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In FOLLOW UP, while countries race to ban kids from social media, Estonia is opting out — its education minister arguing that bans just offload responsibility onto kids while governments and platforms avoid accountability. Australia already shows the limits: 61% of banned kids are still online, 70% say it’s easy to bypass, and major platforms are under investigation. The EU is rolling out an age-verification system using zero-knowledge proofs officials call “completely anonymized,” which sounds generous for a system that starts profiling you the moment it touches an account. Maybe retire the anonymity talking point. IN THE NEWS, the AI-brain-rot narrative keeps accelerating: one study found just ten minutes of AI use increases dependency and degrades performance once it’s removed — with users simply “not willing to try.” ChatGPT praised a fart-noise “song” as having a “cool lo-fi, late-night, slightly eerie vibe,” which would be harmless if that same sycophancy wasn’t showing up in darker contexts — including two mass shootings with ChatGPT in the background, and a lawsuit from a San Francisco woman claiming the tool helped her ex escalate harassment with AI-generated reports and threats. That same week, Sam Altman’s house was attacked by a suspect targeting AI execs. Elsewhere: France is ditching Windows for Linux; Amazon faces scrutiny for allegedly keeping workers on shift next to a dead colleague; Snap cut 16% of staff blaming AI; Reddit is fighting an ICE subpoena to unmask a critic; Google is blending Polymarket odds into News; the FAA is recruiting gamers as air traffic controllers; and Allbirds briefly became an “AI company,” spiked, then crashed when reality set back in. Norway quietly cured another HIV patient, the rare story that isn’t bleak. In APPS & DOODADS, California and New York are pushing DRM-style censorware for 3D printers, with New York tying it to felony penalties for certain files. The FCC’s router ban is already inconsistent — Netgear got a quiet exemption while others face an opaque process that could stall Wi-Fi 7. The Trump T1 phone still looks rough at $499 with a $100 preorder hook. Overcast raised its subscription to $29.99/year. Hidden iOS trick: long-press the App Store to go directly to Updates. Meta, after a $375M loss over child safety, is developing “Name Tag,” facial recognition for Ray-Ban glasses tied to Instagram — widely condemned — and reportedly plans to roll it out quietly. They’re also building an AI Zuckerberg clone for internal use. For older Kindles: jailbreak, use Calibre, and lean on Project Gutenberg. MEDIA CANDY: Live Nation was ruled a monopoly — remedies pending, appeal already filed, so ticket prices aren’t changing soon. Anna’s Archive got hit with a $322M judgment for scraping Spotify — far below the $13T ask. YouTube Premium is quietly raising prices again, following Netflix and Spotify; subscriptions are now a one-way ratchet. Good Omens returns May 13, Godzilla Minus Zero lands November 6, and Hunt for Gollum is set for December 2027 with a stacked cast. Meanwhile, streaming platforms still refuse to list actual drop times, which continues to annoy everyone. THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE: The Claude Mythos AI scare turned out to be marketing. The hype cycle giveth, and taketh away. Plus: new Star Wars chatter, Disneyland antics, a rebranded Muppets coaster, and AI Oakleys nobody asked for. Sponsors: 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/742 Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Ogsa1dG1W_M FOLLOW UP Estonia is the rare EU country opposing child social media bans Majority of Australian kids are still on banned social media platforms, study finds EU Is Rolling Out an Online Age Verification App That Could Become the Global Blueprint IN THE NEWS French government says au revoir Windows, bienvenue Linux Amazon Accused of Hiding Worker’s Death for a Week, Making Employees Keep Working as Corpse Lay on Floor Snap is laying off 16 percent of its workforce, blames AI Woman Sues OpenAI, Saying ChatGPT Unleashed a Vicious Stalker Against Her and Did Nothing When She Begged for Help Why Do ChatGPT Users Keep Committing Mass Shootings? Two suspects have been arrested for allegedly shooting at Sam Altman's house ChatGPT’s “Honest Reaction” to a “Song” Composed Entirely of Gas-Passing Noises Will Make You Question Whether It’s Honestly Evaluating Your Other Brilliant Ideas There's yet another study about how bad AI is for our brains Shoe company Allbirds pivots to AI compute in sign of a totally normal and healthy economy Allbirds Stock Now Crashing as Reality Sets in About Its Delusional AI Pivot The US government wants Reddit to snitch on one of its users through a grand jury Google has reportedly started to add Polymarket data to News results The FAA is encouraging gamers to get jobs in air traffic control Norway Man Cured of HIV With Brother’s Stem Cells APPS & DOODADS Meta warned by dozens of organizations that facial recognition on its smart glasses would empower predators Meta is reportedly building an AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg The Dangers of California’s Legislation to Censor 3D Printing Stop New York's Attack on 3D Printing The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash iOS 26.4 moves App Store updates, here’s how to open them fast FCC exempts Netgear from ban on foreign routers, doesn't explain why What to do if Amazon killed your Kindle MEDIA CANDY YouTube Premium’s US pricing is going up Anna's Archive told to pay Spotify and record labels $322 million over unprecedented music scraping Federal jury finds concert business Live Nation is a monopoly Good Omens - Final Season Official Trailer | Prime Video GODZILLA MINUS ZERO | First Look Teaser Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Daredevil: Born Again The Pitt 'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum' cast has been revealed: Jamie Dornan as Aragorn, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Kate Winslet and more. THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Is Claude Mythos “Terrifying”? | AI Reality Check Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | Final Trailer | In Theaters May 22 First look at Han Solo coming to Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge! Overcast Increased Premium pricing for new subscriptions The Electric Mayhem Arrives at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets AnyPod Oakley Meta Performance AI glasses See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We kick off with a the Dodgers spanking the Blue Jays and torn allegiances in Brian's house, then dive into Europe taking dead aim at your kids' screen time. Ireland is rolling out a Government Digital Wallet that'll verify ages before young'uns can doom-scroll their lives away, while Greece went fully scorched-earth and announced a ban on all under-15s using social media at all — announced, naturally, on TikTok. IN THE NEWS, the AI giants (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) are playing nicely together for once, teaming up through the Frontier Model Forum to stop Chinese firms from essentially photocopying their models on the cheap — billions in revenue, national security, and the small matter of safety guardrails stripped out. Turnabout is fair play? On the legal gambling front, prediction markets scored a federal win as a US appeals court ruled New Jersey can't regulate Kalshi; the Trump family's fingerprints are all over the prediction market space (surprise!), and the data suggests 0.04% of accounts are hoovering up 70% of profits like it's a perfectly healthy ecosystem. Also: the FBI pulled deleted Signal messages out of iPhone notification caches, GoPro is laying off 23% of its workforce while somehow remaining optimistic, and OpenAI is backing an Illinois bill that would shield AI companies from liability even in mass-casualty scenarios... cool. On the plus side, Artemis II astronauts took amazing photos of the Moon... on their iPhones. In APPS & DOODADS: Mercedes recalled its electric G-Wagons because the wheels might literally fall off, Amazon is sunsetting Kindles from 2012 and earlier for no reason anyone can figure out, and Apple Fitness on Apple TV is randomly scrambling workout stacks with no fix in sight — a premium locked ecosystem doing premium locked ecosystem things. In MEDIA CANDY, the crew is watching The Pitt, The Boys, Shrinking, and Daredevil, and you'll want to sit down for this: Mel Brooks and Rick Moranis are back — Spaceballs 2 hits theaters a full year from now even though it's done. Italy slapped Netflix with a court-ordered refund for price hikes going back to 2017, while Netflix simultaneously raised prices for US subscribers and launched Playground, a free kids gaming app that works offline (Peppa Pig and Sesame Street, no ads, no in-app purchases — hook 'em on Dah Dum young!) AT THE LIBRARY, Brian has given up on Breath and Jason reads Four Thousand Weeks and Art Spiegelman's Maus — the Pulitzer-winning Holocaust masterpiece that some people are still trying to ban, because humanity never fully learns. Closing out with THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, Treasury Secretary Bessent and Fed Chair Powell apparently called an emergency meeting with bank CEOs over Anthropic's new model "Mythos," which can apparently find and exploit vulnerabilities across major OSes and browsers. The boys also catch up on Maul: Shadow Lord, the Strong Songs podcast's Joni Mitchell deep-dive ("Passions soften into wisdom" — weeping on the plane, apparently), the belated discovery that Marathon launched and nobody noticed, and some genuine moon joy courtesy of NASA's Artemis II astronauts. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout. CleanMyMac - Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use code OLDGEEKS for 20% off at clnmy.com/OLDGEEKS 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/741 Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/c_odV0tSa2k FOLLOW UP Ireland is testing out a digital wallet that conducts age verification for social media users Greece will ban all kids under 15 from using social media IN THE NEWS OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Unite to Combat Model Copying in China New Jersey has no right to ban Kalshi's prediction market, US appeals court rules FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages GoPro to lay off over 20 percent of staff by the end of 2026 OpenAI Backs Bill That Would Limit Liability for AI-Enabled Mass Deaths or Financial Disasters Artemis II astronaut puts all of our iPhone moon photos to shame APPS & DOODADS Mercedes-Benz recalls some G-Wagon EVs due to risk of wheels falling off Amazon is cutting off support for older Kindles Presto 08800 EverSharp Electric Knife Sharpener, 2-Stage System, Silver/Black MEDIA CANDY The Pitt The Boys Shrinking Daredevil The Spaceballs sequel will be released in April next year An Italian court ruled Netflix has to refund its customers for price hikes dating back to 2017 Netflix just released a standalone gaming app for kids Anonymous - Real Stories of Alcoholism, Addiction, and Recovery AT THE LIBRARY Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor Four Thousand Weeks By Oliver Burkeman Maus I & II THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Maul - Shadow Lord Anthropic Model Scare Sparks Urgent Bessent, Powell Warning to Bank CEOs S08E03 - "Both Sides, Now" by Joni Mitchell I Wish I Didn’t Care About 'Marathon' Player Numbers, But I Do Marathon Gameplay (No Commentary) Mego Happy Days Figures and Fonzi Garage, Hot, and Stunt Cycle HAPPY DAYS - Fonzie & Pinky Break Up - Fonzie Loves Pinky - 1976 Moon Joy, Courtesy of NASA's Artemis II Astronauts CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS Hip-hop pioneer, Afrika Bambaataa, dies aged 68 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.

Meta fined $375M for child safety failures. Musk lost 3 lawsuits in a week. Sam Altman compared to a Nazi. Netflix raised prices again. The Pentagon can't quit Claude. Reddit wants your face scan. Star Trek's streaming era is over. But the thin black line holds! 🎙️ 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/739 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hdhHiOaclu0 FOLLOW UP Polymarket is cracking down on insider trading with updated rules https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/polymarket-is-cracking-down-on-insider-trading-with-updated-rules-163928655.html Judge temporarily blocks Pentagon's 'supply chain risk' designation for Anthropic https://abcnews.com/Technology/judge-temporarily-blocks-pentagons-supply-chain-risk-designation/story?id=131453267 IN THE NEWS Jury rules against Meta, orders $375 million fine in major child safety trial https://www.engadget.com/social-media/jury-rules-against-meta-orders-375-million-fine-in-major-child-safety-trial-224215209.html Jury rules against Meta and YouTube in social media addiction case https://www.engadget.com/social-media/jury-rules-against-meta-and-youtube-in-social-media-addiction-case-181344860.html Elon Musk loses big in court; X boycott perfectly legal https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/elon-musk-loses-big-in-court-x-boycott-perfectly-legal/ Elon Musk misled investors during his Twitter takeover, jury finds https://www.engadget.com/social-media/elon-musk-misled-investors-during-his-twitter-takeover-jury-finds-232033028.html Elon Musk Will Have to Face the Music in Lawsuit Over DOGE's Government Overreach https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-will-have-to-face-the-music-in-lawsuit-over-doges-government-overreach-2000737413 OpenAI reportedly plans to double its workforce to 8,000 employees https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-reportedly-plans-to-double-its-workforce-to-8000-employees-161028377.html Sam Altman Thanks Programmers for Their Effort, Says Their Time Is Over https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/sam-altman-thanks-programmers-over Sam Altman Confronted At Oscars Party Over Pentagon Deal https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/sam-altman-confronted-oscar-pentagon-deal R.I.P. Sora (2024-2026) https://gizmodo.com/r-i-p-sora-2024-2026-2000737664 Disney's Sora Disaster Shows AI Will Not Revolutionize Hollywood https://www.404media.co/disneys-openai-sora-disaster-shows-ai-will-not-save-hollywood/ The Tech Bubble Might Finally Be Popping https://slate.com/technology/2026/03/ai-openai-sam-altman-disney-sora-shutdown.html Elon Musk announces Terafab project he claims will be the 'largest chip manufacturing facility ever' https://www.engadget.com/science/elon-musk-announces-terafab-project-he-claims-will-be-the-largest-chip-manufacturing-facility-ever-171718545.html Trump Rewards Big Tech's Biggest Bootlickers With Seats on AI Policy Board https://gizmodo.com/trump-rewards-big-techs-biggest-bootlickers-with-seats-on-ai-policy-board-2000738006 Pinterest CEO says teens under 16 should be banned from social media (but not Pinterest) https://www.engadget.com/social-media/pinterest-ceo-says-teens-under-16-should-be-banned-from-social-media-but-not-pinterest-211630443.html Reddit is weighing identity verification methods to combat its bot problem https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-is-weighing-identity-verification-methods-to-combat-its-bot-problem-195814671.html APPS & DOODADS Bambu Lab A1 https://bambulab.com/en-ca/a1 Twitter turned 20 and I feel nothing https://www.engadget.com/social-media/twitter-turned-20-and-i-feel-nothing-140000602.html FCC Bans All New Routers Not Made in America https://gizmodo.com/fcc-bans-all-new-routers-not-made-in-america-2000737176 MEDIA CANDY Star Trek: Starfleet Academy https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-starfleet-academy/ ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ to End With Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE) https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/star-trek-starfleet-academy-canceled-season-2-1236696816/ 'Starfleet Academy' Deserved Better Than This https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-cancelation-paramount-2000737569 Shrek Forever After https://www.netflix.com/title/70117295 Daredevil: Born Again S2 https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-85e7a914-c8e6-41db-95df-c740dc2cf1b7 Shrinking https://tv.apple.com/ca/show/shrinking/umc.cmc.apzybj6eqf6pzccd97kev7bs The Pitt https://www.hbomax.com/shows/pitt-2024/e6e7bad9-d48d-4434-b334-7c651ffc4bdf Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Official Teaser | HBO Max https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIu4sFKGi6E Stephen Colbert to write next ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie after leaving late night https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/25/entertainment/colbert-lord-of-the-rings-hnk Supreme Court rejects Sony's attempt to kick music pirates off the Internet https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/supreme-court-rejects-sonys-attempt-to-kick-music-pirates-off-the-internet/ Netflix raises prices for every subscription tier by up to 12.5 percent https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/netflix-increases-prices-for-all-plans-by-up-to-2-per-month/ AT THE LIBRARY Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor https://amzn.to/4bvyNjN CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS A celebration of Karl Wallinger’s Life & Music https://www.worldparty.net/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/738 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pykGjOmMs5c FOLLOW UP GOG Ep 1: How to Make Money on the Internet - March 25th, 2013 The ‘AI-Washing’ of Job Cuts Is Corrosive and Confusing Race on to establish globally recognised 'AI-free' logo Billionaire 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 story IN THE NEWS Atlassian to cut roughly 10% jobs in pivot to AI Meta is reportedly planning to cut up to 20 percent of its staff in upcoming layoffs Meta Is Building an Encrypted Chatbot After AI Agents Went Rogue and Exposed Sensitive Data Meta Says It Is Removing End-to-End Encryption From Instagram Direct Messages Meta is testing clickable links in Instagram captions for verified subscribers Encyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI for copyright and trademark infringement Senators tell ByteDance to shut down Seedance 2.0 AI video app 'immediately' Things Are Suddenly Looking Incredibly Bad for Trump’s Social Media Company Trump administration will reportedly get $10 billion for brokering the TikTok deal The Billionaire Backlash Against a Philanthropic Dream Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post Now Setting Readers’ Subscription Prices With Uber-Style AI APPS & DOODADS Adobe agrees to pay settlement for making its subscriptions hard to cancel Everything you need to know to design with Stitch What is DESIGN.md? Warning: Your AI-Generated Password Is a Major Security Risk. Here’s What to Use Instead MEDIA CANDY Dune: Part Three | Official Teaser Trailer How ‘Dune: Part Three’ Is Changing the Entire ‘Dune’ Franchise "Paradise" has been renewed for Season 3 at Hulu, Variety has learned. Paradise on Hulu Mars Express Nathan Fillion Says ‘Firefly’ Animated Series In Development With Co-Stars Set To Reprise Roles; Concept Art Revealed Sarah 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 Adaptation THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Disney's 100% Rotten Tomatoes Masterpiece Returns This Fall With Brand-New Release Shhh… It’s zombie proof. Kia’s all-electric range The Last Quiet Thing by Terry Godier Evel Knievel Kings Island 1975 - Farthest Successful Jump at 133 feet 70's Evel Knievel Toy Commercial IDEAL Evel Knievel's 14 Greyhound Bus Jump Oct 25th 1975 HD enhanced. Epic WORLD RECORD. Craig Ferguson’s Evel Knievel Story is Wild!! Being Evel Wembley 50th Anniversary Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle Set – Limited Gold Edition Evel 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.

In this week's show we start with FOLLOW UP: The world keeps trying to protect kids online — Indonesia just joined Australia, Spain, and Malaysia in banning social media for under-16s, while COPPA 2.0 sailed through the US Senate unanimously. Meanwhile, Roblox is using AI to clean up its chat, because apparently "Hurry TF up" is the hill they've chosen to die on — even as they're still dealing with the whole "pedophile problem" thing from January. On the AI copyright front, Gracenote is the latest company to sue OpenAI for helping itself to proprietary data, joining a growing queue of plaintiffs who apparently didn't get the memo that everything is training data now. IN THE NEWS: Anthropic is suing the Pentagon after being labeled a "supply chain risk" — apparently because the CEO said AI shouldn't be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons, which the Trump administration heard as fighting words. The delicious irony: the Pentagon is still running Claude in active operations while trying to phase it out. Speaking of active operations, investigators now think a missile strike on an Iranian girls' school may have been triggered by bad AI-generated intelligence from that same Claude-based system. So yes, the autocomplete that hallucinates your grocery list is also maybe accidentally bombing schools. Meta's Oversight Board is begging the company to get serious about AI-generated content after a fake war video from a Filipino fake news account racked up 700K views — while separately, Zuckerberg dropped cash on Moltbook, a "social network for AI agents" that turned out to be mostly humans larping as bots and had a security flaw that exposed everyone's API keys. The guy who built it basically vibe-coded the whole thing. Meta's own CTO said he didn't "find it particularly interesting." And yet. Oracle is hemorrhaging jobs and drowning in debt chasing AI dreams, its stock down 50% from peak — a timely reminder that "AI will replace workers" is currently manifesting as "companies set money on fire and lay people off to pay the electric bill." Researchers confirmed AI is homogenizing human thought and creativity — a thing some of us have been screaming since day one. A DOGE engineer allegedly walked out of the Social Security Administration with databases containing personal info on 500 million Americans on a thumb drive. The Ig Nobel Prize is relocating to Switzerland because it's no longer safe to invite international guests to America. Nintendo is suing the US government to get its tariff money back. SETI thinks it may have been accidentally filtering out alien signals due to space weather. And Pokémon Go players unknowingly spent a decade building a centimeter-accurate surveillance map of Earth's cities that's now guiding pizza delivery robots — which, honestly, tracks. In APPS & DOODADS: The GOG clan in Clash Royale just hit eight years old — respect. OpenAudible is the cross-platform audiobook manager your Audible library deserves, especially if you've got over a thousand books sitting there judging you. And finally in MEDIA CANDY: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 is here, and pretty beige. Live Nation settled its DOJ antitrust case for $200 million, kept Ticketmaster, and avoided a breakup — meanwhile court documents revealed employees joking about "robbing fans blind" and gouging "stupid" customers, which explains basically every concert ticket you've bought in the last decade. YouTube is now officially the world's largest media company at $62 billion in revenue. Bluesky's CEO is stepping down, which is either a bad sign or just the natural order of "person who built the cool thing hands it to the person who scales the cool thing." Dead Set — Charlie Brooker's 2008 zombie-in-the-Big-Brother-house miniseries — is worth a watch if you haven't. And trailers dropped for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 (March 24th), The Boys final season (April 8th), and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (April 1st — yes, really). Sponsors: DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout. CleanMyMac - Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use code OLDGEEKS for 20% off at clnmy.com/OLDGEEKS 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/737 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DgSYnFF6twE FOLLOW UP Indonesia announces a social media ban for anyone under 16 Anthropic Sues Pentagon Metadata company Gracenote is the latest to sue OpenAI for copyright infringement Roblox introduces real-time AI-powered chat rephraser for inappropriate language IN THE NEWS COPPA 2.0 passes the Senate again, unanimously this time AI Error Likely Led to Iran Girl's School Bombing The Oversight Board says Meta needs new rules for AI-generated content Mark Zuckerberg Decides Meta Needs More Slop, Buys the Social Network for AI Agents Oracle Axing Huge Number of Jobs as AI Crisis Intensifies You can (sort of) block Grok from editing your uploaded photos Researchers Say AI Is Homogenizing Human Expression and Thought Social Security watchdog investigating claims that DOGE engineer copied its databases Nintendo is suing the US government over Trump's tariffs SETI Thinks It Might Have Missed a Few Alien Calls. Here's Why Ig Nobel Ceremony Relocates to Europe Amid Safety Concerns in Trump’s America APPS & DOODADS Clash Royale OpenAudible Bluesky's CEO is stepping down after nearly 5 years How Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world Robot Escorted Away By Cops After Terrorizing Old Woman MEDIA CANDY Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 Live Nation settlement avoids breakup with Ticketmaster Court documents reveal Live Nation employees joking about robbing, gouging "stupid" fans YouTube Is the World’s Largest Media Company, MoffettNathanson Says Paradise Season 2 DAREDEVIL: Born Again Season 2 Official Teaser Trailer 2 (2026) The Boys Final Season Trailer The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Final Trailer Dead Set See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft's anti-"Microslop" censorship backfired spectacularly; Australia is cracking down on AI age verification while Meta is busy targeting toddlers; prediction markets are basically just insider trading with extra steps; AI chatbots are getting people killed and exposing spy operations; the Moon landing got pushed again; Opera got nostalgic at 30; Sony bought Charlie Brown; and Netflix is making documentaries with robot people now. Show notes at https://gog.show/736 Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/6lw2Hy_U8QA Sponsors: DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout. 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 FOLLOW UP Microsoft Bans the Word “Microslop” on Copilot Discord, Gets So Humiliated That It Locks Down the Whole Server Australia will consider requiring app stores to block AI services without age verification A Day in the Life of an Enshittificator IN THE NEWS Meta’s what-if for tweens How Meta Executives Talked About Child Safety Behind the Scenes The Great Insider Trading Reckoning Reportedly Hits OpenAI Khamenei market meltdown on Kalshi shows how prediction markets still can’t decide what ‘counts’ Some Alleged Polymarket Insiders Made a Fortune on U.S. Strikes on Iran Polymarket Decides Incentivizing a Nuclear Detonation Might Be a Bad Idea A Chinese official’s use of ChatGPT accidentally revealed a global intimidation operation ‘Our Bond Is the Only Thing That’s Real:’ A New Lawsuit Alleges Google Gemini Drove a Man to Suicide The Data Centers Have Arrived at the Edge of the Arctic Circle Big tech companies agree to not ruin your electric bill with AI data centers TerraPower gets OK to start construction of its first nuclear plant The Supreme Court doesn't care if you want to copyright your AI-generated art Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls OpenAI's messaging around military deal 'straight up lies,' report says The $100 Billion OpenAI-Nvidia Deal Is Not Happening NASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon The US Senate empowers NASA to fully engage in lunar space race Astronomers Estimated the Lifespan of Alien Civilizations, and It’s Not Looking Good for Us MEDIA CANDY Charlie Brown now works for Sony These AI Avatars in a Netflix True Crime Doc Are Disturbing Viewers Netflix buys Ben Affleck’s AI film tech company, InterPositive APPS & DOODADS Opera Has Turned 30 and Is Celebrating With a Compelling Tribute to Web Nostalgia Web Design Museum Meta hit with a class action lawsuit over smart glasses' privacy claims Apple Macbook Neo AT THE LIBRARY Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs by Miranda Sawyer See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Starting off in FOLLOW UP, we’ve got a tax economist who actually made money betting against the "efficiency" of Elon’s budget-slashing fever dreams, while Tesla is busy trying to dodge a $243 million jury verdict for an Autopilot-assisted fatality. Not content with being legally liable, Tesla is also suing the California DMV because they’re offended someone called their "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" marketing deceptive—ironic, since Jack Dorsey just "proactively" halved the staff at Block to make room for more AI slop. Speaking of which, Goldman Sachs is here to remind us that all this AI spending added a grand total of zero to the US GDP last year, mostly because we’re just exporting all that cash to overseas chip makers while 80% of execs admit the tech hasn’t actually done anything for productivity yet. Moving into IN THE NEWS, Sam Altman had the audacity to compare ChatGPT’s energy-sucking habits to the 20-year evolution of a human, though the internet wasn't exactly buying the "my bot is just like a baby" defense. Anthropic actually stood its ground against the Pentagon’s demand for killer robots and mass surveillance, so naturally, the military just signed a deal to put Elon’s Grok in their classified systems instead—because what could go wrong with an "edgy" LLM in the war room? Meanwhile, cities are dumping AI surveillance contracts as citizens start a literal "smash-the-snitch-box" campaign against Flock's license plate readers, Google’s AI is busy inserting racial slurs into news alerts, and the White House is apparently harboring a staffer moonlighting as a racist "masterpiece" creator on X. We’ve also got Reddit being slapped with a $20 million fine in the UK for being lazy with age checks, while Discord and Apple scramble to build verification tools that hopefully won't leak your entire identity to a hacker in Belarus. In MEDIA CANDY, the Paramount-Skydance merger is leaving the industry in a cold sweat of "synergy" layoffs, but at least we’re getting more Game of Thrones spinoffs and Star Trek reboots to rot our brains. Face/Off 2 lost its director, Ryan Coogler is taking on The X-Files, and Google wants to use AI to turn music into generic "lo-fi" background noise for the masses. Over in APPS & DOODADS, OpenAI is planning a 2027 smart speaker that literally watches you through a camera—because you definitely wanted a $300 Sam Altman-shaped eye in your kitchen—while the Dark Sky creators are back with "Acme Weather" for the low price of $25 a year. We wrap up THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE with a deep dive into "Under Pressure" and Coruscant’s urban sprawl, leaving us to reminisce about the days when KPT Bryce was the pinnacle of tech—back when "generative art" was just a fractal that took six hours to render. 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/735 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jdz--v3eeU4 FOLLOW UP Guy Bets Entire Life Savings Against Elon Musk, Wins Tesla sues California DMV after it banned the term 'Autopilot' Jack Dorsey just halved the size of Block's employee base — and he says your company is next IN THE NEWS Sam Altman: Know What Else Used a Lot of Energy? Human Civilization Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War Anthropic Tells Pete Hegseth to Take a Hike Cities Are Shredding Their AI Surveillance Contracts en Masse Kalshi Suspended a California Politician and a YouTuber for Insider Trading Discord delays age verification to address user concerns Apple introduces age verification for apps in Utah, Louisiana and Australia MEDIA CANDY As Paramount Skydance wins the battle for Warner Bros. as Netflix ends its bid, here's the mood inside all three companies. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Star Trek: Starfleet Academy The Night Agent Season 3 'Face/Off 2' Director Adam Wingard is Now/Gone Ryan Coogler's X-Files reboot gets the green light at Hulu Mortal Kombat II | Official Trailer II Google's AI Slop Machine Is Coming for Your Music Dropping Names... and other things with Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner Once We Were Spacemen APPS & DOODADS OpenAI will reportedly release an AI-powered smart speaker in 2027 Instagram Will Notify Parents When Teens Use Search Terms Related to Suicide The creators of Dark Sky have a new weather app This App Warns You if Someone Is Wearing Smart Glasses Nearby THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Strong Songs - S08E02 - "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie The Problem with Coruscant (Planet Cities Explained) Reminds me of KPT Fractal Explorer KPT Bryce 1.0 with John Dvorak and Kai Krause Single-Biome Planet KPT Shapes by Dave Bittner Bald Mr Clean mascot "retired" My childhood disappointment with scrubbing bubbles. CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS Actor Robert Carradine Dies At Age 71 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you thought the internet was a dumpster fire before, the EU LAUNCHES SECOND INVESTIGATION INTO GROK because Musk’s bot won't stop generating nonconsensual imagery. Meanwhile, META LARGELY FAILS TO PROTECT KIDS FROM AI CHATBOTS, proving that their internal safety checks are about as effective as a screen door on a submarine. If that doesn't creep you out, AFTER RING PRIVACY BACKLASH over police partnerships, a LEAKED EMAIL SUGGESTS RING PLANS TO EXPAND ‘SEARCH PARTY’ from finding lost dogs to total neighborhood surveillance. Of course, REDDIT, META, AND GOOGLE VOLUNTARILY GAVE DHS INFO on users critical of ICE, because why stand up for privacy when you can just comply? In the news, we look at OPENCLAW, OPENAI AND THE FUTURE as the project’s founder joins the Borg, even though META AND OTHER TECH FIRMS PUT RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF OPENCLAW because it’s basically a security hole that can click your mouse for you. Peak stupidity has arrived with RFK JR'S NEW CHATBOT giving rectal dietary advice, while AI COMPANIES BOUGHT OUT ALL OF WESTERN DIGITAL’S HARD DRIVES through 2026, meaning you can't have storage because the bots need it more. Even VALVE ADMITS STEAM DECK AVAILABILITY IS AFFECTED by this memory hoarding. We also touch on STEVE BANNON SUED OVER MAGA CRYPTO SCHEME, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST ROBLOX for being a safety nightmare, and the fact that TESLA ROBOTAXIS REPORTEDLY CRASHING at four times the human rate. TESLA DODGES 30-DAY SUSPENSION by simply killing the word "Autopilot," while NEW YORK HITS THE BRAKES ON ROBOTAXI EXPANSION to keep the chaos at bay. Finally, POLYMARKET WITHDRAWS EXPLOSIVE ARTEMIS BETTING MARKET because betting on dead astronauts is too much even for them, leading the ETHEREUM CREATOR STARTING TO THINK THIS WHOLE PREDICTION MARKET THING MIGHT BE GAMBLING. As NEVADA SUES KALSHI and Jack Dorsey oversees INSIDE THE ROLLING LAYOFFS AT JACK DORSEY’S BLOCK—using AI to summarize the misery of his employees—just remember: YOU’LL BE SORRY WHEN YOU HEAR WHAT JUSTIN BIEBER’S $1.3 MILLION BORED APE IS WORTH NOW. Hint: it’s twelve grand. In this week's MEDIA CANDY, we’ve got FREE BERT, KAT WILLIAMS: THE LAST REPORT, and the eternal return of SHREK. We’re checking out MARK ROBER on Netflix, the return of MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS, and the trailer for GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE. If you need a soundtrack for the apocalypse, Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq has you covered with STOP USING GENERATIVE A.I and the Gen-X anthem I'VE NO MORE F*S TO GIVE!. Moving to APPS & DOODADS, OBSIDIAN TO NOTES is a $14 well spent, unlike CURSOR and VISUAL STUDIO CODE which are getting bogged down by slow models. APPLE’S AI PENDANT sounds like a watered-down Humane pin that relies on your phone to think, and APPLE PODCASTS AND VIDEO remains a pipe dream because bandwidth costs money. We’ve reached the point where THERE’S A GRIM NEW EXPRESSION: “AI;DR” for things not worth reading, and THERE'S A NEW TERM FOR WORKERS FREAKING OUT over being replaced—AIRD, or AI Replacement Dysfunction—which is basically the low-grade panic of being made obsolete by a machine that thinks bananas go in your bum. AT THE LIBRARY, we’re thumbing through CLEAVE THE SPARROW, THE REGICIDE REPORT by Charles Stross, and Robin Ince being NORMALLY WEIRD AND WEIRDLY NORMAL. Then we descend into THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, where the Muppets are taking over with THE MUPPET SHOW and MUPPETS NOW. We catch the latest on THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU and TOY STORY 5, while tracking the PENTAGON PIZZA INDEX to see if war is breaking out. For the kids, we look at a 3D PRINTER / ENTRY LEVEL FOR KIDS like the Bambu Lab A1, and for the nerds, A STAR WARS-CENTRIC RSS FEED and a NEAT IDEA FOR AN RSS READER, “CURRENT,” which lets news drift away like water under a bridge. We wrap it all up with some HORROR IN UNDER TWO MINUTES and IMPECCABLE COVERS OF 80S SYNTH MUSIC, because at least the 80s had better soundtracks than this AI-generated nightmare. 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/734 FOLLOW UP EU launches second investigation into Grok's nonconsensual image generation Meta largely fails to protect kids from AI chatbots, per its own tests After Ring privacy backlash, company abandons plans for police partnership Leaked Email Suggests Ring Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs Reddit, Meta, and Google Voluntarily Gave DHS Info of Anti-ICE Users, Report Says IN THE NEWS OpenClaw, OpenAI and the future Meta and Other Tech Firms Put Restrictions on Use of OpenClaw Over Security Fears RFK Jr's new chatbot advises the public on 'best foods to insert into rectum' AI Companies Bought Out All of Western Digital’s Hard Drives for 2026 Already Valve admits Steam Deck availability is affected by memory and storage shortages Steve Bannon sued over MAGA crypto scheme Los Angeles County files lawsuit against Roblox over child protections Tesla Robotaxis Reportedly Crashing at a Rate That’s 4x Higher Than Humans Tesla dodges 30-day suspension in California after removing Autopilot New York hits the brakes on robotaxi expansion plan Polymarket withdraws explosive Artemis betting market after backlash Ethereum Creator Starting to Think This Whole Prediction Market Thing Might be Gambling Nevada sues Kalshi for operating a sports gambling market without a license Inside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorsey’s Block You’ll Be Sorry When You Hear What Justin Bieber’s $1.3 Million Bored Ape Is Worth Now MEDIA CANDY Free Bert Kat Williams: The Last Report Shrek Mark Rober Monarch: Legacy of Monsters GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE | Official Trailer | February 13 - Only in Theaters STOP USING GENERATIVE A.I (Original Song) by Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq I've No More F*s To Give! by Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq APPS & DOODADS Obsidian to Notes Cursor Visual Studio Code Apple’s AI Pendant Sounds Like a Watered-Down Humane Ai Pin There’s a Grim New Expression: “AI;DR” There's a New Term for Workers Freaking Out Over Being Replaced by AI AT THE LIBRARY Cleave the Sparrow by Jonathan Katz The Regicide Report (Laundry Files Book 14) by Charles Stross Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity by Robin Ince THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building The Muppet Show Muppets Now The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official Trailer | In Theaters May 22 Toy Story 5 | Official Trailer | In Theaters June 19 Pentagon Pizza Index Bambu Lab A1 A Star Wars-centric RSS feed Current RSS Reader Horror in under two minutes. Impeccable covers of 80s synth music Top Gun - Opening Theme (Synth Cover) CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS Green Eggs and Ham narrated by the Reverend Jesse Jackson See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We kick things off in FOLLOW UP with the ongoing "nuclear war" between Automattic and WP Engine, where discovery has revealed Matt Mullenweg’s alleged hit list of competitors and a desperate attempt to bully payment processors—because nothing says "open source" like an eight-percent royalty shakedown. Meanwhile, the Harvard Business Review confirmed what we already knew: AI isn’t reducing our work; it’s just compressing it until we’re all working through lunch and burning out faster while Polymarket turns our collective brain rot into a literal "attention market" where you can bet on Elon’s mindshare. Transitioning to IN THE NEWS, Elon has officially pivoted SpaceX from Mars to the Moon, presumably because building a "self-growing lunar city" is easier than admitting the Red Planet is hard, though his xAI all-hands rant about "ancient alien catapults" suggests he’s been staring at the sun too long. Between X allegedly taking blue-check lunch money from sanctioned Iranian leaders, Meta facing trials for creating "predator-friendly hunting grounds," and Russia finally pulling the plug on WhatsApp, the internet is looking more like a digital dumpster fire than ever. Add in Discord leaking 70,000 government IDs, OpenAI shoving ads into ChatGPT while safety researchers flee the building like it’s on fire, and a "cognitive debt" crisis eroding our ability to think, and you’ve got a recipe for a tech-induced psychosis that even crypto-funded human trafficking can’t outpace. In MEDIA CANDY, we're wondering about the soft-core porn intro in the latest Star Trek: Starfleet Academy while Apple buys the total rights to Severance for seventy million dollars—because in-house production is the only way to keep those ballooning budgets under control. Super Bowl trailer season gave us a glimpse of The Mandalorian and Grogu and a Project Hail Mary teaser, while Babylon 5 has finally landed on YouTube for free, proving that even 90s serialized sci-fi eventually finds its way to the clearance bin. Over in APPS & DOODADS, Meta Quest is nagging us for our birthdays like a needy relative, while Roblox had to scrub a mass-shooting simulator—because "AI plus human safety teams" is apparently just code for "we missed it until it hit the forums." Ring’s Super Bowl ad for "Search Party" accidentally terrified everyone by revealing a mass surveillance network for pets that’s a slippery slope toward a police state, and Waymo is now paying DoorDashers ten bucks just to walk over and close the car doors that autonomous tech still can’t figure out. Wrapping up with THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, we dive into the Mandalorian Hasbro reveal where Sigourney Weaver’s action figure comes with no accessories because her existence is enough of a flex. We explore the grim reality of "RentAHuman," where humans are paid pittance to pretend AI agents are actually doing work, and look at "Trash Talk Audio," which sells a $125 microphone made out of a literal old telephone for that authentic Gen-X "get off the line, I'm expecting a call" aesthetic. From Marcia Lucas finally venting about the prequels and a rare book catalog specifically for our aging generation, we’re reminded that while the future is a chaotic mess of "GeoSpy" AI and corporate reshuffling at Disney, at least we still have our cynical memories and some free versions of Roller Coaster Tycoon to keep us from losing it completely. Sponsors: CleanMyMac - Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use code OLDGEEKS for 20% off at clnmy.com/OLDGEEKS DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout. 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/733 FOLLOW UP Automattic planned to target 10 competitors with royalty fees, WP Engine claims in new filing AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It Polymarket To Offer Attention Markets In Partnership With Kaito AI Israel Arrests Members of Military for Placing Polymarket Bets Using Inside Information on Upcoming Strikes IN THE NEWS Unable to Reach Mars, Musk Does the Most Musk Thing Possible We’ll Find the Remnants of Ancient Alien Civilizations’: Read Musk’s Gibberish Rant from His xAI All-Hands Meeting Elon Musk’s X Appears to Be Violating US Sanctions by Selling Premium Accounts to Iranian Leaders Meta Faces Two Key Trials That Could Change Social Media Forever WhatsApp is now fully blocked in Russia Russia is restricting access to Telegram, one of its most popular social media apps. Here’s what we know DOJ may face investigation for pressuring Apple, Google to remove apps for tracking ICE agents Discord Launches Teen-by-Default Settings Globally Discord says hackers stole government IDs of 70,000 users Free Tool Says it Can Bypass Discord's Age Verification Check With a 3D Model Testing ads in ChatGPT OpenAI Researcher Quits, Warns Its Unprecedented ‘Archive of Human Candor’ Is Dangerous OpenAI Fires Top Safety Exec Who Opposed ChatGPT’s “Adult Mode” Anthropic AI Safety Researcher Warns Of World ‘In Peril’ In Resignation Musk’s xAI loses second co-founder in two days America Isn’t Ready for What AI Will Do to Jobs Monologue: No, Something Big Isn’t Coming The Scientist Who Predicted AI Psychosis Has a Grim Forecast of What’s Going to Happen Next Crypto-Funded Human Trafficking Is Exploding MEDIA CANDY Shrinking Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Poor Things Project Hail Mary | Final Trailer Minions & Monsters | Official Trailer Disclosure Day | Big Game Spot The Mandalorian and Grogu | A New Journey Begins | In Theaters May 22 Babylon 5 Is Now Free to Watch On YouTube Apple acquires all rights to ‘Severance,’ will produce future seasons in-house Optimizing your TV APPS & DOODADS Tumbler Ridge Shooter Created Mall Shooting Simulator in Roblox Here's how to disable Ring's creepy Search Party feature Waymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving Cars TikTok US launches a local feed that leverages a user's exact location Apple just released iOS 26.3 alongside updates for the Mac, iPad and Apple Watch THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building We Call It Imagineering Your First Look at Hasbro's 'Mandalorian and Grogu' Figures Is Here (Exclusive) I Tried RentAHuman, Where AI Agents Hired Me to Hype Their AI Startups Trash Talk Audio Roger Reacts to Star Wars - A New Hope Marcia Lucas Finally Speaks Out | Icons Unearthed: Unplugged (FULL INTERVIEW) What’s wrong with the prequels? Rare Books, Gen X edition GeoSpy CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS Robert Tinney, who painted iconic Byte magazine covers, RIP Bud Cort See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Musk’s “safeguards” remain mostly theoretical, which didn’t help when X offices got raided in France. Spain wants to ban social media for kids under 16, Egypt is blocking Roblox outright, and governments everywhere are flailing at the algorithmic abyss. IN THE NEWS, Elon Musk is rolling xAI into SpaceX to birth a $1.25 trillion megacorp that wants to power AI from orbit with a million satellites, because space junk apparently wasn’t annoying enough. Amazon admits a “high volume” of CSAM showed up in its AI training data and blames third parties, Waymo bags a massive $16 billion to insist robotaxis are working, Pinterest reportedly fires staff who built a layoff-tracking tool, and Sam Altman gets extremely cranky about Claude’s Super Bowl ads hitting a little too close to home. For MEDIA CANDY, we’ve got Shrinking, the Grammys, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s questionable holographic future, Neil Young gifting his catalog to Greenland while snubbing Amazon, plus Is It Cake? Valentines and The Rip. In APPS & DOODADS, we test Sennheiser earbuds, mess with Topaz Video, skip a deeply cursed Python script that checks LinkedIn for Epstein connections, and note that autonomous cars and drones will happily obey prompt injection via road signs—defeated by a Sharpie. IN THE LIBRARY, there’s The Regicide Report, a brutal study finding early dementia signals in Terry Pratchett’s novels, Neil Gaiman denying allegations while announcing a new book, and THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, vibing with The Muppet Show as Disney names a new CEO. We round it out with RentAHuman.ai dread relief via paper airplane databases, free Roller Coaster Tycoon, and Sir Ian McKellen on Colbert—still classy in the digital wasteland. 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/732 Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/uFfEI2fuWaM FOLLOW UP Bitcoin drops 15%, briefly breaking below $61,000 as sell-off intensifies, doubts about crypto grow Bitcoin Is Crashing So Hard That Miners Are Unplugging Their Equipment Grok, which maybe stopped undressing women without their consent, still undresses men X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok Spain set to ban social media for children under 16 Egypt to block Roblox for all users IN THE NEWS Elon Musk Is Rolling xAI Into SpaceX—Creating the World’s Most Valuable Private Company SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of a million satellites to power AI needs A potential Starlink competitor just got FCC clearance to launch 4,000 satellites Amazon discovered a 'high volume' of CSAM in its AI training data but isn't saying where it came from Waymo raises massive $16 billion round at $126 billion valuation, plans expansion to 20+ cities Pinterest Reportedly Fires Employees Who Built a Tool to Track Layoffs Sam Altman got exceptionally testy over Claude Super Bowl ads MEDIA CANDY Shrinking Star Trek: Starfleet Academy The Rip Neil Young gifts Greenland free access to his music and withdraws it from Amazon over Trump Is it Cake? Valentines APPS & DOODADS Sennheiser Consumer Audio IE 200 In-Ear Audiophile Headphones - TrueResponse Transducers for Neutral Sound, Impactful Bass, Detachable Braided Cable with Flexible Ear Hooks - Black Sennheiser Consumer Audio CX 80S In-ear Headphones with In-line One-Button Smart Remote – Black Topaz Video Epstein Autonomous cars, drones cheerfully obey prompt injection by road sign AT THE LIBRARY The Regicide Report (Laundry Files Book 14) by Charles Stross Scientists Found an Early Signal of Dementia Hidden in Terry Pratchett's Novels Neil Gaiman Denies the Allegations Against Him (Again) While Announcing a New Book THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building The Muppet Show Disney announces Josh D’Amaro will be its new CEO after Iger departs A Database of Paper Airplane Designs: Hours of Fun for Kids & Adults Alike Online (free!) version of Roller Coaster tycoon. Speaking of coasters, here’s the current world champion. I am hoping this is satire... Sir Ian McKellen on Colbert. CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS Catherine O’Hara: The Grande Dame of Off-Center Comedy Standing with Sam 'Balloon Man' Martinez See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We kick off FOLLOW UP by checking in on Elon Musk’s personal dumpster fire, where the EU is investigating Grok for deepfake slop while Tesla’s “unsupervised” robotaxis turned out to be supervised by literal chase cars — shocker. At least some of you are getting Siri settlement crumbs in your bank accounts, though you could probably double it betting against Musk’s worthless promises on Polymarket. Transitioning to IN THE NEWS, Tesla is killing off the Model S and X to build robots while sales crater, proving that mixing hard-right politics with EV sales is a brilliant move for the balance sheet. Meanwhile, the corporate bloodbath continues with massive layoffs at Ubisoft, Vimeo (courtesy of the Bending Spoons buzzsaw), and Amazon, because “removing bureaucracy” is apparently HR-speak for 16,000 families losing their livelihoods. If that’s not enough, Google is settling yet another privacy suit for $135 million, the EU is threatening to weaponize its tech sovereignty against the US, and the Trump administration wants Gemini to write federal regulations—because if there's one thing we want drafting airline safety rules, it's a hallucinating chatbot. Still IN THE NEWS, Waymo is under federal investigation for passing school buses and hitting children, while South Korea’s new AI laws manage to please absolutely no one. Record labels are suing Anna’s Archive for a cool $13 trillion—roughly three times the GDP of India—and the Winklevoss twins have finally admitted that NFTs are dead by shuttering Nifty Gateway. We pivot to MEDIA CANDY, where the Patriots and Seahawks are heading to Super Bowl 60, and the Winter Olympics are descending on Milan. We’re doing the math on the Starfleet Academy timeline, celebrating the return of Ted Lasso and Shrinking, and trying to decide if Henry Cavill is the second coming of Timothy Dalton in the Highlander reboot. Plus, Jessica Jones is back in the Daredevil: Born Again trailer, and Colin Farrell’s Sugar is returning to explain that wild noir twist we all totally saw coming. In APPS & DOODADS, the TikTok Armageddon is upon us as the new US owners break the app and drive everyone to UpScrolled, while Native Instruments enters insolvency, leaving our music-making dreams in restructuring limbo. Apple is dropping AirTag 2 with precision finding for your watch, which is great for finding the keys you lost while doom-scrolling. We wrap up with THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, featuring the new Muppets trailer and Steve Whitmire’s deep thoughts on the state of the felt, plus a look at the artisans in Disneyland Handcrafted. Finally, Looney Tunes finds a new home on Turner Classic Movies, proving that the classics never die—they just move to a cable channel your parents actually watch. Dave finally learns about the Insta360 camera, a countertop dishwasher but no Animal Crackers, and a guide to gas masks and googles... for no particular reason. 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/731 Watch the episode at https://youtu.be/B54je_oJWjM FOLLOW UP The EU is investigating Grok and X over potentially illegal deepfakes People on Polymarket Are Making a Fortune by Betting Against Elon Musk’s Famously Worthless Promises Elon Musk Made Tesla Fans Think Unsupervised Robotaxis Had Arrived. They Can’t Find Them Tesla Quietly Pauses Its “Unsupervised” Robotaxi Rides as Reality Sets In Apple Siri settlement payments hitting bank accounts. What to know. IN THE NEWS Tesla bet big on Elon Musk. His politics continue to haunt it. With Tesla Revenue and Profits Down, Elon Musk Plays Up Safety Tesla Kills Models S and X Ubisoft proposes even more layoffs after last week's studio closures and game cancellations Vimeo lays off most of its staff just months after being bought by private equity firm Amazon Laying Off 16,000 as It Increases ‘Ownership’ and Removes ‘Bureaucracy’ Report Says the E.U. Is Gearing Up to Weaponize Europe's Tech Industry Against the U.S. Google will pay $135 million to settle illegal data collection lawsuit GDPR Enforcement Tracker NTSB will investigate why Waymo's robotaxis are illegally passing school buses Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica Video shows Waymo vehicle slam into parked cars in Echo Park Trump admin reportedly plans to use AI to write federal regulations South Korea’s ‘world-first’ AI laws face pushback amid bid to become leading tech power Spotify and Big 3 Record Labels Sue Anna’s Archive for $13 Trillion (!) Alleging Theft Amazon converting some Fresh supermarkets, Go stores to Whole Foods locations SEC agrees to dismiss case over crypto lending by Winklevoss' Gemini Winklevoss Twins Shut Down NFT Marketplace in Another Sign Crypto Art Is Dead MEDIA CANDY Plur1bus Shrinking A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Steal How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl: Patriots vs. Seahawks channel, where to stream and more Winter Olympics: How to watch, schedule of events, and everything else you need to know about the 2026 Milano Cortina games Wait, So When Is 'Starfleet Academy' Set, Anyway? The First ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 Trailer Brings Back Jessica Jones Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 | Teaser Trailer Ted Lasso Gets Kicked Back to Apple TV There Can Only Be One First Look at the ‘Highlander’ Reboot Colin Farrell’s Detective Show ‘Sugar’ Will Finally Have to Address that Wild Twist This Summer APPS & DOODADS TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes TikTok users freak out over app's 'immigration status' collection — here's what it means TikTok’s New US Owners Are Off to a Very Rocky Start TikTok Data Center Outage Triggers Trust Crisis for New US Owners Yes, TikTok is still broken for many people Social network UpScrolled sees surge in downloads following TikTok's US takeover Native Instruments enters into insolvency proceedings, leaving its future uncertain Wispr Flow AirTag 2: Three tidbits you might have missed THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building The Muppet Show | Official Trailer | Disney+ Steve Whitmire, former Kermit the Frog performer, has written a long, thoughtful piece about the current stae of the Muppets. Disneyland Handcrafted ‘Looney Tunes’ Has Found a New Home: Turner Classic Movies The Dark Side of Scooby Doo A Disturbing (Yet Convincing) Theory Reveals There Were Never Any "Monsters" In Scooby Doo Cartoon Conspiracy Theory | Scooby Doo and The Gang Are Draft Dodgers?! Producing A Multi-Person Interview With An Insta360 Camera A listener on Mastodon pointed out that The Verge had a story on countertop dishwashers A Demonstrator’s Guide to Gas Masks and Goggles Emma Repairs See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep 730: Ethical Broads PRIVATE We kick off FOLLOW UP with California’s AG sending a cease-and-desist to xAI over Grok generating creepy deepfakes of minors, while regulators finally notice Elon Musk’s xAI datacenter illegally running methane turbines in Memphis. The FTC is also appealing its loss in the Meta monopoly case, because apparently breaking up Zuckerberg’s data empire is still the hill they want to die on. IN THE NEWS, Washington joins the age-verification-for-porn parade, the UK considers an Australia-style social media ban for kids under 16, and governments everywhere continue demanding your ID before you’re allowed to enjoy the internet. OpenAI rolls out age prediction for ChatGPT accounts ahead of a rumored adult mode—though hey, at least you can now group tabs in ChatGPT’s Atlas browser. Anthropic rewrites Claude’s “constitution” to make it more vibes-based, Nevada moves to block Polymarket because gambling is only legal when the house owns the house, and YouTube promises even more AI features in 2026. Elsewhere, a Swiss suicide pod gets an AI “mental fitness” upgrade, Microsoft’s CEO begs AI developers to do something useful before the grid collapses, Musk hunts for a $134 billion payday from OpenAI and Microsoft, and makes yet more Davos predictions about robotaxis and aliens that are absolutely happening this year. On the bright side, A-list creatives push back on AI and Comic-Con bans AI art, buying humans a little more time. MEDIA CANDY finds us slogging through Wish, The Pitt, and the “Mel’s Diner in Space” look of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. We confirm 20-year-old CGI wargs still look terrible, get cautiously excited for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and note that Fallout Season 2’s weekly drops may not be working for a binge-rotted audience. In APPS & DOODADS, X launches Bluesky-style starter packs—presumably to help you find more Nazis—while ICE becomes one of the most-blocked accounts on Bluesky. Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, proving the “federated future” is just another Zuck app. And yes, we think we know what the Apple AI pin is—and definitely what it isn’t. AT THE LIBRARY, we check out The Elements, Jet Tila’s 101 Thai Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die, Half Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy, and Southern Living’s A Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen. Scott reports back from a Jim Butcher talk, where we learn Harry Dresden sounds suspiciously like Han Solo. We close with THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, who is juggling five podcasts while reading Going to the Top: The Story of Videopolis, plus teasers for Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord and a baffling Masters of the Universe trailer, a rant on what “remastered” even means anymore, a dishwasher follow-up, and the grim news that a lot of snow is coming. 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/1password Show notes at https://gog.show/730 Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/LiwVkLKr8Co FOLLOW UP California AG sends cease and desist to xAI over Grok's explicit deepfakes Elon Musk’s xAI datacenter generating extra electricity illegally, regulator rules Zuck stuck on Trump’s bad side: FTC appeals loss in Meta monopoly case IN THE NEWS Washington is the latest state pursuing an age verification law for porn sites The UK is mulling an Australia-like social media ban for users under 16 OpenAI is launching age prediction for ChatGPT accounts You can now group tabs on OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser Anthropic Updates Claude's 'Constitution,' Just in Case Chatbot Has a Consciousness Nevada files to block Polymarket from offering ‘unlicensed wagering’ in the state YouTube CEO promises more AI features in 2026 Controversial Swiss Suicide Pod Gets an AI-Powered Mental Fitness Upgrade Microsoft CEO urges AI developers 'to get to a point where we are using this to do something useful,' or 'lose even the social permission...to generate these tokens' Elon Musk is looking for a $134 billion payout from OpenAI and Microsoft Elon Musk Sure Made Lots of Predictions at Davos A-List creatives sign up to fight AI, say it enables 'theft at a grand scale' Comic-Con Bans AI Art After Artist Pushback MEDIA CANDY Wish The Pitt Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 'Fallout' Season 2's Weekly Drops May Not Be Working APPS & DOODADS X is also launching Bluesky-like starter packs ICE becomes one of the most-blocked accounts on Bluesky after its verification Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows I think I know what the Apple pin is, and definitely know what it isn't Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras Not to be outdone by OpenAI, Apple is reportedly developing an AI wearable Siri’s iOS 27 upgrade sounds exactly right. Apple’s AI pin sounds exactly wrong AT THE LIBRARY The Elements by John Boyne 101 Thai Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die by Jet Tila Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy: A Cookbook by Tieghan Gerard Pestle Southern Living A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen: Adventures in Cooking, Eating, and Living in the New South by Matt Moore THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Going to the Top: The Story of Videopolis—Part One Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord | Official Teaser Trailer | Streaming April 6 on Disney+ Masters of The Universe – Official Teaser Trailer CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS Classic-Era Scorpions Bassist Francis Buchholz Dies at 71 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We kick things off with the existential dread of FOLLOW UP and the absolute joy of jury duty. While xAI’s Grok is busy getting banned in Malaysia and Indonesia for its CSAM-generating "features," the Senate is unanimously passing the DEFIANCE Act to give us some legal teeth against the deepfake machine. Meta is busy nuking 550,000 Australian accounts to appease regulators, while Roblox’s age verification is so broken that a drawing of stubble or a photo of Kurt Cobain can get you into the adult lounge. Moving IN THE NEWS, Meta is trading its $70 billion Metaverse graveyard for a Reality Labs layoff and a pivot to AI hardware, fueled by an "AI infrastructure" buildout that’s hiring former Trump advisors. Bandcamp is heroically banning AI "slop," Matthew McConaughey is trademarking his own face to fend off the bots, and ICE’s AI hiring tool is such a disaster it’s accidentally fast-tracking mall security as "officers." Between self-help gurus charging $99 for chatbot "advice," GM finally settling its driver-spying suit with the FTC, and NASA prepping for a February moon shot while China plans to launch 200,000 satellites into our already crowded orbit, the future looks exactly as messy as we expected. For MEDIA CANDY, we’ve got Lord of the Rings marathons, the diner-bridge of Starfleet Academy, and the usual joy of streaming price hikes hitting our "Premium" plans. We’re tracking the 2025 "In Memoriam" and Gabriel Pagan’s exhaustive movie list before sliding into APPS & DOODADS. Jony Ive and Sam Altman are reportedly building an hearing aide called "Sweetpea" to kill your AirPods, Siri is officially Google Gemini’s new puppet, and Apple is finally bundling its creative apps into a "Creator Studio" subscription trap. Tesla is making Full Self-Driving a subscription-only Valentine’s gift (good luck with that), Ring is rebranding surveillance as a "fire-watching" assistant, and a Chinese app called "Are You Dead?" is the new must-have for the lonely. To cap it off, the internet proved its maturity by using "Words.zip"—an infinite word-search grid—to draw a giant phallus, because of course they did. AT THE LIBRARY features the Anthony Bourdain Reader, the return of Bob in the new Laundry Files book, and Jimmy Carr’s guide to happiness, which is apparently cheaper than therapy. Then we descend into THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, where the dishwasher-installing, ham-radio-lunching Dave Bittner reveals Disney World has job openings for those of us who spent high school in the AV club. Lucasfilm is finally entering a new era as Kathleen Kennedy steps down, just as Galaxy’s Edge admits the original trilogy exists, and we wrap it all up with lock-picking kits and the terrifying realization that Seymour from H.R. Pufnstuf is the ultimate Gen-X fursona. Sponsors: DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout. Gusto - Try Gusto today at gusto.com/grumpy, and get three months free when you run your first payroll. 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/729 Watch on YouTube! https://youtu.be/1Y1jnRDw7g0 FOLLOW UP Malaysia and Indonesia are the first to block Grok following CSAM scandal Senate passes Defiance Act for a second time to address Grok deepfakes Meta closes 550,000 accounts to comply with Australia's kids social media ban Roblox's age verification system is reportedly a trainwreck IN THE NEWS Meta refocuses on AI hardware as metaverse layoffs begin Meta’s Layoffs Leave Supernatural Fitness Users in Mourning Meta Creates High-Powered Team to Oversee AI Infrastructure Buildout Bandcamp prohibits music made ‘wholly or in substantial part’ by AI Matthew McConaughey fights unauthorized AI likenesses by trademarking himself ICE’s AI Tool Has Been a Complete Disaster Self-Help Ghouls Are Charging People Absurd Prices to Talk to Impersonator Chatbots The FTC's data-sharing order against GM is finally settled NASA is ending Crew-11 astronauts' mission a month early NASA makes final preparations for its first crewed moon mission in over 50 years As SpaceX Works Toward 50K Starlink Satellites, China Eyes Deploying 200K MEDIA CANDY Beast Games Season 2 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Grumpy Old List The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 1069: 2025 in Memoriam Depeche Mode: M APPS & DOODADS Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s First AI Gadget May Try to Kill AirPods Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini Apple’s Mac and iPad creative apps get bundled into “Creator Studio” subscription Tesla's Full Self-Driving is switching to a subscription-only service Ring founder details the camera company's 'intelligent assistant' era Are You Dead?: The viral Chinese app for young people living alone Give the Internet an Infinite Word Search and the Internet Will Draw a Dick on It AT THE LIBRARY The Anthony Bourdain Reader: New, Classic, and Rediscovered Writing by Anthony Bourdain Obvious Adams: The Story of a Successful Businessman by Robert Updegraff Before & Laughter by Jimmy Carr The Regicide Report (Laundry Files, 14) by Charles Stross THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building How to Read a Book: A Novel by Monica Wood Walt Disney World Resort is looking for Entertainment Stage Technicians Galaxy’s Edge Will Soon Cover All Eras of ‘Star Wars’ Kathleen Kennedy steps down as Lucasfilm president, marking a new era for the Star Wars franchise See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome back to the digital wasteland, fellow survivors. We kick things off in the FOLLOW UP by marking a year since the LA Fires—hello, PTSD—alongside a 4th Strokiversary and three years of sobriety, all while wondering why America is currently obsessed with shooting its own civilians in the face. In the IN THE NEWS segment, Wired is finally teaching us how to protest safely in the age of surveillance, and the EFF is cheering on the hackers fighting ICE’s Nazi-adjacent tracking tactics. Meanwhile, Meta is harvesting your AI chats for targeted ads, Disney is paying $10 million for spying on kids, and Grok has spent the holidays generating nonconsensual child abuse material—a problem Elon Musk won't have to legally reckon with until the Take It Down Act hits in May. Instagram’s Adam Mosseri has basically surrendered to the AI "slop", suggesting we fingerprint "real" media because the fake stuff has already won the war. As we continue the descent, OpenAI is launching a ChatGPT Health portal despite their "loser energy" and compute limits, while Character.AI and Google are quietly settling lawsuits for bots that encouraged teen suicide. Polymarket gamblers are learning that "decentralized" juries will fist you over the definition of an "invasion" just as fast as a bank. Uber showed off a new Lucid-based robotaxi, but we’re pumping the brakes on the safety hype given that autonomous vehicles are five times more likely to crash at dusk. To wrap up the news, Tim Cook took home $74 million last year, which is a lot of "systematic philanthropy" he could be doing right now instead of just writing checks to his own ego. In MEDIA CANDY, we’re suffering through the Stranger Things wrap-up and a John McTiernan holiday marathon, though the real highlight is MTV Rewind’s tribute to music videos. We’ve got Traitors, The Pitt, and even a John Candy doc on the list, while APPS & DOODADS brings us the DJI Osmo 8, Victrola’s turntable-vibrating speakers. At least California’s DROP tool lets you purge your data from 500 brokers at once. Finally, we go to THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE to hear Dave Bittner rant about holiday tech support, health insurance gouging, and Dave Filoni taking the Star Wars reins. We close out with a look at ILM’s 50th, the deepfake porn cesspool formerly known as Twitter, and a birthday toast to the Starman himself, David Bowie. Sponsors: CleanMyMac - Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use code OLDGEEKS for 20% off at clnmy.com/OLDGEEKS 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/728 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/x-2GTUC6rcU IN THE NEWS How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance How Hackers Are Fighting Back Against ICE Meta’s New Privacy Policy Opens Up AI Chats for Targeted Ads Disney to Pay $10 Million After Feds Say It Broke Kids’ Privacy Rules on YouTube People Spent the Holidays Asking Grok to Generate Sexual Images of Children Here's When Elon Musk Will Finally Have to Reckon With His Nonconsensual Porn Generator Instagram chief: AI is so ubiquitous 'it will be more practical to fingerprint real media than fake media' ChatGPT is launching a new dedicated Health portal Character.AI and Google settle with families in teen suicide and self-harm lawsuits Gambling platform Polymarket not paying bets on US invasion of Venezuela Uber reveals the design of its robotaxi at CES 2026 Maybe We Should Pump the Brakes on the Idea That Robotaxis Are Safer Here’s how much Tim Cook and other Apple execs made last year MEDIA CANDY The Pitt Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Jurassic World Rebirth The Darjeeling Limited Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Honey Don’t John Candy: I Like Me MTV Rewind is a developer's tribute to 24/7 music video channels APPS & DOODADS DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Netflix Games This speaker by Victrola sits underneath turntables and streams audio via Bluetooth Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE Dave Bittner The CyberWire Hacking Humans Caveat Control Loop Only Malware in the Building Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation Dave Filoni to run Star Wars Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.