Robot wolves are now being used to scare bears away from Japanese schools, scientists have grown mini Neanderthal brains and plugged them into little robots, and snakes are quietly topping the lethality leaderboard while everyone keeps blaming sharks. This week, Will and Rod bounce between wildlife deterrence, prehistoric brain tech, and a public health reality check that hits harder than any movie monster.

We start in Japan, where bears have been wandering into supermarkets and school grounds, and the solution is peak Japan: “monster robot wolves” with sensors, lights, and loud noises designed to scare bears off without harming them. They look like an 80s horror prop, but the goal is serious, keep people safe and avoid lethal control.

Then we head into the lab, where researchers have grown tiny Neanderthal brain organoids, nicknamed Neanderoids, and connected them to small crab like robots. It is fascinating, slightly unsettling, and a reminder that science will always find a way to make the past feel uncomfortably present.

Finally, we look at snakes as one of the world’s biggest killers, with India carrying a huge share of snakebite deaths, and we end with a cybersecurity story where a pen tester talked IT into handing over access on a phone call. Not ideal.

00:00 Japan Bear Surge

01:20 Meet the Hosts

02:58 Robot Wolf Deterrents

06:37 Upgrades and Risks

08:27 Neanderthal Mini Brains

12:03 Brains Wired to Robot Crabs

13:31 Fascism and Underlings

15:51 Torture Battalion Data

21:46 Animal Killers Teaser

22:35 Mosquitoes Kill Indirectly

23:30 Snakes Top the List

23:40 Floods and Snake Spikes

24:13 India Snakebite Mystery

25:07 Verbal Autopsies Explained

26:51 Antivenom Access Problem

28:22 Next Deadliest Animals Rundown

28:56 Parasites and Kissing Bugs

31:07 Elephants and Hunter Karma

33:15 Bears Sharks and Big Cats

35:06 Social Engineering Hack Story

38:40 Phone Calls Beat Security

39:05 Podcast Wrap and Callouts

SOURCES:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-robot-wolves-high-demand-075406454.html

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japan-built-robot-wolves-to-thwart-bear-attack-and-theyre-flying-off-the-shelves/

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01533-8/abstract

https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489067/snakebite-antivenom-deaths

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistosomiasis

https://elifesciences.org/articles/54076

https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-neanderthal-minibrains-grown-dish

https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/05/14/to-gain-root-access-intruder-just-had-to-ask/5239853

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/world/americas/actually-democracy-dies-in-hr.html