- 2 days ago
This week, we’re going to hear about how cyberattacks targeting refrigerators, and how your own fridge, garage door or even your vacuum could be at risk. We’ll also hear about a theory that we’re all wired to get messages from ghosts. Then, we’re learning about how China is trying to set up a space station on the moon and we’ll hear about what it’s like inside a restaurant when Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy decides to give one of his famous pizza reviews.
Special thanks to A New Morning out of WBEN in Buffalo, Paranormal 360 out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities, KCBS Radio in the Bay Area and Brian & Company out of WTIC in Hartford.
Special thanks to A New Morning out of WBEN in Buffalo, Paranormal 360 out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities, KCBS Radio in the Bay Area and Brian & Company out of WTIC in Hartford.
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NewsTranscript
00:11Welcome to a Weird News Roundup, presented by Odyssey's Something Offbeat podcast.
00:17We explore strange tales reported on by Odyssey's radio newsrooms from coast to coast.
00:24I'm your Roundup host, Lauren Berry.
00:27This week, we're going to hear about cyberattacks targeting refrigerators.
00:33And how your own fridge, garage door, or even your vacuum could be at risk.
00:39We'll also hear about a theory that we're all wired to get messages from ghosts.
00:46Then, we're learning about how China is trying to set up a space station on the moon.
00:53And we'll hear about what it's like inside a restaurant when Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy decides to give one of
01:01his famous pizza reviews.
01:04First, let's learn about those cyberattacks from Mike Dobusky, an ABC News tech reporter,
01:11who joined Susan Rose and Brian Mazurowski on a new morning out of Odyssey's station WBEN News and Talk in
01:19Buffalo.
01:20Well, really, we've been talking about it for the past week, this growing concern over cybersecurity.
01:27The, you know, the problem with a lot of webpages and websites that was flagged a little over a week
01:33ago.
01:34And now you have these cyberattacks coming left and right, going after fridges in Europe.
01:42What was this latest?
01:43Yeah, so a variety of European grocery store chains in Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg reported that some of their refrigerators
01:52or freezers heated up dramatically to about 120 degrees in some cases.
01:57Obviously, this caused food to spoil.
01:59A lot of food at these grocery stores needed to be thrown out.
02:02It appears to have been an IT issue with one of these chains saying that they're taking their freezer systems
02:08offline as they try to understand the problem.
02:10Most modern freezer aisles, guys, are connected to the Internet in some way or another so that a grocery store
02:16chain can remotely monitor the temperature of these systems and change it if need be.
02:22You imagine in the event of a heat wave, for example, which Europe has been dealing with, they can kind
02:27of adjust how their freezers work, how cold they get.
02:30These chains do say this happened just before a system update was set to go live in these smart freezer
02:36systems, a system update that was brought about in large part because of a very similar issue that happened in
02:43France last month,
02:44where hundreds of smart fridges and freezers suddenly became a lot hotter, spoiling a lot of food.
02:51We're not hearing from authorities that these two incidents are connected just yet, but there are some obvious similarities here.
02:57And here in the U.S., the Pentagon now says it's investigating similar incidents on military bases, specifically at commissaries,
03:04which are like grocery stores on military bases for families.
03:08They're not saying that that is a cyber attack or if it's connected to what's going on in Europe, but
03:13it's also out in the air, another piece of this puzzle.
03:15So, IT issue, you know, a system update or hack, it sounds like it, at this point, may not be
03:22malicious.
03:23Well, I don't know if we can say that just yet because there certainly was a lot of fallout from
03:28all of this.
03:29As we said, you know, this is disruptive to the grocery store chains, to the people who rely on them
03:33every day.
03:34Again, we're in the very early stages of sort of understanding what happened here.
03:38Certainly, it isn't as, you know, mission critical as, like, you know, the Department of Defense getting hacked or anything
03:44like that.
03:44But it's pretty serious when it comes to, you know, just thinking about some of the real risk vectors that
03:50are out there as it applies to Internet-connected technology.
03:53You might not think of a freezer in the grocery store as being connected to the Internet, but, you know,
03:58for a while now, it really has been.
04:00You know, it's been relatively commonplace, in large part because it makes sense, you know, just logistically for the companies
04:05that own and operate these things to have remote control over their temperature.
04:09But the bigger picture here, guys, is that the smart home industry doesn't have the best reputation for cybersecurity, in
04:15large part due to simple logistics.
04:17You replace, you know, your phone or your laptop pretty frequently.
04:20You do system updates on those things because they're in front of you all the time.
04:24You reboot those things more often.
04:26They get the kind of latest cybersecurity tech, you know, through those system updates.
04:32How often are you hanging around on, like, the app for your smart fridge or your smart microwave or your
04:37Roomba?
04:37Probably not as much, right?
04:39And that means they don't get those system updates as frequently.
04:42That applies just as much to, you know, the individual as it does to these enterprise systems where they, you
04:48know, kind of own and operate these things.
04:50And it seems like this is, you know, kind of the natural outgrowth of that.
04:54You've been mentioning it.
04:55It highlights just how connected we are to the Internet in ways that we might not think of it.
05:02I mean, the freezer section at the grocery store, who would have thought before yesterday?
05:05Probably not most people.
05:07But you're talking about things in your home.
05:09I was thinking about my TV yesterday and how everybody's TV just about is hooked up to the Internet in
05:15some way, shape, or form.
05:16And what maybe could be – I mean, there's microphones and cameras and everything else on TVs and everywhere else
05:24in everybody's homes that could be manipulated.
05:26We've heard about this with baby monitors for years.
05:29It's highlighting some of these vulnerabilities.
05:32And I guess the question is, if it's not us, you know, directly with our software, you know, we can
05:38do a software update.
05:39We can't do a software update if the update doesn't exist yet.
05:42How severe is the problem everywhere in finding people to figure out how to patch up these security holes in
05:52a timely manner?
05:52I mean, they've got to act quick.
05:55Certainly.
05:56And it's an age-old problem in the cybersecurity space, right?
05:59You talk to really any cybersecurity expert, and they'll tell you that, you know, this is, you know, a marathon,
06:05not a sprint.
06:06This is something that, you know, the good guys make some sort of innovation to better protect systems at businesses
06:13or education departments or governments.
06:16And then, you know, the hackers, you know, develop something that is just as powerful that can kind of get
06:21through those new systems.
06:22And this is something that's been playing out really for decades at this point, guys.
06:26But it's only become kind of more acute as more and more things have linked up to the Internet.
06:31You mentioned, you know, smart home technologies like baby monitors.
06:35It goes even beyond that, right?
06:36Your car connects to the Internet.
06:38Your smart TV connects to the Internet.
06:40The idea here is that, you know, this stuff is vulnerable to attack, as we've said, in large part because
06:46it doesn't get the same attention that, you know, your everyday technology does.
06:50That, you know, just makes it all the more important to go through your home.
06:54You know, think about what gets connected to the Internet and make sure that it is as up-to-date
06:58as humanly possible.
06:59It's hard to not be connected, right?
07:01I mean, if one of your appliances goes down, chances are you're going to end up with a smart dishwasher
07:07or smart refrigerator, right?
07:09Certainly. And you also think that, like, this is a different risk than, you know, just your iPhone being hacked
07:16or something like that.
07:17Certainly that's a problem, given that there's a lot of, you know, sensitive information that people store on their phones.
07:21But if your, you know, garage door is connected to the, you know, smart home kind of system in your
07:27house, and suddenly that door opens, either erroneously or as a result of a hack, well, that's a real threat
07:34to, you know, your well-being.
07:36What if, you know, your smart thermostat turns off in the middle of the winter and suddenly your house gets
07:40really cold?
07:41Well, that's a health concern.
07:42So that's all just kind of the natural outgrowths of, you know, some of these risks.
07:46While our devices might be connected to the internet, our own bodies just might be connected to a network that
07:55includes loved ones who have passed away.
07:59That's the theory from Mark Anthony, who is known as the psychic lawyer and the psychic explorer.
08:06Anthony recently joined Dave Schrader of Paranormal 360 on Odyssey Station WCCO News and Talk in the Twin Cities to
08:16explain his theory.
08:19You know, yes, I'm a medium.
08:21I was born this way.
08:21I've been doing this for, you know, for years.
08:23But I still have a healthy amount of skepticism because when I explain and do my research, I do it
08:29through the lens of the scientific method of objective research.
08:34And I've known you long enough to where I know that that's what you do as well.
08:37Because we've been on paranormal investigations in Pensacola and at Estes Park.
08:42And, you know, you just don't go in assuming things.
08:47You lay out the devices.
08:50And if there's a medium present like me, you know, we collect the data.
08:55Then we analyze it.
08:57Why do you think that spirit connection manifests in so many different ways?
09:02And can you kind of describe some of those forms to us?
09:06Well, certainly.
09:06We're wired for spirit communication.
09:09All right.
09:10I developed the electromagnetic soul theory.
09:12Let me start there.
09:13Everything we know is made of molecules, which in turn are made of atoms, which in turn are composed of
09:18electrons, protons, and neutrons, which are composed of a wave particle, the smallest particle of energy known as a quantum.
09:28That's where we get the term quantum physics.
09:30That's pure electromagnetic energy.
09:32So everything in the material universe, Dave, that means you and me, the chairs are sitting on, the microphones we're
09:39speaking into, the radio waves this program is being broadcast on, the rings of Saturn and beyond, are all on
09:46the fundamental level, the same form of EM, electromagnetic energy.
09:51So our brain, which is an organ in our head, did not create consciousness.
09:58It's a formatting instrument.
10:00It's like a computer hard drive.
10:02So the EMS, the electromagnetic soul is my theory, and that when the hard drive crashes, we get uploaded to
10:14a higher frequency, okay?
10:17People that are left behind are grieving your thoughts, your emotions are electromagnetic impulses.
10:24So connected through a three-dimensional spider web.
10:27Now, how do spider webs work?
10:28Through vibration.
10:30So you're grieving, let's say you're grieving your mom, and then all of a sudden something happens or your attention
10:35is drawn to something.
10:36You look at it, maybe a number sequence or something, or you smell her perfume, but there's no source for
10:45it.
10:45You immediately think of your mom.
10:47Do you think that was a coincidence?
10:50Up next, we're going to hear about China's plans for the moon, and we'll get a behind-the-scenes look
10:57at how those one-bite pizza reviews work.
11:01All on this Weird News Roundup from Odyssey's Something Offbeat.
11:08Thank you for listening to this special presentation of Weird News from Odyssey's Something Offbeat.
11:14We went to the moon in 1969, and we're trying to get back there before the 2020s are over.
11:22However, NASA isn't the only space agency with lunar goals.
11:28China wants to land there too, and set up a base on the moon.
11:34Jason Brooks of Odyssey station KCBS Radio in the Bay Area recently spoke with Bloomberg's Bruce Einhorn about China's hopes
11:43for the moon.
11:45Let's start out with China's goals for sending people to the moon.
11:49How is China stacking up against the U.S. for putting somebody on the moon for the first time in
11:54over 50 years?
11:56Well, China has never sent anyone to the moon, unlike the U.S., of course.
12:00China has a program that they've been working on, making a lot of progress.
12:05Their goal is to have somebody there by 2030.
12:10The U.S. is trying to get back there sooner than that.
12:15The U.S. Artemis program has a goal of sending astronauts back to the moon by 2028.
12:23The NASA program, though, is a lot more complicated than the Chinese one, and so it's far from certain that
12:33the Americans are going to win.
12:34Yeah, the U.S., you've got SpaceX and Blue Origin involved in all of this.
12:40How is that different in China?
12:42Is it more aligned in China when it comes to the state-run companies helping push the country up to
12:48the moon and to Mars?
12:50That's a good question.
12:51China does have a private sector that is focused on space, but when it comes to things like the lunar
13:01mission, that's something that's really driven by the government, by the state sector.
13:07Unlike, say, here in the U.S., where both SpaceX and Blue Origin have much more significant roles.
13:15We've heard Elon Musk talk about setting up a post on Mars.
13:19China now wants to do that.
13:20How realistic is that by their timeline?
13:24Well, short term, the focus is very much on the moon and also on things closer to Earth, like creating
13:34satellite networks in low Earth orbit that could compete against Starlink, the satellite network run by SpaceX.
13:45Longer term, the Chinese do want to explore deeper into space, possibly sending some people eventually to Mars.
13:55China does have or has had success landing on Mars.
13:59It's one of only a few countries that has done that.
14:04But getting people to Mars is very much a long term, a long term project.
14:09How concerned is the U.S. about falling behind China in a space race?
14:14It's something that we hear about a lot in Washington from both Republicans and Democrats.
14:20There is a lot of concern about what it might mean if the Chinese were to not just win the
14:27race to get people back to the moon, but also succeed in establishing permanent bases near the lunar South Pole,
14:35where it's thought that there are a lot of resources or potentially resources like water ice that could be used
14:42for not only having a long term presence on the moon, but potentially launching out to Mars and elsewhere.
14:53So the worry is that maybe the Chinese would monopolize the prime areas and make it more difficult for the
15:01Americans to to get to those places.
15:05So that's one reason that people are concerned about losing this race.
15:10It's not just simply a matter of a matter of face.
15:14And I guess one final question while we're focusing on the U.S. and China here.
15:18Where does Russia stand in this?
15:21The Russians have and the Soviets before them, of course, were trying to get to the moon, lost that first
15:28moon race back in the 1960s and never did actually send any cosmonauts to land on the moon.
15:36Russia did have a uncrewed robotic probe that they tried to land on the moon a few years ago that
15:45didn't succeed.
15:46I think the Russians are they haven't officially given up on the moon, but they are a partner with China
15:55in what they call the International Lunar Research Station.
15:59So this the permanent base that they want to have near the South Pole.
16:02That's a project that the Russians are working with the Chinese on.
16:06I think fair to say that the Chinese have a pretty big role on that.
16:11I'm not sure just how big of a role Russia has.
16:13It's going to be fascinating to watch this play out.
16:16To end our show, we're going to come back down from outer space and head to Manchester, Connecticut.
16:23That's where you can find Randy's Worcester Street Pizza, one of the latest pizza shops where Dave Portnoy of Barstool
16:31Sports visited to give one of his famous one bite pizza reviews.
16:38What's that experience like?
16:40Stacey Cerreo from Randy's joined Brian Shackman of Brian and Company on Odyssey Station WTIC in Hartford with all of
16:50the details this week.
16:52You got an 8.1, which is an amazing score.
16:54And on the app, that means people are going to come just because of it.
16:58And they are.
16:58So this is what I want to get into.
17:00So, I mean, because I have a lot of like really curious questions.
17:03When did you find out he was coming?
17:06Oh, we didn't know he was coming.
17:07You had no idea.
17:09No, no.
17:09You don't usually know when people like that show up.
17:13Do they phone in the order?
17:16They, you know, I was actually working at Rentschler for when he was there for Barstools when he came in.
17:21But I believe that they phoned it in, yeah.
17:24Okay, because what I want to know first and foremost with these is that do you know you're making a
17:28pizza for him?
17:29No, absolutely not.
17:29I have no idea.
17:30Because everyone, if you know pizza, you know his style.
17:32So I always wonder if they cater the order to him.
17:34You have no idea.
17:36No.
17:36In fact, when he walked in, my staff didn't recognize him.
17:42So.
17:43That's great.
17:44Yeah.
17:44To me, that makes it more authentic and better.
17:46Yeah, it's totally authentic.
17:47Okay, that's number one.
17:48And then, so you didn't know he was coming.
17:50You didn't know you were making the pizza for him.
17:52No.
17:53So talk about the communication when it actually happened.
17:57He literally just came up, picked up the pizza, paid for it, and went outside.
18:01So you weren't there.
18:02No one called you like David Portnoy to get your butt over here now.
18:06No.
18:08And nobody.
18:08I was in the middle of the UConn game though, so.
18:11Oh, that's when, that's when it was?
18:13Well, so I was actually prepping, sorry, for the UConn game.
18:17And they didn't.
18:18So they came in that Friday afternoon.
18:20Yeah.
18:20Yeah.
18:21And so, oh, wow.
18:23Because I always wonder, because a lot of times the owner's like there, and that's just
18:27happenstance.
18:27No, we were, we were preparing for him to, actually, I was hoping he would be at the
18:34stand at Renshler, but.
18:36He never showed up because.
18:37No, he was at the restaurant.
18:38He was at the game.
18:38I mean, yeah, and what's fascinating, this to me gives the reviews more credibility
18:43because sometimes I feel like the pizza places know it's him and then they make it the way
18:48he likes it.
18:49And it might not be the way their pizza really is.
18:51That's the way your pizza really is.
18:52That's 100% the way the pizza is.
18:54And I was nervous for you because the flop was a little floppy.
18:57It was.
18:57It was a little floppy.
18:58The one he pulled out was floppy, but then he went for a second slice.
19:02That one was not floppy at all.
19:03And I was watching the video over because we have video footage outside of the restaurant.
19:08So I didn't know what the score was until, what, four nights ago?
19:12And I was like.
19:13So nobody outside, nobody from the restaurant came out to listen to him at all?
19:17Are you kidding me?
19:19So, because our, you know, our main people were setting up.
19:24So.
19:25That's crazy.
19:26Yeah.
19:26And I thought if you go to Barstool, or I'm sure your social channels have it,
19:30then there were two young kids, like preteens.
19:32It was amazing.
19:33They come in the restaurant all the time, too.
19:34You know those kids?
19:35Yes.
19:36Yes.
19:36That was amazing.
19:37I've seen those kids grow up because, like, I've been at Worcester for.
19:41Yeah.
19:41Okay.
19:42So I've seen those kids grow up.
19:44And just having them walk by, that was the cutest thing ever.
19:47And authentic and organic, too.
19:49Yeah.
19:49The thing is, you know it was organic because one kid liked the Giants and one kid liked
19:53the Jets.
19:54Yeah.
19:54And Porter was like, who raised you?
19:56Actually, the best story about that is the kid came home and said, Mom, some guy was filming
20:01me eating a pizza on YouTube.
20:03And the mom wrote it on her social media.
20:07And she said, what do you mean a guy was filming you and eating pizza?
20:13And then she's, like, looking him up online and she's showing him a picture.
20:17Is it this guy?
20:17Is it this guy?
20:18And the kid's like, yeah.
20:19She's like, you're going to be famous now.
20:22That's great.
20:22I think it's cool that they had no idea.
20:24And one kid flipped one slice on top of the other to eat it, which was endearing to David
20:29Portnoy as well.
20:30And I just thought that those are the little moments, the organic moments that make these
20:35things.
20:36And you've got to tell me now.
20:38So this comes out.
20:39It's an 8.1.
20:41So and your business is successful as it is.
20:44You're already successful.
20:46What's been the impact?
20:47It's been slammed.
20:49Absolutely slammed.
20:50Which is very typical.
20:51We had another we had another show come in 2011 and we pretty much sustain it for a solid
20:59year of a lot of new people coming.
21:03We also moved locations in 2023 and I think a lot of people might have thought we closed.
21:11So this has been a huge boosting for us.
21:16Thank you so much for listening to this Weird News Roundup presented by Odyssey's Something
21:22Offbeat podcast.
21:23You can find all of these programs, including the Something Offbeat podcast, on the Odyssey
21:30app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
21:33That's what we can find.