HudZah (https://x.com/hud_zah) is someone exploring what it means, and what it takes, to operate at the edge of what is possible.

In this conversation, we traced HudZah's path from Riyadh to Sri Lanka to Waterloo. A childhood split across three countries, shaped by rationed wifi, a single HP desktop, and the discovery that what you build on a computer can change the world around you. We talked about coding HTML on Notepad at ten, building soundboard apps that funded his own move to Canada, and what it's like to grow up in a place with no permits, no regulators, and no one telling you what you can't do.

We explored the birth of esports through Half-Life mods, the machines behind the food we love, and a baklava maker in San Francisco whose irrational pursuit of quality you can taste in a single bite. We discussed how AI is collapsing the walls between disciplines, what that does to the identities we built around expertise, and why individual agency might be the only variable that matters now.

This is a conversation about curiosity, permission, and what happens when the cost of crossing boundaries drops to zero.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:38 Growing Up in Riyadh
00:05:59 Saudi Shawarma and Broasted Chicken
00:16:39 School in Saudi Arabia
00:21:48 The HP Desktop and First Lines of Code
00:25:55 YouTube Rabbit Holes and Gaming
00:45:35 The Birth of Esports
01:02:43 Valve's Employee Handbook
01:05:12 Indie Games and Pure Pursuit
01:06:05 Stardew Valley and ConcernedApe
01:07:03 Moving to Sri Lanka
01:10:34 SnapAPaper and Seeing Real Users
01:13:47 Soundboards, Shopify, and Funding the Move
01:27:38 Landing in Canada at 17
01:36:25 AI and Collapsing the Distance Between Disciplines
01:47:02 Identity, Expertise, and Permission Structures
02:00:32 The Baklava Maker in San Francisco
02:18:26 Machines Behind the Food We Love
02:36:02 Frederic Tudor and the Ice King
02:42:29 HudZah Flips the Interview
02:49:05 Being a Parent

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

The music used during the introduction is "Sitting by the Lake in Zurich" by Sweatson Klank. Available on Bandcamp: https://sweatsonklank.bandcamp.com/track/sitting-by-the-lake-in-zurich

Ahmed Saleh, Steven Yuen, and Gabriel O’Flaherty-Chan of Falcon (https://falcon.so/). Falcon is a new design tool for curious designers. Their team is based in the West End of Toronto.

In this episode, we explored the games, tools, and software that shaped each of us growing up, from Doom and Zelda to Macromedia Flash and KidPix, and how those early experiences rewired our understanding of what computers could be. We discussed Falcon’s approach to building creative tools: the idea that anything can be anything if you expose the right primitives, the concept of mutation as a design principle, and why the beginning of the creative process deserves far more attention than the optimization at the end. Along the way, Gabe walked us through ray tracing from first principles, demonstrated geometry nodes in Blender, and showed how Falcon can turn math into fire, visuals into audio, and signals into whatever you want them to be.

We talked about why most design tools today are built around optimization rather than expression, the false thesis of simplicity, and how the dimensions of the tools we inherit quietly become the boundaries of what we think is possible.

This is a conversation about software, self-expression, and how the tools we use shape the world we live in.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro
00:01:42 Doom and id Software
00:16:14 Open World Games
00:36:05 Ray Tracing
00:45:14 Blender Demo
00:50:07 Early Web
00:56:20 Macromedia Flash Era
01:00:34 2Advanced
01:10:52 KidPix and Expressive Tools
01:21:03 Mutations in Design Tooling
01:30:41 Node Editors and Falcon
01:44:45 AI and Creative Tools
01:49:59 Craftsmanship and Intent
02:00:50 Worldview Over Technology
02:09:03 Making Fire with Math
02:17:28 Information Density
02:28:40 Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Tommy Trinh (@tommytrinh) is a co-founder of New.

In this episode, we explored Stewart Brand's pace layering diagram and the slow-moving forces underneath everything – culture, myths, values, and the narrative structures that have been recurring throughout the history of humankind. We kept finding the Epic of Gilgamesh in places we didn't expect: anime, wrestling, video games. From there we traced the evolution of games as a medium, from early first-person shooters to souls-like difficulty to simulators to AI-generated worlds, and what each genre reveals about why people play.

The last stretch of the conversation was about something harder to name. We shared how things have started to feel uninspiring, how it feels like we're in a state of limbo between how the world used to work and whatever comes next. The meta is too visible, media feels formulaic, and the thresholds that used to structure our sense of what's possible have quietly dissolved. What is even unknown anymore when an LLM can explain anything? Does the value of direct experience go up as the baseline of what's virtually accessible rises? What are the new thresholds? How do you posture yourself within a shift you can feel but can't fully articulate?

This is a conversation about the stories we keep telling, the games we keep playing, and what becomes worth pursuing when the map has been filled in.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:23 Pace Layering & Myths
00:15:13 The Epic of Gilgamesh
00:25:46 GoldenEye & id Software
00:41:48 The Neo Geo
00:57:38 NBA Jam & Def Jam
01:02:13 Wrestling is Anime
01:19:53 Souls-like
01:30:38 Simulators & Realism
01:47:28 AI in Games
02:05:48 Death Stranding & Kojima
02:15:40 Yellowknife
02:32:03 Searching for New Frames
02:52:00 Baselines & Thresholds
03:01:15 Frequency, Intensity, & Speed
03:06:38 Nostalgia & Primitive Technology

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Andrew McLuhan (@amicusadastra) is a poet, artist, and punk-rocker.

In this conversation, we spent over three hours on five words: the medium is the message. Andrew explained why his grandfather saw the medium as an environment rather than just an instrument, and why environments shape us most when we’re not paying attention to them. We talked about the miracle of language—how one person can push sounds out of their mouth and another person can understand them—and how each new technology quietly redefines what it means to be human.

We explored figure and ground, oral versus literate culture, the shift from mechanical to electrical ages, and why hip hop and punk rock share the same irreverent impulse. Despite everything, Andrew is an optimist. He sees the beauty around him. He also brought homemade maple syrup from his farm and we discussed whether shawarma was the medium or the message.

This is a conversation about media, perception, and how we might not always be aware of the things changing us.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:30 Prince Edward County & Main Duck Island
00:07:10 The Marysburg Vortex
00:16:50 What Does “The Medium Is The Message” Actually Mean?
00:36:24 The Smartphone Exercise
00:44:26 Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man
01:08:56 Buckminster Fuller & Interdisciplinary Thinking
01:25:56 Marshall’s Journey to Cambridge
01:43:06 Why This Work Matters
01:51:53 AI, Privacy & Feeding Context to LLMs
02:00:17 Media Ecology vs Media Literacy
02:08:12 Making Maple Syrup
02:23:44 Sandwiches as a Medium
02:34:35 The Polydicks & Punk Rock
02:45:51 Wu-Tang & Poetry
02:53:42 Leaving Literacy Behind
03:06:08 The Future of Technology

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Aidan Gomez (@aidangomez) is a computer scientist, co-author of the seminal paper ‘Attention Is All You Need,’ and the CEO of Cohere.

In this episode, we discussed his upbringing in the cabin his grandfather built in Codrington, a small town North of Brighton, and the values that were instilled in him through his family. We explored his path from Codrington to his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, emailing Geoffrey Hinton, and joining Google Brain where he co-wrote the paper on transformers.

We discussed how he met his co-founders Ivan Zhang and Nick Frosst, and his insights on what it means to build a meaningful, successful company in Canada. Aidan shares his conviction about what is at stake—for Canada and for the world at large.

This is a conversation about family, values, and what it means to live with conviction.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro
00:03:10 The Malleability of Toronto
00:11:06 Growing Up in Codrington
00:13:50 The Story of Aidan Gomez’s Family
00:27:23 Introduction to the Internet
00:30:39 Values and Work Ethic
00:35:46 University of Toronto’s AI Scene
00:40:48 Emailing Geoffrey Hinton
00:42:16 Google Brain
00:45:15 Dropout: A Simple Way to Prevent Neural Networks from Overfitting
00:49:48 The Beauty of Research
00:54:24 One Model to Rule Them All
00:59:54 Meeting Ivan Zhang and Nick Frosst
01:04:00 The Birth of Cohere
01:06:56 Twitter Influencers and Alex Friedland
01:11:48 Being the CEO
01:12:51 Building for Canada
01:15:01 Three Fundamental Ingredients of Building a Company
01:21:39 Working with the Canadian Government
01:24:39 Reflexivity in Canada
01:36:22 What Is Evil?
01:42:40 The Role of AI in the World

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Steph Ango (@kepano) is a designer, entrepreneur, and the CEO of Obsidian.

In this episode, we discussed his journey from creating Winamp skins to leading Obsidian, and the fundamental patterns and inclinations that drive everything he explores and makes. We discussed Obsidian on multiple different dimensions, his deluxe chocolate chip cookie recipe, his exploration through furniture design, and his default inclination to push “too far” into anything he is exploring. Steph Ango demo'd the design process of several furniture projects he’s been working on at home as well as a custom piano learning app he created to teach himself music theory.

This is a conversation about craftsmanship, pursuing a deep understanding, and what that reveals about who we are. 

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:03:55 Origin of Kepano
00:10:34 Relationship with Computers
00:15:25 Online Communities & Video Games
00:30:47 Winamp Skins
00:40:04 Uniformity in Design
00:51:05 Obsidian
00:59:20 Bidirectional Linking, And The Relationship Between Everything
01:23:18 Obsidian Sync, Publish, and Bases
01:32:06 Why File Over App
01:43:15 The Deluxe Chocolate Chip Cookie Taste Test
01:49:48 Living Fully
02:09:50 Early Project Walkthrough
02:19:03 Furniture Design Walkthrough
02:49:00 Constraint and Patterns
02:58:47 Kepiano
03:13:00 The Future of AI and Startups
03:31:10 Closing

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Steph Ango (@kepano) is a designer, entrepreneur, and the CEO of Obsidian.

In this episode, we discussed his journey from creating Winamp skins to leading Obsidian, and the fundamental patterns and inclinations that drive everything he explores and makes. We discussed Obsidian on multiple different dimensions, his deluxe chocolate chip cookie recipe, his exploration through furniture design, and his default inclination to push “too far” into anything he is exploring. Steph Ango demo'd the design process of several furniture projects he’s been working on at home as well as a custom piano learning app he created to teach himself music theory.

This is a conversation about craftsmanship, pursuing a deep understanding, and what that reveals about who we are. 

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:03:55 Origin of Kepano
00:10:34 Relationship with Computers
00:15:25 Online Communities & Video Games
00:30:47 Winamp Skins
00:40:04 Uniformity in Design
00:51:05 Obsidian
00:59:20 Bidirectional Linking, And The Relationship Between Everything
01:23:18 Obsidian Sync, Publish, and Bases
01:32:06 Why File Over App
01:43:15 The Deluxe Chocolate Chip Cookie Taste Test
01:49:48 Living Fully
02:09:50 Early Project Walkthrough
02:19:03 Furniture Design Walkthrough
02:49:00 Constraint and Patterns
02:58:47 Kepiano
03:13:00 The Future of AI and Startups
03:31:10 Closing

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Satish Kanwar (@skanwar) is an entrepreneur, a geek, and a friend.

In this episode, we explore what it means to come up in Scarborough, build something from nothing, experience a life changing exit, and still hold onto your original intentions. Along the way, we get into community as a force multiplier, how scenes form, how identify shifts under success, why culture needs new stories to move forward, and we did a saag taste test from some joints across the Greater Toronto Area. It's a conversation about ambition, memory, and the pressure of becoming who you hoped you'd be.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Opening Notes
00:03:15 Periscope and the Evolution of Live Streaming
00:08:15 Satish's TEDx Talk
00:13:00 Community, Scenes, and Building Jet Cooper
00:20:45 Early Shopify's Office as a Cultural Hub
00:25:25 Jet Cooper's Offices Throughout the Years
00:32:45 Shopify Acquisition
00:40:00 The Shopify Ottawa Office
00:43:49 The Acquisition Process
00:51:05 Hiring the Toronto Scene
00:56:55 What Happened to the Scene?
01:03:59 Saag Taste Test
01:18:04 Exploring Indian Food in the GTA
01:21:30 Kensington Market's Indian Food Density
01:37:01 Chef Rick Matharu
01:42:40 internetVin Reflects on His Toronto Tech Week Talk
01:55:35 Cultural Storytelling in Canada
02:04:33 Reflexivity, Ambition, and How Stories Become Realities
02:14:15 How Do We Glitch the System?
02:21:10 Personal Growth and What Money Changes

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Alex Danco (@Alex_Danco) is a writer and editor-at-large at Andreessen Horowitz whose work centers on gift culture, crowds, and how shared beliefs shape real-world outcomes.

In this episode, we explore the deep mechanics of how people coordinate, why crowds form, how narratives drive behaviour, why perception becomes reality, and how leadership is ultimately the art of getting people to think differently about themselves. We talk about reflexivity, the psychology of scenes, the role of gifts in opening people to new ideas, and how cities and cultures transform when the right stories take root. It’s a conversation about how groups move and how meaning spreads.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

00:00:00 Opening Notes
00:04:18 The Last Decade Before the Internet
00:09:47 Reflexivity: When Perception Creates Reality
00:28:23 Crowds and Power
00:37:06 Human Evolution and Adaptability
00:41:55 Betting on Yourself
00:56:43 Gift Culture and Information Transfer
01:11:44 Legitimacy
01:15:52 The Development of Scenes
01:31:18 A Gift for Alex Danco
01:38:30 The Toronto Big Bang
01:56:50 The Narratives of Toronto
02:08:31 The Power of Gift Giving in Startups
02:14:27 Creating High Signal Environments
02:17:40 The Role of Capital and Mentorship in Toronto’s Startup Ecosystem

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: https://otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: https://x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• https://x.com/internetvin

New

• https://x.com/newsystems_

• https://instagram.com/newsystems_

Daniel Kuntz (https://x.com/dankuntz) is an artist, designer, and award-winning engineer. He is currently working on a keychain-sized digital companion known as The Little Guy.

The Other Stuff is hosted by internetVin⁠, filmmaker and entrepreneur and possibly the most curious man on Earth. Produced by New.

—

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Intro

—

The Other Stuff Podcast: otherstuffpod.com 

• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK0osV4LBB6zLfDk-KDV9FtDg7y0bJ3AW

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kImmU1R1DYTeM1AKZRWkx?si=2feeadb93ad4419f

• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stuff-with-internetvin/id1828762531

• Twitter: x.com/otherstuffpod

• Instagram: instagram.com/otherstuffpod

internetVin ⁠

• x.com/internetvin

New

• x.com/newsystems_

• instagram.com/newsystems_