682: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Luigi

682: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Luigi

Author: Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittner February 1, 2025 Duration: 1:27:25
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.

There’s a certain flavor of chaos that defines the technology industry each week, and Grumpy Old Geeks serves as your brutally honest guide through the wreckage. Hosted by Jason DeFillippo, Brian Schulmeister, and Dave Bittner, this isn't a polite roundtable discussion. Instead, it feels like grabbing a drink with friends who have seen it all and have absolutely no patience left for corporate spin or broken promises. They pick apart the biggest tech news stories with a seasoned, cynical eye, always asking the messy questions about what actually went wrong and who should be held accountable. Listening to this podcast is like getting the unfiltered post-mortem from veterans who remember when the internet felt different. The tone is sharp, often funny, and deliberately irreverent-picture a conversation that’s equal parts informed critique and cathartic venting about the state of digital life. You’ll hear them dissect the moves of figures like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg not as distant celebrities, but as players in a ongoing saga of power and missteps. It’s a weekly ritual for anyone who loves technology but is deeply frustrated by the direction it often takes, offering analysis that’s as informed as it is impatient. If you’re tired of sanitized tech commentary and want a take that pulls no punches, this is the place.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Grumpy Old Geeks
Podcast Episodes
743: Category Five Dystopia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:28
Elon Musk admitted Tesla FSD was vaporware for millions of customers; the AI money squeeze is killing free tiers while xAI drains Memphis's drinking water; Anthropic's Mythos got accessed by hobbyists and adopted by the…
742: Uncouth Yet Highly Litigious [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:31
Estonia and Australia prove social media bans don't work; ChatGPT is linked to mass shootings and stalking while also praising fart music; Allbirds pivoted to AI and immediately imploded; France dumped Windows for Linux;…
741: Moon Joy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:24
Greece bans kids from social media (announced on TikTok); the FBI pulls Signal messages from iPhone notifications; OpenAI wants liability shields for AI mass-casualty events; wheels fall off a Mercedes EV; and Dave Bittn…
740: To the Moon! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:39
Welcome to Grumpy Old Geeks, where we're starting to notice a patience epidemic! As people get used to barking orders at their AI, they're starting to talk to other humans with the same terse impatience. We discuss the e…
739: The Thin Black Line [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:02
Meta fined $375M for child safety failures. Musk lost 3 lawsuits in a week. Sam Altman compared to a Nazi. Netflix raised prices again. The Pentagon can't quit Claude. Reddit wants your face scan. Star Trek's streaming e…
738: A Sprinkling of Random [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:05
13 years of podcasting has taught us nothing; companies are lying about AI layoffs while Meta destroys itself from the inside; Andreessen has zero introspection and it shows; Dune 3 looks incredible; Firefly lives again;…
737: Monetizable Content [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:27
Kids online protection is finally getting serious globally; Anthropic is in a lawsuit with the Pentagon over an AI that may have bombed a school; Meta bought a fake-AI social network while ignoring its own AI content pro…
736: People Aren’t People [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:59
Microsoft's anti-"Microslop" censorship backfired spectacularly; Australia is cracking down on AI age verification while Meta is busy targeting toddlers; prediction markets are basically just insider trading with extra s…
735: We’re Walking on Sunshine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:38
Tax economists are winning bets against government efficiency while Tesla sues the DMV for hurting its feelings; AI is contributing exactly zero to the economy while Sam Altman tries to gaslight us into thinking his data…
734: A Bald Woody [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:13
Big Tech is busy handing user data to the feds while their AI bots generate "rectal" advice and child abuse imagery; the hardware supply chain is being devoured by thirsty LLMs while Tesla’s robotaxis crash into buses; w…