The Hacker Shuffle

The Hacker Shuffle

Author: J.D. Biersdorfer and Pedro Rafael Rosado October 31, 2025 Duration: 31:44

On this episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and J.D.  discuss — among many other things — electronic playing-card shufflers, Oreos, A.I. slop, robot hands and “Peacemaker.” Listen in on PTJ 387!

• How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA (Wired)

• Real Estate Is Entering Its AI Slop Era (Wired)

• Phony AI-Created Receipts Become Real Problem for Businesses (PYMTS.com)

• OpenAI reportedly developing new generative music tool (Tech Crunch)

• Oreo-maker Mondelez to use new generative AI tool to slash marketing costs (Reuters)

• The ‘Hands Problem’ Holding Back the Humanoid Revolution (The Wall Street Journal)

• Robot umpires approved for MLB in 2026 as part of challenge system (CNN)

• Trump and Xi will ‘consummate’ TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says (TechCrunch)

• TikTok may not be Chinese-owned anymore, but there still is a privacy problem (Brookings)

• Exclusive: US Department of Energy forms $1 billion supercomputer and AI partnership with AMD (Reuters)

• Apple Newsroom announcements

• Apple Readies Its First Ever Touch-Screen MacBook (Bloomberg)

• What’s Next for iPad Pro? A Vapor Chamber Like the One on the iPhone 17 Pro (Bloomberg)

• Ads likely coming to Apple Maps in 2026 (Apple Insider)

• New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year (MacRumors)

• Apple Shelves Vision Headset Revamp to Prioritize Meta-Like AI Glasses (Bloomberg)

• Google’s “G” gets a brighter look. (Google blog)

• Podcasts and News Fact Sheet (Pew Research Center)


Tune into POP | TECH | JAM for a weekly conversation that feels like grabbing a coffee with friends who are just as obsessed with the latest streaming series as they are with the inner workings of a new gadget. Hosts J.D. Biersdorfer and Pedro Rafael Rosado steer this independent audio magazine, blending sharp commentary on movies and television with insightful, accessible discussions about the technology shaping how we experience all that culture. Each episode is a deliberate mash-up, finding the unexpected connections between a trending app and a classic film, or how a breakthrough in tech might influence the next must-watch show. You'll hear thoughtful reviews, dig into news that matters across these intertwined worlds, and get a sense of the genuine curiosity and rapport the hosts bring to every topic. This podcast thrives on that energetic mix, creating a space that’s both informative and engaging without ever taking itself too seriously. It’s less a formal broadcast and more of a dynamic, ongoing jam session-hence the name-where pop culture and digital life collide in entertaining and thought-provoking ways.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 170

POP | TECH | JAM
Podcast Episodes
Candied Apples [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:19
Brand new iPhones in pastel-candy colors, two deluxe "Pro" models with three cameras on the back and a spiffy new iPad were in Apple's basket of fall announcements this week — along with an updated Apple Watch and two ne…
Jacked [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:19
As The Summer of 2019 winds down, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss (among other things) the buzz around Apple's annual fall iPhone event, Twitter's account security issue with one of its major users, Facebook's latest attempts…
Rise Up [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:13
Hoverboard travel is here! In experimental trips across the English Channel, anyway. El Kaiser and J.D. take off through the week's headlines, including more accusations of retaliatory workplace culture at Google, the mo…
All Aboard the Claim Train! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:36
Pop Tech Jam returns from Summer Vacation Phase 1 to buckets of money from the Equifax data-breach settlement — or alleged buckets of money. While El Kaiser files his Equifax claim online, J.D. serves up the news of the…
Bye, Design [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:10
On this week's episode. El Kaiser and JD discuss Jony Ive's departure from his long-time design post at Apple, Facebook’s attempts at civil rights and the latest in cat-flap technology. And, after decades of living the 3…
Call the Law [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:59
Big Government finally seems to be paying attention to Big Tech, but will anything actually change? El Kaiser and JD discuss some of the assorted bits of legislation aimed at regulating intrusive technology. And, in a (H…
Slide Tackle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:24
On this week's show, JD takes a short break from watching the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 to round up some news with El Kaiser — including the annual Mary Meeker Internet Trends presentation, legal looks at Big Tech and…
Apple-Picking Time [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:59
El Kaiser and J.D. were off binging Good Omens, but finished just in time for Apple's 2019 edition of its World Wide Developers Conference. This week's episode discusses the major announcements from the keynote — includi…
Vaporized [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:05
Game of Thrones may be over on HBO, but El Kaiser and J.D are still here talking tech, pop culture and everything else in between. This week’s episode ponders the blacklist effect on Chinese telecom company Huawei and po…
Separation Anxiety [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:20
El Kaiser and JD finally got out of Avengers: Endgame and are back in the recording bunker to discuss recent tech news – including Google’s I/O conference and a former Facebook founder’s call for the government to bust u…