The crew revisits fear and horror, Georgia watches Blair Witch for the first time, and their Slay the Lake road trip. Science news: CRISPR defenses, semen-derived eye drops, and airborne eDNA.
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In Episode 63: “The Mini”, Joe, Nick, and Georgia recap Episode 62: Fear, Phobias, and Splatterpunk: When Terror Becomes Entertainment and share their road trip to Slay the Lake, an LGBTQ+ horror book festival at the Final Girl Bar in Kenosha, plus a stop at the Milwaukee Zine Fest on the way.
The crew shares a listener recommendation from Alex, John Wiswell’s 2024 novel Someone You Can Build a Nest In, and dig into an interesting question: why can some people read horror but not watch it? They also recommend The Monkey and Netflix’s Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, which share a similar vibe of generational cursed-object horror.
The science segment works through Nick’s use of the word “small”, and the communication barrier between non-scientist and scientist, before landing on how bacteria defend themselves against bacteriophages, CRISPR’s discovery and uses, and the frontier of epigenetic gene regulation. Joe then highlights two studies: one on semen-derived exosomes as a non-invasive eye-drop drug delivery system for retinoblastoma, and one on detecting wildlife via airborne environmental DNA, and what happens when you throw some Handwavium at the limitations.
The crew also shares what media they’ve been digging into: Blair Witch Project, Jason Takes Manhattan, SNL UK, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the video game Phasmophobia, and the book Strange Animals. And they celebrate Joe being named by the Guild Literary Complex as one of the 35 Writers to Watch! with a celebration event April 30th at Epiphany Center for the Arts.
Listen to Episode 62:
RABBIT HOLE OF RESEARCHFear, Phobias, and Splatterpunk: When Terror Becomes Entertainment
In the 62nd episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, Joe, Nick, and Georgia welcome splatterpunk author Phrique to the Basement Studio to dig into one of horror’s most primal questions: what separates a debilitating phobia from a Tuesday night movie with friends?
Check out what the RHR crew is creating:
Joe:
- Named by the Guild Literary Complex as one of the 35 Writers to Watch!
- Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories Anthology featuring a new story by Joe!
- Joe’s Sci-fi physiological thriller Novel: Will You Still Love Me If I Become Someone Else?
- Essay by Joe: From Beyond Press: Specific Knowledge: Jotham Austin, II, PhD on Transformations in Fiction
It’s science for Weirdos
Want to support the show? Tell your friends. Follow us on social media, Discord, share the podcast, and let us know what topics you are excited about. And to see all the content (studio images and artwork) subscribe to the Rabbit Hole of Research newsletter!
Stay curious, stay speculative, stay safe, and we’ll catch you in the next rabbit hole. Love Y’all!
Future Events to Hang with the Crew:
Podcast Cross-Appearances
- Watch Joe on Joe Compton’s YouTube channel 21Grams
- The RHR crew on Ben Tanzer’s This podcast will change your life: episode three hundred seventy-nine
Events & Conventions:
- Come celebrate Joe being named by the Guild Literary Complex as one of the 35 Writers to Watch! – April 30th at Epiphany Center for the Arts (7-10pm)
- 5th Annual Mai Fest – Blue Island, IL (May 9th 12-5pm)
- Creative Arts Summit – DIY Podcast Workshop at Lake County Public Libraryon May 23rd, 2026
- ConCarolinas – Charlotte, NC (May 29–31, 2026 ) – Joe attending as Guest
- Shore Leave 46 – Lancaster, PA (July 10-12, 2026)Lancaster Wyndham Resort and Convention Center
- Dragon Con – Atlanta, GA (September 3-7, 2026) – Joe attending as Professional
Upcoming Episodes
*The Mini will now be every other episode!
- Episode 64 – Into the Deep: Humans, Caves, and the Final Frontier: Guest: Ernie Bell, PhD (NASA and Blue Origin)What can living underground on Earth teach us about surviving on other worlds?
- Episode 66 – Planetary Defense: Saving Earth from Other Worldly Impact: Guest: Charles Blue
Exploring asteroid detection, planetary defense systems, and what it takes to protect Earth from cosmic collisions. - Episode 68 – Hive Mind: Plubris: Guest: Wes Thorn (returning guest — Simulation Hypothesis episode)The crew dives into hive minds, collective intelligence, and the blurry line between the individual and the swarm.
What the Crew is Digging, Links, Resources, and Topics Mentioned in mini and/or full episode:
Listener Comment:
- Alex recommended Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (2024) — a queer shape-shifting fantasy horror novel. Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel, Hugo Award finalist.
Topics Mentioned:
- CRISPR — bacterial immune defense system and gene editing tool
- Bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria
- Epigenetic gene regulation — turning genes on and off without changing the underlying DNA
- Exosomes — tiny vesicles cells use to pass information to each other
- Retinoblastoma — rare malignant eye cancer, most prevalent intraocular malignancy in children
- Airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) — surveying ecosystems and tracking species through genetic material in the air
- COVID wastewater surveillance — referenced as a parallel application of environmental DNA monitoring
Movies & TV:
- The Blair Witch Project (1999) — Georgia watched it for the first time and highly recommends it. Nick also gives a nod to the 2016 follow-up Blair Witch.
- Jason Takes Manhattan — Friday the 13th Part VIII (1989), watched at the Final Girl Bar during Slay the Lake. Joe’s favorite scene: Jason punches a guy’s head clean off on a rooftop in New York.
- The Monkey (2024) — watched after Episode 62, highly recommended. Similar vibe to Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.
- Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen — Netflix series, 8 episodes. Generational cursed-object horror with a similar tone to The Monkey.
- SNL UK — Nick is watching on Peacock and enjoying it. Currently on episode four.
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine — Nick just finished rewatching the full series. Stars Andy Samberg, comedy about a police precinct.
Video Games:
- Phasmophobia — Nick jumped back into the ghost hunting game after a crossover event with Alan Wake 2 was announced.
Books:
- Strange Animals — recommended by Georgia to Nick, who just started it. Georgia is about 70% through and confident enough in it that she recommended it after only five chapters.
Science Briefs:
- Harnessing semen-derived exosomes for noninvasive fundus drug delivery: A paradigm for exosome-based ocular fundus therapeutics
- Authors: Jiansong Zhao, Tian Yin, Yaxin Deng, Hongbing Liu, Mingli Wei, Chenxiao Chu, Xinxin Liang, Xiaoshuang Bi, Haibing He, Jingxin Gou, Xing Tang, and Yu Zhang
- Science Advances, March 27, 2026
- Researchers engineered exosomes (Georgia’s new favorite word), tiny particles released by cells, derived from semen to carry anti-cancer molecules and deliver them via eye drops directly to tumors in the retina.
- Answers blowing in the wind: Detection of birds, mammals, and amphibians with airborne environmental DNA in a natural environment over a yearlong survey —
- Authors: Mark D. Johnson, Matthew A. Barnes, Nina R. Garrett, Elizabeth L. Clare
- Environmental DNA, 2023
- A yearlong field survey demonstrated that airborne dust passively collected from the environment contains detectable DNA from a wide range of species: including amphibians, birds, and both small and large mammals.
