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
654: Life EULA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:39
ID authentication systems are a bad idea; Tesla traps a toddler inside car, vandalized Cybertrucks & Cybertruck run amok; Rivian makes a deal with VW; celeb crypto spam deepfakes & hacks; Assange free; META tags real pho…
653: To Violate, or Not to Violate? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:45
Opting out of META AI data training; 11 steps, or be in the EU; why I hate Elon, let me count the ways; SCiFi Foods, Fisker shut down; social media warning labels; TikTok child privacy case; Safe SuperIntelligence; Apple…
652: Casual Pirates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:21
OpenAI was open to bidding wars between USA, China & Russia; AI hitting wall where it can't get smarter; visibility set to zero; walking back Windows Recall; Tesla FSD false advertising, SpaceX bad behavior; refreezing t…
651: Inci Dont’s [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:47
Humane AI chargers go up in flames; Google scales back AI Overviews; we've all been pwnd; Windows Recall a Category 5 s-storm; Microsoft downsizes mixed reality division; leaked Google privacy incidents; ChatGPT AI hype…
650: The Ewok Line [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:29
Google AI search is a mess; robocall fines; no one wants a used Tesla; Neumann gives up on WeWork; OpenAI, Twitch give up pretending they have Safety Advisory boards; Vimeo says no to AI; xAI raises 6 billion; massive Ti…
649: Garbage In, Garbage Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:49
Dead Internet Theory & Shrimp Jesus; the Portal is back; Apple set photo visibility to zero; jailbreaking major LLMs; OpenAI party time; getting some decent data in; you win an award, now you're suspended; Google sends D…
648: Some Superheroes Ride Motorized Scooters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:54
Inappropriate portal behavior; RTO drives away top talent; Apple may add OpenAI to iOS; garbage in, garbage out; AI continues to promise more than it can deliver; Twitter redirecting to X; entire Supercharger staff fired…
647: DarJar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:04
Neuralink, insulin pump software bugs & abandoned brain implant technologies; Dorsey peaces out from Bluesky; Dell RTO tracking; Meta pumps businesses for customer support; Uber hits a financial snag; Spotify's new royal…
646: Thanks, Gary! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:45
Kagi not worth it; RIP Passcodes; Sora demo not exactly Sora; FCC fines carries for selling location data; TikTok ban signed; Meta's ad-buying AI blows through budgets; fighting the algorithm; OpenAI privacy complaints;…

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