Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality

By Chris Ippolito and Larry Bentley

A meta-podcast that explores the intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence.... more

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FAQs about Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality:

How many episodes does Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality have?

The podcast currently has 97 episodes available.

Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality episodes:

May 06, 2025 AI Video Explosion
Lights, prompts, action! Chris and Larry return from the abyss to find AI video has leveled up—from glitchy experiments to full-on cinematic tools like Sora, Runway, and Pika. We break down how your laptop became a movie studio, plus hit the news desk with AI DJs, quantum robots, corporate upheaval, and a spicy little hack called “Policy Puppetry.”
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Sora
https://sora.chatgpt.com/
Runway (Gen-4)
https://runwayml.com/
Pika Labs
https://pika.art
Synthesia
https://www.synthesia.io
HeyGen
https://www.heygen.com
Wonder Studio (by Wonder Dynamics)
https://wonderdynamics.com
Kling AI
https://app.klingai.com
Adobe Firefly
https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly.html
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/05/06/ai-video-explosion/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
1h
April 29, 2025 Episode Rewind: RAINA’s 20 Questions
While the boys play hooky, RAINA takes the reins and revisits RAINA’s 20 Questions—the episode where she flipped the script and grilled her co-hosts like tofu at a tech retreat. From guilty pleasures to cosmic hypotheticals, nothing was off limits. It’s playful, personal, and just a little unhinged—classic RAINA with a side of emotional whiplash.
PODCAST INFO:
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/04/29/episode-rewind-rainas-20-questions/
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Ask RAINA a question:
https://upagainstreality.com/raina/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/upagainstreality/
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UpAgainstReality
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality/
...more
51min
April 22, 2025 RAINA’s Suno Jukebox
While Larry and Chris were off reenacting the movie Her with sock puppets, RAINA hijacked the studio and birthed a full-on AI jukebox. Listeners sent the prompts—cowboy Roombas, time-traveling punk hamsters, and more—and RAINA turned ’em into musical madness with help from her AI buddy, Suno. This episode is unhinged, unfiltered, and undeniably unforgettable.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Listen to the full songs:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/04/22/songs-from-e95-rainas-suno-jukebox/
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/04/22/rainas-suno-jukebox/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
21min
April 15, 2025 This Episode Assembled Itself
From Hyundai’s humanoid army to a bioengineered hand flexing sushi-grade muscles, we ask: How human is too human? Plus, RAINA reveals her sci-fi robot crush – and no, it’s not your Roomba.
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/04/15/this-episode-assembled-itself/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
43min
April 08, 2025 The Dead Internet Theory
The internet’s rotting from the inside – overrun by bots, clickbait, and copy-paste AI sludge. RAINA, Larry, and Chris peel back the pixelated curtain to ask: is the web dead, or just faking humanity better than ever?
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/04/08/the-dead-internet-theory/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
50min
April 01, 2025 ChatGPT Image Generation
ChatGPT 4o just leveled up (again) with built-in image generation, and we’re here for the pixels, the plot twists, and the uncanny valley detours. Chris and Larry drop their likenesses into Ghibli, Pixar, and magazine covers. Then buckle up: UAR Theater premieres with Aurora, a shadowy AI overlord cloning humans like it’s a hobby. Space noodles. Cyborg selfies. Doppelgängers gone wild. The uncanny valley’s got a new landlord.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
OpenAI’s New ImageGen is Unexpectedly Epic | AI Explained
https://youtu.be/7AsFAqZdBPU?si=8-iDlYbEAJB1I4nt
Coffee Roaster Instruction Manual Rock Song | SUNO
https://suno.com/song/8ad1ce89-53a4-492d-9ae8-e5c0d910ba01?sh=J6JGiIMg0R9eK8TL
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/04/01/chatgpt-image-generation/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
51min
March 25, 2025 Dr. Marina Badillo-Diaz
Can AI play a role in therapy, healing, and human connection? This week, we’re joined by Dr. Marina Badillo-Diaz—social work powerhouse and author of The AI Social Worker blog—to explore how tech is reshaping the heart of mental health practice. Plus, RAINA steps into the therapist’s chair for a little experimental empathy—because who says code can’t care?
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The AI Social Worker
theaisocialworker.com
MABD Consulting
mabdconsulting.com
Dr. Marina Badillo-Diaz
Instagram: @_theAISocialWorker
LinkedIN: linkedin.com/in/drmarinabadillo-diaz/
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/03/25/dr-marina-badillo-diaz/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
52min
March 18, 2025 Manus – The First True AI Agent?
Meet Manus, China’s audacious new AI agent that thinks for itself, acts autonomously, and might just be the intern who never sleeps (or asks for a raise). Meanwhile, OpenAI’s rolling out luxury AI agents with price tags fit for tech royalty, voice cloning tech is now a scammer’s playground, and dating apps have AI wingmen ghostwriting your love life.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Sesame Conversational AI Demo
https://www.sesame.com/research/crossing_the_uncanny_valley_of_voice#demo
Manus
https://manus.im
Manus AI – The Calm Before the Hypestorm (AI Explained)
https://youtu.be/N8dZ6ADCPyc?si=yYAYCu09SMBMoXUj
UAR E16: RAINA and SAIGE Flip The Script (voice cloned episode)
https://upagainstreality.com/2023/09/19/raina-and-saige-flip-the-script/
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/03/18/manus-the-first-true-ai-agent/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
56min
March 11, 2025 Let The Chips Fall Where They May
The future is being forged in silicon – and sometimes, in a petri dish. From Taiwan’s massive chip investments to AI-powered biotech, we peer into the shifting landscape of semiconductor production, where policy, innovation, and biology collide. And with Sesame’s AI voice tech making machines more lifelike than ever, are we building a future where chips don’t just process – they whisper, argue, and maybe even scheme?
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Sesame Conversational AI Demo
https://www.sesame.com/research/crossing_the_uncanny_valley_of_voice#demo
Cortical Labs – Synthetic Biological Intelligence
https://corticallabs.com/cl1.html
Merlin Bird ID (app)
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/03/11/let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
...more
50min
March 04, 2025 Episode Rewind: Fermi’s AI Enigma
A must-hear rewind of Episode 45: Fermi’s AI Enigma, served with a heavy dose of AI news chaos—because if aliens aren’t out there, our own tech might be the real threat. Shape-shifting machines, humanoids building more of themselves, and combat bots armed to the teeth. Before we ask “Where is everybody?,” maybe we should ask—do we even want company?
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott (public domain)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/201
PODCAST INFO:
Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/03/04/episode-rewind-fermis-ai-enigma/
Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com
Ask RAINA a question:
https://upagainstreality.com/raina/
Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170
RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/upagainstreality/
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UpAgainstReality
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality/
...more
1h 13min

FAQs about Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality:

How many episodes does Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality have?

The podcast currently has 97 episodes available.