This week, we light a candle for lost legends and torch a few bad takes. In Follow Up, Molly White reminds us that giving a damn still matters—despite the rising tide of apathy (and flaming robotaxis in downtown L.A.). Protesters across the country chant “No Kings!” while Elon does his best impression of a bootlicker groveling back to Trump. Meanwhile, we take a moment to reflect on 2025’s greatest hits: riots, rollbacks, and rampant idiocy.

In the news, Uber decides buses are cool again—but shittier and more expensive. The UK jumps into the robotaxi game while Tesla, shockingly, misses another launch date. French Tesla fans are suing over the brand’s fashy vibes, Google is ghosting employees via buyout, and Meta’s trying to buy its way to artificial godhood. Oh, and Trump’s launching an AI chatbot. What could go wrong? Elsewhere, China turns off AI so kids can cheat the old-fashioned way, Disney and Universal are gunning for Midjourney, and Shopify goes stablecoin with Coinbase and Stripe.

Media Candy’s popping off: Foundation returns, Strange New Worlds prepares for its final warp, and Spaceballs is back—with the original cast! Meanwhile, we review Mythfits, Princess of Power, and the slow striptease that is David Zaslav’s credibility. On the gadget front: forget your canned air—go full vacuum-blower-keyboard-cleaner madness. And in The Dark Side with Dave, stormtroopers vlog, AI kills joy, and we race the beam in retro game land. Finally, we say goodbye to a few greats—Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Ananda Lewis, Douglas McCarthy, and Apple legend Bill Atkinson. Play God Only Knows, pour one out, and stay grumpy.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/701

FOLLOW UP

It matters. I care. by Molly White

Waymo Halts Service in Downtown Los Angeles After Its Taxis Are Set on Fire

What to know about 'No Kings' protests against Trump's policies

What It Was Like in the Shit in 2025

Elon Cuck Apologizes to Donald Trump

IN THE NEWS

Uber’s New Shuttle Is Basically a Bus, but Worse

The UK will get its first robotaxis next year

With Roadblock After Roadblock, Is Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Doomed to Fail?

Tesla's Robotaxi Launch Date Was Supposed to Be Today, But We're Shocked to Hear That It's Been Pushed Back - Shocked, we say.

French Tesla customers file lawsuit over brand becoming 'extreme-right' symbol

Google offers buyouts to employees across the company, including Search

Meta is reportedly forming an 'AI Superintelligence' team

The Trump Administration Is Launching an AI Chatbot

China Takes on Student Cheating by Shutting Off AI Nationwide During Exams

AI Therapy Bots Are Conducting 'Illegal Behavior,' Digital Rights Organizations Say

Disney and Universal file major copyright lawsuit against Midjourney over AI-generated characters

Shopify partners with Coinbase and Stripe in landmark stablecoin deal

MEDIA CANDY

Mythfits Podcast

Marina - PRINCESS OF POWER

Foundation — Season 3 Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - July 11th

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Will End With a Fifth and Final Season

Spaceballs Sequel Set for 2027 with Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, and Bill Pullman All Returning

David Zaslav Has No Clothes

The Gauge

APPS & DOODADS

Supertone Clear

Blue Scold

The Real Problem With Bluesky

Compressed Air Duster with Air Blower 160000RPM Vacuum Cleaner and Air Duster 4 in 1 Keyboard Cleaner,No Canned Air Duster,Electir Air Duster,Replaces for Compressed Air Cans &Vacuum Cleaner for PC

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless 10 in. String Trimmer/Edger with 1.5Ah Battery and Charger

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

A Stormtrooper Vlog | The Adventures of Dave and Greg

Soapy “Verticals” Helping to Keep Hollywood Employed in L.A. As Film and TV Projects Leave

How AI is killing joy

Finding Atari Games in Randomly Generated Data

Racing The Beam: The Story of Stella

Analogue Pocket

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

Stremio

Sly Stone, Pioneering Bandleader and Funk Virtuoso, Dead at 82

SLY LIVES!

The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies at 82

Sting Performs Moving Cover of “God Only Knows” in Tribute to Brian Wilson: Watch

Strong Songs - "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys

Ananda Lewis, Host of MTV’s ‘Total Request Live’ and ‘Hot Zone,’ Dies At 52

Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy has died at 58

RIP: Bill Atkinson, co-creator of Apple Lisa and Mac

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