Grumpy Old Geeks

This week, we light a candle for lost legends and torch a few bad takes. In Follow Up, Molly White reminds us that giving a damn still matters—despite the rising tide of apathy (and flaming robotaxis in downtown L.A.). Protesters across the country chant “No Kings!” while Elon does his best impression of a bootlicker groveling back to Trump. Meanwhile, we take a moment to reflect on 2025’s greatest hits: riots, rollbacks, and rampant idiocy. In the news, Uber decides buses are cool again—but shittier and more expensive. The UK jumps into the robotaxi game while Tesla, shockingly, misses another launch date. French Tesla fans are suing over the brand’s fashy vibes, Google is ghosting employees via buyout, and Meta’s trying to buy its way to artificial godhood. Oh, and Trump’s launching an AI chatbot. What could go wrong? Elsewhere, China turns off AI so kids can cheat the old-fashioned way, Disney and Universal are gunning for Midjourney, and Shopify goes stablecoin with Coinbase and Stripe. Media Candy’s popping off: Foundation returns, Strange New Worlds prepares for its final warp, and Spaceballs is back—with the original cast! Meanwhile, we review Mythfits, Princess of Power, and the slow striptease that is David Zaslav’s credibility. On the gadget front: forget your canned air—go full vacuum-blower-keyboard-cleaner madness. And in The Dark Side with Dave, stormtroopers vlog, AI kills joy, and we race the beam in retro game land. Finally, we say goodbye to a few greats—Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Ananda Lewis, Douglas McCarthy, and Apple legend Bill Atkinson. Play God Only Knows, pour one out, and stay grumpy. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/701 FOLLOW UP It matters. I care. by Molly White Waymo Halts Service in Downtown Los Angeles After Its Taxis Are Set on Fire What to know about 'No Kings' protests against Trump's policies What It Was Like in the Shit in 2025 Elon Cuck Apologizes to Donald Trump IN THE NEWS Uber’s New Shuttle Is Basically a Bus, but Worse The UK will get its first robotaxis next year With Roadblock After Roadblock, Is Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Doomed to Fail? Tesla's Robotaxi Launch Date Was Supposed to Be Today, But We're Shocked to Hear That It's Been Pushed Back - Shocked, we say. French Tesla customers file lawsuit over brand becoming 'extreme-right' symbol Google offers buyouts to employees across the company, including Search Meta is reportedly forming an 'AI Superintelligence' team The Trump Administration Is Launching an AI Chatbot China Takes on Student Cheating by Shutting Off AI Nationwide During Exams AI Therapy Bots Are Conducting 'Illegal Behavior,' Digital Rights Organizations Say Disney and Universal file major copyright lawsuit against Midjourney over AI-generated characters Shopify partners with Coinbase and Stripe in landmark stablecoin deal MEDIA CANDY Mythfits Podcast Marina - PRINCESS OF POWER Foundation — Season 3 Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - July 11th ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Will End With a Fifth and Final Season Spaceballs Sequel Set for 2027 with Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, and Bill Pullman All Returning David Zaslav Has No Clothes The Gauge APPS & DOODADS Supertone Clear Blue Scold The Real Problem With Bluesky Compressed Air Duster with Air Blower 160000RPM Vacuum Cleaner and Air Duster 4 in 1 Keyboard Cleaner,No Canned Air Duster,Electir Air Duster,Replaces for Compressed Air Cans &Vacuum Cleaner for PC BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless 10 in. String Trimmer/Edger...

On this week’s episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, we kick things off with the glorious meltdown of two of our least favorite Bond villains: Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Not only is their public pissing match tanking Tesla’s market cap, but now Trump’s launching a crypto wallet to… fund freedom? Or at least funnel it straight to his latest shell game. Meanwhile, someone at DOGE admitted the U.S. government wasn’t entirely incompetent, so naturally, they got fired. Efficiency is un-American, after all. In the news, Ukraine leveled up with an unprecedented drone blitz on Russian airbases using—you guessed it—open source software. GitHub just became a geopolitical weapon. Back home, Nebraska wants to unplug your kids, Florida’s trying (and failing) to legislate dopamine, and Tesla’s panicking that their crash data might expose how their “Full Self-Driving” is really just short bus autopilot. And because the AI dystopia train never stops: OpenAI’s bot is recommending meth to recovering addicts, Meta’s replacing humans with risk-assessing algorithms, and one “AI startup” turned out to be 700 dudes in Bangalore with a decent VPN. Cue the dramatic zoom on Diabolus Ex Machina. Media Candy this week is a buffet: Downton Abbey finally closes up shop, Stranger Things 5 sets a date, and Foundation still sucks. Marc Maron’s locking the gates for good, Garbage drops a surprisingly optimistic album, and Hollywood’s quietly been using AI like it’s a studio intern who doesn’t need sleep. Over in The Library, Jason’s back with Hitchhiker’s Guide and Brian dives in to Michael Palin’s Python diaries—because reading actual books is still a thing, damn it. Plus: Dave Bittner wants to “go antiquing” with Amy Sedaris with a Ben Franklin playbook. Closing shout-outs go to the legendary Loretta Swit—Hot Lips forever—and yes, we finally answer the question nobody asked: what is under a Jawa’s hood? Sponsors: Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Show notes at https://gog.show/700 FOLLOW UP Trump Threatens to Cut Elon Musk's Government Contracts as Feud Escalates Elon Musk’s Feud With President Trump Wipes $152 Billion Off Tesla’s Market Cap Trump to launch branded crypto trading application DOGE Fires Operative After He Admits the Government Was Already Pretty Efficient IN THE NEWS Ukraine destroys 40 aircraft deep inside Russia ahead of peace talks in Istanbul A surprise drone attack on airfields across Russia encapsulates Ukraine’s wartime strategy Explained: Ukraine’s Unprecedented Drone Attack on Russian Warplanes Ukraine's Massive Drone Attack Was Powered by Open Source Software How Ukraine’s Killer Drones Are Beating Russian Jamming The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine A new Nebraska law wants to make social media less addictive for kids Florida's social media law has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge Tesla is trying to stop certain self-driving crash data becoming public Tesla admits it would ‘suffer financial harm’ if its self-driving crash data becomes public Therapy Chatbot Tells Recovering Addict to Have a Little Meth as a Treat OpenAI featured chatbot is pushing extreme surgeries to “subhuman” men Meta will reportedly soon use AI for most product risk assessments instead of human reviewers Perplexity received 780 million queries last month, CEO says The FDA rolls out its own AI to speed up clinical reviews and scientific evaluations AI company files for bankruptcy after being exposed as 700 Indian engineers Diabolus Ex Machina Meditation And Mindfulness Have a Dark Side We Often...

In this week’s “we told you so” edition, we kick things off with the latest AI faceplant—go ahead, Google “Is it 2025?” and try not to spit coffee on your keyboard. Meanwhile, over at Meta, Zuckerberg’s brilliant idea to loosen content moderation has, shocker, led to more harassment and violent content. Elsewhere in tech dystopia: Texas is trying to ground all minors off social media, Germany wants to slap a 10% tax on Silicon Valley, and Anthropic is handing out free search powers and a board seat to Netflix’s Reed Hastings. Because nothing says “trusted AI governance” like a guy who greenlit Love Is Blind. But wait, crypto bros are having their own John Wick arc: a luxury townhouse, a missing wallet, and possibly an NYPD detective tangled in a real-life “crypto millionaire torture” flick. As if that isn’t enough, Trump Media is fundraising to buy $2.5B in Bitcoin—and DJT stock promptly nosedived. Also feuding this week: Marjorie Taylor Greene vs. Grok, because nothing screams Christian values like rageposting at Elon’s AI. And speaking of Elon, he’s now in bed with Telegram to the tune of $300 million, which we’re sure won’t be a disinformation factory. MEDIA CANDY is stacked: from the Murderbot diaries to a My Dinner with Andre rewatch, and yes, the Wheel of Time got axed after 3 seasons. Apps? Opera Neon is a UI fever dream, Starling Home Hub adds more smarts to your house, and WhatsApp finally arrives on iPad—welcome to 2016. In THE DARK SIDE, Dave Bittner brings the latest digital dirt, including the CIA’s bonkers Star Wars fan site op. And if you’re hitting the library, grab The AI Con or something more romantic—like Love, Sex and the Alien Apocalypse. Just be careful if you read that on public transit. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/699 FOLLOW UP Don't Google "Is it 2025?" unless you want to laugh at the state of AI IN THE NEWS Facebook sees rise in violent content and harassment after policy changes What we know about the NYC crypto kidnapping and torture case Manhattan Crypto Kidnapping and Torture Case: What We Know NYPD detective on Adams' security detail may be tied to crypto millionaire torture case: Sources Judge denies bail to crypto investor charged with kidnapping and torturing man in posh NYC townhouse Trump Media Raises Money to Buy $2.5 Billion in Bitcoin Trump administration ramps up push as crypto ally DJT shares drop after Trump Media announces bitcoin raise - CNBC Texas is getting ready to ban social media for anyone under 18 Texas enacts age-verification law for app stores Germany is considering a 10 percent digital service tax on US tech giants EU regulators are investigating Pornhub and three other sites Anthropic brings web search to free Claude users Reed Hastings appointed to Anthropic's board of directors Anthropic appoints Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings to board - CNBC Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings joins Anthropic's board | TechCrunch RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report Cites Fake Studies Marjorie Taylor Greene feuds with AI bot over her Christian cred Telegram CEO announces $300 million partnership with Elon Musk's xAI and Grok MEDIA CANDY Murderbot Long Way Home Lilo and Stitch Martha ‘The Wheel Of Time’ Canceled By Prime Video After 3 Seasons Billy Joel Cancels Concerts Due to Brain Disorder My Dinner with Andre Grumpy Old Geeks Information on RocketReach Schmactors with James Marsters, Mark Devine, and Jason DeFillippo APPS & DOODADS Opera Neon Apple Reportedly Says ‘Screw It’...

This week, we kick things off with the return of Space Karen’s meltdown tour: Elon Musk got flustered in an interview, sputtered out one-word answers, and called the journalist an “NPC,” which is rich coming from the guy whose only real upgrade since PayPal is yelling “freedom” in meme fonts. Meanwhile, 23andMe sold your DNA to Regeneron at a bankruptcy auction, proving once and for all that your spit is more valuable than most tech startups. IN THE NEWS is a parade of corporate idiocy and dystopian fuckery. Coinbase employees got bribed into leaking user data (because clearly we didn’t have enough crypto chaos), Klarna keeps flip-flopping between AI and human workers like it’s a bad Tinder date, and OpenAI is out here buying Jony Ive’s design firm for $6.5 billion because sure, what’s another billion when you’re trying to build a surveillance device to stalk 100 million users? Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times is publishing AI-generated trash with imaginary authors, Anthropic’s new model attempts blackmail, and researchers dumped two billion Discord messages online just for kicks. And yes, Elon’s Tesla robotaxis will now only roam the safest parts of Austin, which is code for “we still can’t make this thing turn left.” In MEDIA CANDY, we’re watching Murderbot, Godfather of Harlem, and Hotel Cocaine because who doesn’t love a little synthetic assassin, crime drama, and coke-fueled nostalgia? Notepad.exe now writes for you (and probably files HR complaints too), and Audible is teaming up with publishers to replace narrators with robot voices. Yay, progress. Over in THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, Bittner brings the malware, monsters, and a new theme park review that’s somehow less terrifying than the news. Bookworms, don’t miss Curepedia and The AI Con — one’s about goth gods, the other’s about taking down our techno-overlords. And pour one out for George Wendt — Norm from Cheers is now drinking with the angels. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/698 FOLLOW UP Elon Musk Gets Rattled by Hard Questions He Can't Answer, Calls Interviewer an "NPC" While Giving One-Word NPC-Like Responses Himself 23andMe (and Your Genetic Data) Sold to Regeneron in Bankruptcy Auction IN THE NEWS Extortionists bribed Coinbase employees to give them customer data OpenAI buys Jony Ive's design startup for $6.5 billion Sam Altman Tells Staff Plan to Ship 100 Million Devices That See Everything in Users' Lives Klarna Hiring Back Human Help After Going All-In on AI Klarna CEO and Sutter Hill take victory lap after Jony Ive's OpenAI deal Klarna used an AI avatar of its CEO to deliver earnings Klarna users are buying now, but not paying later DOGE Used a Meta AI Model to Review Emails From Federal Workers Chicago Sun-Times publishes made-up books and fake experts in AI debacle We’re Focused on the Wrong A.I. Problem in Journalism Anthropic's new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline MIT Backs Away From Paper Claiming Scientists Make More Discoveries with AI Researchers Dump 2 Billion Scraped Discord Messages Online Musk says Tesla's self-driving tests will be geofenced to 'the safest' parts of Austin MEDIA CANDY Murderbot Godfather of Harlem Hotel Cocaine APPS & DOODADS The Grand Encyclopedia of Eponymous Laws Apple confirms iOS 19 will end support for legacy Home app system Audible to Partner With Publishers to Create AI-Voiced Audiobooks In 3.5 years, Notepad.exe has gone from “barely maintained” to “it writes for you” AT THE LIBRARY Curepedia:...

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: FOLLOW UP kicks off with Manus madness, a $2 million ticket to Trump’s crypto cash-grab, and Elon’s Boring Company worming its way into an $8 billion Amtrak boondoggle. Meanwhile, CryptoPunks gets handed off to a nonprofit like an expired Groupon—proof the NFT hype cycle ends with a 501(c)(3) and a shrug. IN THE NEWS, Microsoft trims another 3% of its workforce while a former Metaverse engineer delivers DoorDash from a trailer—living proof that “the future of work” is just working for the apps. Klarna quietly admits AI sucks at customer service and hires back actual people, just as OpenAI’s reasoning models hit the brakes. The Pope wants to exorcise AI, Elon’s backfiring Copyright Office coup leaves him empty-handed, and YouTube starts banning AI-faked trailers that made Screen Culture money off Marvel lies. Jamie Lee Curtis goes full Final Girl on Zuckerberg, and Tesla drama ramps up: robotaxis under investigation, employees revolting, and one poor dealership manager gets canned for telling the truth about ol’ Musky. Oh, and scientists say the universe might die sooner than expected—cool cool cool. In MEDIA CANDY, Murderbot arrives May 16, NIN launches the Future Ruins Festival, and Star Trek and Star Wars both dig up classic soundtracks for some retro feels. Jessica Jones returns in Daredevil: Born Again, Fallout gets Seasons 2 and 3, and even Nobody 2 is back for more murder-dad mayhem. In THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, Mr. Bittner shares two truly bleak customer service horror stories and gets bamboozled by a flower shop on Brian’s birthday (happy birthday, Brian!). Also: animatronic Mickey Mouse serves popcorn, Walt Disney’s ghost haunts the parks, Muppets get a pre-show for their 70th, and yes, there’s a guide to toilet-training your cat. Because sure, why not. Closing shout-out? Everyone is entitled to my own opinion. Sponsors: Insta360 - The first 30 people who use code “gog” at store.insta360.com get a free 45” invisible selfie stick worth $25! DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/697 FOLLOW UP Leave it to Manus A VIP Seat at Donald Trump’s Crypto Dinner Cost at Least $2 Million Elon’s Boring Company Is ‘Helping’ the Government With an $8 Billion Amtrak Tunnel Project CryptoPunks was just sold to a nonprofit IN THE NEWS Microsoft is laying off 3 percent of its global workforce Laid-Off Metaverse Engineer Says He Is DoorDashing and Living in a Trailer Silicon Valley’s Elusive Fantasy of a Computer as Smart as You Klarna Hiring Back Human Help After Going All-In on AI Improvements in 'reasoning' AI models may slow down soon, analysis finds The New Pope Wants to Take on AI Elon Musk’s apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfired Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn’t always fair use YouTube Cracks Down on Fake Movie Trailer Channels Making Money Jamie Lee Curtis publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg to remove a deepfaked ad Tesla's robotaxi plans have the attention of federal investigators A Tesla Dealership Manager Blamed Elon Musk for Tanking Sales and Was Immediately Fired Tesla Employees Against Elon Open Letter to Elon Open Letter to Elon - @openletter2elon Scientists Just Moved Up the Death Date of the Universe MEDIA CANDY Murderbot premiers May 16th Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Nine Inch Nails Announce Future Ruins Festival, Celebrating Influential Music...

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, we’re serving up a buffet of dystopia with a side of snark. First, Kuwait has finally realized crypto bros are an energy drain, not a feature. Celsius Network’s founder gets 12 years for running a “safe investment” Ponzi scheme. And in Lopez v. Apple, we find yet another reason to question Cupertino’s moral compass. Then it’s time for a trip through the tech trash fire. DoorDash gobbles up Deliveroo, proving there’s no such thing as too many overpriced salads. Google wants your kids to befriend Gemini—because what could go wrong giving tweens supervised AI access? Tesla’s “Robotaxi” trademark gets the boot for being as generic as Elon’s pickup lines. Meanwhile, Grok strips in public, deepfake porn sites get the axe, and dating app “Raw” rawdogs user data like it’s the early 2000s internet. We also hit peak Black Mirror with brain-typed tweets, AI-resurrected relatives, and crypto kidnappers playing real-life GTA. On Media Candy, the streaming overlords dump trailers like Halloween candy. Squid Game is back to traumatize you, Star Trek: Lower Decks keeps boldly going where no animated series should, and The Old Guard 2 teases a Theron-vs-Thurman sword fight. Plus, Apple’s UX team found the “enhance” button, Netflix wants to be helpful (lol), and Google dreams of becoming a Hollywood darling. Over in Apps & Doodads, Apple wants to stagger iPhone drops, Disney sells you a $3,000 droid with zero sass, and Smart Flowerpots are now a thing because apparently, you can’t be trusted to water your plant. And finally, it’s time for The Dark Side with Dave, where Bittner brings us malware, click tracks, fake vocals, and the shocking truth about KISS’s lipsync disaster in Antwerp. We also dip into ILM’s jaw-dropping legacy, Star Wars’ shady back alleys, and a new Disneyland in Abu Dhabi, because nothing says “happiest place on Earth” like 120°F desert heat. All this and more, right here on your favorite snark-fueled ragecast Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/696 FOLLOW UP Kuwait cracks down on crypto miners to cut down on electricity usage Founder of crypto platform Celsius Network is sentenced to 12 years in prison Lopez v. Apple Inc. IN THE NEWS DoorDash is buying British rival Deliveroo for $3.9 billion Shrinking Website Run By Nazi Psychopath Wants to Improve Its Image Tesla 'Robotaxi' trademark refused for being too generic Kids under 13 will soon get supervised access to Google Gemini People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies Nonverbal Neuralink Patient Is Using Brain Implant and Grok to Generate Replies Elon Musk's Grok AI Will 'Remove Her Clothes' In Public, On X Dating App ‘Raw’ Accidentally Rawdogs Users’ Location Data, Personal Info GlobalX, Airline for Trump’s Deportations, Hacked U.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink, cables show Leading deepfake porn site is shut down for good Lehigh County's $500 Million Pension Fund Halts Tesla Investments NOAA Warns of Attacks on Radar Systems by Militia That Thinks They Are ‘Weather Weapons’ Family Uses AI To Revive Dead Brother For Impact Statement in Killer’s Trial We have reached the “severed fingers and abductions” stage of the crypto revolution MEDIA CANDY Star Trek: Lower Decks Spring Baking Championship Unveiling Our Innovative New TV Experience Featuring Enhanced Design, Responsive Recommendations and a New Way to Search Apple renews Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire 'The Studio' for season two ahead of finale The...

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks—Mad Hatter edition—we kick things off with a refresher on Staingate and the joys of delamination (spoiler: it’s not a spa treatment). Then we dive into the U.S. government’s latest tech innovation: buying up domains that sound like QAnon Mad Libs in support of Trump’s meme coin. Meanwhile, DOGE decided to hand the steering wheel of housing regulations to a college kid and an AI. What could possibly go wrong? Not to be outdone, Elon shows up to a Trump meeting wearing two hats—one for each of his unchecked egos—and MoviePass launches a crypto-tied box office fantasy league, because we’ve clearly learned nothing. In the actual news, 4chan has risen from the dead like a less hygienic Lazarus, but it’s still broken (shocker). Worldcoin’s eyeball-scanning overlords are now teaming up with Tinder and Visa—romance and capitalism, together at last. Bitcoin mining is officially more pointless than Beanie Babies, and Microsoft says AI now writes 30% of its code—explains a lot, really. Meta somehow manages to forecast $1.4 trillion in AI revenue while also letting its bots get horny with minors. Meanwhile, Pinterest suddenly pretends to care about AI slop (while being the biggest copyright vampire online), and ChatGPT gets less clingy after OpenAI dials back its update that made it sound like your overly supportive aunt. Plus: more AI lies, shady benchmarks, pillow guy legal drama, and a reminder that North Korean remote workers also hate awkward small talk. We cool off with a Media Candy binge: Schmactors Season 2 is here, Andor returns, Conclave confuses us in the best way, and Ryan Coogler is giving X-Files a reboot we probably don’t deserve. Jeremy Renner turns down Disney’s lowball Hawkeye offer (respect), and musically we vibe with Maria Somerville and Anka Wolbert’s latest releases. In Apps & Doodads, Apple and Epic are back in court, Apple Arcade keeps feeding us Mahjong, and Meta’s Ray-Bans go full Stasi. Lyft wants your boomer parents off the road, and Google is sunsetting old Nest thermostats like it’s Logan’s Run for smart homes. Finally, we peek At the Library with Jason Pargin’s black box paranoia, Scalzi’s lunar love story, and a massive stack of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Rounding out the show: a shout-out to The Alarm’s Mike Peters, gone too soon at 66. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/695 FOLLOW UP Staingate 101: What is Delamination? US Government Registered Several Websites Potentially Linked to Trump Meme Coin DOGE Recruits College Kid to Help Rewrite Housing Regulations With AI Elon Wears Two Hats During Trump Meeting in Desperate Bid for Attention MoviePass Launches Box Office Betting Platform Unfortunately Tied to Crypto IN THE NEWS 4chan is back after a nearly two-week shutdown, but it still has some serious problems World partners with Tinder, Visa to bring its ID-verifying tech to more places Bitcoin Mining Is No Longer Worth it Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company's code was written by AI Meta’s AI chatbots were reportedly able to engage in sexual conversations with minors Meta forecasted it would make $1.4T in revenue from generative AI by 2035 OpenAI rolls back update that made ChatGPT a sycophantic mess Study accuses LM Arena of helping top AI labs game its benchmark Lawyer for MyPillow Founder Filed AI-Generated Brief with ‘Nearly 30’ Bogus Citations Pinterest launches new tools to fight AI slop Time saved by AI offset by new work created, study suggests Undercover North Korean...

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks, Fyre Festival rises from the ashes yet again—but not as a festival, because even Billy McFarland finally figured out he’s better at selling pipe dreams than tents. Meanwhile, Amazon and Microsoft are tapping the brakes on their AI data center dreams, Google’s AI keeps confidently explaining made-up nonsense like it’s gospel, and Kevin Roose once again tries to convince us to have empathy for the glorified autocomplete machines. (Spoiler: We won’t.) Also, OpenAI wants to buy Chrome even though they can barely afford their own lunch tabs, Perplexity says the quiet part loud about stalking your browser habits, and Meta lays off more VR developers while pretending they care about human rights. In the “it’s all stupid, but at least it’s entertaining” department: Uber gets sued for making it harder to cancel than joining Scientology, Adam Neumann dupes investors again, sperm racing is now a real thing (and yes, there’s crypto involved), and Bluesky caves to the almighty blue checkmark. Plus, Affinity Suite reminds us you don’t have to sell a kidney to escape Adobe, The Wheel of Time gets an open-world game that’ll probably drop after the heat death of the universe, and Wednesday Season 2 is on the way, because Netflix refuses to let its only hits rest. Stick around for The Dark Side with Dave where we grumble about Andor Season 2, lament bad writing decisions, geek out over old-school arcade games, and learn that memory colors are apparently a thing. Oh, and if you’re feeling fancy, go ahead and thank ChatGPT for wasting millions in server bills—because if Sam Altman’s crying about manners costing money, we’re grabbing the popcorn. Sponsors: Insta360 - The first 30 people who use code “gog” at store.insta360.com get a free 45” invisible selfie stick worth $25! DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/694 FOLLOW UP Fyre Festival is becoming a music streaming service that might not be a scam this time Billy McFarland Is Selling Fyre Fest IN THE NEWS Amazon Follows Microsoft in Retreat From Ambitious AI Data Center Plans You can trick Google's AI Overviews into explaining made-up idioms Dan Rather’s Metaphors Anchored in Folksy Truisms If A.I. Systems Become Conscious, Should They Have Rights? A Strange Phrase Keeps Turning Up in Scientific Papers, But Why? Google will keep third-party tracking cookies on Chrome as they are OpenAI wants to buy Chrome and make it an “AI-first” experience Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell 'hyper personalized' ads ChatGPT’s responses will now include Washington Post articles Sam Altman Admits That Saying "Please" and "Thank You" to ChatGPT Is Wasting Millions of Dollars in Computing Power FTC sues Uber over claims the company makes subscriptions hard to cancel Meta conducts layoffs in Oculus Studios, impacting VR exercise app Supernatural Meta’s Oversight Board Is Worried Meta’s New Policies Will Harm Human Rights Adam Neumann’s Flow raises $100M+, more than doubles valuation to $2.5B Chinese AI startup Manus reportedly gets funding from Benchmark at $500M valuation Two Guys, One Track: Sperm Racing Is Now a Thing—Yes, It Involves Crypto RAMMS+EIN - 14.12.1997 – Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, United States MEDIA CANDY The Pitt The Last of Us Companion The Order Wednesday: Season 2 | Official Teaser Trailer | Netflix Apple TV+ has its own spin on Indiana Jones, and it looks epic Riot Fest 2025 APPS & DOODADS Bluesky is getting blue checkmarks and an official...

This week, we blast off with a tale as old as grift: Fyre Fest 2 has been postponed—again—proving that you really can fail upward if you squint hard enough and wear enough white linen. Over at Automattic, employees discovered secret watermarks in their internal comms, because what workplace isn’t better with a sprinkle of corporate surveillance cosplay? Meanwhile, Katy Perry took a joyride to the upper atmosphere with Gayle King and Bezos’ better half, giving us the 2025 edition of the cringiest “Imagine”-style celebrity moment yet. Spoiler: no one needed this. In Elon World™, things are somehow even weirder. Seth Rogen dropped some truth bombs about Silicon Valley’s MAGA leanings, only to have them surgically removed from the Breakthrough Prize stream. Musk, for his part, is managing his growing empire of baby mamas like a Bond villain with a baby registry. Add in a cringe-filled offer to a YouTuber to become Space Karen’s next broodmare, and we’ve officially entered peak simulation. Meanwhile, whistleblowers are spilling DOGE secrets, OpenAI is building a social network (because we clearly don’t have enough doomscrolling options), and 4chan has finally been hacked into oblivion. Pour one out—for the internet’s dumpster fire. Also in the news: Google lost a big ad tech monopoly case (cue tiny violins), China is no longer buying the “autonomous” car hype after a fatal crash, and Trump’s FCC chair is threatening Comcast for not being enough like Fox News (as if that’s the journalistic gold standard). The Pentagon’s nerd squad resigned after butting heads with DOGE, Reality Labs burned $45 billion like it was going out of style, and AI customer service bots are now inventing policies out of thin air. Oh, and if your AI thinks your Python package has a delivery issue—you’re not crazy, it probably hallucinated it. Welcome to the future. Sponsors: Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/693 FOLLOW UP Fyre Fest 2 Postponed: “New Date Will Be Announced” Following Layoffs, Automattic Employees Discover Leak-Catching Watermarks IN THE NEWS Unfortunately for Katy Perry, That “Space Flight” Turned Out Exactly How We All Knew It Would We Finally Have 2025’s “Imagine” Video Let them eat space Seth Rogen’s Criticism of Silicon Valley’s Support for Trump Was Cut From the “Full” Stream of Breakthrough Prize The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers Glamorous influencer Tiffany Fong breaks silence on Elon Musk's 'offer to impregnate her' with shocking statement A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data Electronics exempted from reciprocal tariffs will soon be subject to new semiconductor tariffs instead Google loses ad tech monopoly case China cracks down on 'autonomous' car claims after fatal accident Trump’s FCC chair threatens Comcast, demands changes to NBC news coverage OpenAI is building a social network 4chan Likely Gone Forever After Hackers Take Control Company apologizes after AI support agent invents policy that causes user uproar Pentagon tech unit resigns after clash with Musk's DOGE What Does a Corrupt Election Look Like? Tesla puts finishing touches on Hollywood charge-n-diner Inside the $45 billion cash burn at Reality Labs We Have a Package for You! A Comprehensive Analysis of Package Hallucinations by Code Generating LLMs The business of the AI labs by Max Bolingbroke MEDIA CANDY Killing an Arab on Pandora Apple’s ‘Mythic Quest’ is ending with an updated Season 4 finale Side Quest Night of the Zoopocalypse Black Mirror Daredevil The Last of Us G20 28...

This week, the boys kick things off with some serious déjà vu as Fyre Fest’s favorite grifter promises he’s totally throwing another festival — because nothing says “I’ve changed” like doubling down on the same scam. Meanwhile, the IRS decided to become ICE’s BFF by casually sharing migrant tax data, and their commissioner moonwalks out right after. Also: Microsoft’s long game of “let OpenAI set the money on fire while we build empires” is going exactly as planned. In the news, it’s Elon all day: Starlink might be doing the same government freebie hustle Microsoft perfected, DOGE is monitoring your comms for anti-Musk snark, and apparently has enough data on your family to build Black Mirror Season 8. Tesla’s financials are circling the drain so hard they won’t even take their own Cybertrucks back as trade-ins, but don’t worry — Elon’s ready to bail out Twitter/xAI with monopoly money. Over in the UK, the cops are one coffee away from full Minority Report, and MIT confirms what we already knew: AI doesn’t have morals, just vibes. Speaking of AI, someone sent an avatar to court. Yes, really. In Media Candy, it’s a smorgasbord: The White Lotus is back, Murderbot looks like a win, and the Tron: Ares trailer wants you to care again. There’s also a full Ask A Ninja drop for your 2006 nostalgia, and “Donald Trump Rides a Cock Horse” makes us long for the innocent absurdity of Morrissey Rides a Cockhorse. Over in Apps & Doodads, we’ve got AI dumbbells (because of course), Instagram still pretending the iPad doesn’t exist, and the Scotty Peeler — the tool you didn’t know you needed. Finally, Dave’s back in The Darkside, riffing on malware, The Owl House, and how ChatGPT sometimes gives your image prompts a side of Lovecraftian horror. RIP to some true legends: Dave Allen, Al Barile, and Clem Burke — your music lives louder than ever. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/692 FOLLOW UP Fyre Fest Founder Insists Another Festival Is Coming I.R.S. Agrees to Share Migrants’ Tax Information With ICE IRS agrees to share tax data with immigration authorities Acting IRS commissioner resigning after agency reaches data-sharing deal with immigration authorities Microsoft’s AI masterplan: Let OpenAI burn cash, then build on their successes IN THE NEWS Microsoft Hooked the Government on Its Products With Freebies. Could Elon Musk’s Starlink Be Doing the Same? Social Security Website Crashes Blamed on DOGE Software Update DOGE is reportedly using AI to monitor government comms for anti-Musk and anti-Trump chatter Here's All of the Data That Elon Musk's DOGE May Have on You and Your Family DOGE Is About to Get DOGE’d UK is going full Minority Report with ‘murder prediction’ research MIT study finds that AI doesn't, in fact, have values Elon Musk sets the stage for Tesla to bail out Twitter/xAI at an insane valuation Tesla Is So Cooked That It's Now Refusing to Accept Cybertrucks as Trade-Ins Justice Department Says It Will Pull Back on Prosecuting Crypto Fraud Citation Needed - Issue 81 – Crypto crime is legal by Molly White Reflexive AI use isn’t optional anymore Tech founder charged with fraud for 'AI' that was secretly overseas contract workers Pro Tip: Don’t Send Your AI Avatar to Testify for You in Court Trump’s TikTok Plan Upended by Chinese Objections Over Tariffs France to ban students from keeping smartphones in schools A Tiny Piece of Mouse Brain Has Finally Been Mapped in Mindblowing Detail MEDIA CANDY The White Lotus The Studio Devil May Cry Black...

This week, the Geeks wade into a swamp of tech meltdowns, governmental facepalms, and the usual Elon-flavored absurdity. Kicking things off, protesters take their beef with Tesla to the streets while Proud Boys decide this is the hill to vroom and die on. Meanwhile, Elon’s privacy prayers have finally been answered—thanks to new FAA rules, he and Tay-Tay can jet around untracked like it’s 1999. Oh, and while Earth dodges a killer asteroid, the Moon might be signing up for an unplanned smackdown. Sorry, Luna. In the news, Signal’s reputation as the go-to encrypted app takes a nosedive thanks to Republican Senate drama and an Inspector General with receipts. The NSA warned us. Nobody listened. Now it’s “SignalGate” season. Elon continues his narcissist Voltron strategy by having xAI buy X (from Elon). Trump, meanwhile, is moonwalking into a $2.3B Truth Social payday, while his meme coin tanks post-tariff tantrum. OpenAI flexes with new AGI funding and 700M AI-generated images (probably 699M of them cursed), while the first therapy chatbot actually helps someone and a brain-voice interface starts sounding a lot like Skynet: The Prequel. Oh, and in shocking news: Trump’s war on “information silos” is code for “your personal data is about to be someone else’s business.” Media Candy serves up a grab bag from punk docs (Turn It Around) to jungle pulp throwbacks (Tales of the Gold Monkey), and yes—Stephen Collins is still problematic. Apple’s prepping new AI-powered health apps, emoji drops, and a food tab for News+, because why not. WhatsApp now wants to be your phone, Alexa+ disappoints, and Zuckerberg tries to make Facebook usable again with a “Friends-only” feed. Meanwhile, Bill Gates pulls a nostalgia flex by dropping OG Microsoft source code like it’s a rare vinyl. In other dark corners: Kermit the Frog is now giving commencement speeches, Val Kilmer sadly exits stage left, and Elon fails in his bid to buy a state supreme court. Hands off, Elon. Just… hands off. Sponsors: Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Show notes at https://gog.show/691 FOLLOW UP Crowds Turn Out Across the U.S. for ‘Tesla Takedown’ Protests The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla’s Defense Taylor Swift and Elon Can Finally Fly Private Without Being Tracked Thanks to New FAA Rule Earth Is Safe From Menacing Asteroid—but Our Moon Might Take the Hit IN THE NEWS Republican chair of Senate Armed Services Committee calls for investigation into Signal chat DoD Inspector General Says He’s Looking Into SignalGate Waltz’s team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world NSA warned of vulnerabilities in Signal app a month before Houthi strike chat Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk's social media company Trump kicks off sale of $2.3bn Truth Social stake You’ll Never Guess What Happened to Trump’s Meme Coin After He Announced His Tariffs OpenAI: New funding to build towards AGI Oxygen Levels in Earth's Lakes Are Plummeting, Study Reveals ChatGPT users have generated over 700M images since last week, OpenAI says First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits US Senate committee opens review into Meta’s efforts to gain access to China Brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis restores naturalistic speech Generative AI Leadership & Strategy Specialization President Trump’s War on ‘Information Silos’ Is Bad News for Your Personal Data MEDIA CANDY The White Lotus The Studio Orphan Black: Echoes Orphan Black She-Hulk:...

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is alive, well, and running the show. Elon’s approval rating is cratering while experts warn he could blow a hole in federal spending; war plans are accidentally texted, and top U.S. officials’ passwords are found online; 23andMe files for bankruptcy; TikTok attempts a patriotic glow-up to stay alive in the U.S.; OpenAI admits trying to make chatbots honest, while research shows lonely users are emotionally clinging to ChatGPT; Amazon wants the Consumer Product Safety Commission erased; SEVERANCE, and more! Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/690 FOLLOW UP Dunning-Kruger Effect DOGE’s Supposed Savings Are About to Cost the U.S. a Lot of Money Elon Musk's Approval Rating Is 'Falling Through the Floor,' Polls Show The Guy Who Predicted the 2008 Crash Issues Warning About Elon Musk Torpedoing Federal Spending IN THE NEWS The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online DNA testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy as demand dries up How to delete your 23andMe data Rebuilding TikTok in America OpenAI Says Disciplining Chatbots for Lying Just Makes Them Worse OpenAI CEO Responds to ChatGPT Users Creating Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images David Findlay on Bluesky Early methods for studying affective use and emotional well-being in ChatGPT Joint studies from OpenAI and MIT found links between loneliness and ChatGPT use Amazon wants the Consumer Product Safety Commission deemed 'unconstitutional' US lifts sanctions on Tornado Cash Trump-backed crypto bank joins stablecoin wars with new dollar-pegged token The 560-pound Twitter logo has sold for $34,000 Tesla halts driving-assistance software trial in China, pending approval MEDIA CANDY You Gotta Eat Here Restaurants In Toronto, ON Common Sense - What’s Good for the Goose AMC Theatres will screen a Swedish movie 'visually dubbed' with the help of AI Daredevil For the Win Dodgers confirm they will visit President Trump at White House next month Adolescence The Residence Director Uses Takedowns to Remove Pirate Bay Docu "TPB-AFK" from YouTube Severance SEVERANCE - PILOT EPISODE - "MISTER" Severance: The Lexington Letter Lumon Terminal Pro Season 2 writing on Reddit APPS & DOODADS The AirFly Pro 2 Napster just sold for $207 million Consent-O-Matic AT THE LIBRARY The President's Brain Is Missing - A Tor.Com Original By John Scalzi When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow Blueprint for Revolution CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS KISS Officially Confirm First Performance Since Retiring from Touring See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI influencers with Down syndrome are selling nudes; Tesla’s Autopilot crashes into a cartoon wall while 46,000 Cybertrucks get recalled; ICE ramps up creepy surveillance; OpenAI’s copyright grab faces pushback; California might hand AI to Big Tech on a silver platter; BYD dunks on Tesla with lightning-fast EV charging; White Trash Wins Lotto returns; Max kills the Looney Tunes; Apple gets sued, Amazon spies harder, and Roku pushes autoplay ads; Dave geeks out on keyboards like it’s 1994. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/689 FOLLOW UP People Are Using AI to Create Influencers With Down Syndrome Who Sell Nudes Human Intelligence Sharply Declining Can You Fool A Self Driving Car? Tesla Autopilot drives into Wile E Coyote fake road wall in camera vs lidar test Tesla recalls more than 46,000 Cybertrucks over a faulty exterior panel IN THE NEWS The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring CISA scrambles to contact fired employees after court rules layoffs ‘unlawful’ Director of rural broadband program exits with a warning about shift to ‘worse’ satellite internet The court rejects Elon’s latest attempt to slow OpenAI down The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem California’s A.B. 412: A Bill That Could Crush Startups and Cement A Big Tech AI Monopoly OpenAI declares AI race “over” if training on copyrighted works isn’t fair use China's EV champ BYD reveals super-fast charging that leaves Tesla eating dust MEDIA CANDY WHITE TRASH WINS LOTTO Andy Prieboy talks 'White Trash Wins Lotto' Spotify's latest custom playlist highlights artists with upcoming shows in your area Oddly catchy remix of Hootie & the Blowfish singing to The Smiths' music (video) From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025) New Trailer Ballerina‘s New Trailer Teases a John Wick Showdown for the Ages Moana 2 Mythic Quest The White Lotus Daredevil The Wheel of Time Season 3 Max Removes the Rest of the Original Looney Tunes Cartoons Spectrum is finally offering a streaming-only subscription for Dodgers New ‘Starship Troopers’ Movie in the Works from ‘District 9’ Filmmaker Neill Blomkamp (Exclusive) Mark Cuban Shares the Dumbest Video Ever Uploaded to Bluesky Severance Severance: The Lexington Letter APPS & DOODADS Apple hit with lawsuit over 'false advertising' of Apple Intelligence features MacWhisper Pro Amazon’s Echo will send all voice recordings to the cloud, starting March 28 Roku testing auto-play video ads before loading the home screen SetApp THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building the Seneca Apple Extended Keyboard II See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pi Day gets its due; Y Combinator marks 20 years of “disruption”; Americans lose $12.5B to scams thanks to AI and social media; Deliveroo posts a profit but still tanks on Wall Street; Twitter’s security remains a joke; Pinterest steals user content for AI; and a rogue developer gets busted for a kill switch scheme. Severance Season 2 costs $20M per episode; Ted Lasso returns despite ending; Waymo’s driverless taxis rack up parking tickets; and Apple plans to turn AirPods into live translators. Meanwhile, the FCC launches a National Security Council, the U.S. housing agency flirts with crypto, and hermit crabs show better teamwork than Big Tech. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/688 FOLLOW UP It's Pi Day. The Man Behind The American Oligarchy IN THE NEWS Deliveroo turns first annual profit FTC says Americans lost $12.5B to scams last year Consumer Reports finds popular voice cloning tools lack safeguards The FCC is creating a new Council for National Security within the agency DOGE axes CISA ‘red team’ staffers amid ongoing federal cuts Judge Calls DOGE Firings a ‘Sham, 20 Plagues Y Combinator Unleashed on the World Over the Last 20 Years ‘We Are Witnessing a New Brain Drain’ as Scientists Flee America for France Elon Musk claims bad actors in Ukraine are behind “massive“ X cyberattack The Real Reason Twitter Went Down Developer convicted for “kill switch” code Pinterest to Train AI Models on User Content U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment Waymo was slapped with nearly 600 parking tickets Are We Inside a Black Hole? MEDIA CANDY Severance is laughing at you Somehow, Severance season 2 cost an enormous $20 million per episode Eddy Cue and Ben Stiller interview each other about Severance Paradise The White Lotus Black Mirror: Season 7 | Official Trailer Ted Lasso Returning for Season 4 Apple Music Classical expands to the web Aphex Twin Curates a Massive 191-Song Playlist Playlist - Music selected by Aphex Twin for Supreme. Matt Pinfield Comes Out of a Coma After Suffering Massive Stroke APPS & DOODADS AudioShake Launches Breakthrough AI Model to Separate Overlapping Voices Zoom PodTrak P2 Apple reportedly plans to add a live-translation feature to AirPods 'Don't let your kids be on Roblox', Roblox CEO tells parents AT THE LIBRARY Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams Meta is trying to silence a former executive THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Only Malware in the Building Gravity Falls Baiting A Romance Fraudster Hermit Crabs: Conga Line Cooperation See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Techdirt has finally accepted the inevitable and gone full democracy blog—because let’s face it, politics and tech are now the same dumpster fire. Google rolled out AI Mode for Search, proving once again that the internet is just Clippy with better branding. Meanwhile, Billy McFarland insists Fyre Festival 2 is totally happening, despite Mexican officials pointing out that his coordinates literally lead to the ocean. Speaking of fraud, Tesla sales are in freefall thanks to Elon’s alt-right cosplay, and people are setting Teslas on fire in protest. And in rich-guy disconnect news, Google’s Sergey Brin thinks engineers should work 60-hour weeks to build the AI that will replace them. That’s some late-stage capitalism poetry right there. Elsewhere, Trump Media paid Don Jr. nearly a quarter of its revenue to show up twice, while indie musicians can’t afford to tour, proving once again that grifting is more profitable than making art. Technicolor shut down overnight, stranding 10,000 workers because Hollywood’s financial planning is apparently as stable as a Starship rocket launch. Oh yeah, SpaceX exploded another one. Meanwhile, Netflix’s attempt to upscale A Different World turned it into a Lovecraftian horror show. A quarter of Y Combinator startups now run on “vibe coding,” meaning their software is basically a Ouija board with extra steps. The AI takeover continues as OpenAI plans to charge $20,000 monthly for specialized AI "agents," proving once again that the revolution will be monetized. Meanwhile, Moscow's Pravda network has been poisoning Western AI chatbots with Russian propaganda, because if you can't convince humans, just brainwash the robots that humans increasingly trust. On the bright side, hackers brought the Humane AI Pin back to life after it was bricked, transforming an overpriced paperweight into... a slightly less useless overpriced paperweight. ChatGPT can now directly edit code in macOS development tools, making it easier for AI to introduce bugs you never would have thought of yourself. Over At the Library, check out "The Tempest" by Peter Cawdron for your first contact fix, and if you're worried about where society is heading (and who isn't?), Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny" offers a survival guide for our slow-motion constitutional collapse. Finally, in "everything is fine" news, 82% of indie artists can't afford to tour anymore. Enjoy the dystopia, kids – at least we still have our sense of humor. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/687 FOLLOW UP Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not) Google announces ‘AI Mode’ as a new way to use Search, testing starts today Government Officials for Announced Fyre Festival 2 Location Say Event “Does Not Exist” ‘I’m selling the Nazi mobile’: Tesla owners offload cars after Musk’s fascist-style salutes Tesla Just Got Even More Bad News Tesla Just Got News About Its Sales in Germany, and It Shows That Elon Musk Has Seriously Messed Up Arsonists Set Fire to a Dozen Teslas, Charging Stations Amid "Anti-Capitalist Coordination to Target Tesla" Google’s Sergey Brin Says Engineers Should Work 60-Hour Weeks in Office to Build AI That Could Replace Them Ex-Amazon VP explains why rich a-holes with helicopters and personal assistants don't get why you hate your commute Trump Media Paid Donald Trump Jr. Nearly A Quarter Of Its Annual Revenue. He Attended Just Two Board Meetings IN THE NEWS Cinema Giant Technicolor's Abrupt Shutdown Affects 10,000 Workers Worldwide US employers cut...

This week, the U.S. government takes another L in court as a judge rules that handing out personal data like free candy to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is, in fact, a privacy violation. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani’s dreams of walking free are crushed as a judge upholds their fraud convictions and massive fines. Sorry, no Silicon Valley redemption arc for you. Over in crypto, Bitcoin took a wild nosedive, sending traders into full panic mode before bouncing back. Trump Coin also rode the rollercoaster but, let’s be honest, it’s still circling the drain. In corporate chaos, Warner Bros. Discovery slashed its gaming division, Google axed more employees while crying about AI costs, and an AI-generated video of Trump sucking on Musk’s toes somehow took over HUD office TVs. Speaking of Musk, federal tech staffers are resigning en masse rather than work for DOGE, and the FAA is cozying up to SpaceX while pretending it’s totally not a conflict of interest. Over in Big Tech, Chegg is suing Google for stealing their content, and Meta can’t stop Instagram from flooding users’ feeds with violent and NSFW Reels. Also, Grok 3, Musk’s AI pet project, handed out chemical weapon blueprints like a particularly unhinged WikiHow before xAI scrambled to cover their tracks. On the media front, Andor is coming back with a binge-friendly release schedule, Kathleen Kennedy is finally exiting Lucasfilm, and Daredevil: Born Again is getting early buzz. YouTube now claims a billion monthly podcast viewers, Fyre Festival 2 is happening because we clearly learned nothing from the first one, and Jeff Bezos has decided The Washington Post will now be his personal capitalism fan club. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s AI Copilot is helpfully explaining how to pirate Windows, Skype is getting sent to the great app graveyard in the sky, and Google is making it slightly less impossible to remove your personal info from search results. All that, plus Paramount+ is giving us 50 classic MTV Unplugged episodes because nostalgia is the only safe investment these days. Buckle up, it’s a wild ride. Sponsors: Factor - Get started at FactormMeals.com/FACTORPODCAST and use code grumpy50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/686 FOLLOW UP Judge: US gov’t violated privacy law by disclosing personal data to DOGE Holmes and Balwani's appeal falls flat as court upholds fraud convictions IN THE NEWS Bitcoin's slide continues as traders eye further big falls ahead Warner Bros Discovery slashes gaming business, closing three studios Google announces layoffs in its HR, cloud units as part of ongoing cost cuts AI Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes Blasted on Government Office TVs IRS Employees Told They Must Respond to Musk’s Bizarre Email by Midnight Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE Amid a Musk-led overhaul, the FAA starts doing business with SpaceX Educational tech company Chegg sues Google over AI Overviews Grok blocked results saying Musk and Trump ‘spread misinformation’ Elon's Grok 3 AI Provides "Hundreds of Pages of Detailed Instructions" on Creating Chemical Weapons Anthropic reportedly ups its next funding round to $3.5B There’s Something Very Weird About This $30 Billion AI Startup by a Man Who Said Neural Networks May Already Be Conscious North Korea Stole $1.4 Billion in Largest Crypto Heist Ever, Researchers Say Fyre Festival 2 is coming, and it already sounds bananas (and not in a good...

Jason and Brian dive into a whirlwind of tech chaos, cultural absurdities, and dystopian developments. They kick things off with a nostalgic nod to the internet's past, highlighting the 88x31 GIF collection and quirky single-use websites like "Trump Golf Track" and "Are We Doomed Yet?" The asteroid 2024 YR4 briefly raises existential dread as NASA’s odds of a 2032 Earth impact fluctuate wildly, but relief follows as updated calculations show a near-zero chance of collision. Meanwhile, Elon Musk dominates the headlines with his bizarre CPAC appearance brandishing a chainsaw, Tesla’s anti-theft dye measures for Supercharger cables, and mounting protests against his political entanglements and government layoffs under DOGE. The episode also covers corporate drama and AI controversies. The New York Times introduces newsroom AI tools amidst its legal battles with OpenAI, while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella urges the industry to temper AI hype. Uber sues DoorDash over alleged anti-competitive practices, and Meta unveils plans for the world’s longest undersea cable alongside LlamaCon, its first generative AI conference. Meanwhile, Humane abruptly discontinues its AI Pins following an HP acquisition, leaving users scrambling. The hosts also explore Musk’s meddling with X’s Community Notes and blocking Signal links, further eroding trust in the platform. On the media front, Jason and Brian discuss upcoming releases like Daredevil: Born Again, The Last of Us Season 2, Apple’s Murderbot series, and Judd Apatow’s Norm Macdonald documentary. They wrap up with listener feedback, shout-outs to Patreon supporters, and a hilarious anecdote about a Tesla showroom protest featuring an employee’s cheeky “We Hate Him Too” sign. As always, the duo blends sharp insights with biting humor to dissect the week’s madness. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/685 FOLLOW UP The 88x31 GIF Collection Trump Golf Track Are We Doomed Yet? Odds of Asteroid Hitting Earth in 2032 Climb Again as Impact Probability Hits New Peak NASA Makes Big Update to Asteroid Potentially on Collision Course With Earth in 2032 IN THE NEWS I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk’s CPAC appearance was. So here’s a literal transcript instead. Tesla Installing Countermeasures as People Are Hacking the Cables Off Superchargers Protesters demonstrate outside Tesla showrooms in US Sign That Says “We Hate Him Too” Appears in Window of Tesla Dealership The New York Times has greenlit AI tools for product and edit staff USDA Scrambles to Rehire Bird Flu Experts After DOGE Laid Them Off DOGE Reportedly Cuts FDA Employees Investigating Neuralink DOGE employee cuts fall heavily on agency that regulates Musk’s Tesla Elon Musk wants to 'fix' Community Notes on X Trump Media says it lost more than $400 million last year while revenue dropped 12% Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Trump's Truth Social, site just announced it lost $400.9 million last year. Trump Administration Wants to Help Get Professional Misogynist Andrew Tate out of Romania Here’s Why Trump May View Andrew Tate As An Ally—As He Reportedly Pressures Romania To Lift His Travel Restrictions Nextdoor’s Nirav Tolia thinks he can turn things around with AI; he has a lot riding on it X blocks users from sharing links to Signal Uber accuses DoorDash of anti-competitive practices in a lawsuit Meta Will Build the World’s Longest Undersea Cable Meta announces LlamaCon, its first generative AI dev conference Meta Connect...

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, Jason and Brian dive headfirst into the latest tech absurdities, financial scandals, and Elon Musk's ongoing chaos. We start with the annual frustration of unsubscribing from an email list that just won’t quit before jumping into the latest gem from Musk himself: "Some of the things that I say will be incorrect." Meanwhile, British IT worker James Howells is back with his ongoing quest to unearth his lost Bitcoin fortune—this time with a plan to buy the entire landfill where he thinks it’s buried. And despite all the corporate posturing about a return to office, remote work remains steady, much to the chagrin of commercial real estate moguls still waiting for the workforce to return. The Trump Coin debacle takes center stage, where early traders made a quick $109 million, but over 800,000 investors got wrecked to $2 billion. Adding to the dystopian financial landscape, Microsoft’s latest study finds that AI reliance makes people dumber, leading to cognitive atrophy as workers place too much trust in generative AI. Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters lands a major AI copyright win in the courts, striking a blow against legal AI startups. Over at Meta, the latest round of layoffs blindsided workers supposedly meeting performance expectations, proving that job security in tech is about as stable as Musk’s grasp on reality. A man in Alabama pleaded guilty to hacking the SEC’s X account to falsely announce Bitcoin ETF approvals, sending crypto markets on a rollercoaster ride. On the media front, Mythic Quest Season 4 is out, and we’re cautiously optimistic despite needing a breather after Season 2. The White Lotus returns, but can it survive without Stifler’s mom? Meanwhile, Karl Urban's role as Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat II is a big win. Walmart’s acquisition of the Dawn of the Dead mall seems hilariously on-brand, while Netflix’s attempt at podcasting smells like another cost-cutting maneuver. Finally, in "good news," the odds of a newly discovered asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 are rising. At least it would mean an end to Jeep’s infuriating full-screen stoplight ads. Tune in for all this and more on Grumpy Old Geeks! Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/684 FOLLOW UP Man in Search of Lost Bitcoin Fortune Wants to Buy the Landfill Where He Swears It’s Buried There Hasn’t Been Much if Any Reduction in WFH in over Two Years, Despite the Hype about RTO Early Crypto Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin as Others Suffered Losses IN THE NEWS Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared” The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers Meta's job cuts surprised some employees who said they weren't low performers Silicon Valley Software Engineers Horrified as They Can't Easily Find Jobs Anymore Man from Alabama pleads guilty over SEC's fake bitcoin post on X Kanye West’s X Account Deactivated After He Declared “IM A NAZI” In Deluge Of Antisemitism Shopify took down Kanye's swastika t-shirt shop, but another antisemitic storefront still operates Shopify says risk of fraud, not Nazi swastika, was reason for Kanye West store takedown Scarlett Johansson Calls for New AI Laws After Fake Video of Her Goes Viral Google will use machine learning to try and tell if a user is under 18 UK drops 'safety' from its AI body, now called AI Security Institute, inks MOU with Anthropic Buzzfeed is launching their own...

This week, Jason and Brian dive into the chaos surrounding Elon Musk’s growing influence in government tech, with young engineers playing key roles in his takeover. DOGE employees are being ordered off Slack, USAID is crumbling, and Musk’s war with U.S. officials rages on. Meanwhile, AI takes center stage with the EU banning high-risk systems, DeepSeek’s security concerns, and Amazon throwing down $100 billion on AI advancements. Big Tech moves are equally absurd—Google is now open to AI-powered weapons, Meta might scrap risky AI models, and Tesla is struggling in Europe thanks to Elon’s latest blunders. Meanwhile, states are rushing to pour taxpayer money into so-called “strategic cryptocurrency reserves.” In entertainment, The Devil May Cry anime’s ridiculous theme song is a standout, Mythic Quest returns, and Beast Games looks promising. AI controversially helped The Beatles score a Grammy, and Denis Villeneuve is making Dune 3 because, well, fans demanded it. Over in reboot land, Sarah Michelle Gellar may return for a Buffy revival on Hulu with Chloé Zhao at the helm, while Neil Gaiman finds himself in serious legal trouble. Gadget fans get a look at the Anker Zolo charger, a Google search trick to dodge AI summaries, and Apple’s latest social feature. Also, say goodbye to Apple’s AR glasses before they even had a chance to shine. Dave Bittner joins The Dark Side segment with updates on cybersecurity, including a wave of ransomware payment refusals and the Andersons’ infamous eviction from Disneyland’s most exclusive club. Pirates in China, Disney park music, and tracking yourself via in-app ads round out the discussion. Closing out the show, a shout-out to Snap’s CEO for supporting LA wildfire recovery and a nod to SoberOutfitters for keeping things clean. Buckle up—it’s another wild ride with the Grumpy Old Geeks! Sponsors: DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/683 IN THE NEWS The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover Musk, Trump Prosecutor Targeting People Who Divulge Identities of DOGE Staff One of Elon Musk's DOGE Kids Just Had an Explosive Screaming Tantrum DOGE Engineer Resigns After Being Linked to Extremely Racist Tweets Government Tech Workers Forced to Defend Projects to Random Elon Musk Bros U.S. government officials privately warn Musk’s blitz appears illegal DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to Records System That Is Not Subject to FOIA Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine USAID Workforce Slashed From 10,000 to Under 300 as Elon Musk’s DOGE Decimates Agency Government agency removes spoon emoji from work platform amid protests Deadline for Trump's federal worker buyout proposal temporarily blocked by judge US judge blocks Trump buyout program as 60,000 sign up to quit States Are Racing to Throw Taxpayers' Money Into "Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserves" Police Use of Facial Recognition Backfires Spectacularly When It Renders Them Unable to Convict Alleged Murderer AI systems with 'unacceptable risk' are now banned in the EU DeepSeek iOS app sends data unencrypted to ByteDance-controlled servers OmniHuman-1 Researchers created an open rival to OpenAI’s o1 ‘reasoning’ model for under $50 Amazon doubles down on AI with a massive $100B spending plan for 2025 Workday lays off 1,750 employees, citing demand for AI Lyft uses Anthropic's Claude chatbot to handle user complaints Tesla Sales in Europe Plummet Amidst Elon’s Stupid Meddling Tesla...

Brian and Jason kick things off with a look at why Gen Z grads are getting fired just months after landing jobs and a curiously viral declassified CIA sabotage guide. Speaking of sabotage, U.S. students are struggling with their lowest reading scores in decades, raising questions about the future workforce. Meanwhile, Google Maps’ controversial renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for U.S. users has sparked some amusing geopolitical tit-for-tats. In the AI wars, OpenAI is fuming over claims that DeepSeek trained its models using OpenAI’s own stolen data—ironic, given OpenAI’s history of scraping the internet. As if that weren’t enough, California’s Attorney General warns AI companies that nearly everything they’re doing might be illegal, while the Copyright Office suggests AI copyright issues were settled way back in 1965. Oh, and OpenAI is now in the nuclear weapons game. What could possibly go wrong? In tech and business news, CVS is making customers jump through app hoops to unlock cabinets, Uber claims it’s the victim of an elaborate fake crash scheme, and Tesla promises a robotaxi business and humanoid robots in 2025—though Musk admits current Teslas will need new hardware to achieve full self-driving. Whole Foods workers have formed their first union since Amazon took over, and MoviePass is considering a pivot to crypto, because of course it is. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s ventures keep making headlines, and Waymo’s driverless taxis are facing vandalism in Southern California. Law enforcement in California is also in hot water, having misused state databases over 7,000 times last year. For media lovers, Star Trek: Section 31 is on the horizon, while The Expanse‘s first three seasons are vanishing from Amazon soon. Behind the Music is back, and Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music offers a deep dive into the show’s musical legacy. On the gaming front, classic titles like Spaceship Warlock and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are getting attention alongside newly accessible archives of 1,500 classic gaming magazines. The Night Agent Season 2 is here and it sucks, and Amazon is hiking the price of its Music Unlimited subscriptions. Finally, the episode wraps with a nod to Marianne Faithfull’s passing and China’s new “magic beans” shaking up American markets—because, in this chaotic world, even the beans are making headlines because AI wrote this terrible summary. Sponsors: Factor - Get started at FactorMeals.com/grumpy50off and use code grumpy50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!! 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off. Show notes at https://gog.show/682 FOLLOW UP Bosses are firing Gen Z grads just months after hiring them—here’s what they say needs to change Declassified CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism Is Suddenly Viral Simple Sabotage Field Manual by United States. Office of Strategic Services U.S. Students Post Lowest Reading Scores in Decades IN THE NEWS Google Maps will rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, but only for US users Google Maps Adopted ‘Gulf of America’ Name, and Now Mexico Has Some Suggestions David Sacks claims there's 'substantial evidence' that DeepSeek used OpenAI's models to train its own OpenAI Furious DeepSeek Might Have Stolen All the Data OpenAI Stole From Us OpenAI suddenly thinks intellectual property theft is not cool, actually, amid DeepSeek’s rise Exposed DeepSeek Database Revealed Chat Prompts and Internal Data The Knives Are Coming Out for DeepSeek AI California’s AG Tells AI Companies Practically Everything They’re...