Podcast
Curious Cat - where science & supernatural collide
Hosted by Jennifer Hotes · EN
What does it mean to be a soul in a meat suit? With curiosity as the lens, life looks more complicated, strange, and wonderful. Staring into the places where science and supernatural collide is to behold magic. And the best part? Science is finally catching up! Weekly episodes are made and offered in love. *All Curious Cat content is owned and operated by Storm Mystery Press LLC
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Missing Hiker Monica Reza - Don't let her case go cold
May 2900:47:24Tap to summarizeIf you have information regarding missing hiker Monica Reza, contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Homicide Bureau – Missing Persons Unit at (323) 890-5500. Detective Rincon or Detective Sanchez are leading the investigation, and you can also reach out to the Crescenta Valley Station at (818) 248-3464. Today we are talking about a missing person's case out of LA County. Her family is begging for her disappearance to be remembered and revisited so that the investigation stays active. They want to know what happened to their loved one, Monica Jacinto Reza.The DetailsMonica Reza was a brilliant and fit 60 year old woman. In the early morning hours of June 22nd, 2025, she'd dropped off her car at the house of one of two hiking companions, people she knew from the yoga studio she went to, and they carpooled to the trailhead near Mount Materman in the Angeles National Forest.As the crow flies, the trailhead is 30 miles from the city of angels. Monica was an avid hiker, she might have been 60 years old, but she was lean and fit. As the three ascended, one of the companions, the only other female, decided to bail out. The elevation and aggressive climb didn't seem to agree with her. She told Monica and the male that she'd stick around the area and meet them on their descent. But that would be the last time she saw Monica.About 9am, Monica and the male summited Mount Waterman. The companion shared the photo of Monica there, and another taken some feet down from there beside a lightning-struck tree. That male wasn't in the photos, and none with him on the summit were ever released to the public. Neither was his name.Curiously, the male took off at a jogging pace down the mountain. And Monica Reza followed close behind. I say curiously, because seasoned hikers said the terrain on that part of the trail was too riddled with dead pine needles, too rocky and too steep to make jogging safe. But the metadata shows that's the pace they traveled.Before they'd reached their other companion, who still waited for them, the trail forked left and right. The male hiker told rescuers later that he signaled to Monica to take the right fork and she waved in return, seeming to understand the instruction. And here's where Monica Reza went missing. He looked back ten or so minutes later, and Monica was no longer behind him. The male said he doubled back, calling for Monica, which their female friend reported hearing from below them, but still no Monica. He looked around, called out and soon met up with the female companion. Alarmed, they kept looking and soon, by luck, ,encountered a group of five people, one of which was a regular volunteer for search and rescue. By 11am, they'd reported Monica missing to authorities. There was a multi-county, multi-jurisdiction response to the call. Soon people were combing the trail and mountainside. Search dogs were enlisted. A helicopter with FLIR was used. The takeaway is there was an immediate reSend us Fan MailIf you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!Support the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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This one should be called a random hole...
May 2600:30:49Tap to summarizeBut really there's no doom, just talk of, and brace yourself, Jesse's organic 'eggs' and Knight Rider and more.This week we begin with some pertinent end-of-life-planning information which somehow segues into talk of powdering 'eggs' which goes off the track fast. Soon Jesse is waxing nostalgic about Kit from Knight Rider and Jenn daydreams about David Hasselhoff's hair.Finally after six years of air time they cover the week's AI-related headlines. Kind of.Apologies to all of the storied, steadfast, legit journalists whose hard work is now associated with baby powder and nuts.And before the close, Jesse reveals the greatest website ever known to humankind.Article Links:Knight Rider, WikipediaMusky's Grok being added to car dashboardsAsk Jeeves is GONEThe Greatest Website Ever Known to Humankind - and not for bubble-blowing babies! Send us Fan MailIf you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!Support the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
Transcribe →GATE Program Reports, Accounts & Recollections
May 2201:07:23Tap to summarizeEpisode IntroIf you went to elementary school in the 70s, 80s or 90s, do you remember being tested by a stranger, or group of strangers? Ever get pulled out for a special class with others from different grades? Made to drink something pink? For whatever reason, right now many are remembering details of GATE programs. But who was behind these school programs? And what was their purpose? Intro to GATE MemoriesLet your mind drift back, back, back to those innocent days of youth. Picture the elementary school you attended. The teacher. Your friends. Recess. Did you play kickball? Or hopscotch? Or jump rope? Imagine your desk. Did it have that front load opening with a special well to hold your pencils? How about the pencil sharpener? Was it mounted to your teacher's desk at the front of the room? How did the classroom smell? Remember other details? Like Pirate paste that smelled like wintergreen. That ripe scent of bodies when the weather turned warm and all of your class was reassembled on the rug sitting criss-cross applesauce?I mention all this as precursor, because only you know what it felt like to live during those years. If you need to, pause this episode and write down your strongest recollections. I'm sure I missed lots. Like school lunches, did you bring your own in a sack or fancy lunchbox? Or did you turn in a paper ticket and receive a hot lunch in the cafeteria? What about the school library? Or gym? Any art projects you remember doing? And art supplies? What about those special classroom jobs? My teachers had a rotation that changed week to week. Write down what you like. Make sure your thorough because we are going deeper in a second.Did you ever have a stranger in a suit or more than one come into your classroom to observe? Did the teacher explain that they were from a college in the area? Did they bring with them an oversized case with latches and a handle, and inside was equipment that included knobs and dials? Were you sent one by one to the back of the room and told to put on large headphones that plugged into the case? Asked to identify tones? I said, inside the classroom, but I remember a trailer, one of those mobile trailers, or portables, that they needed when schools outgrew the number of neighborhood kids. Some people recall tanagrams, colorful shapes you'd manipulate to form larger shapes, like boats and such. Others remember cards, some say they were black and white, others remember colors with scenes on them. Slipped into envelopes, the tester encouraged children to visualize what was inside the envelope. Visualize. Visualize. Visualize. There were other tests, too. Weeks afterwards parents of a few kids might be notified that their child was going into the GATE program. GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education, by the way. These programs were spun differently across the United States, but the letter home often used the word, "gifted" or "talented." Even the program itself had a different name depending on the school district. TAG, LEAP, Extended Learning Program, or in Richland, Washington - across from the Hanford Nuclear Reactor, they called their program ALPHA. These were pull-out programs that met weekly, sometimes with more than one grade combined together. And in our school, Mark Twain Elementary (because by that time I'd moved to Pasco) and those kids were bussed in from schools across the district and convened in a portable beside the basketball courts. What did they do in those GATE classes?Well, that's complicated. For many participants, the details remain hazy, at best. Some suffer memory loss about the entire program, while others in recent months, saw one of those black and white cards, or a photo of those clunky testing headphones, which rattled loose a few recollections. They remembered maps and strange activSend us Fan MailIf you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!Support the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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BONUS: Djinn and Tonic with Sam "The Skyguy"
May 1900:19:57Tap to summarizeWe told you last week's interview with Sam "The Sky Guy" was pure fire. But after the lights went out and Jesse was super sauced, we got into supernatural stuff with our guest. From Sam attending a djinn wedding to Jenn encountering one at a Kirkland grocery store to ways to increase your odds of encountering Bigfoot on a hiking trail, this is a delicious half hour.Links to our special guest:Sleep Paralysis episode of Curious CatWant a reading from Sam "The Sky Guy" - then email him: skyguyreadings@gmail.comSam "The Sky Guy" on SubstackSend us Fan MailIf you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!Support the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Sam the Sky Guy Reads Our Birth Charts (but not AI's because it is not alive)
May 1501:24:21Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Curious Cat, Jenn and Jesse chat with a mysterious, underground figure (as described by our mutual friend, Rachel White) "Sam the Sky Guy”— aka Sam aka Skyguy. He keeps his details locked down because he has a real world job that might mix with the woo like oil does water.He read Jesse and Jenn's birth charts, and we have questions! Especially how our charts relate to each other and to AI. But, folks. That's just the beginning to what is an instant classic.Topics we cover include:Venus in ScorpioJesse's personal akashic record storeSam's astrological giftsGolden days at Booktrope and on socialsHadron ColliderKrull and the word, 'craptastic' is coinedPolybius, that Portland, Oregon arcade game mythWayback Machine going, going, gone?USB cable survivor tv show with tech brosOld school vid/computer games including ZORKBubba HotepA memorial to Rowdy Roddy Piper complete with bagpipes (you're welcome)and more*******Look for part two May 19th, Djinn and Tonic with Sam******* Links to our special guest:Polybius - the mysterious arcade video game, WikipediaWant a reading from Sam "The Sky Guy" - then email him: skyguyreadings@gmail.comSam "The Sky Guy" on SubstackJenn Sam’s Etsy link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/EmptyNestMamaShopSend us Fan MailIf you are searching for a fresh, binge-able podcast, this might be the one for you!Support the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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BONUS: Give me a break! Is this the best product collab ever?
May 1200:47:50Tap to summarizePoor Jesse had a rough week, and Jenn was to blame for sending him a tweet about Amazon using AI chatbots to create podcast episodes for products. But soon his snarly frustration transforms into laughs as he shares one of the best product collaborations in Western history, a Kit Kat candy bar and Faraday cage for cellphones so people can take a real break rom those perpetual spy machines and/or distraction tools in our pockets. It only went up, up, up from there.And Jesse's therapy is really paying off. Listeners will notice that he-who-must-not-be-named-especially-in-relation-to-rockets is not referenced. Well, mostly.The news stories:Is this Hell? Raw Story, Nicole Charky-ChamiMaryland Is First State to Ban Surveillance Pricing in Grocery Stores, The Guardian, Sanya MansoorKit Kat Wrapper Faraday Cage - Give Yourself a Break and Put Away that Cellphone! Boing Boing, Gail ShermanSubscriptions to ChatGPT DropDisney Announcements, no more phones on moving rides and use of facial recognitionMade and offered in love for you, dear listener. Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Joshua Tree Campfire with special guest Abigail Kochunas
May 801:26:46Tap to summarizeAbigail Kochunas is a trauma-informed reiki specialist, an artist and a published poet, and actor. She describes herself as having gone from trauma "survivor to thriver." She understands the delicate nature and importance of both trauma recovery and spiritual awakening at a human scale - having the experience of that lived-in experience.Jesse and I ask her about her gifts, the unique family she was raised in, and how she came to learn that she could talk with animals. Her story, her life, her journey? I hope they inspire YOU to dive headlong into your own beautiful life, dear listener.AWAKEN. HEAL. EVOLVE. UPLIFT. All of Abigail's links: Website & GalleryEtsy ShopSubstackUSE Listener Discount Code: AIPOD — $25 off a session as a gift from AbigailReview us on Yelp and GoogleIG: @sacredhealing_artSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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BONUS: Jenn Tests Jesse on Modern Slang
May 500:44:20Tap to summarizeShow IntroIt's about damn time we lightened it up, like fully and completely, Jesse. And I thought what better way than to catch you up with modern slang. Who knows? Maybe it'll make your next barn sale even more fun!(JH) And Jesse...I'm gonna start REALLY easy. This first batch comes from FOX 5's Tyler Thrasher. Here goes:"Clanker" is a derogatory term for robots or artificial intelligence. The term originated from the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" animated series, where it was used as a slur for battle droids, and is now being used again as robots and AI become more prominent in daily life, according to a video of middle schoolers explaining "Clanker" to their teacher, user @mr_lindsay_sped, on TikTok. If your middle-school student is used to a Roomba at home cleaning the floors, you may start to hear the word "clanker" being thrown around as if they are having an argument with one another."Crashout" means to "throw a fit," "lash out," or have a "meltdown". The term has a new meaning for Gen Alpha, as previous generations used it to mean "go to sleep hard." This one has been around a bit longer than "Clanker," but is likely the most common Gen Alpha slang term you will hear going into this new school year. To be honest, at least this one has some usefulness for adults as well. Because doesn't inflation, traffic and the 5 a.m. alarm make us all want to "crashout?""67" is from a viral meme associated with the song "Doot Doot (6 7)" by Skrilla. It is also linked to NBA star LaMelo Ball, who is 6'7" tall. It can be used for basketball references, to mean someone is "very tall," or in a comedic context to mean "so-so."Chopped - No, parents. This isn't a reference to The Food Network. "Chopped," in this context, means "bad," "ruined," "messed up" or of "poor quality.""Wow, did you see McKynleigh's outfit today? It is chopped." SDIYBT - Where do we even begin with this one? Here goes nothing. This is a niche internet acronym with conflicting definitions, including "Start diggin in yo butt twin" from a SpongeBob meme and "Stay driven, inspire yourself, be true." It is an internet acronym blending casual speech and texting culture.It is more likely the first one they're referencing, if we are being totally honest. Meltmaxxing- is a meme where you film yourself appearing to "melt" by letting your face go slack and double-chinned.The term Opp is a shortened version of "your enemy. Aura, an updated version of "vibe," refers to their perceived stylishness and strong presence.Maxxing, which is a slang term for optimizing one's physical appearance. (which we covered in a past episode)Skibidi is an oldie but goldie. A nonsensical term used to describe something chaotic or unexpected, often referencing a popular series of online videos.Alpha Sigma is still a title for an individual who is perceived as a leader, confident, and popular, often used in a humorous or ironic context. (JH) But Sigma alone means kind of B-Tiered person.Rizz is a term for one's ability to charm or flirt with another person. It is a shortened form of the word "charisma."And, of course, Ohio, which is often used in a meme to describe something strange, out of place, or chaotic.(JH) Take a mental break for a moment, Jesse. I found a great article about slang from Florida Today who writes; "School has been in session for almost an entire month already. Have your kids or the teachers in your life added any new words to their vocabulary?Internet slang is already confusing enough; now, it seems like there are enough new words and phrases to create another language, spoken solely between Gen Z and Gen Alpha.Thanks to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, some of&Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Dr. AI Will See You Now
May 101:00:15Tap to summarizeAfter covering the article about how bad AI is at diagnosing ER patients in a recent Doom Hole, I strong-armed Jesse into dedicating a whole episode to the subject. I hope it serves as a warning, and helps you to inform someone in your sphere to ALWAYS seek a real human being when dealing with health issues, mental OR physical. Let's get into it.(JH) Today on Substack I experienced a first. I was tagged on an AI-related article about a new law proposed in Utah, or maybe it's just an informal agreement at this stage. The agreement is between an AI company out of San Francisco to provide prescription refills for psychiatric medicines. The need, the state says, comes from overworked doctors, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists, and they see the AI bot to be a relief valve.I have real concerns about chatbots and human bodies. They mix like oil and water, at least at this moment in time. Chatbots, we are told, have black boxes of data training, programming, weighted algorithms, that we cannot know or see or tweak or question. They have proven to be sycophantic, give us what feedback it thinks we seek, and do not catch subtle cues. The human body, the degree-on-the-wall-nurse practitioner or doctor, is genetically predisposed to catch subtle cues. Thousands of years of fight or flight, of surviving DNA because our ancestors caught a subtle hint of trouble or whatever? It pays off when we interact with other human beings. In my response to that article, I mentioned Zoloft because it is personal. It can feel like a last-best-lifeline to the patient and when they experience severe side effects, like say, increased suicidal ideation? Scared to have that lifeline yanked away, they may not admit to them. But a human health practitioner? They might see the hesitation and ask a follow up question that could lead to helping the patient find a course of action that is truly lifesaving. A chat bot? Its degree framed on the wall holds a blank piece of paper.Sources:Potter Puppet Pals, YouTube5 Major Disadvantages of AI in Healthcare, Keragon.comDisadvantages of AI in Healthcare: What CTOs Should Be Aware of, TechMagic.coGoogle's healthcare AI made up a body part - what happens when doctors don't notice? The VergeMan Went to ChatGPT for Health Advice. What He Did Next Led to Poisoning and Psychosis, People MagazineWhen Algorithms Fail Medicine: Evidence of AI's Unfulfilled Promises in Healthcare, InfluxMDMmm mmm mmm mmm by the Crash Test Dummies - Ger O Donnell & Grainne Hunt Music, YouTube Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Rockets & Robots & Lil Pink Mice
Apr 2800:41:18Tap to summarizeThis week Jesse admits that Bezos' rockets live rent-free in his head. We talk about the week's AI headlines. Jenn shares the story of a little local fair where a strange guitarist interacted strangely. Article LinksBetter Offline episodePalantir and Farmland, CNBCSasha reporting on old economy and AI now - drop in productivity firstIs the Bezos marriage over? Reading faces...Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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