740: To the Moon!

740: To the Moon!

Author: Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittner April 4, 2026 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 enshittification of social media like Threads, which are now completely overrun with AI-generated slop. This week, we dive into the corporate shenanigans of the tech world. OpenAI was caught secretly funding an advocacy group to push for age verification laws that just so happen to benefit Sam Altman's other company. We also cover Elon Musk's troubles, including all of xAI's co-founders quitting, a SpaceX satellite exploding, and Tesla's "fully autonomous" robotaxis being revealed to have remote human drivers. Plus, we celebrate NASA's successful Artemis II launch, review a fantastic Premiere Pro plugin for multicam editing, and give our thoughts on shows like "The Pit" and "Downton Abbey." Sponsors: 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/740 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IpzOakbBftY FOLLOW UP Austria is pursuing a social media ban for kids under 14 Group Pushing Age Verification Requirements for AI Turns Out to Be Sneakily Backed by OpenAI OpenAI takes on another “side quest,” buys tech-focused talk show TBPN IN THE NEWS Elon Musk’s last co-founder reportedly leaves xAI SpaceX loses contact with one of its Starlink satellites SpaceX has reportedly filed for the biggest IPO in history OpenAI Is Falling Out of Favor With Secondary Buyers Oracle Lays Off Thousands to Offset AI Spending Anthropic leaks part of Claude Code’s internal source code Anthropic is having a month Wikipedia Just Drew the Line on A.I.-Written Content Tesla Admits Its Robotaxis Are Being Driven Remotely Getting Stuck Inside a Glitching Robotaxi Is a Whole New Thing to Be Scared of White House App Found Tracking Users' Exact Location Every 4.5 Minutes via Third-Party Server Kash Patel's personal email account was accessed by hackers linked to Iran NASA's Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast) MEDIA CANDY The Hobbit: The Tolkien Edit The Pitt DTF St. Louis Project Hail Mary SUPERGIRL | Official Trailer Downton Abbey Darker Waves Festival APPS & DOODADS Bluesky's next product is an AI assistant that helps build custom social media feeds ChatGPT app launches for CarPlay on iOS 26.4 Apple Removes iPhone Vibe Coding App from App Store Meta is testing an Instagram Plus subscription service with exclusive features Wraith Multi-Cam Editor THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Current Reader Journalist Sues FAA Over Drone No Fly Zone Designed to Prevent Filming ICE Nicholas Carlini - Black-hat LLMs | [un]prompted 2026 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: 100

Grumpy Old Geeks
Podcast Episodes
692: Confabulation and Frivolity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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On this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks: Fyre Fest’s con man promises a sequel; the IRS shares migrant tax info with ICE and promptly loses its commissioner; Microsoft lets OpenAI burn cash while plotting global domination;…
691: Cry Me A River (to Cool Off My AI) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:37
Protests erupt across the U.S. in a “Tesla Takedown” while Elon merges his AI and social media empires and dodges jet trackers alongside Taylor Swift; meanwhile, Signal faces government heat over military chat mishaps as…
690: An Insult to Life Itself [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:00
This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: Dunning-Kruger takes the spotlight, Elon’s approval sinks, TikTok tries to stay patriotic, 23andMe files for bankruptcy, and Napster rises again. Plus, AI, security chaos, and more!
689: What Would Dave Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:26
🤖 AI-generated Down syndrome influencers selling NSFW content, Cybertruck crashes into fake tunnel wall, Tesla recalls 46k trucks. Meanwhile, ICE watches 200+ locations & OpenAI keeps eating books. Tech dystopia's here—a…
688: Why, Combinator? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:42
Pi Day gets its due; Y Combinator marks 20 years of “disruption”; Americans lose $12.5B to scams thanks to AI and social media; Deliveroo posts a profit but still tanks on Wall Street; Twitter’s security remains a joke;…
687: Uncanny Spaceballs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:12
Techdirt has embraced politics as tech’s twin dumpster fire; Google’s AI Mode proves the internet is just Clippy with better PR; Billy McFarland’s Fyre Festival 2 is literally lost at sea; Tesla sales plummet as Elon’s a…
686: Not All Heroes Vibe Code [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:07
The U.S. government gets slapped for violating privacy laws; Holmes and Balwani stay locked up; Bitcoin and Trump Coin take a dive; Warner Bros. kills game studios; Google cuts jobs while AI spending skyrockets; HUD offi…
685: Bezos, Jeff Bezos [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:53
Jason and Brian tackle Elon Musk’s surreal CPAC appearance, Tesla’s anti-theft dye measures for Supercharger cables, and protests against Musk’s growing political influence; they explore NASA’s fluctuating asteroid impac…
684: Don’t Be a Dick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:47
Jason and Brian tackle tech absurdities, financial scandals, and Elon Musk’s latest chaos, covering everything from the never-ending email unsubscribe struggle to a British IT worker’s desperate plan to reclaim lost Bitc…
683: There IS a Spoon! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:38
Elon Musk’s growing control over government tech sparks chaos, with DOGE employees facing restrictions, USAID crumbling, and U.S. officials warning of legal issues, while AI developments surge—Amazon bets $100 billion on…