Episode 179 – At the Mouth of (March) Madness, Part IV: SEMIFINALS AND FINALS

STOP LOOKING AT THE DATE.Anyway, what a wild way for you to find out that Wyatt’s leaving the show.EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/Humanoid creature CCTV footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-xNlnmhjj0Contact form: https://superduperstitious.com/contact Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS. WHATEVER THE HELL THIS IS.EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/JOIN OUR CURSE EXPERIMENT HERE: https://forms.gle/vWJomLttdvXd7tmX7The Gaykoslavie experience: https://englishrussia.com/2010/02/17/russian-gadget-hackwrench-religion/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the WCCW creeps ever closer to crowning an ultimate victor, what new and exciting ways can we find to totally ruin your bracket? There’s only one way to find out!EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE BRACKET HERE: https://superduperstitious.com/march-madnessJOIN OUR CURSE EXPERIMENT HERE: https://forms.gle/vWJomLttdvXd7tmX7I AM Come: https://vimeo.com/352872112St. Germain: https://bit.ly/40B8SPdHeaven’s Gate logo: https://bit.ly/42GFp8x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The utter ridiculousness continues as we round out the WCCW regionals with all 16 contestants in the Global and Planetary Divisions of the NCAAA. These words and letters all mean something and make sense! You’re in the right place and everything is fine!EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE BRACKET HERE: https://superduperstitious.com/march-madnessJOIN OUR CURSE EXPERIMENT HERE: https://forms.gle/vWJomLttdvXd7tmX7 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a whole episode about the biology of The Last of Us in an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist! What’s the deal with Cordyceps? Could this happen in real life? Are we doing SEO right??*Originally scheduled for release BEFORE the start of our whole March Madness seriesEPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms: https://www.fourphantoms.net/FILL OUT YOUR MARCH MADNESS BRACKET HERE: https://superduperstitious.com/march-madnessSourcesBasic fungal biology: http://bit.ly/3ZRi4ieCordyceps controlling a cicada: https://youtu.be/FAVAVHAptyQCordyceps controlling a beetle: https://youtu.be/EBQNpyAdmfcEntomophthora muscae example: https://www.flickr.com/photos/anxoresua/6867594070Entomophthora muscae and its released spores: https://bit.ly/3EV6pXJEntomophthora muscae range map: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?kind=Entomophthora+muscaeSnail with nematode parasite (PRETTY GROSS): https://youtu.be/Go_LIz7kTokParasitic barnacle: https://youtu.be/sCvTHrzI-SkBody temperature vs. fungi: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19827944/Climate change is selecting for heat-resistant fungi: https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mBio.00061-10Climate change is increasing fungal infections: https://www.wired.com/story/fungi-climate-change-medicine-health/Not a lot of medical solutions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6549129/We breathe a lot of spores and it’s okay: http://bit.ly/3JusTkRMost fungi aren’t infectious: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5453709/No spores for the show: http://polygon.com/entertainment/23562421/last-of-us-cordyceps-spores-tv-show-hbo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No podcast about the strange and unusual would be complete without a month-long, four-part tournament of 32 different cults competing head to head! NOT ONE SUCH PODCAST. Here’s the first of those four parts!EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms email: [email protected] Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/FILL OUT YOUR MARCH MADNESS BRACKET HERE: https://www.superduperstitious.com/march-madness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our ultimate March Madness cult competition, the WCCW, begins March 9th!Submit your predictions here: https://www.superduperstitious.com/march-madness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Momo money, Momo problems.(Also Wyatt talks about Ohio.)EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms email: [email protected] Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/Jake’s storyMissouri Folklore Society on Momo: https://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/home/society/notes/momo/Legends of America: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/momo-monster/Missouri Department of Conservation: http://bit.ly/3YG2Lc1Columbia Tribune: http://bit.ly/3lMfiftOld FATE Magazine article: http://bit.ly/3IyiKmRMomo song: https://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/files/2015/06/Momo-the-Monster.mp3Wyatt’s storiesHelltown: https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/helltown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuff dies all the time, and sometimes those dead things are weird looking! This is two of those times.Wyatt leads with the Rhodope skull, the mysterious bone specimen that folks were only too excited to immediately label an alien. And don’t get him STARTED on the Adygea skulls! Jake then hops on the alien train with the Kovahsi creature, also known as Kesha. What’s little and desiccated and doesn’t have wings, no matter how many publications say otherwise? Google Translate will save us!“Horn core” is pretty fun to say. And that’s about all I’ve got left in the tank for this episode description.EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms email: [email protected] Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/Wyatt’s storiesAncient Code: https://www.ancient-code.com/the-rhodope-skull-the-mysterious-cranium-of-a-real-life-alien/Rhodope skull explained: http://bit.ly/3YeiCO9Jake’s storyRussian newscast video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UWUdNXrIX4Image of Kesha: https://mustorage.blob.core.windows.net/images/2015/09/size-570x520.jpgRussian chupacabra article: https://www.fern-flower.org/en/news/mythical-chupacabra-boguchany-was-stMysterious Universe article: https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/09/strange-tiny-being-puzzles-scientists-and-scares-russians/Daily Mail article: http://bit.ly/3jmnBO3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boy howdy, if this were the sort of podcast that had separate seasons, this episode sure would be the start of a new one! But it isn’t, so it’s not. Instead, enjoy two timely takes on some pervasive immunity myths! If you want to eat a lime or something, that’s fine.EPISODE LINKSAll-purpose show links: https://superduperstitious.com/linksFour Phantoms email: [email protected] Phantoms website: https://www.fourphantoms.net/Four Phantoms store: https://four-phantoms-brewing-company.square.site/Jake’s storyLymph: https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/difference-between-blood-and-lymph.htmlLymphatic system: https://theodora.com/anatomy/the_lymphatic_system.htmlImmune system overview: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/immune-system-overviewRefuting the myth of “immunity debt”: https://bit.ly/3wtMdraUnraveling the logic: https://bit.ly/3kKt8hSRSV spikes: https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/research/rsv-net/dashboard.htmlEpisode 107: https://www.superduperstitious.com/episodes/107-preventative-measuresTransfer of immunity at birth: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12727640/Recent strep throat deaths: http://bit.ly/3Dif05PCOVID before RSV: https://twitter.com/DFisman/status/1602423960246829058COVID’s effect on immune systems: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-021-01113-xWyatt’s storyLinus Pauling’s vitamin C madness: https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7547741/vitamin-c-myth-paulingSome of Pauling’s beliefs: http://www.paulingtherapy.com/Cancer treatment claims: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC431183/But actually no: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/384241/For real, no: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25601965/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.