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002 Smart Mosquito

Mike O'Meara, Robb Spewak, Josh Sroka

September 10, 2026 · 1 hr 33 min

In Episode 002, Robb and Josh discover that mosquitoes may be getting smart enough to work around insect repellent, launching an urgent investigation into DEET, bug intelligence, the animal kingdom’s unofficial IQ rankings, and whether a mosquito could someday outsmart a chicken.…

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Show notes

Then Brian Boone, fact curator for Uncle John’s All-Knowing Bathroom Reader, joins the show to explain how bizarre facts make it onto the page, what it takes to verify the unbelievable, and why bathroom reading became an institution.

Plus, the microphones were rolling during Robb and Josh’s Outer Banks adventure. Hear them roam the Wright Brothers museum, evaluate aviation history in real time, and stumble toward an idea they’re saving for the Founders.

Smart bugs, strange facts, vacation audio, and two hosts asking the questions science was afraid to answer.

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TranscriptRead Transcript · EN

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is Jerry Howe, found the listener 07-4.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was here at the beginning.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know things.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're listening to still talkin' with Rob and Josh.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rob, spewack.

[SPEAKER_00]: Josh, suckers, still talkin'!

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

[SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, we're here.

[SPEAKER_05]: We're still walking.

[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, but I mean, it's like Jerry Al's going to come and say, hey, I know things.

[SPEAKER_04]: You better keep it together or talk about topics I like because I know things.

[SPEAKER_04]: Well, good news.

[SPEAKER_04]: Anything that I can be blackmailed for has already been revealed.

[SPEAKER_04]: Well, no, the internet years ago.

[SPEAKER_05]: I think Jerry is in defense of us.

[SPEAKER_05]: He's saying listen.

[SPEAKER_05]: Oh, okay.

[SPEAKER_05]: Because I know things.

[SPEAKER_05]: See that.

[SPEAKER_05]: That's us.

[SPEAKER_05]: It's in support of us.

[SPEAKER_04]: You're being very optimistic and I just felt attack.

[SPEAKER_05]: I don't suppose that's a good idea.

[SPEAKER_04]: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

[SPEAKER_05]: I've had a lot of alone time after you left and I've gotten so many tears were tears shed when I left.

[SPEAKER_05]: No tears, but I just moved to your bed so I can explain it to your bed.

[SPEAKER_04]: I think that's nice.

[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I thought it was weird that you didn't want me to make it up for changes sheets or anything.

[SPEAKER_04]: I have to go wash all the sheets so I can just go all at once.

[SPEAKER_04]: Um, first off, and perhaps most important of anything we start by saying thank you to our founders.

[SPEAKER_04]: Um, we just heard from, uh, founder number 74 Jerry Howell, but we have, round about 150 founders right now.

[SPEAKER_05]: And I hope the founder numbers.

[SPEAKER_05]: I love hearing founder.

[SPEAKER_04]: I do too.

[SPEAKER_04]: refer to yourself by found it.

[SPEAKER_04]: In fact, um, got a beautiful intro from Rick Scofield, who didn't name his number and didn't even say his name.

[SPEAKER_04]: So I sent it back to him.

[SPEAKER_04]: I said Rick, you did not do the job right.

[SPEAKER_04]: We were pretty specific.

[SPEAKER_04]: You need to stay in the name and your number.

[SPEAKER_04]: But it is this ground swell of enthusiasm and approval, and sort of an endorsement for a show that hasn't happened yet, is really exciting.

[SPEAKER_04]: Josh and I are really thrilled to know what's coming up and the fact that you guys are on board with it, it means the world.

[SPEAKER_05]: So if you haven't gotten on board yet, as a founder,

[SPEAKER_05]: If founder membership gets you a year of the premium product, it gets you a t-shirt, it gets you a pin.

[SPEAKER_05]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_05]: It gets you for current founder-only founder-valt episodes that you'll get instantly when you sign up.

[SPEAKER_05]: And we're working on the fifth one right now.

[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, there's more content to come, but all this will only be available to the founders.

[SPEAKER_04]: So if you want to get it on the ground floor and know what's going on, it's a great value.

[SPEAKER_04]: Is it, I mean, I know I would pay six, seven, eight hundred dollars to be a founder.

[SPEAKER_04]: What is the going rate?

[SPEAKER_04]: It is $150.

[SPEAKER_04]: That's it, that's it, the price of a cup of coffee.

[SPEAKER_05]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_05]: And that's just for your first year, it renews at 120.

[SPEAKER_05]: There's some extra in there to take care of t-shirts and pins and really just support us with the launch of this thing.

[SPEAKER_05]: And we're so appreciative.

[SPEAKER_04]: And you will always have your number and you will always be featured on our website as a founder.

[SPEAKER_04]: So we thank you for that.

[SPEAKER_04]: Very, very exciting as we move forward and also Josh and I texting like high school girls every time a new founder signs on.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is Jerry Howe, found the listener 07-4. [SPEAKER_00]: I was here at the beginning. [SPEAKER_00]: I know things. [SPEAKER_00]: You're listening to still talkin' with Rob and Josh. [SPEAKER_00]: Rob, spewack. [SPEAKER_00]: Josh, suckers, still talkin'! [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, we're here. [SPEAKER_05]: We're still walking. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, but I mean, it's like Jerry Al's going to come and say, hey, I know things. [SPEAKER_04]: You better keep it together or talk about topics I like because I know things. [SPEAKER_04]: Well, good news. [SPEAKER_04]: Anything that I can be blackmailed for has already been revealed. [SPEAKER_04]: Well, no, the internet years ago. [SPEAKER_05]: I think Jerry is in defense of us. [SPEAKER_05]: He's saying listen. [SPEAKER_05]: Oh, okay. [SPEAKER_05]: Because I know things. [SPEAKER_05]: See that. [SPEAKER_05]: That's us. [SPEAKER_05]: It's in support of us. [SPEAKER_04]: You're being very optimistic and I just felt attack. [SPEAKER_05]: I don't suppose that's a good idea. [SPEAKER_04]: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no [SPEAKER_05]: I've had a lot of alone time after you left and I've gotten so many tears were tears shed when I left. [SPEAKER_05]: No tears, but I just moved to your bed so I can explain it to your bed. [SPEAKER_04]: I think that's nice. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I thought it was weird that you didn't want me to make it up for changes sheets or anything. [SPEAKER_04]: I have to go wash all the sheets so I can just go all at once. [SPEAKER_04]: Um, first off, and perhaps most important of anything we start by saying thank you to our founders. [SPEAKER_04]: Um, we just heard from, uh, founder number 74 Jerry Howell, but we have, round about 150 founders right now. [SPEAKER_05]: And I hope the founder numbers. [SPEAKER_05]: I love hearing founder. [SPEAKER_04]: I do too. [SPEAKER_04]: refer to yourself by found it. [SPEAKER_04]: In fact, um, got a beautiful intro from Rick Scofield, who didn't name his number and didn't even say his name. [SPEAKER_04]: So I sent it back to him. [SPEAKER_04]: I said Rick, you did not do the job right. [SPEAKER_04]: We were pretty specific. [SPEAKER_04]: You need to stay in the name and your number. [SPEAKER_04]: But it is this ground swell of enthusiasm and approval, and sort of an endorsement for a show that hasn't happened yet, is really exciting. [SPEAKER_04]: Josh and I are really thrilled to know what's coming up and the fact that you guys are on board with it, it means the world. [SPEAKER_05]: So if you haven't gotten on board yet, as a founder, [SPEAKER_05]: If founder membership gets you a year of the premium product, it gets you a t-shirt, it gets you a pin. [SPEAKER_05]: Yes. [SPEAKER_05]: It gets you for current founder-only founder-valt episodes that you'll get instantly when you sign up. [SPEAKER_05]: And we're working on the fifth one right now. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, there's more content to come, but all this will only be available to the founders. [SPEAKER_04]: So if you want to get it on the ground floor and know what's going on, it's a great value. [SPEAKER_04]: Is it, I mean, I know I would pay six, seven, eight hundred dollars to be a founder. [SPEAKER_04]: What is the going rate? [SPEAKER_04]: It is $150. [SPEAKER_04]: That's it, that's it, the price of a cup of coffee. [SPEAKER_05]: Yes. [SPEAKER_05]: And that's just for your first year, it renews at 120. [SPEAKER_05]: There's some extra in there to take care of t-shirts and pins and really just support us with the launch of this thing. [SPEAKER_05]: And we're so appreciative. [SPEAKER_04]: And you will always have your number and you will always be featured on our website as a founder. [SPEAKER_04]: So we thank you for that. [SPEAKER_04]: Very, very exciting as we move forward and also Josh and I texting like high school girls every time a new founder signs on. [SPEAKER_04]: That's awesome. [SPEAKER_05]: Very fun to get a text. [SPEAKER_05]: We're one of us finds that the number has increased before the other. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, and I started by just like sending memes and a gifs or are they gifs or gifs? [SPEAKER_05]: Well, you would send me jersey numbers. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_05]: So you send a football player with number 12. [SPEAKER_04]: Right. [SPEAKER_05]: And now the number. [SPEAKER_05]: I think a lot. [SPEAKER_04]: A lot of times you look at it's a, I don't know why he's sending that. [SPEAKER_04]: Before it sunk in that, what I was doing. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_05]: It took me a moment to be like, what are you talking about? [SPEAKER_05]: And then I figured out the number means something. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, because you were still in the outer banks and I just spent a few days with you down there. [SPEAKER_04]: It was outside of the cruise, which was full of distractions last year. [SPEAKER_04]: This was the most time we've spent together in person. [SPEAKER_04]: And I think it bones well for the show because whether or not you like it, folks, Josh and I had a blast with each other. [SPEAKER_04]: We find each other very entertaining. [SPEAKER_05]: It is. [SPEAKER_05]: And we've got a, we have a full show today because one of the things we did is we wore microphones for an entire day. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, and it was the kind of microphones, if you remember, are one off about our trip to King's Dominion for an hour under the tower. [SPEAKER_04]: We forget that we're wearing the microphones. [SPEAKER_05]: Yes. [SPEAKER_05]: Yes. [SPEAKER_05]: We do. [SPEAKER_05]: And it recorded about eight hours of audio while we were wearing it and out and about I have narrowed that down with AI with it's fun when I give the audio to AI and I say go through these eight hours see if there's anything entertaining see if there's anything that's not visually based and bring the best 22 minutes that you can. [SPEAKER_04]: At any point, do you anticipate a message back from AI like after an hour? [SPEAKER_04]: And it says, there is nothing entertaining. [SPEAKER_04]: That happens. [SPEAKER_05]: That's what I expect. [SPEAKER_05]: I expect it to come back and be like, here's your best six minutes. [SPEAKER_04]: That's right. [SPEAKER_04]: And two minutes are commercials. [SPEAKER_04]: And one minute is the intro music. [SPEAKER_04]: But so those three minutes are great. [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm not even heard it yet. [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm not even heard it yet. [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm going to have four to go through. [SPEAKER_05]: And I've got 22 minutes to go through. [SPEAKER_05]: I think we'll do this. [SPEAKER_05]: Probably third segment of the show. [SPEAKER_05]: and it covers us to go into the right-brothers museum. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, it covers us on Kitty Hawk. [SPEAKER_05]: It covers some of our random conversations. [SPEAKER_05]: It covers the arcade, and it covers an amazing idea that we came up with for still talking. [SPEAKER_04]: Now, we may or may not get to the whole thing. [SPEAKER_04]: That's the thing. [SPEAKER_04]: We may grow tired of it. [SPEAKER_04]: But, no matter what, we will listen to some of it today, and the rest of it will be posted as another founders thing, I guess. [SPEAKER_05]: If we don't get through the whole thing, we will just post it as is. [SPEAKER_04]: Now, question for you as I did enjoy my time at the outer banks. [SPEAKER_04]: It didn't seem, and you know, you go to different beaches, they can be buggy. [SPEAKER_04]: You can get mosquitoes. [SPEAKER_04]: You can get the worst thing are like horse flies, and I know that sometimes on the eastern shore, if the wind is blowing out to sea, [SPEAKER_04]: you're riddled with horse flies because they're coming from the land and going to the beach. [SPEAKER_04]: If the wind is coming off the water, it tends to keep the horse flies away from the beach. [SPEAKER_04]: But either way, it's bad. [SPEAKER_04]: Mosquitoes are perhaps the most common villain when you're battling bugs at the beach. [SPEAKER_04]: And I read this article that really is horrifying. [SPEAKER_04]: I think it puts us at a distinct disadvantage, Josh. [SPEAKER_04]: Are you familiar with Diet? [SPEAKER_04]: Spell simply D-E-E-E-D, right? [SPEAKER_05]: When you go backpacking in the backwoods or anything, you put D-On to collect the mosquitoes off of you. [SPEAKER_04]: It was introduced in 1946, and it's actually called, let me get this right. [SPEAKER_04]: Difel Mata to Tulumide, which is an anti-misquito formulation. [SPEAKER_04]: It was made by the military, but eventually we came, I think, backwards off and cutter, and all of those insect repellents. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_04]: And it's great, because it will, you know, protect you from the scratchy bite. [SPEAKER_04]: It's probably killing you some other way, but it stops the itch. [SPEAKER_04]: the way it was created is uh... they say there are plants that there are roma uh... repels bugs i know i i think uh... you collectus maybe one of them and you know some flowers that are natural that repel bugs and they try to mimic that and i think it's one of those that keeps the skaters away [SPEAKER_04]: it keeps bugs away until it doesn't. [SPEAKER_04]: And here's what's horrifying. [SPEAKER_04]: There was a research team that was at Virginia Tech and they realized that mosquitoes are smart enough to learn. [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, first off, I don't like that. [SPEAKER_04]: I think that a mosquito should be stupid, and if it has the ability to learn, it becomes a much more, I think, size the opponent. [SPEAKER_05]: I mean, you don't want it to learn and come, no, no, no, because then it becomes like some of these smart birds, like, crows and ravens where it's like, no, you're too smart. [SPEAKER_05]: I don't want it anywhere near me, you're creepy. [SPEAKER_04]: Crows remember people, crows were being you presence if they like you, and crows will come after you if they don't like you. [SPEAKER_04]: So I don't like smart birds. [SPEAKER_04]: I don't like birds as a rule. [SPEAKER_04]: I really don't like owls. [SPEAKER_04]: Hate bats, but bats are just flying mammals. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, bats are not birds. [SPEAKER_04]: But preachers of the air, I find them, you know. [SPEAKER_04]: upsetting, but this morning mosquito, no, so the mosquito, when you freshly apply deed, the mosquito is repelled by it, but as it fades, it's less effective because you know it's working on the whole factory sense, the smell that the mosquito, so the problem is the scent fades, but doesn't go away entirely, and the mosquitoes will come and bite you. [SPEAKER_04]: What mosquitoes are learning [SPEAKER_04]: If they go after someone who smells faintly of deed, [SPEAKER_04]: There's a meal to be had. [SPEAKER_04]: That deed is drawing them to the people, because they know that this is a warm-blooded creature that put this deed on, deed on, put on this deed. [SPEAKER_04]: And under that deed is tasty, human blood. [SPEAKER_04]: Mosquitoes are learn