743: Category Five Dystopia

743: Category Five Dystopia

Author: Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittner April 25, 2026 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 NSA in the same week; DHS wants facial recognition glasses for ICE; Palantir published a fascist manifesto; Roblox settled another child safety lawsuit; New York wants felony charges for 3D printer files; and Dave Bittner is here with Star Wars fan films as the only wholesome content in the entire episode.

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]

Duration: 1:26:41
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…