Verge Esp

Liz has a cold, and Emily is in a cabin somewhere in the mountains of Utah, but the Verge ESP podcast must go on! This week, we're chatting about the return of The X Files to Fox — a show near to Liz's heart and dear to Emily's. Liz has seen the first episode of the miniseries reboot (you can read her spoiler-free review here) and more than anything else, it made us think about why the show was such a perfect mirror for the paranoid '90s. How that gets translated for 2016 is a whole other story. We also talk about a scuffle currently happening in the scientific community about the origins of war — and Liz's general delight anytime she hears the words "scientist fight." Humans' predilection for violence and conflict goes back a long time, but could have it gone all the way back to the supposedly chill hunter-gatherer times? There's still lots of work to be done and lots of smack to be spoken before we know for sure. Finally, Emily chats with Dilcia Barrera, a programmer at the Sundance Film Festival and at LAC