This week on MacStories Unwind, John escaped the big freeze, the Club came home to MacStories, plus TV picks, and Brendon Bigley dropped in to say "hi" and share a pick.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

Club MacStories is Now on MacStories.net

• Welcome to the New, Unified MacStories and Club MacStories
• The New Club MacStories: Re-Subscribing to Your RSS Feeds and What's Coming Next

Picks

• Federico's Pick:
• High Potential
• John's Pick:
• Hijack on Apple TV
• Brendon Bigley's Impromptu Pick
• Culinary Class Wars on Netflix

Unwind Deal

🌊 The Lighthouse is just $4.99 in the TV app.

Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe star in this acclaimed psychological horror from the director of The Witch.

Affiliate link: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-lighthouse/umc.cmc.2gh13feg8tcy7lr2fzv2q09b7?at=1001l3bhP&ct=unwind_deal

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This week on MacStories Unwind, John shrugs off a once-in-a-decade winter storm and watches a great movie, while Federico has a returning comedy series to share.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

Snowmageddon

• Ice threat continues to grow as weekend winter storm nears Carolinas
• When was the last time Charlotte had a significant ice storm?

Picks

• Federico's Pick:
• A Man on the Inside on Netflix
• A Man on the Inside Season 2 Cast. Plot, Release Date: Meet the Stars Joining Ted Danson, First Look Photos
• John's Pick:
• Licorice Pizza

Unwind Deal

• 🍄 The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just $9.99 in the TV app.

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico unpacks Clawdbot, a Claude-based personal assistant and recommends an Apple TV move, while John revisits an old favorite on the Nintendo Switch.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

Unplugged Segment

• Clawdbot
• ClawdHub
• Peter Steinberger on Bluesky

Picks

• Federico's Pick:
• Family Plan 2 on Apple TV
• John's Pick:
• Animal Crossing New Horizons

Unwind Deal

• Licorice Pizza: Paul Thomas Anderson's critically acclaimed coming-of-age tale follows Alana Kane and Gary Valentine as they navigate love and life in 1973 San Fernando Valley. This Academy Award nominated film features breakout performances and Anderson's signature nostalgic storytelling style.

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This week, Federico and John share how they unwound during their holiday break, John has a report on CES 2026, Federico recommends Avatar Fire and Ash, and John does a Parks and Rec rewatch and has a superhero movie deal for listeners.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

CES Weirdness

• My Favorite Gear From CES 2026 – and Some Weird and Wonderful Gadgets, Too

Picks

• Federico's Pick:
• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• Add to your Apple TV Watch List
• John's Pick:
• Parks and Recreation: The Complete Series

Unwind Deal

• Thunderbolts: The New Avengers
• One of John's 2025 best movies of the year picks

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This week, Federico and John close out the year by sharing their favorite music of 2025.

The Best Albums of 2025

• Federico's Picks
• Forgiving Spree by Slowly Slowly
• Idols by Youngblud
• NSFW by The Paradox
• Better Days by Yellowcard
• Qualifying Miles by We Are Scientists
• Album of the Year: Pruning of the Limbs by Moving Mountains
• John's Picks
• (my world is an) oyster by Chloe Moriando
• Modern Romance by Chloe Qisha
• Ego Death at the Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams
• Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 by Lord Huron
• Tunnel Vision by Beach Bunny
• Album of the Year: Living While Dying by fanclubwallet

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Affiliate Linking Policy: https://www.macstories.net/privacy-policy/

This week, Federico and John share their favorite videogames of 2025.

Also available on YouTube here.

This episode is sponsored by:

• Sequel – Track Now. Enjoy Later.

Links and Show Notes

2025's Best Videogames

• Federico's Backlog:
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Hades II
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Despelote
• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
• FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles
• John's Backlog:
• Metroid Prime 4
• Hades II
• Dispatch
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
• Unbeatable
• Federico's Top Games:
• Mario Kart World
• Megabonk
• Ball x Pit
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Federico's No. 1 Game:
• Metroid Prime 4
• John's Top Games:
• Ball x Pit
• Mario Kart World
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Sektori
• John's No. 1 Game:
• Donkey Kong Bananza

Unwind Deal

🕹️🌐⚡️ Catch up on the Tron universe with all three movies for just $39.97 in the TV app. Enjoy three neon-soaked sci-fi adventures where humans get pulled into a digital world of deadly games, rogue programs, and high-speed light cycles.

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This week, Federico and John share their favorite TV shows and movies of 2025.

Also available on YouTube here.

This episode is sponsored by:

• Sequel – Track Now. Enjoy Later.

Links and Show Notes

2025's Best Movies and TV Shows

• John's Movie Pick:
• Fantastic Four: First Steps
• Thunderbolts
• Alien Romulus
• Federico's Picks:
• Pre–2025 Shows:
• Friends
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• 2025 Releases:
• Running Point
• Nobody Wants This
• Severance on Apple TV
• Hacks
• John's TV Picks:
• Task
• Slow Horses on Apple TV
• Say Nothing
• The book
• The audiobook

Unwind Deal

Today's Apple's Holiday Box Set of the Day is a great one: Buffy the Vampire Slayer for just $14.99.

A teenage girl secretly battles vampires and other monsters while trying to survive high school and growing up.

If you've never watched Buffy, it's worth checking out or revisiting if you've already seen it.

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This week, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Federico is curious about American TV and has a TV pick, while John follows up on a couple of TV shows and other media he's looking forward to in the coming weeks.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

U.S. TV Affiliate System

• Wikipedia

Picks

• Federico's Pick:
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• John's Follow Up Picks and Upcoming Media Plans:
• The Last Frontier and Loot - both on Apple TV
• Stranger Things
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine rewatch
• Metroid Prime 4

Unwind Deal

• Star Trek: The Next Generation Boxed Set

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This week, Federico and John explore tech nostalgia and the importance of tech history before picking a new TV series and music artist.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

Tech Nostalgia Versus Tech History

• NPC: Next Portable Console, GameCube To Go

Picks

• John's Pick:
• Down Cemetery Road on Apple TV
• Federico's Pick:
• American Motor Sports (420 CC Edition) by Bilmuri

Unwind Deal

• John's Favorite Christmas Movies (It's early, I know, but there are some great deals right now.)
• Classics
• White Christmas
• It's A Wonderful Life
• Comedy
• Christmas Vacation
• A Christmas Story
• Wait, That's a Christmas Movie:
• Die Hard
• Trading Places
• So Bad It's Good
• Hot Frosty on Netflix
• 8-Bit Christmas

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This week, John shares how he plans weekend activities with Instagram and Apple Maps, Federico tests dictation apps, and both share their first impressions of the new Apple TV show Pluribus.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes

John's Weekend Excursion Workflow

• Instagram + Apple Maps Guides and the beta Places You've Been feature

Federico's Dictation App Experiments

• Drafts
• Wispr Flow
• Raycast for iOS

Joint Pick

• Pluribus on Apple TV

Unwind Deal

• Dunkirk is just $7.99 in the TV app

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