Weird Things

By Andrew Mayne

Between science and fiction.... more

· Natural Sciences

4.5

329329 ratings

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FAQs about Weird Things:

How many episodes does Weird Things have?

The podcast currently has 1,052 episodes available.

Weird Things episodes:

February 25, 2024 Brian and Andrew talk about… HOLY MOLY JUSTIN IS BACK!
The episode opens with a discussion of Google's Gemini Ultra launch and the rebranding of Bard to Gemini. The hosts compare Gemini with ChatGPT on model quality, pricing, integrations, and usefulness for coding and summarization, while also talking about how AI tools are already woven into their workflows for transcripts, show notes, and quick summaries. Brian also describes using AI for a real-world well-and-solar calculation experiment, using photos and measurements to estimate energy use, water flow, and costs. Later, the conversation turns to the joke AI model Goody2, which is framed as an exaggerated parody of overcautious safety behavior because it refuses nearly every prompt. The back half of the episode focuses on Sam Altman and the scale of future AI compute demand, including a reported $7 trillion chip effort, followed by a live discussion of Andrew's Apple Vision Pro demo, its comfort and display tradeoffs, security concerns about deepfakes, the promise of lighter AR glasses, and a round of media picks including The Greatest Night in Pop and In Deep Geek. Key topics Gemini vs. ChatGPT feature comparison: The hosts compare Google's Gemini Ultra with ChatGPT in terms of model quality, coding utility, pricing, app ecosystem, and integrations like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and search defaults. AI as a practical assistant for technical and household tasks: Brian's well/solar example shows AI being used for real-world estimation, electricity cost calculations, and determining
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1h 37min
February 12, 2024 Brian and Andrew talk about… AI!
Andrew and Brian start with travel and recovery talk: Brian describes being knocked out by illness and bad sleep, while Andrew explains returning from a three-week trip to India and how he managed jet lag by staying awake through the long flight. Andrew also says he was careful about water and food after getting sick on a prior trip, and that he brought antibiotics with him via an online doctor visit so he could treat a likely bacterial illness quickly when it hit. The episode spends a long stretch on Andrew's India trip, including his wife's cousin's wedding events, a reception hosted by in-laws, local McDonald's adaptations, the India-Pakistan border ceremony near Amritsar, and a detailed visit to the Golden Temple. From there the conversation broadens into Sikh identity and customs, Sikh wartime history, Indian film culture, and then into speculative futurism: Mars terraforming, the limits of giant climate projects, the Icon of the Seas as evidence of human scale, and a broader optimism about future abundance, AI, and automation. Key topics Jet lag, sleep loss, and travel recovery: Brian describes severe sleep disruption from illness and ADHD-related overstimulation. Andrew explains using deliberate sleep deprivation on the flight to India to avoid jet lag and says he cleared his calendar after returning. Travel illness prevention and antibiotics: Andrew says he used Plush Care to get an advance consultation and antibiotics for travel, after prior food poisoning in India.
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1h 37min
January 06, 2024 Weird Predictions – 2024
The episode opens with the hosts greeting each other for 2024 and then moving into a discussion of older dystopian science fiction that reflected the anxieties of its era. They talk about Logan's Run, Make Room, Make Room/Soylent Green, Clockwork Orange, and Silent Running as stories shaped by fears about population growth, pollution, youth violence, and social instability, before widening the conversation into how people now think about depopulation, fertility decline, and whether modern cynicism is distorting judgments about the present and the past. From there, the episode moves through a 2024 predictions segment covering Artemis, Starship, the presidential election, and the broader role of AI and robotics. The hosts also discuss how chat-based AI is already useful in daily life, debate what counts as AGI and how the Turing test is commonly misunderstood, then finish with reactions to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Rebel Moon before ending on recommendations for Fargo, Lower Decks, A Clockwork Orange, and The OA. Key topics 1970s dystopian fiction as a response to overpopulation and environmental anxiety: The hosts connect Logan's Run, Make Room, Make Room/Soylent Green, Clockwork Orange, and Silent Running to concerns about population growth, pollution, young people, and societal breakdown. The American vs. English endings of A Clockwork Orange: Brian explains the different endings, saying the English version includes a redemption arc while the American version is darker
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1h 6min
January 05, 2024 Weird Predictions – 2024
Who wants another pie in the face? Surprise guest… AI!
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Episode archive

Download url: https://archive.org/download/2024-01-05-weird-things-mixdown/2024-01-05-Weird%20things_mixdown.mp3
[podcast]https://archive.org/download/2024-01-05-weird-things-mixdown/2024-01-05-Weird%20things_mixdown.mp3/podcast]
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1h 6min
December 23, 2023 WT: Whales As Large Language Models
Whale songs and AI tools. Picks: Justin: Squid Game: The Challenge Brian: Amanda Knox
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1h 2min
December 22, 2023 WT: Whales As Large Language Models
Whale songs and AI tools.
Picks:

Justin: Squid Game: The Challenge
Brian: Amanda Knox

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Episode archive

Download url: ia902300.us.archive.org/18/items/capture-22-december-2023-02-04-57-pm-01/capture – 22 December 2023 – 02-04-57 PM_01.mp3
[podcast]https://ia902300.us.archive.org/18/items/capture-22-december-2023-02-04-57-pm-01/capture%20-%2022%20December%202023%20-%2002-04-57%20PM_01.mp3[/podcast]
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1h 2min
December 09, 2023 WT: Gemini Launch Explained
Google’s new AI launch might not be what it seems. Picks: Justin: Fargo Andrew: Doom Patrol | Now Streaming | Max Original | Max
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1h 15min
October 29, 2023 AT: Podcasts Near Me
A Thai restaurant tried to game Google, but accidentally went viral. We knew Google paid Apple a lot to be the default search engine. We didn’t know it was *a lot.* The Humane AI Pin? Send your project questions/ideas to [email protected], subject line “After Things.” Picks: Justin: Space: 1969 from Bill Oakley Brian: Play Date
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0min
October 28, 2023 WT: Might As Well Be Cooking On The Sun
The episode opens with a discussion of SharkNinja's Ninja Neverstick cookware and a lawsuit over marketing claims that the pans are heated to 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The hosts debate whether the claim is literal or exaggerated advertising, compare it to other flashy marketing language, and talk through how a deceptive-marketing class action might work if consumers were misled. Later, the hosts discuss Apple possibly retiring the iTunes name, reflecting on how iTunes shifted from CD-ripping and downloads to a less central role in a streaming era. The episode also covers the Sam Bankman-Fried case and how its transcripts use coded or gamer-style language, which leads into a broader conversation about algorithmic moderation, euphemistic speech online, creator transparency, snoozing alarms, and the rediscovery of the silent film Sealed Hearts. Key topics Scientific-sounding advertising claims in consumer products: The hosts discuss the claim that Ninja Neverstick pans are heated to 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit and question whether that is a factual product claim or marketing hype. Class action strategy and deceptive marketing: They talk about the lawsuit by Patricia Brown, including whether consumers were deceived enough to support a class action and how legal liability would depend on the exact claims made. Apple's iTunes legacy and the shift from downloads to streaming: The discussion covers the possibility of retiring the iTunes brand, the split into Music/Podcasts/TV apps, an
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0min
October 27, 2023 WT: Might As Well Be Cooking On The Sun
Out of the fire and into the even hotter frying pan! The end of the iTunes brand? Millenial speak. Snoozing, but not necessarily losing. A 104-year-old silent film is found. Got something weird? Email [email protected], subject line “Weird Things.”
Picks:
Justin: Going Infinite from Michael Lewis
Brian: The Canceling of the American Mind
Bryce: Crow Country
Support Weird Things on Patreon
Subscribe to the Weird Things podcast on iTunes
Podcast RSS feed
Episode archive
Download url: https://archive.org/download/weird-things-102723/WeirdThings102723.mp3
[podcast]https://archive.org/download/weird-things-102723/WeirdThings102723.mp3[/podcast]
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1h 9min

FAQs about Weird Things:

How many episodes does Weird Things have?

The podcast currently has 1,052 episodes available.

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