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Marc once again drags Renee into a museum. This time the “Hall of Money." Five thousand years of humans trying (and mostly failing) to automate trust. From clay tablets that doubled as IOUs to Renaissance double-entry bookkeeping, colonial funny-money, credit cards born of embarrassment, and machines that now pay each other while we sleep, this episode follows money’s long journey.

Along the way: Marc confesses his favourite room at the British Museum, Renee recounts the chaos of American “Continentals,” and both realise the future isn’t about moving money at all, it’s about answering the underlying questions of trust.

Couple of notes from Marc - This is a bit longer, but breaking it up didn't feel right. The thread of trust stitches the past, present, and future together and I didn't want to lose that. It's a good listen in any case.

Check out Planet Money - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money/
Jacob Goldstein, Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money
David Birch, Identity is the New Money - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22227908-identity-is-the-new-money?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_25

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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Warning up front - we discuss some ethical conundrums and situations with tech. There's one mention of suicide and we talk about the Manhattan Project. We're respectful, but we just wanted to put it out there. 

Every breakthrough in technology brings the same old question: just because we can, should we? In this episode of The Nostalgic Nerds Podcast, Marc and Renee are joined by tech ethicist, Chris McClean, for a time-traveling look at innovation’s moral blind spots...from Gutenberg’s press and the Luddite rebellion to nuclear power, the internet, and the AI boom. Together they unpack why humans seem incapable of debating ethics before the damage is done and why Big Tech isn’t likely to break the cycle. Along the way, they ask what responsibility inventors, executives, and even end-users really carry as we keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Ethical challenges will always echo throughout the ages and tech just makes those echoes louder.

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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Printers used to be the villains of the office...loud, cranky, and prone to eating your best work right before a deadline. But somewhere between the screech of a dot matrix and the hiss of a resin vat, something changed. Printing got interesting. Really interesting.

In this episode, we trace the unlikely glow-up of one of tech’s most unloved inventions. From the early days of line feeds and perforated paper to the high-precision world of additive manufacturing, we explore how the humble printer became a platform for creation. 

Renee and Marc dive into the science, the utility, and the sheer weirdness of turning digital files into physical objects. Along the way, they ask: when a printer can make a jet engine, a human ear, or a house, is it even a printer anymore? Or has “printing” quietly become the most transformative technology of them all?

Because somewhere between ink and imagination, the printer stopped copying—and started inventing. One layer, one atom, one organ at a time.

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Welcome to the second half of our big-top breakdown, where the circus goes digital, and the clowns have ring lights. Wait...did we just call ourselves clowns? 

Marc and Renee dive into the wild world of influencer culture, brand risk, and the not-so-distant future of agentic commerce — where your shopping bot might be negotiating with another bot for the best deal while you sleep.

It’s a world where authenticity is currency, trust is optional, and your favourite influencer might not even be human. (Honestly, Barnum would’ve signed them immediately).

So grab your popcorn and prepare for the algorithmic sideshow. The spectacle hasn’t gone away, it just learned to optimise.

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Step right up and join Marc and Renee in this captivating episode of The Nostalgic Nerds Podcast where they embark on an exhilarating journey exploring the interplay between the magnificent world of P.T. Barnum's 19th-century circus and the high-tech realm of modern digital marketing. With a shared passion for technology and culture, our hosts unpack the evolution of marketing from the dazzling spectacle of the circus to the sophisticated algorithms that now dictate the digital advertising landscape.

This is just the first part - next episode we get into the modern era and look to the future with AI and agentic marketing. You though Google knew too much about you??? Just wait until the bots start crafting hyper-targeted advertising JUST FOR YOU.

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This is Part 2 of our 2 part Theme Park episode!

Roller coasters and databases have the same issues: concurrency, throughput, and panic when things go wrong. Theme parks are basically enterprise technology, just with more churros and slightly fewer COBOL programmers.

Join Renee and Marc on another thrilling episode of the Nostalgic Nerds Podcast where we discuss the adventurous and thrilling theme park technology space. As always, we start in the past with the origins of modern parks and rides and soar all the way to modern day before we discuss the future of theme park tech. This episode had such a nostalgia vibe for us that we had to break it into two! Join us for both episodes!

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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Roller coasters and databases have the same issues: concurrency, throughput, and panic when things go wrong. Theme parks are basically enterprise technology, just with more churros and slightly fewer COBOL programmers.

Join Renee and Marc on another thrilling episode of the Nostalgic Nerds Podcast where we discuss the adventurous and thrilling theme park technology space. As always, we start in the past with the origins of modern parks and rides and soar all the way to modern day before we discuss the future of theme park tech. This episode had such a nostalgia vibe for us that we had to break it into two! Join us for both episodes!

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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From Clippy’s awkward pop-ups to agentic AI plotting your next conquest, Marc and Renee laugh through the evolution of digital assistants. Annoying, nostalgic, and now maybe just a little too smart.

Hop on the nostalgia train! This week on the Nostalgic Nerds Podcast, hosts Renee and Marc whisk listeners away on a whimsical exploration of digital assistants, from the often-beloved but clunky Clippy to the advanced AI tools redefining corporate enterprises today.
Dusting off memories of the late ‘90s, they delve into Clippy’s earnest, if not frustrating, attempts to guide users through Microsoft Office's complexities, establishing a foundation for today's sleek AI assistants. Renee and Marc connect the dots between retro figures like IBM's ReacTOR and Ask Jeeves to modern champions such as Siri and Alexa, illustrating how digital help has evolved from rudimentary functions to highly intelligent systems.
The conversation shifts to the awesome power of AI in the present day. Once seen as a novelty, it's now transforming efficiency and creativity in workplaces. They discuss current trends that showcase AI's potential to enhance productivity while reshaping content creation and marketing strategies.
But it’s not all fun and games! Renee raises pressing questions about the ethical implications of AI-driven art and content, pondering the blurred lines of creativity ownership and the necessity for robust guidelines in an ever-changing technological landscape.
As the episode wraps up, listeners are left contemplating the thrilling possibilities and challenges that lie ahead as we forge a future interconnected with AI. Join the Nostalgic Nerds for a journey filled with laughter, insight, and a dash of curiosity. Don’t forget to subscribe, share your thoughts, and keep those nerdy vibes alive!

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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Hold onto your tabloids! This week on the Nostalgic Nerds Podcast, Renee Murphy and Marc Massar explore the wild frontier where technology meets misinformation, tracing the outrageous claims that have captivated audiences across decades.
From Bat Boy's tabloid fame to the chaotic spread of urban legends, the duo examines why we’re drawn to sensational headlines like a moth to a flame. They dissect the evolution of misinformation—from humble magazine racks to the sprawling digital web of conspiracy theories fueled by anonymity on platforms like 4chan.
Diving deep into the rise of QAnon, Renee and Marc shed light on how today's shocking content manipulates truth and fuels societal panic. Through engaging discussions, they highlight the urgent need for media literacy and critical thinking in our tech-driven age.
So join us for a laugh and some head-scratching moments as the Nostalgic Nerds unveil the bizarre ties between technology, culture, and the captivating allure of misinformation.
Love a good conspiracy theory? Don’t forget to rate, share, and subscribe! We’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. Keep those nerdy vibes alive!

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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To answer the burning questions from the episode - Could you buy dogs from the Sears catalog? Yes.

Could you buy narcotics from the Sears catalog? Yes.

How does Renee pronounce "downtown?" Well, listen in.

By the 1970's Sears represented 1% of US GDP and two-thirds of American households shopped at Sears. Like for like, if you look at Amazon's US revenue (because Sears was mostly US in the 1970's), then Amazon is about 1.7% of US GDP today. Significant, but not orders of magnitude out. What has tech enabled for Amazon that Sears didn't have? 

Renee and Marc explore the evolution of shopping, from the iconic Sears catalog to modern e-commerce giant Amazon. Reflecting on their experiences, they discuss how the catalog revolutionized retail for rural families and the cultural significance of flipping through glossy pages and how evolving the tech stack enabled broader reach for each of these businesses.

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

email us at [email protected]