Peter and Aubrey dig into the Project Hail Mary film adaptation — both are big fans of the book and came in with high hopes and specific anxieties about how it would translate to screen. They start spoiler-free with their history with Andy Weir's work and their first impressions of the casting, then move into a full spoiler breakdown of the story, the Grace/Rocky relationship, the practical effects choice for Rocky, and what the filmmakers got right (and wrong) about adapting the book. Peter notes no medical fact this week, and Aubrey closes with a brief Astro Fact about the Artemis II moon launch.

Project Hail Mary — Book Backgrounds

• Aubrey came to the book recently via a recommendation from Hayden, listened on Audible, and loved it — specifically calling out the audiobook's interpretation of Rocky's voice as a standout experience. Peter claims Andy Weir hipster status, having bought The Martian on Kindle before it was picked up by a publisher.

Andy Weir's Body of Work

• Peter gives a quick rundown: The Martian (great), Artemis (a letdown), Project Hail Mary (a major return to form). Both agree the book is worth reading even after seeing the movie — it goes much deeper into the science and the characters' inner lives.

Spoiler-Free Premise

• Dr. Ryland Grace wakes up alone in a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he's there. The story unfolds through present-day mystery and flashbacks, piecing together how humanity ended up in crisis — and how he ended up being the one sent to solve it.

Ryan Gosling as Dr. Grace

• Aubrey was skeptical going in, having mostly seen Gosling in pretty-boy leading man roles. First trailer changed her mind; the performance won her over completely. Peter agrees he's a better actor than his typecast reputation suggests.

Directors: Lord and Miller

• Peter felt reassured once he knew Phil Lord and Chris Miller were at the helm. Credits discussed: The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, and their screenwriting work on the Spider-Verse films.

Rocky and the Practical Effects Decision

• Aubrey was relieved that Rocky — the film's alien character — was built as a practical puppet rather than pure CGI. Both agree it's the right call: the physical presence makes the central relationship feel genuinely earned.

Book vs. Film — Adaptation Discussion

• Both appreciate that the filmmakers understood that books and movies are different mediums. The movie streamlines and adds warmth; the book rewards readers with more depth. Neither feels like a substitute for the other.

No Medical Note This Week — Peter didn't have anything to share.

Astro Fact — Artemis II

• Aubrey notes the Artemis II moon launch, which had just taken off. Artemis III is planned to actually land on the moon — Aubrey's verdict: nothing ever goes to plan, so we'll see.

Peter and Aubrey do a mid-year check-in on their yearly themes — but first, Peter has to process something: Neurosis, his favorite band and a formative musical experience, just surprise-dropped their first album in nearly a decade on the spring equinox, and he has many feelings about it. The episode covers how both of their themes are going (fitness and peace for Aubrey; a flexible experimental framework for Peter), detours into the relative merits of Notion vs. dedicated apps, and closes with some genuinely good news: Aubrey is officially a published astrophysics author.

SHOW NOTES

• Neurosis surprise album drop — Peter opens the episode buzzing about An Undying Love for a Burning World, an unannounced album from his all-time favorite band Neurosis, released without warning on the spring equinox. He describes it as a life-dividing event: there's before Neurosis and after Neurosis.
• Neurosis backstory — A brief catch-up on the band: their last album was in 2016, then the Scott Kelly situation in 2022, then... silence. The new album adds Aaron Turner (of post-metal band Isis) and was recorded in three weeks in the Pacific Northwest.
• Fire in the Mountains festival — Neurosis was also revealed as the surprise headliner for this festival in Montana, held on First Nations land and raising funds for mental health and suicide prevention in First Nations youth.
• Yearly theme check-in — The main episode topic. Peter's theme is intentionally malleable — structured experimentation — and he's found mixed results: exercise started well, evening routine still shaky, creative output planning is a work in progress.
• Aubrey's theme: peace — Her theme centers on finding peace, and fitness has been the main vehicle. She's been locked in on a cut with her Apple Watch and the Athletic app since their last tracking-apps episode, and reports it's going well.
• Notion deep-dive tangent — Aubrey wants to use Notion to build a meal planning/recipe tracker as a creative project. Peter shares his own Notion journey, including his verdict: "I'd rather use five apps that full-ass what they do than one app that half-asses everything." He demos Mela, a dedicated recipe and meal-planning app, as an alternative.
• Learning sprints update — Peter's Q4 learning sprint spilled over (book prep took longer than expected, photography project hasn't started yet). He's also been doing some vibe coding. Aubrey's sprint got derailed by trying to finish her research paper.
• Aubrey's published astrophysics paper — Big news buried near the end: Aubrey is officially published as first author in an astrophysics journal. The timing just missed her grad school application window, but she's planning to reapply next year.
• Grad school rejection — Aubrey got rejected from the program she applied to and, understandably, went through a "no I hate you guys, I'm not doing math" phase before finding her footing again.
• Health note — Peter shares a study finding that a single dedicated chunk of exercise (e.g., one 5,000-step walk) produces measurably better outcomes than the same total steps spread throughout the day in small bursts.
• No Astro Fact this week — Aubrey flags it's coming next episode after she does a deep dive. Stay tuned.

Peter and Aubrey dig into the role music plays in their daily lives — not what they're listening to, but how and when they listen. The conversation covers workout playlists, surgery soundtracks, sleep conditioning, studying to isochronic tones on YouTube, and the art of playlist curation. A highlight: Peter reveals an elaborate system of thematic, pun-named playlists (Egyptian death metal, Lovecraft, Poe references) that genuinely impresses Aubrey, who mostly just has "My Pookies" and a birthday party banger playlist she still uses.

SHOW NOTES

• The topic: Peter proposes talking about the role music plays in their lives — not recommendations, but how and when they actually use it throughout the day.
• Aubrey's origin story: She shares a memory from childhood of seeing a hospital bio that described Peter as loving music — and being completely confused, because her only concept of "music" at the time was what her mom played on the piano.
• Vibes-based listening: Both Peter and Aubrey describe a shared but hard-to-explain phenomenon — channel-surfing through albums and playlists until something clicks, with no rational explanation for why one thing works and another doesn't.
• Albums vs. playlists: Peter listens almost exclusively to full albums, but creates playlists to queue multiple albums in a row. Aubrey curates mood-specific playlists of individual songs — and Hayden's entire music library is basically just her playlists.
• Peter's playlist names: An extended segment where Peter reveals his elaborate, pun-based playlist naming system — highlights include "A State of Denial" (Egyptian death metal / the band Nile), "Quoth the Raven" (bands with members of Nevermore), "An Elder List" (Lovecraft/Cthulhu-themed metal), and "Let My People Go" (all things Exodus).
• Blocked artists: Aubrey has Taylor Swift, Drake, and Kanye permanently blocked on Spotify. On Drake specifically: she always hated his voice, then the Kendrick beef gave her a "valid reason" she'd been waiting for.
• Surgery playlists: Peter reveals most of his surgeries finish in under one album's length, so he usually just starts an album. Longer cases (robotic surgery) get a full playlist.
• Study music deep dive: Aubrey credits a YouTube channel called Jason Lewis Mind Amend — isochronic tones over repetitive electronic beats, with thumbnails of animals wearing headphones — for getting her through her degree. She's convinced that if she heard the lizard video again, she'd involuntarily snap into astrophysics homework mode.
• Sleep conditioning: Aubrey listened to Five Easy Hotdogs by Mac DeMarco every night during her hospital shifts until her top 12 Spotify Wrapped songs were just the album, in order. Now it works on planes too.
• No Astro Fact or Health Note this week — both Peter and Aubrey come up empty, but Aubrey teases a spring break deep dive on an astrophysics concept.