Mark and Toddcast

Hosted by Mark and Toddcast

Technology Comedy ScienceExplicit

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Pour yourself something warm. Let it drizzle outside. This one's for the curious. The Mark & Toddcast is your weekly escape from the algorithm, the outrage cycle, and whatever fresh hell is trending. Broadcasting from the rainy heart of Portland, Oregon, two friends have spent 11 years and over 300 episodes doing exactly what you wish you could do at your favorite dimly lit neighborhood pub: sitting down with a pint and wandering through whatever's genuinely interesting. Consider us comfort food for your brain. Instead, expect pure Pacific Northwest chill and unfiltered curiosity about topics like: Why we absolutely hate the sound of our own voices The secret origin of the biohazard symbol America’s classified, Cold War plan to nuke the moon The Stanford Prison Experiment (and why it was actually kind of BS) Portland’s very own infamous Barbie-hacking culture jammers The unsolved mystery of the Toynbee Tiles And yes... the actual science of farts What’s in an Episode? The Catch-Up: A little life banter between two longtime friends navigating the Rose City. Just the Headlines: A quick spin through the weirdest, wildest science and culture news of the week. The Deep Dive: A 20-minute, high-level plunge into whatever strange subject one of us couldn't stop reading about. Meet Your Hosts: Mark spent his twenties operating nuclear reactors for the Navy before coming home to Portland's Silicon Forest to keep the machines that build microchips running. Now, he’s a technical director helping companies get found online. Todd has lived several lives—ad copywriter, artist, Newsweek-published writer, and an unrepentant Madonna superfan. Today, he’s a local therapist helping people untangle their stories and reconnect with the humans around them. Pull up a chair. Grab a local beverage. Science is funny.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 16, 2026Episode 3031 hr 0 min

Threat Level: AI

There has been some recent terrifying whistleblower and internal document warnings about the true, catastrophic harm we are headed for if and when AI escapes its confines, and we wish we could say it's all overblown media panic. But there is a lot to be concerned about. In this episode Mark takes the wheel to discuss the very real threats and concerns that AI technology is barreling humanity toward. Also, there was a terrible accident involving Mac & Cheese powder. I don't now which one of these things is worse.

August 13, 2026Episode 30240 min

The End of Lloyd and other stories

The Unipiper celebrates the closing of the iconic Lloyd Center by being kicked out, finding sugar in space, public backlash against AI data centers while the EPA removes pollution limits from them, a meteorite literally solves the mystery of life on earth, Portland's "Wildwood" crow tour, "Surprise! Your grandfather was Charles Manson!," the emptying of an entire movie theater showing "Spiderman" by a rogue wind-breaker, and FINALLY - our government STANDS UP against WOKE bike lanes. Enjoy!

July 13, 2026Episode 3011 hr 5 min

We're Going Bananas

This week we're back in the saddle to discuss some of the amazing things that have been happening, including our trip to see the Savannah Bananas baseball game, as well as the history of the Banana Ball league. Come for the Bananas, stay for the review of the bananas-good new Madonna album "Confession 2," as well as the wonderful new Rolling Stones albums of all things -- all that and iron lungs, the Portland world-champion of Yo-Yo, Meta "misses the mark with Instagram AI tool," and a "Mexican Batman" who keeps tying thieves to telephone poles. Enjoy!

June 29, 2026Episode 30049 min

Du Bist Gut Genug

In this episode, you'll learn that you really are enough. You'll also learn about quantum computing, Wenatchee, Todd and the Unipiper's trip to see "Back to the Future: The Musical," how wi-fi routers can identify people with 95% accuracy, and Grandma goes street racing.

May 28, 2026Episode 2991 hr 0 min

JESSICA?!

Does anyone even read these descriptions? You'll figure it out when you listen.

April 13, 2026Episode 2981 hr 9 min

This Episode Stinks: The Fascinating Feat of Finding the Facts of Flatulence

This week we take a look, um, "inward" with a discussion about the very real science of finally figuring out flatulence -- and more specifically, just *how* they do that, and what we can learn. Also, we take a trip to the small town of Dildo, Canada (located in Conception Bay), then to space with Artemis 2, transporting antimatter at CERN, finding out who's filling the sidewalk cracks of SE Portland, and one of the best phrases you'll ever hear: "non-sentient monkey 'organ sacks.'" All that and no politics!

March 16, 2026Episode 2971 hr 13 min

The Most Sold Product of All Time

This week we take a rollicking journey through Mark's gluten and boat news, the rise of Clavicular and LooksMaxxing, how much clouds weigh, Mark's ChatGPT humiliation fetish, hacking the French language, Ohio tries to steal Sasquatch glory, and finally, digging into the biggest selling product of all time -- what is it, and how did it come to dominate? Find out this week!

February 16, 2026Episode 2961 hr 0 min

Birthdays, Bowels, and Beyond

tbh so much goes on in this episode there's no way to summarize it.

January 26, 2026Episode 29547 min

Meaningless + Memorable: the Biohazard Symbol

Creating a new symbol to reflect the deadly consequences of something completely undetectable required two essential components: the symbol had to be meaningless enough to carry zero current meaning to any culture on earth, yet had to be memorable enough for people to remember what it means. This week we go from Ancient Egypt and the pyramids to the creation of the biohazard symbol in the 20th century. Also, we learn wtf is going on with beavers and their hatred of running water.