Tag Archives: podcasts

TIL there are people who can’t burp

It never occurred to me that a person couldn’t burp, but it’s a rare condition that was only diagnosed in the last ten years. The host of Vox podcast Unexplainable, Sally Helms suffers from this condition and shared how it affected her life, and how a simple Botox injection to the upper esophageal sphincter in the throat, right behind the larynx, can cure it!

Another sufferer is a sky diver, which caused serious problems for him when he flew into the sky and couldn’t burp.

The show has a transcript, which is worth looking at, if only for the adorable and wholesome times when Sally discovered her burps. 🙂

SALLY: Okay, so also often during this time, I would like get into this really weird position. Like I would, I would do the basically like backing out in the car thing, but I would put my arm on the wall and then I would like, turn my head around and like, dip my chin and crank my head. Um, my family was very supportive, but they were also confused. Like, I burped while I was hanging out with my sister and my dad.

SALLY:  Are you proud of me?

ELIZA: That was a real burp! 

SALLY: I just did a little sputter burp, and you heard, do you, are you proud? 

ELIZA: Oh my God. Yeah. But why did you have to do it in that weird contortion? 

SALLY: I have to to make it come out.

ELIZA: Wow.

<<burp>>

<<laughter>>

MARK HELM (SALLY’S DAD): Good going, Sal!

ELIZA: That was such a weird one!

MARK: Did it come out? 

SALLY: Yeah. Well…

BTW, if you suffer from this condition, join the r/noburp Reddit.

Kneecap and Gaza

The Irish Passport covers Kneecap’s rise and their support for Palestinians in Gaza.

Right at the end of the episode is a very distressing description of a sniper shooting a 12-year-old’s parents, and sister as they tried to cross a vacant lot to get to a nearby hospital. His father had been shot in the chest the previous night as he looked out of his apartment’s window. Both parents died in the attack.

Why the fuck the UK government is trying to silence music bands like Kneecap and Bob Vylan when these atrocities are continuing without condemnation.

Large pro-Palestinian protest crowd in Cork city center with Palestinian flags and sign reading "IRELAND 1847 GAZA 2024 MAN-MADE FAMINE GENOCIDE".

I’ve shared photos of rallies in support of Gaza on my blog over the years. Many Israelis are against the war too. You’re on the wrong side of history if you support the Israeli Government.

Titanic: the unsinkable ship

A vintage newspaper front page from The Boston Daily Globe, dated Tuesday evening, April 16, 1912, with large bold headlines reporting the Titanic disaster. The main headline reads: "ALL DROWNED BUT 868". Sub-headlines include "About 1232 Lost Lives in the Titanic’s Plunge, Greatest Sea Disaster for Years." The page features a dramatic illustration of the Titanic sinking, with lifeboats in the water and passengers escaping. Other headlines and articles include: "EXCITING EVENTS BEFORE TITANIC’S FINAL PLUNGE", "Virginian and Parisian Found None Alive.", "Women and Children Safe But Few Notable Men.", "Carpathia Has Survivors—On Way to New York.", "CHARLES M. HAYS SAVED.", "SOME WHO MAY BE SAVED", "NEARLY ALL MEN LOST.", "THROUGH FIELD OF ICE.", "TITANIC’S PASSENGER LISTS.", and "BAY STATE PEOPLE SAVED". The newspaper price is two cents, and the edition is marked as "EVENING EDITION—7:30 O’CLOCK".
706 survived. The Boston Daily Globe newspaper, from the Whitestar Lines website.

Titanic is a ship that will be familiar to most, and if you would like to listen to a podcast series about her, I can recommend Titanic: Ship of Dreams. It’s a 13 part series covering everything from the construction of the ship, to modern movies retelling the disaster, to the Titan submersible that blew up while diving to visit her.

There’s also Titanic’s Best Lifeboat, an episode of 99% Invisible discussing the issue of lifeboats on Titanic and on boats in general.

Oh, yeah! Jack & Rose could have survived on that door. There was room. But then she’d be 25 within a few years and too old for him anyway, so maybe it’s for the best how Titanic ended.

Dorothy Vs Hitler

I’d never heard of Dorothy Thompson, but I’m glad I’m listening to this podcast about her. She’s the, “woman who warned the world”.

In 1939, Time Magazine called Dorothy Thompson a woman who “thinks, talks and sleeps world problems — and scares men half to death.” They weren’t wrong.

Why don’t you know about her? She saw what happened to Palestinians after WWII. She spoke out about it and faced immediate pushback from Zionist organizations and the newspapers that published her opinion pieces.

We need more Dorothys now.

Organic cows suffer without medicine

TIL that “organic cows”in the US can’t be given antibiotics. If they are, they are never “organic”, ever again.

The image shows a cow and a calf lying on grass. Both animals are brown and have ear tags. The cow is looking to the side, while the calf is looking directly at the camera. They are in a grassy area with a blurred background, suggesting a farm or rural setting.

In the EU and Canada, farmers aren’t allowed to sell the milk until there’s no sign of antibiotics.

Personally, I’d prefer if an animal was correctly treated for any ailment they might be suffering from. And antibiotics might be the correct course of action. Feeding antibiotics to healthy animals in their feed is ridiculously irresponsible, however.

How do you microdose veganism? Try eating less meat and dairy products. Go meat free once or twice a week. There are plenty of delicious vegan meals to be made, and you won’t miss the meat.

In the follow-up podcast mentioned, they guide the listener through how someone who wants to reduce animal suffering (but also still eat animals) might think through their dinner menu. They recommended eating good quality beef, which surprised me, but given how prevalent battery hens are, it might be easier to discover if a cow was grass fed.

We’re spoiled in Ireland. Most cows are grass fed, and the EU has laws regarding how densely packed chickens can be. EU MPs voted in favour of banning caged farming by 2027 after intense lobbying by activists.

Enough of the Moon already?

The Moon, seen from Ireland in 2021.

With the solar eclipse in the United States, and Ireland and the UK getting a partial eclipse, you’re probably sick of Moon coverage, but I would just like to point you to a couple of podcasts you’ll enjoy if you want more.

  1. Tom Hanks talking about the Moon walkers on The Rest is History podcast. Who doesn’t love listening to Tom Hanks?
  2. The Moon itself from Radiolab is a fairly basic look at the Moon, but gets a lot more interesting later on.

Both shows are great, but if you’re only going to listen to one, listen to The Rest is History, sorry Radiolab. But you should listen to both!

If you have even more time to spare, you should listen to the Omega Tau podcast episodes on the Apollo missions I listed in this blog post about Apollo. Fascinating listening. So many technical details.

As expected, the sky outside was a grey blanket on the island of Ireland. I hope someone saw something.

Keith Jarrett – The Cologne Concert

I’d heard of the troubles Keith Jarrett had when he played in Cologne but forgot to find out what his music sounded like until I came across the incident again this morning while listening to Cautionary Tales.

Jarrett was due to play in the opera house there and requested a particular type of piano. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the one he wanted and provided him with a beaten up rehearsal model. It was out of tune, the pedals were sticky, and it was in a terrible condition.

He refused to play at first, but after the promoter, an 18yo woman named Vera Brandes pleaded with him to play. He had to avoid broken keys, and concentrated most of his playing in the middle of the keyboard.

To make things worse, he had driven over the mountains from Switzerland the previous night, his back was in a brace, and he was hungry, having had to miss his dinner earlier in the evening.

I haven’t listened to all of it, but it is remarkable what he coaxed out of such a broken piano! Sometimes, less is more.

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