The Reality Check

Superman's costume is iconic, but why does he dress like that? We just assume that superheroes should be wearing tight fitting outfits, tights and a cape, but it wasn't always like this. Adam looks at what Superman, a hero created in the 1930s, is really meant to look like, as well as what inspired future superhero outfits. With soaring temperatures in Europe and across the world, Darren looks at air conditioning in Europe. He dives into the often repeated claim that you're more likely to die from heat in Europe than from gun violence in the United States. What does this statement really mean and is it even true?

Are you concerned about AI threats to your privacy? If you aren't, Darren's got a few reasons why you should be! Images of fingerprints and keys, wifi signals and more could leave you vulnerable to bad actors using AI. Adam wonders why the order status screens at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants often have inaccurate information. The problem leading to this is due to a problem known as Goodhart's Law.

Did tyrannosaurus rex roar? Adam looks at what sound they, and other dinosaurs, may have made and just why animals roar at all. Darren gives us a book review of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, by Edward Fishman, which looks at the history of economic sanctions, what they are, how they're used and what their impact is.

Is it windy on other planets and celestial bodies in our solar system? Darren looks at just what wind is and how much of it occurs on the surface of our various neighbours. Adam looks into whether or not windows are always on the student's left side in a classroom, and why that might be.

Sometimes movie studios release low quality franchise films and one excuse for this might be that if they don't release a movie every X or Y years, they will lose the rights.  Adam looks into these reversion rights, colloquially referred to as "Use It or Lose It" clauses, which force studios to make a film or lose the right to make the one they're banking on.  Darren then gives us an overview of Anthropic's Mythos, an AI tool so powerful that anyone with access to it could use it to uncover security vulnerabilities, which has led to them holding off on releasing the product.