Grumpy Old Geeks

On this week’s episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, we kick things off with the glorious meltdown of two of our least favorite Bond villains: Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Not only is their public pissing match tanking Tesla’s market cap, but now Trump’s launching a crypto wallet to… fund freedom? Or at least funnel it straight to his latest shell game. Meanwhile, someone at DOGE admitted the U.S. government wasn’t entirely incompetent, so naturally, they got fired. Efficiency is un-American, after all.

In the news, Ukraine leveled up with an unprecedented drone blitz on Russian airbases using—you guessed it—open source software. GitHub just became a geopolitical weapon. Back home, Nebraska wants to unplug your kids, Florida’s trying (and failing) to legislate dopamine, and Tesla’s panicking that their crash data might expose how their “Full Self-Driving” is really just short bus autopilot. And because the AI dystopia train never stops: OpenAI’s bot is recommending meth to recovering addicts, Meta’s replacing humans with risk-assessing algorithms, and one “AI startup” turned out to be 700 dudes in Bangalore with a decent VPN. Cue the dramatic zoom on Diabolus Ex Machina.

Media Candy this week is a buffet: Downton Abbey finally closes up shop, Stranger Things 5 sets a date, and Foundation still sucks. Marc Maron’s locking the gates for good, Garbage drops a surprisingly optimistic album, and Hollywood’s quietly been using AI like it’s a studio intern who doesn’t need sleep. Over in The Library, Jason’s back with Hitchhiker’s Guide and Brian dives in to Michael Palin’s Python diaries—because reading actual books is still a thing, damn it. Plus: Dave Bittner wants to “go antiquing” with Amy Sedaris with a Ben Franklin playbook. Closing shout-outs go to the legendary Loretta Swit—Hot Lips forever—and yes, we finally answer the question nobody asked: what is under a Jawa’s hood?

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Show notes at https://gog.show/700

FOLLOW UP

Trump Threatens to Cut Elon Musk's Government Contracts as Feud Escalates

Elon Musk’s Feud With President Trump Wipes $152 Billion Off Tesla’s Market Cap

Trump to launch branded crypto trading application

DOGE Fires Operative After He Admits the Government Was Already Pretty Efficient

IN THE NEWS

Ukraine destroys 40 aircraft deep inside Russia ahead of peace talks in Istanbul

A surprise drone attack on airfields across Russia encapsulates Ukraine’s wartime strategy

Explained: Ukraine’s Unprecedented Drone Attack on Russian Warplanes

Ukraine's Massive Drone Attack Was Powered by Open Source Software

How Ukraine’s Killer Drones Are Beating Russian Jamming

The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine

A new Nebraska law wants to make social media less addictive for kids

Florida's social media law has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge

Tesla is trying to stop certain self-driving crash data becoming public

Tesla admits it would ‘suffer financial harm’ if its self-driving crash data becomes public

Therapy Chatbot Tells Recovering Addict to Have a Little Meth as a Treat

OpenAI featured chatbot is pushing extreme surgeries to “subhuman” men

Meta will reportedly soon use AI for most product risk assessments instead of human reviewers

Perplexity received 780 million queries last month, CEO says

The FDA rolls out its own AI to speed up clinical reviews and scientific evaluations

AI company files for bankruptcy after being exposed as 700 Indian engineers

Diabolus Ex Machina

Meditation And Mindfulness Have a Dark Side We Often Overlook

MEDIA CANDY

DOWNTON ABBEY: The Grand Finale

Stranger Things 5 finally has its release date

Poker Face

Foundation

Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders

American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden

The Last of Us

The Taste UK

Somebody Feed Phil

How George Clooney’s ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Is Preparing to Go Live on CNN

Mountainhead

Hollywood Already Uses Generative AI (And Is Hiding It)

Lionsgate Explores AI for Content Adaptation and Production Efficiency

Marc Maron Will Lock The Gates One Last Time

Garbage: Let All That We Imagine Be the Light

Schmactors

AT THE LIBRARY

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years (Michael Palin Diaries Book 1)

Jason DeFillippo on Goodreads

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade and Celebration

Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress

Disney Pulls Back the Curtain on Its New 'Cars' Land

"Thank You, Muppet*Vision 3D" — Official Music Video

Peli is REALLY familiar with Jawas... The Book of Boba Fett - E5

Star Wars: What's Beneath a Jawa's Hood? The Stuff of Nightmares

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

Loretta Swit, Who Played Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on MAS*H, Dead at 87

MASH Matters Podcast

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In this week’s “we told you so” edition, we kick things off with the latest AI faceplant—go ahead, Google “Is it 2025?” and try not to spit coffee on your keyboard. Meanwhile, over at Meta, Zuckerberg’s brilliant idea to loosen content moderation has, shocker, led to more harassment and violent content. Elsewhere in tech dystopia: Texas is trying to ground all minors off social media, Germany wants to slap a 10% tax on Silicon Valley, and Anthropic is handing out free search powers and a board seat to Netflix’s Reed Hastings. Because nothing says “trusted AI governance” like a guy who greenlit Love Is Blind.

But wait, crypto bros are having their own John Wick arc: a luxury townhouse, a missing wallet, and possibly an NYPD detective tangled in a real-life “crypto millionaire torture” flick. As if that isn’t enough, Trump Media is fundraising to buy $2.5B in Bitcoin—and DJT stock promptly nosedived. Also feuding this week: Marjorie Taylor Greene vs. Grok, because nothing screams Christian values like rageposting at Elon’s AI. And speaking of Elon, he’s now in bed with Telegram to the tune of $300 million, which we’re sure won’t be a disinformation factory.

MEDIA CANDY is stacked: from the Murderbot diaries to a My Dinner with Andre rewatch, and yes, the Wheel of Time got axed after 3 seasons. Apps? Opera Neon is a UI fever dream, Starling Home Hub adds more smarts to your house, and WhatsApp finally arrives on iPad—welcome to 2016. In THE DARK SIDE, Dave Bittner brings the latest digital dirt, including the CIA’s bonkers Star Wars fan site op. And if you’re hitting the library, grab The AI Con or something more romantic—like Love, Sex and the Alien Apocalypse. Just be careful if you read that on public transit.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/699

FOLLOW UP

Don't Google "Is it 2025?" unless you want to laugh at the state of AI

IN THE NEWS

Facebook sees rise in violent content and harassment after policy changes

What we know about the NYC crypto kidnapping and torture case

Manhattan Crypto Kidnapping and Torture Case: What We Know

NYPD detective on Adams' security detail may be tied to crypto millionaire torture case: Sources

Judge denies bail to crypto investor charged with kidnapping and torturing man in posh NYC townhouse

Trump Media Raises Money to Buy $2.5 Billion in Bitcoin

Trump administration ramps up push as crypto ally

DJT shares drop after Trump Media announces bitcoin raise - CNBC

Texas is getting ready to ban social media for anyone under 18

Texas enacts age-verification law for app stores

Germany is considering a 10 percent digital service tax on US tech giants

EU regulators are investigating Pornhub and three other sites

Anthropic brings web search to free Claude users

Reed Hastings appointed to Anthropic's board of directors

Anthropic appoints Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings to board - CNBC

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings joins Anthropic's board | TechCrunch

RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report Cites Fake Studies

Marjorie Taylor Greene feuds with AI bot over her Christian cred

Telegram CEO announces $300 million partnership with Elon Musk's xAI and Grok

MEDIA CANDY

Murderbot

Long Way Home

Lilo and Stitch

Martha

‘The Wheel Of Time’ Canceled By Prime Video After 3 Seasons

Billy Joel Cancels Concerts Due to Brain Disorder

My Dinner with Andre

Grumpy Old Geeks Information on RocketReach

Schmactors with James Marsters, Mark Devine, and Jason DeFillippo

APPS & DOODADS

Opera Neon

Apple Reportedly Says ‘Screw It’ and Jumps From iOS 19 to iOS 26

Starling Home Hub

WhatsApp finally launches an official version for iPads

AT THE LIBRARY

The Essential Terry Pratchett

Good Omens TV Companion Misprint

The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want By: Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna

Love, Sex and the Alien Apocalypse (First Contact) by Peter Cawdron

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

The CIA Secretly Ran a Star Wars Fan Site

LIVE: Kermit the Frog gives commencement speech at University of Maryland

Billy Joel - I've Loved These Days (Audio)

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This week, we kick things off with the return of Space Karen’s meltdown tour: Elon Musk got flustered in an interview, sputtered out one-word answers, and called the journalist an “NPC,” which is rich coming from the guy whose only real upgrade since PayPal is yelling “freedom” in meme fonts. Meanwhile, 23andMe sold your DNA to Regeneron at a bankruptcy auction, proving once and for all that your spit is more valuable than most tech startups.

IN THE NEWS is a parade of corporate idiocy and dystopian fuckery. Coinbase employees got bribed into leaking user data (because clearly we didn’t have enough crypto chaos), Klarna keeps flip-flopping between AI and human workers like it’s a bad Tinder date, and OpenAI is out here buying Jony Ive’s design firm for $6.5 billion because sure, what’s another billion when you’re trying to build a surveillance device to stalk 100 million users? Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times is publishing AI-generated trash with imaginary authors, Anthropic’s new model attempts blackmail, and researchers dumped two billion Discord messages online just for kicks. And yes, Elon’s Tesla robotaxis will now only roam the safest parts of Austin, which is code for “we still can’t make this thing turn left.”

In MEDIA CANDY, we’re watching Murderbot, Godfather of Harlem, and Hotel Cocaine because who doesn’t love a little synthetic assassin, crime drama, and coke-fueled nostalgia? Notepad.exe now writes for you (and probably files HR complaints too), and Audible is teaming up with publishers to replace narrators with robot voices. Yay, progress. Over in THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, Bittner brings the malware, monsters, and a new theme park review that’s somehow less terrifying than the news. Bookworms, don’t miss Curepedia and The AI Con — one’s about goth gods, the other’s about taking down our techno-overlords. And pour one out for George Wendt — Norm from Cheers is now drinking with the angels.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/698

FOLLOW UP

Elon Musk Gets Rattled by Hard Questions He Can't Answer, Calls Interviewer an "NPC" While Giving One-Word NPC-Like Responses Himself

23andMe (and Your Genetic Data) Sold to Regeneron in Bankruptcy Auction

IN THE NEWS

Extortionists bribed Coinbase employees to give them customer data

OpenAI buys Jony Ive's design startup for $6.5 billion

Sam Altman Tells Staff Plan to Ship 100 Million Devices That See Everything in Users' Lives

Klarna Hiring Back Human Help After Going All-In on AI

Klarna CEO and Sutter Hill take victory lap after Jony Ive's OpenAI deal

Klarna used an AI avatar of its CEO to deliver earnings

Klarna users are buying now, but not paying later

DOGE Used a Meta AI Model to Review Emails From Federal Workers

Chicago Sun-Times publishes made-up books and fake experts in AI debacle

We’re Focused on the Wrong A.I. Problem in Journalism

Anthropic's new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline

MIT Backs Away From Paper Claiming Scientists Make More Discoveries with AI

Researchers Dump 2 Billion Scraped Discord Messages Online

Musk says Tesla's self-driving tests will be geofenced to 'the safest' parts of Austin

MEDIA CANDY

Murderbot

Godfather of Harlem

Hotel Cocaine

APPS & DOODADS

The Grand Encyclopedia of Eponymous Laws

Apple confirms iOS 19 will end support for legacy Home app system

Audible to Partner With Publishers to Create AI-Voiced Audiobooks

In 3.5 years, Notepad.exe has gone from “barely maintained” to “it writes for you”

AT THE LIBRARY

Curepedia: An A-Z of the Cure by Simon Price

The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want By: Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

First photos from inside Universal Studio’s new Orlando theme park Epic Universe revealed

A Very Honest Review on Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment | Universal's Epic Universe

Gadget recommendation - Electric Air Duster with Flashlight

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

George Wendt, Norm From Cheers, Dead at 76

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: FOLLOW UP kicks off with Manus madness, a $2 million ticket to Trump’s crypto cash-grab, and Elon’s Boring Company worming its way into an $8 billion Amtrak boondoggle. Meanwhile, CryptoPunks gets handed off to a nonprofit like an expired Groupon—proof the NFT hype cycle ends with a 501(c)(3) and a shrug.

IN THE NEWS, Microsoft trims another 3% of its workforce while a former Metaverse engineer delivers DoorDash from a trailer—living proof that “the future of work” is just working for the apps. Klarna quietly admits AI sucks at customer service and hires back actual people, just as OpenAI’s reasoning models hit the brakes. The Pope wants to exorcise AI, Elon’s backfiring Copyright Office coup leaves him empty-handed, and YouTube starts banning AI-faked trailers that made Screen Culture money off Marvel lies. Jamie Lee Curtis goes full Final Girl on Zuckerberg, and Tesla drama ramps up: robotaxis under investigation, employees revolting, and one poor dealership manager gets canned for telling the truth about ol’ Musky. Oh, and scientists say the universe might die sooner than expected—cool cool cool.

In MEDIA CANDY, Murderbot arrives May 16, NIN launches the Future Ruins Festival, and Star Trek and Star Wars both dig up classic soundtracks for some retro feels. Jessica Jones returns in Daredevil: Born Again, Fallout gets Seasons 2 and 3, and even Nobody 2 is back for more murder-dad mayhem. In THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, Mr. Bittner shares two truly bleak customer service horror stories and gets bamboozled by a flower shop on Brian’s birthday (happy birthday, Brian!). Also: animatronic Mickey Mouse serves popcorn, Walt Disney’s ghost haunts the parks, Muppets get a pre-show for their 70th, and yes, there’s a guide to toilet-training your cat. Because sure, why not. Closing shout-out? Everyone is entitled to my own opinion.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/697

FOLLOW UP

Leave it to Manus

A VIP Seat at Donald Trump’s Crypto Dinner Cost at Least $2 Million

Elon’s Boring Company Is ‘Helping’ the Government With an $8 Billion Amtrak Tunnel Project

CryptoPunks was just sold to a nonprofit

IN THE NEWS

Microsoft is laying off 3 percent of its global workforce

Laid-Off Metaverse Engineer Says He Is DoorDashing and Living in a Trailer

Silicon Valley’s Elusive Fantasy of a Computer as Smart as You

Klarna Hiring Back Human Help After Going All-In on AI

Improvements in 'reasoning' AI models may slow down soon, analysis finds

The New Pope Wants to Take on AI

Elon Musk’s apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfired

Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn’t always fair use

YouTube Cracks Down on Fake Movie Trailer Channels Making Money

Jamie Lee Curtis publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg to remove a deepfaked ad

Tesla's robotaxi plans have the attention of federal investigators

A Tesla Dealership Manager Blamed Elon Musk for Tanking Sales and Was Immediately Fired

Tesla Employees Against Elon

Open Letter to Elon

Open Letter to Elon - @openletter2elon

Scientists Just Moved Up the Death Date of the Universe

MEDIA CANDY

Murderbot premiers May 16th

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Nine Inch Nails Announce Future Ruins Festival, Celebrating Influential Music Composers

Andor

Rogue One

Long Way Home

Krysten Ritter Will Return as Jessica Jones in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

Fallout Season 2 Coming in December and Season 3 Is a Go

Nobody 2 | Official Trailer

Superman | Official Trailer | DC

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Finally Returns This July

Star Trek: Prodigy May Need a New Home Again Soon

ESPN's streaming service will cost up to $30 per month and be called... ESPN

Fox One is a new streaming service that should launch before September

Max Renamed HBO Max as Warner Bros. Discovery Gives Up

Lived Through That - Episode 76 - Andy Prieboy

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

A SpaceX Employee Says He Was Fired for the Most Insane Reason

You Can Now Eat Popcorn Out of a Moving, Talking Mickey Mouse at Disneyland

Disney Says It Made Its Walt Disney Robot to Remind Fans He Was an Actual Person

Disneyland Didn’t Want to Do the Muppets Totally Dirty for Their 70th Anniversary

Muppets Pre-Show for World of Color Happiness! at Disneyland Resort for 70th Anniversary

How to Toilet-Train Your Cat: 21 Days to a Litter-Free Home

How to Toilet-Train Your Cat: 21 Days to a Litter-Free Home Download

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

everyone is entitled to my own opinion

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, we’re serving up a buffet of dystopia with a side of snark. First, Kuwait has finally realized crypto bros are an energy drain, not a feature. Celsius Network’s founder gets 12 years for running a “safe investment” Ponzi scheme. And in Lopez v. Apple, we find yet another reason to question Cupertino’s moral compass.

Then it’s time for a trip through the tech trash fire. DoorDash gobbles up Deliveroo, proving there’s no such thing as too many overpriced salads. Google wants your kids to befriend Gemini—because what could go wrong giving tweens supervised AI access? Tesla’s “Robotaxi” trademark gets the boot for being as generic as Elon’s pickup lines. Meanwhile, Grok strips in public, deepfake porn sites get the axe, and dating app “Raw” rawdogs user data like it’s the early 2000s internet. We also hit peak Black Mirror with brain-typed tweets, AI-resurrected relatives, and crypto kidnappers playing real-life GTA.

On Media Candy, the streaming overlords dump trailers like Halloween candy. Squid Game is back to traumatize you, Star Trek: Lower Decks keeps boldly going where no animated series should, and The Old Guard 2 teases a Theron-vs-Thurman sword fight. Plus, Apple’s UX team found the “enhance” button, Netflix wants to be helpful (lol), and Google dreams of becoming a Hollywood darling. Over in Apps & Doodads, Apple wants to stagger iPhone drops, Disney sells you a $3,000 droid with zero sass, and Smart Flowerpots are now a thing because apparently, you can’t be trusted to water your plant.

And finally, it’s time for The Dark Side with Dave, where Bittner brings us malware, click tracks, fake vocals, and the shocking truth about KISS’s lipsync disaster in Antwerp. We also dip into ILM’s jaw-dropping legacy, Star Wars’ shady back alleys, and a new Disneyland in Abu Dhabi, because nothing says “happiest place on Earth” like 120°F desert heat. All this and more, right here on your favorite snark-fueled ragecast

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Show notes at https://gog.show/696

FOLLOW UP

Kuwait cracks down on crypto miners to cut down on electricity usage

Founder of crypto platform Celsius Network is sentenced to 12 years in prison

Lopez v. Apple Inc.

IN THE NEWS

DoorDash is buying British rival Deliveroo for $3.9 billion

Shrinking Website Run By Nazi Psychopath Wants to Improve Its Image

Tesla 'Robotaxi' trademark refused for being too generic

Kids under 13 will soon get supervised access to Google Gemini

People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies

Nonverbal Neuralink Patient Is Using Brain Implant and Grok to Generate Replies

Elon Musk's Grok AI Will 'Remove Her Clothes' In Public, On X

Dating App ‘Raw’ Accidentally Rawdogs Users’ Location Data, Personal Info

GlobalX, Airline for Trump’s Deportations, Hacked

U.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink, cables show

Leading deepfake porn site is shut down for good

Lehigh County's $500 Million Pension Fund Halts Tesla Investments

NOAA Warns of Attacks on Radar Systems by Militia That Thinks They Are ‘Weather Weapons’

Family Uses AI To Revive Dead Brother For Impact Statement in Killer’s Trial

We have reached the “severed fingers and abductions” stage of the crypto revolution

MEDIA CANDY

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Spring Baking Championship

Unveiling Our Innovative New TV Experience Featuring Enhanced Design, Responsive Recommendations and a New Way to Search

Apple renews Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire 'The Studio' for season two ahead of finale

The End Is Here in the First Trailer for Squid Game 3

The Long Walk (2025) Official Trailer

The Third Crisis dawns in Foundation S3 teaser

New Old Guard 2 Trailer Sees Charlize Theron Cross Swords With Uma Thurman

The best travel show on Apple TV+ just made its triumphant return

Poker Face Season 2

Google is reportedly getting back into film and TV with a tech-friendly production initiative

Golden Globes Adding Best Podcast Category Beginning In 2026

APPS & DOODADS

Apple reportedly wants to split up the iPhone’s release schedule

Apple to add AI search partners to Safari as Google usage falls

Patreon update lets U.S. fans bypass Apple’s 30% fee in iOS app, more changes coming

Apps like Kindle are already taking advantage of court-mandated iOS App Store change

Disney’s Got a Star Wars Droid to Sell You…for $3,000

Smart Flowerpots,Smart Pet Planter,Ai Planter,Intelligent Flowerpots,Multiple Expressions,7 Smart Sensors, and Ai Chips Make Raising Plants Easy and Fun for Living Room,Plant-Free,Yellow

Trump administration plans to shutter money-saving Energy Star program

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Industrial Light & Magic: Into the Digital Realm

Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects

Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation

Digital Dreams: The Work of the Sony Design Center

Andor

Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld

Disney Just Announced a Brand New Theme Park: Disneyland Abu Dhabi

KISS : Total Lip Sync Fail in Antwerp Belgium 6 June 2022

KISS In Ear Monitor Feed with Click Track, Cues and FAKE VOCALS The Smoking Gun Eddie Trunk

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks—Mad Hatter edition—we kick things off with a refresher on Staingate and the joys of delamination (spoiler: it’s not a spa treatment). Then we dive into the U.S. government’s latest tech innovation: buying up domains that sound like QAnon Mad Libs in support of Trump’s meme coin. Meanwhile, DOGE decided to hand the steering wheel of housing regulations to a college kid and an AI. What could possibly go wrong? Not to be outdone, Elon shows up to a Trump meeting wearing two hats—one for each of his unchecked egos—and MoviePass launches a crypto-tied box office fantasy league, because we’ve clearly learned nothing.

In the actual news, 4chan has risen from the dead like a less hygienic Lazarus, but it’s still broken (shocker). Worldcoin’s eyeball-scanning overlords are now teaming up with Tinder and Visa—romance and capitalism, together at last. Bitcoin mining is officially more pointless than Beanie Babies, and Microsoft says AI now writes 30% of its code—explains a lot, really. Meta somehow manages to forecast $1.4 trillion in AI revenue while also letting its bots get horny with minors. Meanwhile, Pinterest suddenly pretends to care about AI slop (while being the biggest copyright vampire online), and ChatGPT gets less clingy after OpenAI dials back its update that made it sound like your overly supportive aunt. Plus: more AI lies, shady benchmarks, pillow guy legal drama, and a reminder that North Korean remote workers also hate awkward small talk.

We cool off with a Media Candy binge: Schmactors Season 2 is here, Andor returns, Conclave confuses us in the best way, and Ryan Coogler is giving X-Files a reboot we probably don’t deserve. Jeremy Renner turns down Disney’s lowball Hawkeye offer (respect), and musically we vibe with Maria Somerville and Anka Wolbert’s latest releases. In Apps & Doodads, Apple and Epic are back in court, Apple Arcade keeps feeding us Mahjong, and Meta’s Ray-Bans go full Stasi. Lyft wants your boomer parents off the road, and Google is sunsetting old Nest thermostats like it’s Logan’s Run for smart homes. Finally, we peek At the Library with Jason Pargin’s black box paranoia, Scalzi’s lunar love story, and a massive stack of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Rounding out the show: a shout-out to The Alarm’s Mike Peters, gone too soon at 66.

Sponsors:

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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/695

FOLLOW UP

Staingate 101: What is Delamination?

US Government Registered Several Websites Potentially Linked to Trump Meme Coin

DOGE Recruits College Kid to Help Rewrite Housing Regulations With AI

Elon Wears Two Hats During Trump Meeting in Desperate Bid for Attention

MoviePass Launches Box Office Betting Platform Unfortunately Tied to Crypto

IN THE NEWS

4chan is back after a nearly two-week shutdown, but it still has some serious problems

World partners with Tinder, Visa to bring its ID-verifying tech to more places

Bitcoin Mining Is No Longer Worth it

Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company's code was written by AI

Meta’s AI chatbots were reportedly able to engage in sexual conversations with minors

Meta forecasted it would make $1.4T in revenue from generative AI by 2035

OpenAI rolls back update that made ChatGPT a sycophantic mess

Study accuses LM Arena of helping top AI labs game its benchmark

Lawyer for MyPillow Founder Filed AI-Generated Brief with ‘Nearly 30’ Bogus Citations

Pinterest launches new tools to fight AI slop

Time saved by AI offset by new work created, study suggests

Undercover North Korean Remote Workers Hate This One Weird Question

MEDIA CANDY

Schmactors Season 2!

Andor

Conclave

Ryan Coogler Confirms X-Files Reboot Is His Next Project

Jeremy Renner Says Disney Offered Him Half His Hawkeye Wage for Season 2

Maria Somerville - Luster

Anka Wolbert - Cocoon Time

APPS & DOODADS

Epic Games just scored a win against Apple

Apple updates its App Store guidelines to allow external payment options

Meta Is Turning Its Ray-Bans Into a Surveillance Machine for AI

Apple Arcade Mahjong Titan+

Lyft Silver wants to keep your aging parents off the road

Google is cutting off support for these older Nest Thermostats — what you need to know

AT THE LIBRARY

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel by Jason Pargin

63 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in May

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

The Alarm frontman Mike Peters dies aged 66

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks, Fyre Festival rises from the ashes yet again—but not as a festival, because even Billy McFarland finally figured out he’s better at selling pipe dreams than tents. Meanwhile, Amazon and Microsoft are tapping the brakes on their AI data center dreams, Google’s AI keeps confidently explaining made-up nonsense like it’s gospel, and Kevin Roose once again tries to convince us to have empathy for the glorified autocomplete machines. (Spoiler: We won’t.) Also, OpenAI wants to buy Chrome even though they can barely afford their own lunch tabs, Perplexity says the quiet part loud about stalking your browser habits, and Meta lays off more VR developers while pretending they care about human rights.

In the “it’s all stupid, but at least it’s entertaining” department: Uber gets sued for making it harder to cancel than joining Scientology, Adam Neumann dupes investors again, sperm racing is now a real thing (and yes, there’s crypto involved), and Bluesky caves to the almighty blue checkmark. Plus, Affinity Suite reminds us you don’t have to sell a kidney to escape Adobe, The Wheel of Time gets an open-world game that’ll probably drop after the heat death of the universe, and Wednesday Season 2 is on the way, because Netflix refuses to let its only hits rest.

Stick around for The Dark Side with Dave where we grumble about Andor Season 2, lament bad writing decisions, geek out over old-school arcade games, and learn that memory colors are apparently a thing. Oh, and if you’re feeling fancy, go ahead and thank ChatGPT for wasting millions in server bills—because if Sam Altman’s crying about manners costing money, we’re grabbing the popcorn.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/694

FOLLOW UP

Fyre Festival is becoming a music streaming service that might not be a scam this time

Billy McFarland Is Selling Fyre Fest

IN THE NEWS

Amazon Follows Microsoft in Retreat From Ambitious AI Data Center Plans

You can trick Google's AI Overviews into explaining made-up idioms

Dan Rather’s Metaphors Anchored in Folksy Truisms

If A.I. Systems Become Conscious, Should They Have Rights?

A Strange Phrase Keeps Turning Up in Scientific Papers, But Why?

Google will keep third-party tracking cookies on Chrome as they are

OpenAI wants to buy Chrome and make it an “AI-first” experience

Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell 'hyper personalized' ads

ChatGPT’s responses will now include Washington Post articles

Sam Altman Admits That Saying "Please" and "Thank You" to ChatGPT Is Wasting Millions of Dollars in Computing Power

FTC sues Uber over claims the company makes subscriptions hard to cancel

Meta conducts layoffs in Oculus Studios, impacting VR exercise app Supernatural

Meta’s Oversight Board Is Worried Meta’s New Policies Will Harm Human Rights

Adam Neumann’s Flow raises $100M+, more than doubles valuation to $2.5B

Chinese AI startup Manus reportedly gets funding from Benchmark at $500M valuation

Two Guys, One Track: Sperm Racing Is Now a Thing—Yes, It Involves Crypto

RAMMS+EIN - 14.12.1997 – Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, United States

MEDIA CANDY

The Pitt

The Last of Us

Companion

The Order

Wednesday: Season 2 | Official Teaser Trailer | Netflix

Apple TV+ has its own spin on Indiana Jones, and it looks epic

Riot Fest 2025

APPS & DOODADS

Bluesky is getting blue checkmarks and an official verification system

Affinity Suite 2.6

The Wheel of Time Is Getting Its Own Open-World RPG Video Game

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Andor Season 2

The Glorious, Terrible Delirium of Mon Mothma’s Liberating Andor Moment

Light & Magic Season 2

Strong Songs - The Music of the Muppets

Arcade Game: Lunar Lander (1979 Atari)When arcade games were boring.

Hard Drivin' - Arcade

Tempest

Memory Colors

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we blast off with a tale as old as grift: Fyre Fest 2 has been postponed—again—proving that you really can fail upward if you squint hard enough and wear enough white linen. Over at Automattic, employees discovered secret watermarks in their internal comms, because what workplace isn’t better with a sprinkle of corporate surveillance cosplay? Meanwhile, Katy Perry took a joyride to the upper atmosphere with Gayle King and Bezos’ better half, giving us the 2025 edition of the cringiest “Imagine”-style celebrity moment yet. Spoiler: no one needed this.

In Elon World™, things are somehow even weirder. Seth Rogen dropped some truth bombs about Silicon Valley’s MAGA leanings, only to have them surgically removed from the Breakthrough Prize stream. Musk, for his part, is managing his growing empire of baby mamas like a Bond villain with a baby registry. Add in a cringe-filled offer to a YouTuber to become Space Karen’s next broodmare, and we’ve officially entered peak simulation. Meanwhile, whistleblowers are spilling DOGE secrets, OpenAI is building a social network (because we clearly don’t have enough doomscrolling options), and 4chan has finally been hacked into oblivion. Pour one out—for the internet’s dumpster fire.

Also in the news: Google lost a big ad tech monopoly case (cue tiny violins), China is no longer buying the “autonomous” car hype after a fatal crash, and Trump’s FCC chair is threatening Comcast for not being enough like Fox News (as if that’s the journalistic gold standard). The Pentagon’s nerd squad resigned after butting heads with DOGE, Reality Labs burned $45 billion like it was going out of style, and AI customer service bots are now inventing policies out of thin air. Oh, and if your AI thinks your Python package has a delivery issue—you’re not crazy, it probably hallucinated it. Welcome to the future.

Sponsors:

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1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password

Show notes at https://gog.show/693

FOLLOW UP

Fyre Fest 2 Postponed: “New Date Will Be Announced”

Following Layoffs, Automattic Employees Discover Leak-Catching Watermarks

IN THE NEWS

Unfortunately for Katy Perry, That “Space Flight” Turned Out Exactly How We All Knew It Would

We Finally Have 2025’s “Imagine” Video

Let them eat space

Seth Rogen’s Criticism of Silicon Valley’s Support for Trump Was Cut From the “Full” Stream of Breakthrough Prize

The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers

Glamorous influencer Tiffany Fong breaks silence on Elon Musk's 'offer to impregnate her' with shocking statement

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data

Electronics exempted from reciprocal tariffs will soon be subject to new semiconductor tariffs instead

Google loses ad tech monopoly case

China cracks down on 'autonomous' car claims after fatal accident

Trump’s FCC chair threatens Comcast, demands changes to NBC news coverage

OpenAI is building a social network

4chan Likely Gone Forever After Hackers Take Control

Company apologizes after AI support agent invents policy that causes user uproar

Pentagon tech unit resigns after clash with Musk's DOGE

What Does a Corrupt Election Look Like?

Tesla puts finishing touches on Hollywood charge-n-diner

Inside the $45 billion cash burn at Reality Labs

We Have a Package for You! A Comprehensive Analysis of Package Hallucinations by Code Generating LLMs

The business of the AI labs by Max Bolingbroke

MEDIA CANDY

Killing an Arab on Pandora

Apple’s ‘Mythic Quest’ is ending with an updated Season 4 finale

Side Quest

Night of the Zoopocalypse

Black Mirror

Daredevil

The Last of Us

G20

28 Years Later Rises From the Grave With a New Trailer

'Real Time' host Bill Maher says President Trump was "gracious" and "not fake" during his White House visit.

Bringing Down a Dictator

Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World by Srdja Popovic

APPS & DOODADS

Apple is reportedly working on two new versions of the Vision Pro

Ilya Bezdelev 🎙️ metacast.app

Metacast Ep. 68: Q1 Update - new features, struggles, hope

Spotify was down – here's everything we know about its huge outage

AT THE LIBRARY

British authors want Meta to answer for alleged copyright infringement

Amazon will use AI to generate recaps for book series on the Kindle

‪David Schachner on BlueSky

The Warehouse by Rob Hart

Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant

The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival by Richard Bienstock & Tom Beajour

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel by Jason Pargin

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Disney Teases Its Adventurous New Lion King and Up Rides

The Star Wars that George Lucas didn't want you to see is coming to the big screen

STAR WARS in the UK (1977)

‘End of an era’: The last RadioShack in Maryland is closing its doors

The Alligator King and his seven sons.

Sesame Street: Alligator King

Ladybug picnic

Lowercase N

Letter B

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

RIP Jed Gould, aka Jed the Fish aka Jeddum Fishum

1997 KROQ Calendar Commercial Featuring Jed The Fish

DJ Jed “The Fish”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, the boys kick things off with some serious déjà vu as Fyre Fest’s favorite grifter promises he’s totally throwing another festival — because nothing says “I’ve changed” like doubling down on the same scam. Meanwhile, the IRS decided to become ICE’s BFF by casually sharing migrant tax data, and their commissioner moonwalks out right after. Also: Microsoft’s long game of “let OpenAI set the money on fire while we build empires” is going exactly as planned.

In the news, it’s Elon all day: Starlink might be doing the same government freebie hustle Microsoft perfected, DOGE is monitoring your comms for anti-Musk snark, and apparently has enough data on your family to build Black Mirror Season 8. Tesla’s financials are circling the drain so hard they won’t even take their own Cybertrucks back as trade-ins, but don’t worry — Elon’s ready to bail out Twitter/xAI with monopoly money. Over in the UK, the cops are one coffee away from full Minority Report, and MIT confirms what we already knew: AI doesn’t have morals, just vibes. Speaking of AI, someone sent an avatar to court. Yes, really.

In Media Candy, it’s a smorgasbord: The White Lotus is back, Murderbot looks like a win, and the Tron: Ares trailer wants you to care again. There’s also a full Ask A Ninja drop for your 2006 nostalgia, and “Donald Trump Rides a Cock Horse” makes us long for the innocent absurdity of Morrissey Rides a Cockhorse. Over in Apps & Doodads, we’ve got AI dumbbells (because of course), Instagram still pretending the iPad doesn’t exist, and the Scotty Peeler — the tool you didn’t know you needed. Finally, Dave’s back in The Darkside, riffing on malware, The Owl House, and how ChatGPT sometimes gives your image prompts a side of Lovecraftian horror. RIP to some true legends: Dave Allen, Al Barile, and Clem Burke — your music lives louder than ever.

Sponsors:

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SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!

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Show notes at https://gog.show/692

FOLLOW UP

Fyre Fest Founder Insists Another Festival Is Coming

I.R.S. Agrees to Share Migrants’ Tax Information With ICE

IRS agrees to share tax data with immigration authorities

Acting IRS commissioner resigning after agency reaches data-sharing deal with immigration authorities

Microsoft’s AI masterplan: Let OpenAI burn cash, then build on their successes

IN THE NEWS

Microsoft Hooked the Government on Its Products With Freebies. Could Elon Musk’s Starlink Be Doing the Same?

Social Security Website Crashes Blamed on DOGE Software Update

DOGE is reportedly using AI to monitor government comms for anti-Musk and anti-Trump chatter

Here's All of the Data That Elon Musk's DOGE May Have on You and Your Family

DOGE Is About to Get DOGE’d

UK is going full Minority Report with ‘murder prediction’ research

MIT study finds that AI doesn't, in fact, have values

Elon Musk sets the stage for Tesla to bail out Twitter/xAI at an insane valuation

Tesla Is So Cooked That It's Now Refusing to Accept Cybertrucks as Trade-Ins

Justice Department Says It Will Pull Back on Prosecuting Crypto Fraud

Citation Needed - Issue 81 – Crypto crime is legal by Molly White

Reflexive AI use isn’t optional anymore

Tech founder charged with fraud for 'AI' that was secretly overseas contract workers

Pro Tip: Don’t Send Your AI Avatar to Testify for You in Court

Trump’s TikTok Plan Upended by Chinese Objections Over Tariffs

France to ban students from keeping smartphones in schools

A Tiny Piece of Mouse Brain Has Finally Been Mapped in Mindblowing Detail

MEDIA CANDY

The White Lotus

The Studio

Devil May Cry

Black Mirror Season 7

Ask A Ninja Omnibus What Year Is This?

The Pitt

Tron: Ares‘ First Trailer Brings Us to a Whole New Grid

Tron: Ares | Official Trailer

The Murderbot TV show trailer is here

Murderbot — Official Trailer | Apple TV+

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) - Tom Cruise

Brian Eno’s Windows Reboot Chime Inducted Into National Recording Registry

There’s No Future in Optimism

Tripla

Pearlies

Lonely Town

Donald Trump Rides a Cock Horse

Decades After "Morrissey Rides a Cockhorse," Moz Is "Way Worse"

Morrissey Rides A Cockhorse - Warlock Pinchers

APPS & DOODADS

Macbook Air 15“

Scotty Peeler - Label and Sticker Remover

Slipdrive - Portable Hard Drive Sleeve for Laptop

The year is 2025, and Instagram is reportedly 'working on' an iPad app

Nova by Panic

Derek Sivers - Tech Independence

Kabata - The world’s first AI powered dumbbells

Nintendo delays Switch 2 US pre-orders following Trump tariffs

BUSY Bar

Amazon Haul

Mob Control

United States Disappeared Tracker

THE DARKSIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

The Owl House

Eerie, Indiana

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

Dave Allen, Gang of Four Bassist, Dead at 69

Al Barile, Guitarist for Hardcore Pioneers SSD, Dead at 63

Blondie Drummer Clem Burke Dead at 70

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, the Geeks wade into a swamp of tech meltdowns, governmental facepalms, and the usual Elon-flavored absurdity. Kicking things off, protesters take their beef with Tesla to the streets while Proud Boys decide this is the hill to vroom and die on. Meanwhile, Elon’s privacy prayers have finally been answered—thanks to new FAA rules, he and Tay-Tay can jet around untracked like it’s 1999. Oh, and while Earth dodges a killer asteroid, the Moon might be signing up for an unplanned smackdown. Sorry, Luna.

In the news, Signal’s reputation as the go-to encrypted app takes a nosedive thanks to Republican Senate drama and an Inspector General with receipts. The NSA warned us. Nobody listened. Now it’s “SignalGate” season. Elon continues his narcissist Voltron strategy by having xAI buy X (from Elon). Trump, meanwhile, is moonwalking into a $2.3B Truth Social payday, while his meme coin tanks post-tariff tantrum. OpenAI flexes with new AGI funding and 700M AI-generated images (probably 699M of them cursed), while the first therapy chatbot actually helps someone and a brain-voice interface starts sounding a lot like Skynet: The Prequel. Oh, and in shocking news: Trump’s war on “information silos” is code for “your personal data is about to be someone else’s business.”

Media Candy serves up a grab bag from punk docs (Turn It Around) to jungle pulp throwbacks (Tales of the Gold Monkey), and yes—Stephen Collins is still problematic. Apple’s prepping new AI-powered health apps, emoji drops, and a food tab for News+, because why not. WhatsApp now wants to be your phone, Alexa+ disappoints, and Zuckerberg tries to make Facebook usable again with a “Friends-only” feed. Meanwhile, Bill Gates pulls a nostalgia flex by dropping OG Microsoft source code like it’s a rare vinyl. In other dark corners: Kermit the Frog is now giving commencement speeches, Val Kilmer sadly exits stage left, and Elon fails in his bid to buy a state supreme court. Hands off, Elon. Just… hands off.

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1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password

DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.

Show notes at https://gog.show/691

FOLLOW UP

Crowds Turn Out Across the U.S. for ‘Tesla Takedown’ Protests

The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla’s Defense

Taylor Swift and Elon Can Finally Fly Private Without Being Tracked Thanks to New FAA Rule

Earth Is Safe From Menacing Asteroid—but Our Moon Might Take the Hit

IN THE NEWS

Republican chair of Senate Armed Services Committee calls for investigation into Signal chat

DoD Inspector General Says He’s Looking Into SignalGate

Waltz’s team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world

NSA warned of vulnerabilities in Signal app a month before Houthi strike chat

Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency

xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk's social media company

Trump kicks off sale of $2.3bn Truth Social stake

You’ll Never Guess What Happened to Trump’s Meme Coin After He Announced His Tariffs

OpenAI: New funding to build towards AGI

Oxygen Levels in Earth's Lakes Are Plummeting, Study Reveals

ChatGPT users have generated over 700M images since last week, OpenAI says

First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits

US Senate committee opens review into Meta’s efforts to gain access to China

Brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis restores naturalistic speech

Generative AI Leadership & Strategy Specialization

President Trump’s War on ‘Information Silos’ Is Bad News for Your Personal Data

MEDIA CANDY

The White Lotus

The Studio

Orphan Black: Echoes

Orphan Black

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Tales of the Gold Monkey

Stephen Collins

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk

Genres are bustin’ out all over in Strange New Worlds S3 teaser

Ferris Bueller's teacher schools Trump on tariffs

APPS & DOODADS

Project 2025 Tracker

Apple is reportedly on track to launch the M5 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro later this year

Apple is said to be developing a revamped Health app with a built-in AI doctor

iOS 18.4 is available now with new emoji, Apple News+ Food and priority notifications

Change the default apps on iPhone

WhatsApp can be your default calling and texting app on iPhone

Alexa+ is out, but missing a lot of features Amazon demoed last month

Facebook’s new Friends-only feed ditches all the algorithmic junk

Bill Gates Publishes Original Microsoft Source Code in a Blog Post

Red Salsa

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Kermit the Frog named University of Maryland commencement speaker

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

Val Kilmer, Top Gun Actor and One-Time Batman, Dead at 65

Elon Musk tried to buy Wisconsin's Supreme Court. He lost.

Hands Off!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.