738: A Sprinkling of Random

738: A Sprinkling of Random

Author: Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittner March 21, 2026 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; one idiot executive staked Buffy; Adobe paid $75M for being evil; your AI passwords are garbage; Dave Bittner is here to make you feel worse about all of it.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.SquareSpace - go to squarespace.com/GRUMPY for a free trial. And when you’re ready to launch, use code GRUMPY to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.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/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/738Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pykGjOmMs5cFOLLOW UPGOG Ep 1: How to Make Money on the Internet - March 25th, 2013The ‘AI-Washing’ of Job Cuts Is Corrosive and ConfusingRace on to establish globally recognised 'AI-free' logoBillionaire Marc Andreessen says he has "zero" introspection, and that the idea itself is a modern invention.Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don’t rewrite an Iran missile storyIN THE NEWSAtlassian to cut roughly 10% jobs in pivot to AIMeta is reportedly planning to cut up to 20 percent of its staff in upcoming layoffsMeta Is Building an Encrypted Chatbot After AI Agents Went Rogue and Exposed Sensitive DataMeta Says It Is Removing End-to-End Encryption From Instagram Direct MessagesMeta is testing clickable links in Instagram captions for verified subscribersEncyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI for copyright and trademark infringementSenators tell ByteDance to shut down Seedance 2.0 AI video app 'immediately'Things Are Suddenly Looking Incredibly Bad for Trump’s Social Media CompanyTrump administration will reportedly get $10 billion for brokering the TikTok dealThe Billionaire Backlash Against a Philanthropic DreamJeff Bezos’ Washington Post Now Setting Readers’ Subscription Prices With Uber-Style AIAPPS & DOODADSAdobe agrees to pay settlement for making its subscriptions hard to cancelEverything you need to know to design with StitchWhat is DESIGN.md?Warning: Your AI-Generated Password Is a Major Security Risk. Here’s What to Use InsteadMEDIA CANDYDune: Part Three | Official Teaser TrailerHow ‘Dune: Part Three’ Is Changing the Entire ‘Dune’ Franchise"Paradise" has been renewed for Season 3 at Hulu, Variety has learned.Paradise on HuluMars ExpressNathan Fillion Says ‘Firefly’ Animated Series In Development With Co-Stars Set To Reprise Roles; Concept Art RevealedSarah Michelle Gellar Says a Single Executive Was Responsible for Killing the ‘Buffy’ Reboot‘V For Vendetta’ at 20: We Spoke to Its Director About the Increasingly Relevant Comic AdaptationTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingDisney's 100% Rotten Tomatoes Masterpiece Returns This Fall With Brand-New ReleaseShhh… It’s zombie proof. Kia’s all-electric rangeThe Last Quiet Thing by Terry GodierEvel Knievel Kings Island 1975 - Farthest Successful Jump at 133 feet70's Evel Knievel Toy Commercial IDEALEvel Knievel's 14 Greyhound Bus Jump Oct 25th 1975 HD enhanced. Epic WORLD RECORD.Craig Ferguson’s Evel Knievel Story is Wild!!Being EvelWembley 50th Anniversary Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle Set – Limited Gold EditionEvel Knievel Stunt Cycle - Trail Bike Edition See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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: 50

Grumpy Old Geeks
Podcast Episodes
733: Predator Friendly Hunting Ground [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:14
The tech world is currently a "nuclear war" over trademarks and alien catapult rants while AI safety researchers flee their posts; Meta and Discord are locked in a cycle of predator-friendly lawsuits and government ID br…
732: We’re Not In the Files! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:06
In this week’s FOLLOW UP, Bitcoin is down 15%, miners are unplugging rigs because paying eighty-seven grand to mine a sixty-grand coin finally failed the vibes check, and Grok is still digitally undressing men—suggesting…
731: I Want My 13 Trillion Dollars! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:24
EU vs. Grok, Tesla kills the S/X, mass tech layoffs, Waymo in trouble, South Korea’s AI mess, and record labels suing for $13T. Then: Super Bowl 60, Ted Lasso, Highlander, AirTag 2, new Muppets but no Animal Crackers. Bu…
730: Ethical Broads [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:31
California tells Grok to stop making deepfake minors, Musk’s Memphis methane datacenter gets busted, the FTC keeps trying to break up Meta & every government on Earth demands your ID before you’re allowed to have fun onl…
729: Alright Alright Alright™ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:25
Grok gets blocked by world governments as the US Senate tries to stop the deepfake deluge; Meta abandons the Metaverse for AI hardware and high-powered political hires while Bandcamp bans AI slop; Apple and Tesla move mo…
728: No Face to Shoot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:06
A year after the LA fires, we spiral into AI surveillance & protest safety to Meta ads, Disney spying, Grok’s legal black hole, robotaxis at dusk & Tim Cook’s $74M payday. Toss in MTV nostalgia, holiday gadgets & tech su…
727: Merry Slopmas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:17
Hallucinating AI recaps, Tesla’s Autopilot under legal fire, TikTok’s shell game, Reddit fights age bans, iRobot sucks up Chpater 11 and “slop” crowned Word of the Year. Add orbital junk, fake books & Gen-X sideeye - it’…
726: Sycophantic and Delusional [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:31
Job Hugging is here, OpenAI’s in damage control mode, the AI bubble is overheating the grid, Instagram pricing games, Waymo gives birth and Uber is selling your data. Also: Disney’s AI dreams, EU smackdowns, and Jason wi…
725: The Mistake Machine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:02
Spotify Wrapped thinks we’re 82, Palantir thinks war crimes are bad for business, and Google’s AI is wiping hard drives. Netflix buys Batman, Fallout S2, ROMCON, Knives Out, scientists invent the blackest fabric ever and…
724: Sam Altman’s Boutique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:57
The DOGE is dead, Apple and HP are blaming AI for layoffs, teens are lonely (talking to bots!), greedy tech bros are pouring millions into fighting state AI regulations. Welcome to the tech industry, where nothing is a s…