We Have Concerns

Jeff and Anthony uncover the remarkable true story of that iconic symbol of the American west, the tumbleweed. Turns out, it was all a lie. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Derrick Brown: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/12/tumbleweeds/johnson-text If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

A giant squid, rarely seen outside of deep waters, was filmed swimming near a pier in central Japan. Even crazier, a local dive shop owner decided to leap into the water and swim with the deadly creature. What happens next may surprise you. It certainly surprised Anthony and Jeff, who take a moment to enumerate the various ways this is a stupid thing to do. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Timothy Wells: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/30/giant-squid-that-swam-into-japanese-bay-guided-back-out-to-sea-by-diver If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

Melody Jackson, a computer scientist at Georgia Tech, has been outfitting service dogs with computerized vests, so that in an emergency they can find another human and pull a mechanical lever on the vest that triggers an audio message like, "My handler needs you to come with me!" Anthony and Jeff ponder how they might react when faced with that situation, and discuss use cases for animal UI devices. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Caroline Nelson: http://www.wired.com/2015/12/talking-animals/ If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

This year, efforts will resume to drill deeper into the Earth than ever before. In fact, scientists believe this new effort, drilling from a ship at sea, will finally cross the barrier between the crust and the mantle. Jeff and Anthony wonder what horrors wait to be released when we crack into new layers of the Earth, and also take time to rediscover their love of the 2003 film, The Core. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by atomlinson89: http://www.nature.com/news/quest-to-drill-into-earth-s-mantle-restarts-1.18921 If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

To combat an epidemic of rabies spread by wild foxes, the Swiss government, from the late seventies through the early nineties, showered their countryside with vaccinated chicken heads. Jeff and Anthony are completely flabbergasted by this plan, and wonder what life must have been like in a Europe littered with thousands of disembodied chicken heads. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Tyler Gustafson: http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/that-time-europe-air-dropped-vaccine-loaded-chicken-heads-to-bait-rabid-foxes/417951/?utm_source=SFFB If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

South Korean companies think they've figured out how to help depressed employees: throw them into coffins and give them fake funerals. One of us loves this idea, one of us is weirded out by it. CAN YOU GUESS WHO? Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Emily B.: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34797017 If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

A woman born incapable of feeling pain has been hurt for the first time, thanks to a drug normally prescribed for opioid overdoses. Jeff and Anthony discuss what it must be like to feel pain for the first time, and whether this is a positive breakthrough, or a terrible thing to do to someone with a superpower. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Tiernan O'Donnell: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28623-woman-who-has-never-felt-pain-experiences-it-for-the-first-time/ If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

Over the last 5 years, 283 wooden boats have washed up on the shores of Japan, full of decomposing human bodies. No one knows where they came from, who was aboard, or why they died. Of course, that doesn't stop Jeff and Anthony from solving the case. It's gotta be ghost ships, right? Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Ben Floreancig: http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/asia/north-korea-ghost-ships-japan/ If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

The problem of splash-back at the urinal has been tackled by Researchers at Utah State University who have developed a new device that's being called a "black hole for urine." Jeff and Anthony discuss the problem of pee splash, and are mystified that this powerful technology isn't being used for more important things. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Roberto Sanchez: http://www.engadget.com/2015/12/01/clean-shoes-forever/ If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

The recent International Summit on Human Gene Editing brought scientists from around the worth together to debate the benefits and potential dangers of experimenting on the human genome. Anthony and Jeff have their own debate, and imagine a future where DNA is the ultimate creative canvas. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Alik Evans: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/01/human-gene-editing-international-summit If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns