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SIO517: How Is It That 9 Days in Space Means Weeks of Rehabilitation?

June 09, 2026

Thomas is joined by Dr. Jenessa Seymour to dig into the brain science behind a surprisingly strange phenomenon: why do astronauts who spent just nine days in space need weeks of physical therapy to walk normally again? The answer turns out to involve ancient calcium carbonate ear stones, the same material crabs use for shells, a multi-layered sensory system your brain is constantly running without your knowledge, and a wild evolutionary theory about why motion sickness exists at all. Also: wh...

SIO516: How a Botched 1840 Census "Proved" Freedom Made Black Americans Disabled, with Sari Altschuler

May 31, 2026

The history of disability rights is often treated as a modern story, but what if that framing misses centuries of earlier, more complicated history? This week, Thomas is joined by Professor Sari Altschuler, Associate Professor of English at Northeastern University, to explore her new book Before Disability: A History of American Citizenship. In the book, Professor Altschuler traces how disability and citizenship have been intertwined since the founding of the United States, and what that reve...

SIO515: A Vast, Global Network! ... of 3 Guys

May 18, 2026

Continuing the discussion of the CNN Rape Academy article. It gets even worse. And also, how our information environment is ruined and getting ruineder.