Lorien learned a lot of rodent-related facts she doesn't like. She shares them with Katharine.

Sources:

Sources

• https://www.instagram.com/p/DYPeDuARj29/
• https://www.instagram.com/laurel__bristow/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthohantavirus
• https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/hantavirus-pulmonary-syndrome/symptoms-diagnosis
• https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/hantavirus-pulmonary-syndrome/treatment
• https://www.nmhealth.org/publication/view/general/5072/
• https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/data-research/cases/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/surveillance/index.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/media/pdfs/2025/01/HantavirusBrochure-508.pdf
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_virus
• https://thepreamble.com/p/the-daily-brief-may-15-2026
• https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/andesvirus.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/health/hantavirus-outbreak-quarantine.html
• https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/14/cdc-no-us-hantavirus-cases-people-monitored.html

• https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/14/hantavirus-cruise-ship-outbreak-where-is-it-what-to-know.html

A Katharine classic!

Sources:

- https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/manosphere

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manosphere#:~:text=The%20manosphere%20is%20a%20varied%20collection%20of,that%20feminists%20promote%20misandry%20(hatred%20of%20men).

- https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/03/world/expose-rape-assault-online-vis-intl/index.html

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate

- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64125045

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Tate

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Going_Their_Own_Way

- https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/aug/26/men-going-their-own-way-the-toxic-male-separatist-movement-that-is-now-mainstream

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_artist

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_rights_movement

- Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, 2026, Netflix.

Lorien tells Katharine about mystery mushrooms, magic mushrooms, and mushroom foraging (and reveals that the hunter/gatherer gene skipped her).

Sources

• https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a70698051/mushroom-bizarre-hallucination/
• https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260121-the-mysterious-mushroom-that-makes-you-see-tiny-people
• https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Psilocybin-2020.pdf
• https://calpoison.org/about-magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-safety
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/308850#summary
• https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/psychoactive-psilocybins-evolution-in-magic-mushrooms/
• https://www.beckleyretreats.com/blog/types-of-psychedelic-mushrooms
• https://food52.com/story/6306-eugenia-bone-on-mushrooms-myths-and-foraging
• https://food52.com/story/20860-an-illustrated-guide-to-mushroom-foraging-10-earthy-savory-recipes
• https://food52.com/story/20860-an-illustrated-guide-to-mushroom-foraging-10-earthy-savory-recipes
• https://barebonesliving.com/blogs/gardening-foraging/foraging-for-mushrooms-a-complete-guide?srsltid=AfmBOoojEexVoJOsvnKbJRLZO04G53F-0SldhYROYYivS88zdLBz3qVQ
• https://melissaknorris.com/podcast/5rulesforforagingwildedibles/?srsltid=AfmBOood16NZQUcHRepd1lL60a10Pk1P8mc3Cm2j0wkz7qpHMTW6x4Mk
• https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/how-to-hunt-mushrooms/
• https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/deadly-mushroom-arrives-canada/581602/
• https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/nx-s1-5639775/death-cap-mushrooms-california
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/four-dead-and-three-receive-liver-transplants-after-eating-death-cap-mushrooms-in-california
• https://www.npr.org/2025/07/07/nx-s1-5451735/erin-patterson-mushroom-murder-sentence

Like much of the country of late, Katharine has space on the brain.

Sources:

• https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html
• https://today.ucsd.edu/story/an-asteroid-doesnt-have-to-hit-earth-to-cause-catastrophe
• https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/the-powerful-new-rubin-observatory-just-found-11-000-new-asteroids-and-measured-tens-of-thousands-more
• https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/
• https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/asteroid-hits-earth.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event
• https://www.esa.int/About_Us/50_years_of_ESA/Asteroids_The_discovery_of_asteroids
• https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/facts/
• https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/Natural_Disasters/impacts.htm
• https://www.planetary.org/articles/how-astronomers-rank-dangerous-asteroids-and-what-that-means-for-you

Lorien has discovered another reason not to go hiking. Also, Lorien says she's not going to give away the ending to a 130-year-old short story and then immediately does, so spoiler alert, we guess.

Join us on the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe as Katharine tells Lorien about trains.

Sources:

• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clye22ljxw4o
• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/train-crashes-against-crane-southeastern-spain-tve-reports-2026-01-22/
• https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/safest-places-sit-traveling-train-044500726.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHXlCiTsDI1W-HQMT2Srzg7Sxt1XD5M05UpxS5RF67Wq7aszfKgg42IDI83-5rK0oH6xUGuVASRQAZHyV6bw8JgnmtpvOSlhFBE0yw5CTtBDYRxFjJykTwuBQ4WUkBFQWREmPQWJ1Z9LjLRH0HN-cJh16Enq_83S4fZj2X1bPO-h
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail
• https://getthetiger.com/blog/5-deadliest-train-crashes-in-united-states-history
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Sri_Lanka_tsunami_train_wreck
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balvano_train_disaster
• https://journalistsresource.org/economics/comparing-fatality-risks-united-states-transportation-across-modes-time/
• https://www.bustle.com/articles/83287-are-trains-safer-than-planes-statistics-are-clear-about-which-mode-of-transportation-is-safest
• https://www.history.com/articles/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-trains
• https://www.intrans.iastate.edu/news/trains-a-history/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport
• https://www.propublica.org/article/train-derailment-long-trains
• https://usafacts.org/articles/are-train-derailments-becoming-more-common/
• https://www.aar.org/issue/freight-rail-pedestrian-driver-safety/#!
• https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2024/railroads-and-regulators-must-address-the-dangers-of-long-trains-report-says/

Lorien tells Katharine about a group that dares to ask the question: what if the only laws that count are the ones I like?

Sources

• ​https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/sovereign-citizens-movement/
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolaw
• ​https://web.archive.org/web/20141102010820/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/sovereign_citizens_plaster_courts_with_bogus_legal_filings/
• ​https://www.domprep.com/articles/a-violent-surge-sovereign-citizens-vs-government-authority/#:~:text=Precise numbers of SovCits can,who have committed violent crimes.
• ​https://everytownresearch.org/report/armed-extremism-primer-sovereign-citizens/
• ​https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/moorish-sovereign-citizens/
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_sovereign_citizens
• ​https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7513757/
• ​https://everytownresearch.org/report/armed-extremism-primer-sovereign-citizens/
• ​https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/www.sog.unc.edu/files/Sov citizens quick guide Nov 13.pdf
• ​https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/sovereign-citizens-movement/
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Nichols
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolaw
• ​https://aeon.co/ideas/here-comes-pseudolaw-a-weird-little-cousin-of-pseudoscience
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vexatious_litigation
• ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukesha_Christmas_parade_attack

This episode is more filling and less toxic than a Tide pod.

Sources:

Sources:

• https://www.npr.org/2022/09/22/1124252556/nyquil-chicken-challenge-fda-warning
• https://www.healthline.com/health/dont-eat-tiktoks-nyquil-chicken#talking-safe-use
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/09/07/paquis-one-chip-challenge-removed-from-shelves-following-teens-death/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/worcester-street-renamed-to-honor-teen-who-died-after-one-chip-challenge/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Chip_Challenge
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-teenagers-eat-tide-pods-2018013013241
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumption_of_Tide_Pods
• https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51742854
• https://injury.research.chop.edu/blog/posts/skull-breaker-challenge-and-concussions
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_challenge
• https://academic.oup.com/jbcr/article-abstract/37/4/e395/4582201?redirectedFrom=PDF
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benadryl_challenge
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_and_ice_challenge
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_challenge
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Whale_Challenge
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momo_Challenge_hoax