Weird Things

By Andrew MayneNatural Sciences

Weird Things episodes

August 29 Ghost Cities, Invisible Drones, and Wormholes
Andrew Mayne and Brian Brushwood range from economics to space weirdness, starting with Malaysia’s nearly empty Forest City and what a failed megadevelopment says about speculative housing, demographic pressure, and whether abandoned infrastructure can be repurposed for art, events, or other experiments. They then dig into scams and AI-driven impersonation, arguing that the real danger is persistent social engineering built on fake relationships, and that identity verification gets much harder when business is done almost entirely through remote channels. From there they geek out over “invisible” spinning drones, massive drone shows that now rival science-fiction cityscapes, and the likelihood that outdoor entertainment will keep expanding into new forms as the tech gets cheaper. The final stretch goes full Weird Things with black holes, gravitational-wave detections, a speculative wormhole interpretation of an anomalous LIGO event, new high-resolution images of the sun, the tradeoffs of human versus robotic space exploration, and a quick detour into Spider-Man rankings before ending on creative recommendations. Picks: Brian Brushwood: Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff Brian Brushwood: Steven Pressfield and Rick Rubin talking together on Rick Rubin's podcast/YouTube interview Andrew Mayne: It Ends Andrew Mayne: The Long Beat by James Harder
1 hr 11 min
July 25 AI Models, Apple Lawsuits, and Productivity Without Tedium
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood cover the latest wave of AI releases by comparing OpenAI’s 5.6 model, Anthropic’s Fable, and the new Chinese Kimi model, arguing that the most interesting shift is not just raw capability but how differently these systems now behave in planning, initiative, and collaboration. They also spend a lot of time on what AI is already good for in real life: voice conversations with persistent context, automated email and file management, cheap local transcription, website building, cloud-task execution, and custom tools built with Codex that eliminate repetitive work. The Apple lawsuit against OpenAI becomes a bigger discussion about talent flight, hardware ambitions, and Apple’s struggle to keep pace in AI, while the Kimi conversation turns into a broader look at distillation, Chinese innovation, and the murky realities of model copying. Throughout, the hosts keep returning to a practical distinction between creative authorship and productivity support, making the case that many people who resist AI-generated art may still benefit from using AI to remove tedious logistical overhead. The biggest takeaway is simple: start with the annoying parts of your life or work, let AI handle the bureaucracy, and keep the human effort for the parts that are hard because they matter, not hard because they are boring. Picks: Brian Brushwood: Use the ChatGPT app, let it edit things on your desktop, talk to it instead of typing, and tell it your
1 hr 23 min
June 14 AI Filmmaking Tools, Robot Liability, and GLP-1 Ripple Effects
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood explore how new AI video tools are changing filmmaking by making real footage more editable and steerable, letting creators keep human performances while using AI for sets, lighting, costumes, and polish. They compare that shift to earlier changes in digital editing and game engines, then turn to viral robot mishap clips to separate remote-controlled demos from true autonomy and to ask the bigger question of who carries legal and moral responsibility when future robots inevitably cause harm. From there they jump to a possible primordial black hole candidate as evidence related to dark matter, a promising one-time gene therapy approach for cholesterol, and the broader effects of GLP-1 drugs on appetite, addiction, gambling, alcohol use, and the business models built around those habits. They wrap by sharing how tools like Codex are already helping them build websites, automate repetitive tasks, migrate infrastructure, and dramatically cut costs, arguing that AI is most useful right now as a way to remove drudgery and free up more time for actual creative work. Picks: Brian Brushwood: Spider-Noir Justin Robert Young: The Hulk Hogan documentary on Netflix Justin Robert Young: Rocky Balboa
1 hr 40 min
June 14 Using AI To Find Waste And Hidden Costs In Your Business
Andrew Mayne and Brian Brushwood dig into one of the most immediately useful applications of AI agents: hunting down waste, friction, and forgotten costs in everyday business operations. Brian explains how connecting ChatGPT to his finances helped him uncover orphaned subscriptions, duplicate services, and even a long-forgotten annual GPS dog collar charge, while Andrew describes using Codex to audit AWS charges, recurring billing in Gmail, Apple Card statements, and an overpriced web host for the podcast. Along the way they make the case that Codex is different from a normal chatbot because it can persist on tasks, work through files and folders, use connected accounts, operate websites without APIs, and function more like a capable intern than a search box. They also talk through the learning curve, privacy concerns, trust-building in stages, using AI to generate business experiments and revenue ideas, and why speed of adaptation matters more than trying to pause technological change. The recurring theme is simple: use AI to find the stupid in your systems, save real money, and free up time for more creative work. Picks: Andrew Mayne: Riley Brown’s YouTube quick-start tutorials on Codex Brian Brushwood: Just Evil Enough by Alistair Croll and Emily Ross
36 min
May 12 Aliens, Boltzmann Brains, and Codex Automation
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood dig into the latest UFO-file buzz and explain why alien discourse so often feels like an endless build with no bass drop. They talk through why so much recent evidence comes down to misunderstood thermal imaging, camera artifacts, cropped data, and human storytelling instincts, while also criticizing skeptics who dismiss possibilities too quickly. That opens the door to a much bigger conversation about SETI, microbial life in the solar system, civilization-scale energy use, holographic-universe theory, Boltzmann brains, vacuum decay, and the idea that reality may be far stranger than the evidence currently supports. In the second half, they pivot to AI tools and computer automation, with Justin describing his Codex-powered daily briefing workflow, Andrew showing off weird science poster experiments and iPhone control via Mac mirroring, and Brian reacting in real time after buying a MacBook to start exploring computer-use agents. They wrap with a few enthusiastic recommendations from TV, movies, and a very niche automotive documentary release. Picks: Brian Brushwood: Knight Rider Declassified trailer and limited-release documentary project Justin Robert Young: 30 Rock season 2 episode “Rosemary’s Baby” Andrew Mayne: Michael
0 min
May 11 Aliens, Boltzmann Brains, and Codex Automation
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood dig into the latest UFO-file buzz and explain why alien discourse so often feels like an endless build with no bass drop. They talk through why so much recent evidence comes down to misunderstood thermal imaging, camera artifacts, cropped data, and human storytelling instincts, while also criticizing skeptics who dismiss possibilities too quickly. That opens the door to a much bigger conversation about SETI, microbial life in the solar system, civilization-scale energy use, holographic-universe theory, Boltzmann brains, vacuum decay, and the idea that reality may be far stranger than the evidence currently supports. In the second half, they pivot to AI tools and computer automation, with Justin describing his Codex-powered daily briefing workflow, Andrew showing off weird science poster experiments and iPhone control via Mac mirroring, and Brian reacting in real time after buying a MacBook to start exploring computer-use agents. They wrap with a few enthusiastic recommendations from TV, movies, and a very niche automotive documentary release.
Picks:
Brian Brushwood: Knight Rider Declassified trailer and limited-release documentary project
Justin Robert Young: 30 Rock season 2 episode “Rosemary’s Baby”
Andrew Mayne: Michael
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0 min
April 21 Artemis Returns, AI Compute Wars, and Codex Control
Artemis gets a victory lap as the crew celebrates the mission’s safe splashdown and talks about how a future moon landing would dominate the internet in a way Apollo never could. From there the conversation turns into an extended AI state-of-the-industry check-in, focusing on Anthropic’s reported compute bottlenecks, Claude reliability complaints, and the restricted Mythos model that appears powerful but not yet practical to serve widely. They compare Anthropic’s strategy with OpenAI’s emphasis on efficiency, lower-cost coding performance, and upcoming model releases, while also discussing how AI companies are navigating government and defense relationships. The back half becomes a hands-on look at OpenAI’s Codex computer-use features, with examples ranging from inbox summaries and printed morning briefings to media sorting, podcast post automation, and desktop app control, all framed around the idea that AI works best when you identify which parts of a workflow require human taste and which parts are just repetitive clicking. Picks: Andrew Mayne: Astromat YT Justin Robert Young: Defunctland’s video on the broken promise of Disney intelligent characters Brian Brushwood: The pilot of Magnum P.I. Andrew Mayne: Double Reel TV
1 hr 11 min
April 02 AI Compute Crunch, Vibe Coding, And Pocket Game Hardware
OpenAI’s shutdown of the Sora app kicks off a broader discussion about how AI companies are being shaped less by hype cycles than by raw compute limits, with Disney deal fallout, Anthropic’s work-hour throttling, and rumors of even bigger next-generation models all pointing to infrastructure being the real bottleneck. From there, the conversation shifts into what these tools look like in practice: Andrew talks through using Codex, plugins, and repeatable evals to automate work, build tiny playable games under extreme constraints, and treat coding more like cultivating projects than manually assembling software line by line. The hosts compare notes on how intimidating the current tool landscape can still be for newcomers, why iterative prompting and experimentation matter more than waiting for a perfect “super app,” and how app stores may be poorly equipped for a wave of AI-generated software. They also detour into social media, scams, platform incentives, and the question of whether better guardrails earlier on could have reduced some of the worst outcomes of the last platform era before wrapping with movie, parenting, and gadget recommendations. Picks: Andrew Mayne: Project Hail Mary Justin Robert Young: The Ferber Method Brian Brushwood: Logan Andrew Mayne: Arduboy FXC
1 hr 2 min
March 24 Real-Time AI Speeds, Code Models, Bio Hacking, And Movie Picks
The episode surveys an accelerating AI landscape where new hardware like Cerebras and Groq enables near real?time model responses, making voice and agent interactions feel instantly conversational. The conversation covers the rise of code models (Codex, Claude Code), practical tips for using multiple models to check each other, the tug-of-war between frontier labs and big incumbents (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI), and how talent, salaries, and state-level data?center politics are shaping the field. They also touch on a striking story about a dog treated with an experimental mRNA therapeutic assembled with help from multiple AI tools, hands-on demos of rapid content generation and deepfake video, and a challenge to listeners to build weird things with these new tools. Picks: Brian Brushwood: Project Hail Mary. Andrew Mayne: Sentimental Value.
0 min
March 23 Real-Time AI Speeds, Code Models, Bio Hacking, And Movie Picks
The episode surveys an accelerating AI landscape where new hardware like Cerebras and Groq enables near real?time model responses, making voice and agent interactions feel instantly conversational. The conversation covers the rise of code models (Codex, Claude Code), practical tips for using multiple models to check each other, the tug-of-war between frontier labs and big incumbents (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI), and how talent, salaries, and state-level data?center politics are shaping the field. They also touch on a striking story about a dog treated with an experimental mRNA therapeutic assembled with help from multiple AI tools, hands-on demos of rapid content generation and deepfake video, and a challenge to listeners to build weird things with these new tools.
Picks:
Brian Brushwood: Project Hail Mary.
Andrew Mayne: Sentimental Value.
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Download episode audio
Download url: https://weirdthingspodcast.com/uploads/podcastr/66ff3df5-d5da-4cbd-8102-fb417231836c__260320_-_Weird_Things_Podcast.mp3
[podcast]https://weirdthingspodcast.com/uploads/podcastr/66ff3df5-d5da-4cbd-8102-fb417231836c__260320_-_Weird_Things_Podcast.mp3
1 hr 10 min