actual security measures from ancient tombs and structures.Rube Goldberg MachinesYou might not realize it, but you know what a Rube Goldberg Machine is. If you ever saw a Looney Tunes cartoon where some absurdly complicated device with many steps performs a simple task (usually set to this distinctive music) then you’re already familiar. And while reading about Rube Goldberg and his bizarre creations is one thing (which you can do here) you really should see them to get the full effect.“Tomb Security”The trope that everyone is familiar with thanks to everything from Indiana Jones movies to Pirates of the Caribbean to DuckTales is…mostly true! Maybe not in terms of giant boulders being triggered to roll over you, but in lots of other ways.Usually, these are depicted as part of some kind of “curse” that befalls would-be grave-robbers. Other times they are based in the very real discovery of what appear to be unfortunate human sacrifices. In all cases, these “security measures” are part of elaborate attempts to keep sacred sites undisturbed. And in one, there’s even an “army” standing guard…if only they moved!WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?The allegedly final installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise is in theaters now and we examined an iconic moment from its past!Final Destination Bloodlines is here and we went back to the very beginning to examine the central concept of the franchise. Watch it here!FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DoesItFly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don’t forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!
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    50 mins
  • The Mission: Impossible Technology That's ALREADY HERE!

    The Mission: Impossible Technology That's ALREADY HERE!
    May 23 2025
    “This podcast will self-destruct in 5 seconds…”We’ve often talked on this show about the potential of science fiction to become science fact. It’s fairly common for even the most out-there concepts discussed here to be on the verge of becoming reality, even if they don’t yet fly in the real world, they sometimes will soon. It’s more rare for us to tackle a concept that seemed like pure fantasy at the time but that has almost become reality in the present day.But such is the case with Mission: Impossible III and the voice cloning device. As you’ll see in this week’s episode, this is one piece of spy tech that is suddenly no longer as unrealistic as it was in 2006 when the movie was released. But perhaps more relevant for today are the ethical implications around the existing technology’s use…or misuse, as is so often sadly the case.Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to check out the latest episode of Does it Fly? to learn more…Watch the video version of this episode here! https://youtu.be/9fRFdjq0iR4SUGGESTED VIEWING The Mission: Impossible franchise now encompasses a whopping eight movies when you factor in the release of this year’s Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Something tells us that movie isn’t the final anything for these movies, but that’s another story. ANYWAY…Our episode today is based primarily around Mission: Impossible III, directed by J.J. Abrams and written by Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. And if those names sound familiar to folks tuning in to this Roddenberry production, you’re right, and Tamara gets into just how pivotal this movie ended up being for Paramount and some other key franchises in the episode. Hold your horses, we’ll get to it!FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!Voice Cloning via A.I.As Hakeem points out, this technology seemed pretty far-fetched in 2006 when Mission: Impossible III was released, but actually exists (kinda) today! While there are websites out there that will allow you to enter text and get audio that mimics a celebrity voice, we’re not super sure how we feel about that. But here’s a pretty well regarded text to voice A.I. service for you to play around with.The Physiology of Voice ChangingFor a quick overview of how your voice actually works, you’ll want to go here. This should give you a new appreciation for how impressionists are able to uncannily mimic other human voices (not to mention non-human sounds). Think of legends like Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, or the incomparable Rich Little for people who didn’t need tech to do this. It’s the kind of thing that everyone thinks they can do, but it’s a unique talent when it can be done right.Noise CancelationIt’s obviously not a 1:1 ratio here, but the science of how noise canceling headphones work is informative when it comes to how this theoretical device might be able to change your voice in real time as you’re speaking. That Poem is RealThe poem that Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Owen Davian is forced to read at gunpoint in this movie in order to get his voice saying every possible sound in the English language? It’s real and it has a kind of amusing story from its author behind it.The Mission: Impossible and Star Trek ConnectionSome of what Tamara details about the early production and creative struggles of Mission: Impossible III can be found here. For some earlier connections between the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises, check this out!The Challenges of Voice ActorsA.I. has become a central issue in the labor struggles facing all creative talent recently, including actors. Fortunately, one group of voice actors has banded together to try and get more recognition for their craft.WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?The Mission: Impossible movies follow in the tradition of the James Bond franchise in their embrace of wild but plausible technology. We took a look at not one, not two, but three pieces of such tech in our episode on Goldfinger which you can watch here.Final Destination Bloodlines is in theaters now and we went back to the very beginning to examine the central concept of the franchise. Watch it here!FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DoesItFly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don’t forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!
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    50 mins
  • Are Real Replicants From Blade Runner Coming?

    Are Real Replicants From Blade Runner Coming?
    May 9 2025
    Blade Runner takes the concept of A.I. to its logical conclusion by merging it with artificial consciousness and biology. Is this the future we’re headed toward?“Wake up, time to die!”LeonWhen Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner was first brought to the screen in 1982, the notion of “artificial intelligence” as we have come to know it, was a niche subject at best. If you can believe it, the idea of a personal computer in every home (never mind in your pocket) was enough of a novelty for most people that the concept of androids so lifelike that you could barely tell them apart from actual human beings felt about as far-fetched as a lightsaber or a chestburster, despite the film’s low key and distinctly film noir approach to science fiction.Ah, but what a difference a couple of decades makes. Today your social media feeds are flooded with lifelike AI images of people who don’t exist, swarmed with engagement by bots, depicts video of events that never took place and even music that was never composed by a human. People talk to ChatGPT when they’re lonely. While that’s still an order of magnitude away from putting an indistinguishable artificial intelligence into a similarly indistinguishable biomechanical body, who knows what advances in technology might bring us in another 20 years?Which brings us to our latest episode, which as you can probably figure out, is putting the concept of replicants from Blade Runner to the test.Watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here… https://youtu.be/GU8SgYWDaMISUGGESTED VIEWING There’s more to the Blade Runner franchise than you might initially suspect, but for our discussion in this episode we only focused on the two feature films, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. Everything you need to know is contained in those, and honestly, there are those among us who think the sequel might surpass the original in some ways.But if you want to dive into the entire screen franchise in timeline order, we’ve got a handy viewing list for you. Blade RunnerBlade Runner Black Out 2022 (anime short film)Blade Runner: Black Lotus (anime TV series)2036: Nexus Dawn (short film)2048: Nowhere to Run (short film)Blade Runner 2049FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel forms the basis for the entire Blade Runner franchise. It’s considerably different from the first movie, although elements of it also made it into Blade Runner 2049.Building Replicant BodiesThere are two key parts of the scientific debate surrounding replicants. Let’s start with the physical, because these aren’t mere robots, they’re biological organisms in their own right. Hakeem points to the field of regenerative medicine (perhaps best known to the general public for work with stem cells) for its ability to grow working organs and body parts in lab conditions as the first key to bringing artificial humans to life in a way that would be almost undetectable.See also: organoids and artificial wombs for some of the more stunning possibilities.Artificial ConsciousnessThere’s a difference between artificial intelligence (which is a rapidly evolving field and one we continue to litigate the ethics of as it relates to creativity) and artificial consciousness. The replicants as depicted in Blade Runner, especially the film’s villain, Roy Batty, would seem to have achieved consciousness and an attendant awareness and fear of their own mortality. And there are indeed people studying the possibility of artificial consciousness and the ethical implications that might come with that.Talk to us when there’s artificial empathy, then we might feel better (and of course, there’s a test for that!).“Night, Wet, Smoke”The three key visual ingredients Ridley Scott used to create his sci-fi noir are discussed in detail here.WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?For a different look at artificial life, cybernetics, and the intersection between humanity and machine, check out our episode on RoboCop right here!This isn’t the first Ridley Scott movie we’ve tackled here. Check out our look at the original Alien and the terrifying perfection of the xenomorph right here.FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow Does It Fly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don’t forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!
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    55 mins
  • ARRIVAL: The SECRETS of a CLASSIC Sci-Fi Movie!

    ARRIVAL: The SECRETS of a CLASSIC Sci-Fi Movie!
    May 2 2025
    “Incomprehensible guttural noises”The HeptapodsArrival is as difficult a movie to discuss in the limited space of our show notes as it is a truly great work of modern science fiction filmmaking. It’s also virtually impossible to discuss without spoilers. Heck, we had trouble cramming our discussion of the central concepts of the film into One of director Denis Villeneuve’s crowning cinematic achievements (and almost certainly the thing that made us all realize that he might be the only director who would be able to get Dune right on screen), Arrival is an alien invasion movie unlike any other, one in which the humans don’t cope with our new and strange looking neighbors with aggression, but rather by using science and reasoning to understand and communicate with them. Imagine that!You might fancy yourself a wiseacre and suggest the very notion of science and reasoning “does not fly” given the state of the world these days, but let’s set that cynicism aside for the moment and get at the heart of this week’s topic. Because in order to understand the way these aliens (the heptapods, not to be confused with Hakeem’s ongoing Planet of the Cephalopods pitch) communicate via bizarre and smoky glyphs, humans are able to change their perception of time itself. You’ve heard of “perception determines reality” so get ready for “language affects perception which thus helps determine reality.” And if that sounds confusing, don’t worry, because you’ve got Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi and Tamara Krinsky to hold your smoky hand (limb?) and walk you through it (forwards, backwards, and perhaps both at once). All of this and more is explored on a special, extra-sized episode of Does it Fly?...https://youtu.be/K_Duabt4f1s?si=9MGhHmj22EatyFQ8SUGGESTED VIEWING You mean you haven’t seen Arrival? And you’re watching and/or listening to this show? What’s wrong with you! Go watch one of the most beautiful sci-fi movies of the last 25 years and THEN come back and hang out with us.FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!Story of Your LifeArrival is based on a short story by Ted Chiang, called “Story of Your Life” which won the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Novella. It’s available in a collection of Chiang’s short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others.Relativity in ArrivalAlso known as the Sapir-Worf Hypothesis, based on the work of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, but actually first stated as such Harry Hoijer in 1954. To quote Hoijer (via the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy who have the most comprehensive explanation of this that we’ve been able to find): “language functions, not simply as a device for reporting experience, but also, and more significantly, as a way of defining experience for its speakers.” Arrival takes that to the next level by showing how it could define how we experience time itself! It also incorporates elements of the Many-Worlds theory, which we discussed in our Back to the Future episode!For extra credit, read up on Presentism, which postulates that only the current moment we live in is actual existence vs Eternalism, which states that our past AND future are equally real at all times. Then go take an Advil or something.The End of TimeNo, we’re not talking about whatever horrors have you doomscrolling at the moment. It’s Julian Barbour’s book The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, which argues that time as we know/perceive it, isn’t really a thing.Speaking of time being an illusion…PsilocybinWe aren’t endorsing anything, but…WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?Speaking of some of the greatest sci-fi movies of the 21st Century, we’d like to remind you that Children of Men also exists and we dug into the disturbing real world implications of that movie right here.Andor season 2 is currently reminding people how good Star Wars can be when it actually has a conscience, so we took a look at the Star Wars franchise’s most powerful and iconic megaweapon, the Death Star in one of our best episodes ever! FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DoesItFly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don’t forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!
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    54 mins
  • STAR WARS: How Much Would a DEATH STAR Actually COST?!?

    STAR WARS: How Much Would a DEATH STAR Actually COST?!?
    Apr 25 2025
    “Now witness the power of this fully armed and operational battlestation!”Emperor Palpatine, shortly before nothing goes wrong for him whatsoever.Say it with us, “that’s no moon…that’s a space station.” One of the most quotable lines in the Star Wars saga actually tells you quite a bit about the central threat of the original film (now officially known as Episode IV: A New Hope but to anyone who grew up in the ‘80s or ‘90s, it will forever be known simply as Star Wars). The Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate planet-destroying superweapon is the size of a small moon (or a large asteroid, as we’ll get to in the episode) but is actually a mobile space station that can house and deploy thousands of troops, hundreds of small ships, and packs enough firepower to turn your home planet into multiple orders of space McNuggets.You’d probably assume that something like the Death Star would be completely out of the realm of scientific plausibility. And you might also make assumptions about the story logic or the vibes of the Death Star, especially since the entire Star Wars franchise essentially lives or dies by its vibes. Unlike, say, Star Trek (please don’t make assumptions that we are biased simply because this is a Roddenberry production), which tries to lean heavily on the “science” part of science fiction, the Star Wars brand of sci-fi has always had a healthy dose of fantasy. Fortunately, we have Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi and Tamara Krinsky to explain how it all works for you…and also how much it might cost to actually build one of these things. We took a look at the entire history of the Death Star, from what we see in Episode IV, Return of the Jedi, the “Starkiller Base” evolution in The Force Awakens, and even the gritty military realism of Andor and Rogue One to find our answers, which might just surprise you.Don’t believe us? (“That…is why you fail!”) Well, padawans, watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here and you might just be surprised at what we found!Watch the video version here:https://youtu.be/aE4vkGo-QfkSUGGESTED VIEWING Everything you really need to know about the Death Star (but were afraid to ask) is pretty much contained in Episode IV: A New Hope (we’re still calling it Star Wars), Return of the Jedi, and the truly great Rogue One. But it’s worth checking out The Force Awakens to see how the Death Star evolved into Starkiller Base. And while Rogue One prequel, Andor on Disney Plus has yet to tap into Death Star mythology…you really, really, really need to be watching that show.But Tamara also recommends the original The Making of Star Wars documentary which has some wonderful looks at how the movie magic of the Death Star was pulled off. Track it down!Tamara also points out a couple of classic war movies that were key inspirations for George Lucas for the assault on the Death Star: 1955’s The Dam Busters and 1964’s 633 Squadron.FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!MimasNo, not orange juice and prosecco! Saturn’s seventh largest moon does look suspiciously like the Death Star, doesn’t it? It’s also about 1/10th the size of The Moon, which makes it much closer in actual size to the Death Star.Asteroid PsycheGiven the absurd cost it would take to actually build a Death Star, we’re going to need to raise some capital. Fortunately, there’s an asteroid in our solar system that may be composed entirely of materials “worth more than the entire world economy.”Dyson SpheresIn case you’re wondering what it would take to power something like a Death Star, let’s start with a Dyson Sphere, which could potentially channel the power of an entire sun. Hey, if you’re looking to blow up a planet, do it right. Do they exist? Maybe!It Costs HOW Much?Never mind the price of steel and other building materials, get a load of how much firing a weapons grade laser costs. Now imagine that multiplied by how much it would take to destroy a planet!How Star Wars Almost Didn’t Happen“I believe it was said at the time that no science fiction picture grossed more than $10 million dollars, and no picture with War in the title ever grossed more than six or seven million. So the idea of a sci-fi film with War in the title was a pretty deadly combination.”The article that Tamara quotes from can be found in full here, and it’s full of fascinating info!Operation Plumbbob We can’t explain it any better than the Atomic Heritage Foundation: “Operation Plumbbob was a series of 29 nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. military between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site. It was one of the longest and most comprehensive test series in the continental United States, and became controversial after much of the operation was declassified. There were several objectives during Operation Plumbbob, including improving...
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    47 mins
  • The Terrifying Science of The Last of Us

    The Terrifying Science of The Last of Us
    Apr 20 2025
    The cordyceps brain infection that turns humans into terrifying monsters in The Last of Us is something that already exists in our world. So is it time to start worrying about Clickers and other fungus zombies?We are going to cut right to the chase on this one: Cordyceps, the brain infecting fungus that causes people to mutate into increasingly grotesque zombies in The Last of Us video games and the HBO TV adaptation, is very real. Of this, there is no doubt, as you’ll see in our episode and read below. But like any good sci-fi, horror, or fantasy storytelling, the secret isn’t so much in how realistic something is, but in how it obeys its own rules in-story.After all, who the heck needs a story about a devastating pandemic that was exacerbated by global warming these days, right? It’s not like sci-fi and horror have ever been used to illustrate real world issues before. Why not just let escapism be escapism and leave all this uncomfortable real world stuff out of it?In case you couldn’t sense the sarcasm (Does it Fly? is a Roddenberry podcast after all, and it’s not like Star Trek has ever been shy about taking our present moment to task via the denizens of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th centuries), the inherent realism of The Last of Us is an integral part of what makes it work. But it’s far from the only reason we’re so enamored with this disturbing sci-fi and horror hybrid. And that’s where Hakeem and Tamara come inWatch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here (and try not to eat any infected grain)...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8141JQ_kesSUGGESTED VIEWING One of the best things about The Last of Us is that the show is 100% accessible for folks who have never played the video games. It’s also, perhaps not coincidentally, one of the only truly great video game to screen adaptations we’ve ever seen. We based our conversation for this episode on the first season of the show, but if you’ve even watched the first two episodes, you can probably keep up. Oh, just watch the entire first season!For some additional fungus-induced “fun” we also recommend the brilliant 2016 sci-fi horror movie The Girl With All the Gifts, which mines some similarly terrifying themes as The Last of Us.And don’t forget, The Last of Us season 2 just kicked off on HBO and MAX so what are you waiting for? Go get caught up! Who knows? This could just be something in our future…FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! The Zombie Ants Are Already HereThe intricately orchestrated way this fungus takes over insect brains and makes them do their bidding sure does give us something to think about. Read more at National Geographic! Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like we have to worry too much about this becoming a human issue…just yet.Fungal PathogensIt even sounds gross when we put it that way. The Last of Us is so dead-on with its depiction of global-warming induced fungal infections that no less than the Yale School of Medicine wrote about it.Respiratory vs. Fungal InfectionsWe usually don’t associate the usual respiratory viruses with fungal infections. But this article asks…why not both?A Guide to Knowing and Loving Your Infected Fungus ZombiesProper care and feeding for their lifecycle is important. Not really…run! Read more here.WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?Black Mirror is back with a brand new season on Netflix. Check out our episode on one of its most iconic episodes, “San Junipero” right here!Whether fungus zombies or otherwise, we do occasionally take a look at the scarier side of genre entertainment from time to time. Like our episode on werewolves, for example.FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DoesItFly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don’t forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!
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    45 mins
  • Is Big Hero 6 Actually the Most Realistic Marvel Movie?!?

    Is Big Hero 6 Actually the Most Realistic Marvel Movie?!?
    Apr 4 2025
    We’re looking at the science of the microbots from Disney and Marvel’s Big Hero 6 in our latest episode.“Are you satisfied with your care?”BaymaxConsidering how the entire mission statement of our show involves the intersection of science and story, and how we love the thought of getting younger people excited about STEM, it’s something of a wonder that we didn’t get to Disney’s Big Hero 6 sooner. While technically a superhero story and loosely based on a Marvel property, Big Hero 6 is uniquely original and as wonderfully wholesome as it is action-packed. But best of all (for our purposes, at least), it’s got a central concept and plot device that absolutely beg to be unpacked from every imaginable angle.No, sadly, it’s not about what makes Baymax so adorably huggable. The piece we’re focusing on for today’s episode is microbots and the attendant neural transmitter which controls them. This is what kicks off virtually all the action in the film, the one with the most real world parallels, and the one that we feel is the best fodder for discussion…for now. We’ll get to our beloved Baymax in a future episode if enough of you ask for him!Watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here…https://youtu.be/Whc6qcMG1FUSUGGESTED VIEWING While there’s some additional Big Hero 6 media and lore out there, we based our discussion on this episode solely on the events that take place in that movie…which is plenty good enough as it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2015. But if you (like us) can’t get enough of Baymax, there’s also a Disney+ animated series focused solely on the big cuddly robot titled, appropriately, Baymax!. There’s also a Big Hero 6 animated series that picks up directly after the events of the film. We’re still hoping for a big screen sequel, though!FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! Nanobots vs. MicrobotsHakeem said it best if you’re trying to understand the difference: “A nanobot is a thousand times smaller than a microbot,” although some sources seem to continue to use them interchangeably. But to give you an idea of some of the more exciting developments, there are those that can manipulate a single cell and we are inching (sorry) closer to clinical trials to deploy nano and microbots in human health care. There are reasons to believe this could end up getting us closer to a cure for cancer (yes, that’s a video, but it fit better here than in our “suggested viewing” section).Brain Computer Interfaces + Nanobots = Coolness!We also covered the topic of Brain Computer Interfaces a little bit in our episodes on RoboCop and 3 Body Problem, but it’s just as relevant here. Here’s a refresher/overview for you.And while we’re at it, this paper on the intersection of BCI’s and actual nanobots for real world purposes reads like something that would actually exist in the fictional world of Big Hero 6, but it’s actually real!Collective BehaviorSure, the microbots in Big Hero 6 behave in intensely coordinated ways, but you know what else already does that really well in our world? Drone shows!And The Oscar Goes To…Who says that Marvel movies aren’t Academy Award worthy? This one sure was!WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?Big Hero 6 isn’t the only Disney animated movie to tackle superheroes. Check out our episode on The Incredibles for more!Don’t forget, Big Hero 6 is also technically a Marvel movie! We took a look at the similarly tech-centric science of Iron Man here.FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DoesItFly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don’t forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!
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