In Episode 69: The Mini, Joe, Nick, and Georgia recap Episode 68: The Hive Mind, featuring return guest Wes Thorn, revisiting the lively debate over individuality versus collective culture, echo chambers, and whether anyone would actually join the hive. Nick finally watched a few episodes of Plur1bus, but didn’t stay with it. Georgia talks about Alex’s Substack comment on how different cultures approach individualism versus collectivism, and his book recommendation The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, in reference to the discussion on plant consciousness.
In Science Holes, Georgia follows up on the previous Mini episode on smart underwear, Nick talks about Colossal Biosciences hatching a chick from an artificially created egg as part of their de-extinction project. This leads to a conversation about CRISPR, epigenetics, and whether a genetically reconstructed animal is really the same animal that went extinct. The crew agrees they see a future gene-editing episode. Joe closes the science holes with a New York Times story and a 2024 New England Journal of Medicine study on cognitive motor dissociation; the discovery that roughly one in four seemingly unresponsive patients shows task-related brain activity on fMRI and EEG, and ties it back to the hive mind episode’s discussion of noetics and non-localized consciousness.
The crew closes out with what media they have been consuming: Boroughs on Netflix, For All Mankind, Widow’s Bay, The Mandalorian & Grogu (Have Joe say that 3 times fast), Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed on Apple TV+, and games including Borderlands 4 and Death Stranding 2. And Nick gets homework, name a hive mind video game for next time.
Check out what the RHR crew is creating:
Joe:
Named by the Guild Literary Complex as one of the 35 Writers to Watch!
Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories Anthology featuring a new story by Joe!
Joe’s Sci-fi physiological thriller Novel: Will You Still Love Me If I Become Someone Else?
Essay by Joe: From Beyond Press: Specific Knowledge: Jotham Austin, II, PhD on Transformations in Fiction
Future Events to Hang with the Crew:
Podcast Cross-Appearances
Joe on GoIndieNow: 21grams with Joe Compton
The RHR crew on Ben Tanzer's This podcast will change your life: episode three hundred seventy-nine
Events & Conventions:
Shore Leave 46 - Lancaster, PA (July 10-12, 2026)
Lancaster Wyndham Resort and Convention Center
Dragon Con - Atlanta, GA (September 3-7, 2026) - Joe attending as Professional
Upcoming Episodes
*The Mini will now be every other episode!
Episode 70 - Nazca lines of Peru and crop circles
Guest: Lorena Salinas
Three Part Spider-Man Series to get ready for the new MCU Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Episode 72 – Spider-Man Villain Series 1: Lab Safety
Guest: Tera Lavoie, PhD
Episode 74 – Spider-Man Villain Series 2: Scorpion and the Other Chimeras
Guest: Erin C. Anthony
Episode 76 – Spider-Man Villain Series 3: What His Villains Reveal About Him
Guest: Comic YouTuber, Alex Hanes (@Hanes4Heroes)
It’s science for Weirdos
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Stay curious, stay speculative, stay safe, and we’ll catch you in the next Rabbit Hole. Love Y'all!
