We Have Concerns

In this special, double-length episode, Anthony and Jeff take topic suggestions directly from the crowd during their live panel at PAX 2015. Subjects include the animal stone age, snake fish, the singularity, Wrestlemania, and much more! This is a very different kind of episode you won't want to miss! This episode was recorded LIVE at PAX Prime 2015 in Seattle. Thanks to everyone who came out to the live performance! We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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

Anthony has an irrational fear of octopi, the eight-armed denizens of the deep. And now, scientists have sequenced the octopus genome and discovered that their DNA is so different from any other creature on Earth that they could be qualified as "aliens". As you might imagine, this makes Anthony completely lose it. Listen, then, as Jeff attempts to hold the show together in front of a live audience. This episode was recorded LIVE at PAX Prime 2015 in Seattle. Thanks to everyone who came out to the live performance! We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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 submitted by Brian Towns: http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/science-world/dont-freak-out-but-scientists-think-octopuses-might-be-aliens-after-dna-study-347880.html

When given the option between raw and cooked food, chimpanzees seem to prefer the latter, even if it means delaying their gratification. This leads researchers to believe that if given the chance, Chimps would cook their food, as humans do. Jeff thinks this indicates an impressive level of cognitive understanding in the animals, but Anthony is unimpressed by anything that just wants better tasting stuff. This episode was recorded LIVE at PAX Prime 2015 in Seattle. Thanks to everyone who came out to the live performance! We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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 submitted by Anton Strezhnev: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/us/chimpanzees-can-cook-a-mean-potato-research-says.html?_r=0

To prove he lived in small village, an Irishman sent his friend a letter addressing it only "Your man Henderson, that boy with the glasses doing his PHD up in Belfast", which, against all odds, was actually delivered successfully. This leads Anthony and Jeff to talk about systems of organization, and the extraordinary ability of postal services to work throughout history. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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 submitted by Phillip Shaw: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-33581277 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 Bill Gates Foundation has funded research on an implantable remote-controlled contraceptive microchip that can last up to 16 years. Anthony and Jeff try to wrap their minds around the ramifications of a long-lasting birth control device that can be controlled by an app, and do their best to avoid putting their feet in their mouths about woman's issues. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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 submitted by Nick D: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/12/bill-gates-foundation-announces-implantable-remote-controlled-contraceptive-microchip-that-can-last-up-to-16-years/ 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 crow recently passed a remarkably complicated, eight stage intelligence test, which required it to perform a number of actions in a specific order to unlock a morsel of food. Jeff and Anthony are impressed by the problem-solving capabilities of the crow, and wonder what that means for the general cognitive ability of the animal kingdom. Also, are we gonna have to fight birds now? We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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 submitted by Corey Davis: http://fb-192.dailymegabyte.com/wild-crow-shows-incredible-intelligence-during-complex-test/ 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

An Australian designer by the name of Maximilian Kiener has created an interactive representation of the way we perceive our lifespan. The younger you are, the longer time feels, and the older you get, the quicker a year seems to fly by. In fact, this effect is so skewed that half of the time you perceive in your life is over by the time you are 7 years old. Jeff and Anthony discuss their experience with this phenomena, and decide which 7 year span they'd love to experience the longest. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns 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 submitted by bdaggers: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/23/haunting-images-show-why-time-really-does-seem-to-go-faster-as-you-get-older/ 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 Japanese drinks company is sending 5 samples of whiskey up to the International Space Station to study the effects of zero gravity on the fermentation process. Anthony, Jeff, and special guest Brian Brushwood from Night Attack discuss the ramifications of Space Whiskey. Will there be unforeseen consequences? Interstellar drunkenness? Alcohol that returns to Earth with magic properties? This episode was recorded LIVE at Nerdtacular 2015 by the wonderful people at Alpha Geek Radio! Patrons get a bonus recording of our Nerdtacular Q&A session! Check out our Patreon to listen to it as soon as it’s live. WANNA SEE US LIVE? You totally can! We’ll be at PAX Prime Saturday, 8/29 at 9:30 PM! Check the event schedule for more details. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Jeff on Twitter: @jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: @acarboni Today’s story: http://time.com/4009456/international-space-station-whiskey-experiment-japan/

An article in the New York Times outlines a series of studies which seem to point to the fact that empathy is actually a choice. Is there a benefit to feel something for our fellow man, or could it possibly be an evolutionary drawback, limiting oor ability to make dispassionate decisions for the greatest good? Anthony and Jeff compare their own levels of empathy and try to decide what to feel. Will you be at PAX? HEY, SO WILL WE! Come watch us record a couple live episodes Saturday at 9:30 PM in the Chicken Theater. Full details on the PAX site! Follow us on Twitter! Anthony: @acarboni Jeff: @jeffcannata Today's story: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/opinion/sunday/empathy-is-actually-a-choice.html?_r=0 If you've seen a story you think we should discuss on the show, you can submit it over on our subreddit or email it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com

In this very special episode on We Have Concerns, we talk about the plight of an actual Brock: Brock Leads, a young man from the UK who was playing on a cliff when a disaster of cartoonish proportions struck. Are kids just naturally attracted to danger? Have you ever played "Box and Hill?" Will you be at PAX? HEY, SO WILL WE! Come watch us record a couple live episodes Saturday at 9:30 PM in the Chicken Theater. Full details on the PAX site! Follow us on Twitter! Anthony: @acarboni Jeff: @jeffcannata Today's story was submitted by Jonathan Pople: Boy survives falling 100ft off cliff, gets bitten by snake at the bottom If you've seen a story you think we should discuss on the show, you can submit it over on our subreddit or email it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com