Humanity has only been alive and kicking for a very brief period in the history of the Earth and a tiny fraction of the history of the Universe. Given this, is it possible that advanced civilisations existed on Earth prior to our arrival, but that they were so long ago that all evidence of their existence has disappeared? Will this fate befall ...…

With Democrats jumping in early to stake their claim as the next Democratic candidate for President of the United States, Donald Trump is reportedly reviewing his potential rivals and salivating at the thought of jumping in to a new campaign where he can do what he does best, attack his opponents, sow division and cause chaos, with himself appe ...…

Jussie Smollett made headlines recently for being the victim of an alleged hate crime when it was reported he was bashed by two assailants due to his sexual orientation. It has now transpired that the whole incident was an alleged hoax organised by Smollett himself, involving his payment by cheque to two Nigerian brothers to make it happen acco ...…

CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, returned for another year in January. The 2019 edition saw a resurgence of the humble laptop with a general excitement being generated for a number of models, but it also saw the usual crazy and out there prototypes that generate headlines but are not likely to see the light of the day in the marketplace. ...…

The third season of the Trump Presidency kicked off with a big in 2019 with Trump forcing a government shutdown over Congress’ refusal to give him money for his core campaign promise of building the Border Wall, despite the fact that the original promise involved Mexico paying for it. With many government workers facing financial crises of thei ...…

For years we have been told through fact and fiction that future was coming, but what if it is already here? With the democratization of technology, finding its way in to the hands of more and more people around the world, connecting us in ways that we never imagined possible before, have we already arrived at the future that was so often discu ...…

Steve and Ben discuss a range of tech topics in this episode of SciTech Culture including a review of the 2018 MacBook Pro which has become Ben’s main podcasting machine, the controversy surrounding the arrest of one of Huawei’s topic executives in Canada, an exploration of Facebook’s monetization practices as it pertains to whitelisting and bl ...…

The Trump Reality Show kicked itself in to an even higher gear with the Michael Cohen case hitting the headlines again, this time putting the heat on Donald Trump and his entourage and the Special Counsel Robert Mueller putting more pieces on the board to build his case against any wrongdoings from the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Steve and Ben ...…

From Trump’s erratic behaviour to the Democratic Blue Wave that occurred during the midterm elections, to the re-emergence of Brexit in to the headlines, as well as Facebook’s PR troubles and questionable corporate behavior, and everyone questioning Apple’s sales figures and health, it’s been a big month of news stories that have been recurring ...…

Belonging in the category of it being impossible to make this stuff up, the latest episode of the Trump Presidency went to brand new, insane territory this week when rapper and fervent Trump supporter Kanye West met with Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. Kanye spoke uninterrupted for sections at a time with a smiling and noddi ...…

Is your morning wake-up ritual of coffee making you fat? For those that partake in the dark brown liquid as a daily wake up routine, gaining unexpected and unwanted calories may be part of the bargain as it could be messing with your taste buds. Aside from adding too many additional calories to coffee such as milk, sugar and other sweet additiv ...…

Many a creative individual have attested to the use of psychedelics to enhance their creativity, often claiming that their best work was achieved while under the influence. There also claims by users of how the beneficial effects of psychedelics on mood, attitude and thought in their daily lives, but how true is this from a scientific perspecti ...…

Apple has released its new slate of iPhones, replacing the iPhone X with three new X phones in the line up with the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. Along with the new phones is a bump in the pricing, with the iPhone XS Max in particular setting a new benchmark for how much a smartphone should cost. The iPhone XR was a surprise in the li ...…

Its September, which means it’s time for Apple’s yearly iPhone event. With the iPhone X lineup to be updated and expanded to include a revised iPhone Xs, the introduction of the iPhone Xc or Xr, depending on the latest rumour, and the larger iPhone Xs Max, this year’s offerings will offer more on Apple’s drive to remove as much complexity from ...…

Just when you thought it could not get any crazier, along comes another set of events that has sent the Trump Administration straight in to Crazy Town. Beginning with John McCain’s funeral and Trump’s no show, Bob Woodward’s new book Fear which details how the inside of the Trump White House is a case of welcome to Crazy Town, to the anonymous ...…

Trump World keeps delivering on all counts and is showing no signs of slowing down on its controversy, intrigue, and downright craziness. Space Force 2020, Michael Avenatti considering a presidential run, Paul Manafort on trial for bank fraud and tales of extravagant spending, Rick Gates stealing from Manafort while working for him and inching ...…

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And so it follows that a new movement of long form discussion through podcasting has begun to capture the minds of many people on the internet as a reaction to the sound-bite social media culture led by Twitter that has taken a hold of mainstream news and media outlets as they compete to ...…

In today’s ever polarising world, it’s harder than ever to have a civilized discussion with a person who may not agree with everything you say. With technology enabling the tribalisation of specific like-minded groups who reinforce their own beliefs, are we rapidly approaching the point where we can never find common ground with each other? Ste ...…

YouTube has provided a platform for anyone to become a star while circumventing the traditional means to get there. One group of these new stars are the intellectuals, a group of very smart people who spend their time mounting intelligent discussions and debates for the public discourse, and who had previously only been confined to institutions ...…

For many years now, a tension has existed in the software development world between propriety apps and browser-based apps for the creation and execution of content and services for the end user. Steve Jobs famously attempted to go with the web apps option for the original release of the iPhone before reversing course with the second generation ...…

Just when you thought the President Trump reality show could not get any more sensational, along comes another bombshell with Trump’s new lawyer and former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, revealing that Trump knew about the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and that he reimbursed that payment to his fixer, Michael Cohen. With their ...…

Billionaire and tech visionary Elon Musk has been quoted as saying that if you are in a meeting and it’s turning out to be a waste of time, you should just walk out. For anyone working in big organisations, and for those set in office environments in particular, we have all attended meetings that have not been a good use of our time, but what i ...…

Two fascinating announcements from Microsoft recently have the potential to re-shape everything we know about Microsoft and its future direction, including the cornerstone of its success, Windows. With the head of Windows, Terry Myerson, leaving the company leading to a re-structure that sees Windows not have a direct head, and the announcement ...…

Facebook is facing its greatest scrutiny yet following the story of Cambridge Analytica harvesting the personal data of millions of Facebook users, with the social media giant seemingly unable or unwilling to appropriately address this type of problem within its own framework of algorithms. Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of US congress as a ...…

The news cycle under Donald Trump’s presidency has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride, but the multiple revelations and stories that appeared over the past week seems to have turbo-charged that ride to the extreme. Between James Comey’s tell-all book and interview, the stunning raid of the offices and residences of Trump’s personal atto ...…

With the increasing amount of smart and mobile devices we are adding in to our daily lives, have you ever wondered if those devices could be used against you in some way, particularly in the form of a court proceeding? There is much myth and conjecture about what today’s devices are capable of recording about us, but it must be tempered with th ...…

Stephen Hawking led a remarkable life, providing all of us with glimpses in to the inner most workings of the universe in a relatable and humorous way. The news of his recent passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from not only the scientific community, but also world leaders and the wider culture. His life was made all the more remarkable ...…

Apple has been known to prioritise form over function with its founder Steve Jobs infusing this approach in to the company’s DNA. However, this approach has its drawbacks when that form interferes with proper functionality, with a recent example being the news that employees at Apple Park have sustained minor injuries at Apple’s new spaceship c ...…

Humans and dogs have had a connection and relationship for thousands of years, with dogs being able to understand and respond to certain basic words and commands from their owners. A recent, unscientific study has suggested that dogs respond more to the types of communication that people use when speaking to babies than regular people, as the h ...…

We use them every day and we cannot imagine a time when we did not have them as part of our lives. Smartphones have added much capability and functionality to our lives to get things done while on the go, but are we using them in a way that is not healthy to the point of addiction? Steve and Ben examine the issues with smartphone over-use, whet ...…

The recent Parkland school mass shooting highlighted once again that the United States of America is still grappling with how to handle gun rights, gun control and the rights for ordinary citizens to be safe in public spaces. Previous attempts to deal with mass shootings in America have yielded little results, but this may change with the Parkl ...…

Tech giant Apple makes product to last, but how much life can you squeeze out of an iPhone? Scouring the internet via Google will yield varying results with different sites and forums claiming different success with getting the most of their iPhones. Apple appears to be on a support path from a software perspective of four to five years for iPh ...…

The latest shoe to drop in the Robert Mueller investigation of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US Presidential Election dropped in the last few days with the stunning indictment of thirteen Russian nationals on various charges, the most interesting of which being that they utilized social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as intended f ...…

In the past two decades, and particularly in the last decade, tech giants Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and more have had major impacts on society and its behavior through the hardware and software services they have created and provide to the public. Although all of these innovations have yielded enormous benefits for consumers, p ...…

It may have been a great publicity stunt, but the decision by Elon Musk and his team at Tesla to switch a required dummy weight for the top of their new rocket for a Tesla Roadster instantly made news around the world and generated a number of memorable images of the vehicle against the stunning backdrop of the Earth. Steve and Ben examine this ...…

When was the last song that captured your heart? When was the last movie that generated broad discussion of its themes, characters and stories? Why did it take the rise of Netflix and streaming services to bring back strong television shows rather than relying on pointless reality TV escapades? Steve and Ben examine the long degrade in the prod ...…

The second season of the Trump Presidency had an explosive start with a barrage of tweets from the main star Donald Trump, a new book which while lite on the facts paints an extraordinary depiction of the activities within the White House that rings truer than those facts, the revelation of Trump's affair with a pornstar, and Trump's art of the ...…

From a review of Star Wars The Last Jedi to dealing with the growing cultural anxiety of 2017 through Trump, Brexit and more, Steve and Ben wrap up 2017 in their final show for the year, as well as reflecting on the 100th episode of SciTech Culture and the end of seven full years of podcasting.

From its nebulous origins to its volatile trading and valuations, Bitcoin has always had an aura of Wild West mystery attached to its existence which have led many to consider it as either the next big invention in currency technology or an elaborate Ponzi scheme. What has been undeniable is the skyrocketing price of Bitcoin in 2017, which saw ...…

Will your smartphone cause a plane to crash if you don’t switch on flight mode? Will the petrol bowser explode if you use a smartphone in the near vicinity? Does prolonged use of calls while on a smartphone cause cancer? Steve and Ben examine the various myths around smartphones and their potential effect on people and the environment in certai ...…

What do you do with your old mobile phones? Do you sell them, hand them down, gift them to others? Or do they collect dust in the bottom of a drawer somewhere in your home? If it’s the latter, recycling your old mobile phone, and any other tech devices you have is the answer. Not only will it free up space in your drawer, it will more important ...…

Years in the making, and with almost two months of anticipation since Apple first announced it in September, the tech giant’s high profile new iPhone X is finally out for sale and shipping as of the beginning of this month. Sales point to a blockbuster release for the iPhone X and Apple. Many customers appear very happy with the new design and ...…

The reality show of the Trump Presidency continues to roll on, with several big episodes being run recently including the first indictments in the Robert Mueller Russian investigation of ex-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and the guilty plea of Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, the Democrats winning big in recent ma ...…

Facial recognition technology is becoming ever more present and used in our day-to-day lives, whether it be by law enforcement and governments through CCTV networks and other camera systems, to tight integration in our smart devices, with the most recent high profile example of this being Apple’s recently announced iPhone X smartphone. What are ...…

The city of London has determined that Uber is unfit to run its unique-style taxi service within the city, sighting a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications. In what will undoubtedly be a major blow to the tech company’s expansion in to the city as well as ...…

It’s September, which means Apple is rolling out the latest updates to its flagship product, the iPhone. 2017 is the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone, and in acknowledging this, Apple released the iPhone X, a new all-screen, no home button iPhone which it says will set the standard for the next decade of iPhone. Alongside the iPhone X w ...…

The operating system that sold the graphical user interface to the mainstream masses was Microsoft’s very own Windows 95 operating system, released twenty-two years ago to huge fanfare and supported by a brilliant marketing campaign that got many every day users excited about using a computer. Two decades on, Windows 95 may appear very old fash ...…

For the past 13 years, the Cassini probe has been exploring the system of Saturn, but Cassini's historic mission is about come to a dramatic end. With its fuel dwindling, NASA decided to crash the seven metre spacecraft into the ringed planet's atmosphere, lest it smash into one of Saturn's moons and contaminate a scientifically pristine site w ...…

Food Discoveries, the online TV series produced by Shirl Yang and Ben Warner back in 2009-2011 is making a comeback via Instagram, and integrated in to the SciTech Culture platform. Whereas the original series of 61 episodes were produced with a more traditional workflow from pre-production, production to post-production with dedicated cameras, ...…

In the wake of the violent and disturbing events that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia between groups of protestors, with some bearing neo-Nazi flags and logos and other white supremacist slogans, Donald Trump stunned just about everyone with his response and comments to the American Public and the world. First, he didn’t outright condem ...…