Equinox
78 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago -Dr. Robert Carter and producer Joseph Darnell explore the world from a Christian perspective. On our quest, we will discuss science, but a little history and philosophy as well.
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Episodes
74: The Science of Christmas
December 10, 2021 20:33 - 48 minutes - 43.6 MBRob and Joseph wax eloquent and speculative on various aspects of the Christmas story. Have you ever wondered who the Magi were, where they came from, and what was the nature of that star that they saw? Fear no, they go there. What about the genetics of Jesus? Yeah, they speculate about that also, hopefully without getting into too much heretical hot water. Finally, they discuss the physics of Santa Claus, attempting to cast doubt on that aged story, but then they bring in the big guns: four ...
73: 2021 IgNobel Prizes
November 24, 2021 20:49 - 55 minutes - 45.3 MBRob and Joseph are back with a fun discussion about the all-new rocket technology, and present their take of the 2021 IgNobel prizes! Enjoy!
72: A Hot Cup of Joe
November 10, 2021 21:25 - 57 minutes - 46.7 MBRob and Joseph have been enjoying hot coffee and tea lately and it got Rob thinking about the science of caffeine and flavorings. They discuss what makes a lethal dosage of substances, whether stimulants like caffeine are bad for people, and much more!
71: 2021 Nobel Prizes
October 29, 2021 18:35 - 43 minutes - 38.3 MBDr. C. and Joseph Darnell explore the 2021 Nobel Prizes—who won what and why? Afterward, they discuss some of the coolest technologies “of the future” that you’ve never heard of, including robotic bees and 100% recyclable wind turbines! All this and more in this week’s episode of Equinox!
70: What’s a Computer? Part 2
October 13, 2021 14:49 - 47 minutes - 39.3 MBRob continues to review the origins of modern computers and together Joseph and Rob are just astonished how far technology has come in the last 50 years. Dr. Carter admits it’s really hard to understand computer sciences and think like an engineer.
69: What’s a Computer? Part I
September 29, 2021 17:03 - 50 minutes - 41.4 MBJoseph and Rob discuss what insects they’ve seen over the seasons of 2021, give a little update about their bees’ behavior, and in their fascinating main topic, they discuss the origins of the modern computer! Rob takes us back a few centuries to start with the fundamental innovations that allude to the seemingly miraculous technologies we take for granted.
68: Pants on Fire
September 23, 2021 00:33 - 47 minutes - 39.1 MBFrench inventor made a trap to catch hornets to save his bees! Someone discovered that dogs have a heat sense detector! Social scientists inadvertently lied in a study about honesty! For the main discussion, Dr. Carter tells us about Ernst Haeckel’s diabolical fraud.
67: The Dark Side
September 11, 2021 21:21 - 47 minutes - 39.9 MBJoe and Rob talk about things that should never have been, scientific experiments and ideas that were evil or just egregiously wrong. They use four examples: The Tuskegee long-term syphilis experiments, lobotomy, electroshock therapy, and Nazi science (and how much of US technology is based upon it today). This might be a tough listen, but education is sometimes sobering.
66: ‘Apollo 11’ Film Review
September 03, 2021 20:46 - 46 minutes - 38.8 MBIt’s one small step for podcasting and one giant leap for today’s Equinox podcast! Rob is crafting a chain mail shirt with his daughter, Rob is fascinated by a nuclear fusion milestone… But enough of that! Rob and Joseph review the 2019 Apollo 11 film and discuss the historical mission to the moon.
65: Biblical Genetics
August 20, 2021 18:35 - 50 minutes - 41.4 MBRob and Joe talk about Rob’s Biblical Genetics project, how it is faring, the struggles he has had getting a new show off the ground, what he would do differently, and what successes he has had along the way.
64: Climate Changes
August 13, 2021 18:53 - 1 hour - 92.4 MBDr Rob Carter shares a great number of reasons that Earth’s climate changes continually, leaving us to wonder which issues are genuine concerns and which would even lead to improvements in conditions. Learn about ice ages, global flooding, terraforming, sea levels, renewable energy, global warming, and more!
63: To Terraform Or Not to Terraform … Pt. 2
July 23, 2021 13:59 - 52 minutes - 43.6 MBDr. C. and Joseph Darnell discuss the billionaires racing to outer space, Rob yearns to hitch a ride to the moon, they discuss the complexities of good science critical debates, and in main discussion, Rob continues the idea of terraforming planets Venus, Mars, and moons beyond.
62: To Terraform or Not to Terraform ... Pt. 1
July 16, 2021 17:03 - 47 minutes - 38.9 MBFor the first time since before quarantines began in 2020, Rob and Joseph are back in the studio for today’s episode! They discuss un-recycled plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean, Soylent ‘complete nutritious meal replacement’(!), and in their main topic, what it would take to terraform the moon and Mars!
61: Submarine Tech
July 10, 2021 18:21 - 1 hour - 49.1 MBDr. Rob Carter and Joseph Darnell discuss summer life, the great book ‘1493’ that Rob’s reading, and for their main topic, all-things submarines! Their history, innovation, influence, and stories are fascinating!
60: Dr. C’s Guide to Distant Starlight and Deep Time
July 01, 2021 01:49 - 57 minutes - 46.7 MBOn today’s episode of Equinox, Rob is excited that Joseph got DNA tests (on sale for Prime Day). In the main discussion, Dr. C. explores the issue of deep time and distant starlight travel—how it works, what we know, what astronomers speculate … It’s fascinating, as Rob likes to say!
59: The Black Death
June 25, 2021 19:48 - 46 minutes - 38.6 MBRob and Joseph discuss a ‘revolutionary’ camera lens, South African worker bee clones, a giant arc stretching 3.3 billions lightyears across the cosmos, and for the main discussion, Black Death. 💀
58: Lazers & Lightsabers (Pew Pew!)
June 17, 2021 20:14 - 1 hour - 50.9 MBJoe and Rob discuss one the most important, yet most enigmatic, inventions of all time, the laser! Many mysteries, and many laughs, later, they figure it out. Tune in for the discussion.
57: It’s About Time!
June 09, 2021 20:03 - 57 minutes - 47.2 MBJoe and Rob spend time talking about time, what it is, how we measure it, how the ways we measure it have changed over the centuries, and some of the amazing things we have invented to tell time more accurately.
56: The Jet Engine
June 05, 2021 16:14 - 57 minutes - 47.6 MBJoseph is switching to ‘vacation mode’ and Dr. Carter shares stories about his fun adventures in Florida. In an interesting story of science news this week, researchers think they can accurately say that the Milky Way galaxy wobbles! In listener questions: what is acid rain? For the main topic, Rob tells us all about the jet engine! In the after show, Beequinox is back! Wow!
55: Taking Flight
May 27, 2021 19:30 - 58 minutes - 48.2 MBDr. C and Joseph D are thrilled to explore the origins of engine-powered flight! They catch up on work, Rob’s recent air travel, and jet lag. Then for the main topic, they start way back at the beginning of human flight using gliders and hot air balloons and talk all the way up to jet engine planes and boomerangs. In the after show, Joseph and Rob discuss other things that can or cannot fly and Joseph tells us what flying discs have to do with coffee.
54: What is Radiation?
May 19, 2021 16:00 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBBack this with awesome discussion about beekeeping (what else?!), the most-insanely valuable rare earth elements, and for the main topic: radiation. Picking up where Rob left us wondering about ‘what is radiation’ last time while exploring the periodic table, he explains what it is, isn’t, and how deadly it can be or not be. 🤔 In the after show, the guys catch up on ‘Beequinox’: naming the queen, mayhem, et cetera.
53: The Periodic Table
May 07, 2021 21:07 - 51 minutes - 42.2 MBThis week, Rob tells us all about transparent wood, gets excited about SpaceX rocket landing, Joseph announces Equinox Plus(!), and for the main topic, the guys explore the periodic table. Rob does a wonderful job of making sense of some of the most frustrating parts of chemistry class for us.
52: Black Holes
April 30, 2021 15:39 - 1 hour - 90.3 MBIn this great episode, Dr. Carter explains how black holes really work—a far cry from how they’ve been portrayed in science fiction films that are the basis for everything Joseph thought he knew about them. Also the guys discuss the latest experiments in beekeeping.
51: Worldwide Weather Patterns
April 23, 2021 17:44 - 1 hour - 84.9 MBThis week, Rob and Joseph shoot the breeze! Rob explains Hadley cells to us, contrasts land and water weather patterns, answers the questions ‘what will the weather be like tomorrow and in six months’, and explains so much more. And at the end of this episode the guys geek out about their new bee colonies and beekeeping challenges.
50: Flat Earth (April Fools!)
April 07, 2021 16:55 - 1 hour - 95.2 MBRob and Joseph talk about 3D printing beehive accessories, beekeeping (as we are prone to do!), Georgia’s Savage Race, and for the main topic, the flat earth conspiracy. Ooooh boy!
49: Things in Sci-Fi That Bug Us
March 27, 2021 16:00 - 1 hour - 94.7 MBRob and Joe dive deep into the little things that bug them the most in the Sci-fi genre, and, of course, they also talk about bees. A story or two about whales learning how to avoid whaling ships and gorillas being taught to fear death make for a well-rounded episode, if they do say so themselves.
48: Pollen, the Yellowing
March 18, 2021 16:00 - 48 minutes - 66.8 MBPollen, that scourge of Spring and Fall! What is it, exactly? What does it do? Why do they cause allergies and how do scientists identify plants based on their pollen?
47: Bee Biology
March 12, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBJoe and Rob wax eloquent about our little wax making friends, the honeybee. Rob talks about his tricked-out hive in which he has installed some electronics. They then go on an excursion into the world of Arduino before getting to the meat of the discussion: the biology inside the hive. From bee guts to bee parasites, get ready to bee amazed.
46: The ‘Eyes’ Have It
February 26, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBJoseph and Dr. Carter discusses the Odyssey successfully landing on Mars, Rob’s submitted COVID-19 paper, and how eyes work—everything from biochemistry to optics to geometry to image processing to the eyes of big cats and giant squid! We’d love to have you join us for another quest on Equinox!
46: The ‘Eyes’ have It
February 26, 2021 15:40 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBJoseph and Dr. Carter discusses the Odyssey successfully landing on Mars, Rob’s submitted COVID-19 paper, and how eyes work—everything from biochemistry to optics to geometry to image processing to the eyes of big cats and giant squid! We’d love to have you join us for another quest on Equinox!
45: First Anniversary!
February 20, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBRob and Joseph celebrate Equinox’s first complete revolution around the Sun. They review their themes and goals for the show, share background stories, discuss how this podcasting thing works, and approach growth with the scientific method. :-)
44: Dating the Carbon-14 Way
February 11, 2021 17:26 - 1 hour - 49.9 MBThe science isn’t as certain as some scientists want you to think. There’s a theoretical limit to how old you can date things with carbon-14. The fact that we find it in every carbon source on earth, the planet cannot be more than one million years old according to the dating methods. Learn all about it with Rob and Joseph!
43: SCUBA Physics
February 04, 2021 14:19 - 1 hour - 51.2 MBRob has been holding out on us! He’s an experienced SCUBA diver, and has lived to tell a few tales. Dead men tell no tales, which is why Dr. Carter is here to tell you all the terrible ways you could face certain death in the deep blue.
42: How to Grow Coral
January 28, 2021 00:21 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBDr. Rob Carter has a huge appreciation for aquatic life, and it comes as a shock to us that we haven’t heard him talk about corals! This week, we discuss everything that one will find fascinating about these simple creatures. And Rob lays out a plan to setup and grow new corals of his own.
41: Scientific Advances Thanks to COVID-19
January 23, 2021 01:07 - 1 hour - 59 MBThis week, the guys discuss follow-up to several bits of previous discussions about the universe, archaeology, bees, and more. For the main topic, Dr. Carter lays out many interesting scientific advances that have occurred due to the fast-paced research covering Coronavirus. In post-show, Rob gives us a video production update, gets back to his love for corrals, and the guys consider whether their daughters will start YouTube channels.
40: How to Engineer a Pandemic Virus
January 14, 2021 00:21 - 54 minutes - 50.7 MBJoseph and Rob really get into some difficult subjects on this episode as they discuss how scientists pursue their work and whether or not the COVID-19 virus was engineered in a laboratory.
39: Science Year in Review
December 19, 2020 00:54 - 1 hour - 49.7 MBOther than the pandemic, many interesting science discoveries, innovations, and flukes occurred in 2020. Rob and Joseph discuss exo planets, new molecules, CRISPR cures… and (maybe) the most wonderful scientific discovery in Dr. Carter’s lifetime???
38: The Cutting Edge of the Universe
December 12, 2020 00:24 - 50 minutes - 41 MBWhat holds the universe together? What would happen if you toggle those things just a little? This is the essence of the Fine Tuning argument. There are many fundamental constants in the universe upon which life is utterly dependent. In fact, more than just life; the universe itself is irrevocably dependent on some very precise numbers, or it cannot exist.
37: Mysteries of the Solar System
December 04, 2020 21:56 - 1 hour - 57 MBRob and Joseph return from beyond the solar system to talk about their GPS travels on planet Earth, then take a journey through our solar system to discuss the mysteries of the Sun, Moon, planets, and more.
36: Extrasolar Planets
November 19, 2020 19:39 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBHow do they detect planets orbiting far-away stars? Is that even a real thing? Yes it is true, and there are two main methods for finding them: doppler shift and periodic changes in light intensity. To date, thousands of extrasolar planets have been detected. But what does this mean for the possibility of life in outer space? Actually, very little, for most stars are inhospitable to life in general. Joe and Rob wrap up with a discussion on theology and how a Christian can make sense of the ne...
35: The Greatest Effect Ever
November 07, 2020 00:00 - 54 minutes - 44.9 MBWhether you know it or not, the relationship between electricity and magnetism rules your world. Were it not for this discovery, almost nothing in our modern world would function. Cell phones, radios, electric power stations, even your car...they all depend on the fact that moving magnetic fields induce current in a wire and changing current creates a changing magnetic field.
34: Are Cellphones Killing Us Slowly?
October 29, 2020 21:22 - 1 hour - 45.3 MBJoseph asks the age old tech question, ‘Are our smartphones bad for our health?’ Rob answers this and the guys also discuss modern communication methods, how GPS works, where pocketable computers fit into their lives, and what they think is a ‘healthy’ relationship with technology. They end up having a wide-ranging conversation that ties together cell phones, 5G, GPS, and microwave ovens, and believe it or not, it all makes sense.
33: 2020 Ig Nobel Prizes
October 23, 2020 23:13 - 55 minutes - 51.4 MBIt’s that time of year for the annual Ig Nobel Awards to be awarded to those scientists who publish the worst, oddest, most irreproducible, or downright weird research. Joe and Rob have a hard time with this one, but only because they could not stop laughing at the squeaking alligators, narcissist unibrow quotients, and knives made from...wait, what?
32: 2020 Nobel Prizes
October 15, 2020 22:11 - 43 minutes - 34 MBIn the inaugural annual *Nobel Prize Review* episode, Rob and Joseph discuss the 2020 winners in all categories: peace, literature, economics, physiology and medicine, chemistry, and physics.
31: Following Up Life and Death
October 08, 2020 20:08 - 56 minutes - 39.5 MBRob follows up thoughts about the origin of life, and tells us all about the new research/model that tried and failed to simulate the origin of life. And to top it off, many want to know when scientists will solve the problem of death so we can all live forever. So, will they???
30: The Origin of Life
October 02, 2020 00:12 - 53 minutes - 25.1 MBUsually, scientists like to tell us how life started on planet Earth and how it might exist elsewhere in the universe. But do they tell you something they know from scientific observation or from shots in the dark? Joseph and Rob discuss the difficulty figuring out life’s beginning, and in the grand scheme of things how terribly unlikely it is to find life anywhere.
29: Mysteriously Advanced Ancient Technology
September 24, 2020 13:29 - 54 minutes - 38 MBRob and Joseph discuss Rob’s latest research about the coronavirus. Then for our main discussion, they explore what appears to be practically impossible for ancient inventors and craftsmen to achieve.
28: Why Things Rot
September 17, 2020 18:18 - 56 minutes - 27 MBJoseph and Rob catch up. They touch on work and their history with computers. Then for a side topic, they highlight some interesting discoveries about planet Venus. For the main discussion, Rob explores the strange science behind rotting vegetation, animals, and humans.
27: Neanderthal Technology
September 03, 2020 13:59 - 58 minutes - 27.7 MBNeanderthals were supposed to be primitive, half-human cavemen, but modern paleontology is shattering that illusion. We know they were intelligent and industrious, eating a wide variety of foods and travelling long distances across the barren wasteland called Eurasia during the Ice Age period. Joe and Rob marvel at what is only now coming to light in relation to these enigmatic ancestors of ours.
26: How Much Can We Trust Human Memory?
August 26, 2020 18:30 - 1 hour - 32.3 MBRob and Joseph explore the complexity of how human memory works. Everything from the ‘magic number’ to access time to multidimensional storage is fascinating! Did you know that your eyes work like computers? Learn more about that and so much more about Rob’s and Joseph’s brains on this week’s Equinox podcast.