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In 1993, five bucks at a drive-thru could feed a family. Today, it barely covers a soda. In this story, Aaron Calafato takes us through the chaos of the modern fast-food experience—wrong orders, long waits, and the creeping perfection of AI drive-thrus. What starts as a rant about overpriced combo meals becomes something deeper: a meditation on imperfection, nostalgia, and what we lose when machines get everything right.
🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new YouTube Channel—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...
And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.
The Team:
Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato
Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt
Additional vocals: Cori Calafato
Artist in Residence: Pete Whitehead
Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke
Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring
Special Thanks:
Rob Montague Jr
Kyle McCarthy
Dania Khalife
5
151151 ratings
In 1993, five bucks at a drive-thru could feed a family. Today, it barely covers a soda. In this story, Aaron Calafato takes us through the chaos of the modern fast-food experience—wrong orders, long waits, and the creeping perfection of AI drive-thrus. What starts as a rant about overpriced combo meals becomes something deeper: a meditation on imperfection, nostalgia, and what we lose when machines get everything right.
🎙️ Listen to Aaron tell stories and talk with special guests live during Night Stories on its new YouTube Channel—these late-night sessions go live every Thursday starting @ 9:30PM EST and going into the late night hours...
And as a 7 Minute Stories listener, you get first dibs: skip the ads on YouTube and unlock VIP access to Aaron’s audio-only private studio! It’s like having your own radio feed in your pocket. Get year-round, commercial-free access to Night Stories—and join the amazing community we’re building—just by subscribing to the 7MS Newsletter.
The Team:
Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato
Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt
Additional vocals: Cori Calafato
Artist in Residence: Pete Whitehead
Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke
Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring
Special Thanks:
Rob Montague Jr
Kyle McCarthy
Dania Khalife
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