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
703: None More Black [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:43
ICE raids and FuckLAPD.com highlight America’s surveillance circus; a Norwegian tourist gets booted over a JD Vance meme; Big Balls lands at Social Security; Tesla robotaxis need adult supervision; judges can’t decide if…
702: TikTaco [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:51
Trump punts the TikTok ban again; Tesla mows down dummies and dumps Cybertrucks like yard sale junk; AI kills jobs, fries budgets, and melts brains; Microsoft and Wikipedia pump the brakes; Altman wants your electricity;…
701: Dancing in the Streets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:19
We light a candle for legends and torch bad takes; Molly White says truth still matters as apathy and flaming Waymos rise; “No Kings” protests erupt while Elon licks Trump’s boots; Uber reinvents the worse bus, Tesla del…
700: Going Antiquing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:28
Elon and Trump’s feud torches billions while launching a sketchy crypto wallet; DOGE fires someone for praising government efficiency; Ukraine weaponizes open source code in a drone blitz; U.S. states fumble social media…
699: TACO 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:31
AI asks if it’s 2025 and proves it’s not; Facebook’s violence spikes after policy changes; Trump Media dives into Bitcoin and DJT dives with it; Texas wants teens off social media; Germany eyes a Big Tech tax; Anthropic…
698: Watch Out for That Tree! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:32
Elon Musk melts down mid-interview and calls the reporter an NPC; 23andMe auctions off your DNA to Regeneron; Coinbase insiders leak customer data; OpenAI buys Jony Ive’s studio while planning spy-wearables; Klarna flip-…
697: Office of Defects [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:16
This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: Trump hawks crypto for $2 million a plate; Elon tunnels into taxpayer wallets; NFTs get nonprofit’d into irrelevance; Microsoft axes more staff while Metaverse washouts DoorDash from traile…
696: Googliearchs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:03
Crypto bros drain Kuwait’s grid; Celsius founder lands 12 years; Apple ethics on trial; DoorDash devours Deliveroo; Google gives Gemini to tweens; Tesla’s “Robotaxi” is too basic; Grok goes streaking; AI ghosts your gran…
695: Mad Hatter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:16
On this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks: Staingate delamination gets messy; Trump’s meme coin gets government domains; Elon wears two hats to a Trump meeting; DOGE hands housing laws to AI; MoviePass launches crypto box offi…
694: Hammers Don’t Hallucinate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:43
Fyre Festival reboots as a music app; Amazon and Microsoft hit pause on AI infrastructure; Google’s AI hallucinates confidently; Kevin Roose wants us to feel bad for Skynet Jr.; OpenAI wants Chrome despite being broke; P…