Curiosity Daily Podcast: Easter Island Mythbusting and the Universe’s Expansion Rate
Learn why Easter Island never had a population collapse; and how scientists are measuring the expansion of our universe.
August 19, 2021
Episode Show Notes:
Easter Island never had a population collapse, as commonly believed by Grant Currin
- Resilience, not collapse: What the Easter Island myth gets wrong. (2021, July 13). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/793195
- Johnson, S. (2021, July 16). Busting the Easter Island myth: there was no civilization collapse. Big Think; Big Think. https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/easter-island
- DiNapoli, R. J., Crema, E. R., Lipo, C. P., Rieth, T. M., & Hunt, T. L. (2021). Approximate Bayesian Computation of radiocarbon and paleoenvironmental record shows population resilience on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Nature Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24252-z
Scientists can't decide how fast the universe is expanding, but this scientist says there's no conflict at all by Briana Brownell
- “There may not be a conflict after all” in expanding universe debate. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/uoc-mn062921.php
- Freedman, W. L. (2021). Measurements of the Hubble Constant: Tensions in Perspective. arXiv preprint https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.15656
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Next Up
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Changing Someone’s Identity, Mushballs on Uranus and Neptune, Curiosity Challenge
Learn about how someone can change their identity (and their mind); and “mushballs” on Uranus and Neptune. Plus: trivia!
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Are Spacesuits White?
Learn why spacesuits are white, and how to avoid drama by breaking the Karpman Drama Triangle. Then, test your podcast knowledge with this month’s Curiosity Challenge trivia game.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Yeah, About That Phosphine on Venus...
Learn about the surprising memory skills of infants; why that whole “phosphine on Venus” discovery may not be as exciting as we thought; and how medical science answered Molyneux's problem, a 300-year-old philosophy question.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: How Astronauts Clean Their Underwear
Learn why narcissism may come from insecurity, how lobster became a delicacy, and how astronauts clean their underwear.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Known Solar System Just Got Bigger
Learn about how mice seem to feel each other’s pain; why our known solar system just got a little bigger thanks to “Farfarout” 2018 AG37; and the history of quinine, the malaria cure that eventually led to the gin and tonic.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: What Rain is Like on Other Planets
Learn about rain on other planets; why Americans used to not use forks; and whether sleep or exercise is more important.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Birthday Effect, Psychological Richness, Star or Satellite?
Learn about the link between birthdays and COVID-19; “psychological richness” for a good life; and satellites vs. stars.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Space Slingshot, Ancient Modern Pants, Lifesaving Silence
Hear about a slingshot launching payloads into space, the impressively modern-looking world’s oldest pants, and how moth wings are able to absorb sound to avoid detection from bats.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Socializing Too Much, Rogue Planets, Ancient Persian AC
Learn about how socializing too much can be bad for your health; rogue planets without a home star; and ancient bâdgirs.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Your Second Brain, Jupiter’s Hot Atmosphere, Placebo Buttons
Learn about the “second brain” in your gut; what makes Jupiter’s atmosphere so hot; and why placebo buttons are useful.