May 17, 2008

The May 17 show opens with Dr. Dave looking at Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope and marveling that his children could surf through space at ten years old, combining the Internet, educational television and parental influence in a way his generation never could. The program then reaches Paul Zway in Costa Rica during Expedition 08, where a 1979 Land Cruiser is kept dry and closed with duct tape and bungees, howler monkeys replace the alarm clock at four in the morning and dense rainforest blocks even satellite and GPS signals. A caller later asks where the name “Evil Steve” came from; Dr. Dave gives the complete brotherly answer in one sentence: if Evil Steve were your little brother, you would call him that too. Betty returns with a successful follow-up, explaining that a handwritten letter to AOL's chairman produced a corporate call when normal support had failed; Dr. Dave celebrates both the resolution and the continuing power of an old-fashioned letter. At the close, he declines to rush the remaining callers because he cannot do them justice, offers personal follow-up and reminds them that without listeners there is no show.

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Proposed air date. The available recordings may not contain the entire broadcast.

Recordings preserved for this date