An unhealthy and dangerous podcast!
Molly has a degree in environmental health. She's had a number of jobs in the field and it means that she thinks too hard about mold in buildings and shelf-stable food.
Ty is a designer. Her job is to make pretty pictures for people and it's sort of unclear what she's doing here, but we have fun.
New episodes every other Tuesday!
In this very special holiday episode we take the non-controversial stance that Die Hard is a Christmas movie and discuss it! However Ty takes some controversial stances in her descriptions of it, though it's hard to disagree. We explore building science by discussing crawling through the HVAC, just what are elevators, and what's up with the sprinklers.
13 Jul 2021
Zombieland
It's the season finale!! Follow us on social media (twitter (https://twitter.com/NoRailings), FB (https://www.facebook.com/NoRailings), or instagram (https://www.instagram.com/norailingspodcast/)) to find out about season 2!
We wrap our time this season with Zombieland, a movie about found family and how important it is to have, just, any girlfriend that will take you.
Remember the Rules of Survival in the Zombie Apocalypse? One of them is to wear a seatbelt, and Molly goes into why It’s good advice even when the most violent things you’ll encounter on the road are minivans full of soccer teams.
Second, Ty asks the obvious: DO Twinkies actually last forever? Then she asks the less obvious: what DOES last forever?
Next, Molly identifies something the movie got… wrong??? She takes us on a journey through prion diseases, mad cow disease, and why we don’t eat brain stems.
Finally, Ty asks whether you can actually be your own theme park ride operator, and doesn’t really find a satisfying answer. However, she’s now way more familiar with roller coaster braking systems, so it wasn’t a total wash.
Find links to the sources used in the episode and more on our website: https://www.norailingspodcast.com/ (https://www.norailingspodcast.com/)
29 Jun 2021
Alien
Today on No Railings we heroically show up to tell you that Alien is a very good film.
Ty remarks on the discomfort of watching a plot that kicks off by breaking quarantine in September of 2020, when isolation procedures were in full swing, and then picks at that discomfort some more by researching invasive species quarantines around the world.
Molly gets down to the nitty gritty of the Xenomorph life cycle by investigating parasitic wasps and their terrible habits.
15 Jun 2021
Sharknado
This week on No Railings, we alone are brave enough to call Sharknado "scientifically dubious". Ty and Molly lead with some pretty synergistic questions: 1- can you fly a helicopter next to a twister 2- while you're there, can you throw a bomb deep enough into the cyclone to blow it up and stop the 'nado? Ty answers No to kissing tornadoes in choppers and Molly answers No to blowing up the weather. Science is easy! Next, Ty investigates what happens when animals (like sharks!) get cast as villains in popular media. It ain't good, yo! She also takes advantage of the opportunity to mention bats. The brand is strong. Finally Molly breaks down just how likely a shark attack is, and how to best prevent them. Are they really out there just waiting for the next 'nado to come and get you? We also talk about our other favorite deadly animal, because the brand is REALLY strong.
1 Jun 2021
Reefer Madness (1936 & 2005)
In discussing Reefer Madness this week, we join the hallowed ranks of Podcasts About Weed. Finally! Did you know that there are actually 2 movies called Reefer Madness? One’s a propaganda piece from the 1930’s about the dangers of smoking Giggle Cigarettes and the other is a beloved cult musical from 2005. We watched both!
Ty starts with the effects of Astroturf on the mind and body. What actually happens when you partake of the Devil’s Lettuce?
Molly explores the history of marijuana in the U.S. and how Jazz Cabbage came to be as reviled as it is amongst the unhip olds.
Ty reflects on anti-drug campaigns and how there’s some evidence suggesting that they’re better at getting your teen to experiment with Sin Spinach than keeping them away from it. Oops!
Molly closes by explaining what it takes to get permission to research drugs in the U.S. and why there’s so little clinical research on the Sinister Minister.
26 May 2021
Minisode 1
Our first minisode!
Today we chat loosely about animal conservation. No movies, just fun facts!
Topics of note:
Songbird troubles
Snailtopia
Conservation's effects on humanity
18 May 2021
The Day After Tomorrow
This week we discuss the coolest movie poster of 2004: The Day After Tomorrow!
First, Molly investigates the animal-earthquake connection we’ve all been told about. Is it real or is it just good cinema? Well… mostly the latter. But there’s a lot of folkloric evidence of following animal cues to guess the weather, so that’s actually pretty cool!
Then, Ty discusses just what exactly is in floodwater. Here is a hint: just about everything you DON’T want to touch. Keep your kids, your clothes, and your cans out of flood water, yo.
Also, what are the chances that weather which hurls choppers out of the sky can be survived in a tent? Molly dissects the uses of tents and how extreme weather gear is used in the arctic by REAL polar researchers!
Next, Ty wants to know what exactly is going on with Emmy Rossum’s leg. It seems super infected, how’s she going to make it through that??? Probably she won’t. Not realistically, anyway. But at least this is a movie so she’s provided a bit of plot armor.
Unfortunately, one person who DIDN’T get plot armor is Frank, Dennis Quaid’s cool friend. He falls through a mall skylight to his death in order to save his friends, and Molly wanted to know just how preventable that sacrifice was. Turns out, simultaneously very preventable and very not, given the situation!
Almost no scientists thought Day After Tomorrow was accurate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it!
4 May 2021
The Descent
This week we discuss the #1 threat facing extreme sports aficionados today: naked cave monster men.
Just kidding, no, the real threat is hubris. Ty immediately breaks format by choosing one topic (spelunking best practices) and beating that to death. Let her tell you about average cave temperatures and the fungal infection affecting US bat populations!
Molly also weighs in on the various diseases bats have to offer, then continues by asking just WHAT is up with these crazy not-quite-vampires and their swimming pools full of blood.
14 Apr 2021
Star Wars, Episodes 4, 5, and 6
Welcome to No Railings, a podcast where we look at environmental health and safety by watching movies and talkin' about them. In our first episode, we kick things off with the movies that inspired us in the first place: The Star Wars original trilogy!
To start, Ty explores the possibility of farming on the Death Star. Are there Storm Troopers in straw helmets somewhere deep in it’s inner workings?
Then, Molly ponders why the forest moon of Endor wasn’t subject to any forest fires during the battle in Return. Do speeders explode without heat?
Next, Ty destroys that peace with news of the forest moon’s real fate: a global, debris-and-fire-based extinction event. It was nice while it lasted.
Finally, Molly demands to know why the Death Star hasn’t got any gosh darn hand rails. There are so many pits in that ship.
A list of the sources we used for this episode can be found at norailingspod.com/links
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