Translating security and tech concepts for the everyday consumer

Translating security and tech concepts for the everyday consumer

Author: BKBT Productions January 5, 2026 Duration: 34:46
When did we stop asking how things work? Rich Greene joins the show to talk about his new podcast Plaintext with Rich [https://open.spotify.com/show/2DCglwZU8zBxzZgy8iHRCa],  and we get into something that matters more than any tech: curiosity itself. Rich spent 20 years in Special Operations before becoming a SANS instructor. Now he's taking complex tech topics and breaking them down for people who need to understand, not just use. There's a tension building between the tech sector and society at large. AI promises to make everything easier, and maybe it does. But easier can become a trap when it stops us from asking the fundamental questions. When convenience replaces comprehension, we don't just lose technical skill, we lose the ability to think critically about the systems we're building and trusting. The conversation pushes on a deeper problem: we're creating a generation that believes technology is magic. That you can "vibe code" production software. That prompts replace understanding. And when everything becomes a black box, we've surrendered more than we realize. Communication and curiosity - those are the skills that matter when the tools change every six months. Find Plaintext with Rich: * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2DCglwZU8zBxzZgy8iHRCa] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/plaintext-with-rich/id1864969176] * Blog on Medium [https://medium.com/@plaintextwithrich]

There’s a lot of noise in the world of technology talk, but Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks cuts through it with a focus on the people behind the products and the societal currents shaping our digital landscape. Hosts George K and George A steer conversations that are less about specs and hype, and more about real-world consequences. You’ll hear them dig into topics like the messy rollout of new AI tools, the often-invisible backbone of digital infrastructure, and why communities adopt or reject certain technologies. This podcast regularly features guests from various fields who offer unvarnished opinions on what’s genuinely functional and what’s fundamentally flawed in our tech-saturated lives. The discussions move beyond simple commentary to challenge the standard narratives promoted by the tech industry, examining the cultural and social ripples of every new development. It’s a show for anyone who feels that technology coverage often misses the human element-the frustrations, the adaptations, and the ethical dilemmas. Tune in for a grounded, critical, and consistently engaging dialogue that connects the dots between code and culture. This production from BKBT Productions lives up to its name, getting down to the brass tacks of how technology is built and used, with a bare-knuckle honesty that’s increasingly rare.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks
Podcast Episodes
Why your network is shallower than you think, and how to change it [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:18
What if the reason most people struggle to build meaningful professional relationships isn't effort — it's that they've mistaken a transaction for a foundation? David Homan [https://orchestratedconnecting.com/about/] has…
What the AI datacenter build out looks like from the ground up [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:19
What happens when a community votes no…but the #AI datacenter construction starts anyway? That is not a hypothetical. It's what happened in Saline Township, Michigan, when a $16 billion OpenAI-Oracle data center was reje…
The Everything Machine and the Trillion-Dollar Bet [Replay] [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:02
What if the story we're being told about AI's inevitability is hiding something underneath? That's the question Jessica Parker and Kimberly Becker put to George K. on their podcast, Women Talking 'Bout AI [https://www.wo…
AI is doing real good and real harm, but the hype is hiding both [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:16
The AI hype machine is taking up all the oxygen we need to actually stop the harm happening today. This month we heard from three guests who didn't compare notes. Didn't coordinate. And all three circled the same thing:…
Using focused AI to help small farmers and reduce food insecurity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:46
What if narrow #AI, rather than imagined AGI through scaling will be what changes the world? In some places, that's already happening. El Mahdi Aboulmanadel founded DeepLeaf [https://deepleaf.io/] after watching smallhol…