Episode: 5 Xenogenesis - Dawn: II: Family Chapters 3 & 4

Show Notes

In Episode 05, Richard and Michael discuss the many strange but wonderful ways that animals reproduce on Earth – as well as how much they dislike Kahguyaht.

Timestamps

00:00:32 - Intro
00:01:02 - Previous predictions
00:03:30 - Chapter 3 introduction part 1
00:04:55 - Discussion about the clothes Lilith was given [1 - 3]
00:08:22 - Story of the Oankali and their divisions
00:11:00 - Chapter 3 introduction part 2
00:11:44 - Chapter 3 introduction ends
00:11:45 - Discussion about Nikanj and his age
00:13:45 - Chapter 4 predictions
00:15:24 - Chapter 4 introduction
00:16:53 - The honesty of Oankali and forbidden writing
00:19:20 - The eidetic memory of Oankali
00:25:20 - Chapter 4 introduction continues
00:26:15 - The explanation to Oankali naming system
00:29:26 - Sex determination in Oankali and weird cases around the Earth [4 - 6]
00:31:12 - Correction to what Michael said about the bird species [7, 8]
00:31:30 - More talk about breeding on Earth [9]
00:33:35 - Back to the Chapter 4 introduction
00:38:50 - We put ourselves in Lilith’s shoes as scientist… and we hate it.
00:40:15 - Chapter 4 introduction cont.
00:44:13 - Chapter 4 introduction finished
00:44:20 - Discussion on the toxicity of human food to alien species
00:50:00 - Kahguyaht is an as*hole
00:50:27 - Next chapter prediction
00:54:15 - We really appreciate Olivia Butler’s writing style
00:55:21 - Outro

References

Fluoropores:

• [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrophobe - What does hydrophobic mean?
• [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipophobicity - What does lipophobic mean?
• [3] https://www.european-coatings.com/Publications/Blog/Hydrophopic-and-lipophobic-at-the-same-time - Fluoropore - material that is both hydrophobic and lipophobic

Sex and reproduction:

• [4] https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/nion-htd122315.php - Crocodile sex determination
• [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_fencing - Correction - it is a flatworm species Pseudobiceros hancockanus that engages in a penis fight.
• [6] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/07/argonaut-octopus-detaches-his-tentacle-to-impregnate-his-mate/ - There is an octopus Argonauta argo, which detaches its penis and inserts it into the female.
• [7] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2007/03/it-pays-be-wingman - Correction - the alpha and beta birds behave as following: the beta helps the alpha to court the female, which gives it a higher chance to become an alpha later.
• [8] https://www.zmescience.com/science/biology/male-ruff-steal-females-0434/ - But there are the Ruff birds, which have 3 types of males: the alpha, the beta satellite (which still the girls) and the cross-dresser (which impersonates the female to steal the female in last second).
• [9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En26p6GvtHw - The Royal Institution video Richard mentioned.

Intro: L’Etoile danse (Pt. 1) by Meydan Outro: Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio

Hosts