Weird Things

Latest Episodes:

WT: Ready Your Weaselhole Feb 04, 2023

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The episode opens with a long discussion of Nothing Forever, the AI-generated Twitch stream that riffs on Seinfeld with continuous, blocky, machine-generated sitcom scenes. The hosts treat it as a proof-of-concept for generative entertainment, debating how Twitch, rough visual quality, and the novelty of endless content help the project work, while also speculating about future AI media that could be personalized, passive, or built for background viewing. Later, the conversation shifts to the Chinese surveillance balloon reported over Montana and the intelligence implications around it. The hosts argue it looked more like a spy platform than a weather balloon, then use that as a springboard into broader espionage talk: FBI/CIA mole cases, Robert Hanssen, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, Kevin Mallory, Chinese recruitment methods, Soviet influence operations, and the limits of counterintelligence in an open society. The episode closes with a discussion of mystery writing and recommendations for several movies and shows, especially how good mysteries balance clueing, character work, and fair payoff. Key topics Nothing Forever as AI-generated sitcom entertainment: The hosts describe Nothing Forever as an ongoing Twitch stream of AI-generated Seinfeld-like material and treat it as an early example of generative video content that could become much more common. Twitch and continuous live content: They note that the stream's popularity depends on Twitch as a platform where people are used to

AT: Halo Emoji Jan 29, 2023

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A simple way to add some color to any to-do workflow and the thorny(?) side of the emoji-emoticon war. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Slow Horses Brian: You Have the Right to Remain Innocent from James Duane Bryce: Things app

WT: Podcast-Shaped Data Jan 28, 2023

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The episode opens with casual banter and then moves into a long discussion of robots, starting with Transformers versus GoBots, the history of the toy lines, and what made Transformers feel more iconic. The hosts connect that idea to broader robot history, including Gundam, Robotech, the golem, and the origin of the word robot, while also joking about childhood fantasies of building robot companions and robot girls. Later segments cover a shape-shifting magnetic robot demo from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with the hosts debating how much of the effect comes from external magnets, heating, and phase changes versus anything autonomous. The episode then shifts into a discussion of a VR e-reader form factor, followed by several recommendations: Wave Twisters, Poker Face, Midnight Suns, and Howard Mortman's C-SPAN-related podcast The Weekly. The closing stretch centers on transparency and whether C-SPAN should have more camera access in Congress, with the panel arguing strongly in favor of greater public visibility. At the end, the group also discusses why form factor and reduced friction matter for adoption, comparing the e-reader goggles to Kindle, Quest headsets, voice assistants, and ChatGPT. The episode closes with Justin’s and Brian’s recommendations framed around retro media and current entertainment, while the C-SPAN discussion broadens into a larger argument about public institutions, political theater, and accountability. Key topics Transformers versus GoBots: T

AT: We’re Back! Jan 22, 2023

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How moving can affect the creative process. Brian and Justin talk about the newly-revealed topic of World’s Greatest Con season 3 and how they’ve got an exclusive new look at the story that’s never been told before. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” PICKS: Andrew: Coffeezilla on YouTube Justin: The Last of Us Brian: Marvel Snap Bryce: The Last of Us

WT: Going Weird Mode Jan 21, 2023

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The episode centers on Andrew Mayne explaining his role at OpenAI and the sudden breakout of ChatGPT. He says he works on the communications team helping explain the company’s technology, and the panel discusses how ChatGPT started as a research preview, gained huge adoption quickly, and changed AI from a theoretical or magical idea into a practical tool people can try for themselves (L25, L69, L73, L81, L97, L125). A substantial portion of the conversation is technical and reflective: they cover prompt writing, hallucinations, safety warnings, fine-tuning, context windows, and how larger models may enable more personalized or useful applications. Later, the show moves to broader questions about training data, AI agency and motivation, human meaning in art, and how technology shifts create new creative and business opportunities; the episode then closes with picks for Avatar 2, The Last of Us, Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!, and Wednesday (L61, L125, L169, L237, L255, L337, L357, L377, L389, L429, L445). Key topics OpenAI communications and Andrew Mayne’s role: Andrew says he works for OpenAI on the comms team, helping explain the company’s technologies to journalists and the public, after previously working on engineering/applied work (L25, L33). ChatGPT as a research preview and rapid adoption: Andrew stresses that ChatGPT was launched as a research preview, not a finished product, and the group discusses how removing waitlists, costs, and other friction helped drive explosiv

WT Mini: Lasers, Riffing, and Wasp Wangs Dec 20, 2022

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Bryce opens with a short update episode covering a science story about male wasps: researchers at Kobe University found that males of a specific species can use spikes near their genitalia to defend themselves, even though they do not have stingers like female wasps. He compares survival rates in predator tests and notes that male wasps with removed genitalia did not survive, while pond frogs ate all wasps tested. The episode also features Refusion, a machine-learning music system that generates audio from spectrograms paired with text labels, and explains that the system warps the spectrogram in real time to avoid static looping. Bryce then plays Martian audio, highlighting the first recorded sound of a dust devil on Mars from Perseverance’s SuperCam microphone, and briefly revisits earlier Mars recordings such as wind, rover driving, the Ingenuity helicopter, and laser zaps. Key topics Male wasp defensive anatomy: Bryce describes a study in which male wasps of a specific species use spikes near their genitalia as a defensive mechanism despite lacking stingers. Refusion and spectrogram-based AI music: Refusion is presented as a music-generation system that creates and plays spectrograms, trained on labeled music examples and modified in real time to keep audio changing. Mars audio recorded by Perseverance: The episode discusses the first heard recording of a dust devil on Mars and then revisits earlier Perseverance audio clips from wind, rover movement, the Ingenuity helicop

AT: We Be On That Phone Dec 07, 2022

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A new app has been making waves in the image generation space with “magic avatars.” We talk about the experience of a pay AI art bot and what we think it could do to impact human artists and art. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

WT: Going Weird Mode Dec 06, 2022

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The episode opens with a joke-heavy run of stories, including Bryce recounting a TikTok about Waffle House grill cooks earning shirts for hitting profit milestones, then a segment about Steve Jobs' pre-worn Birkenstock sandals selling at auction for about $218,750. The hosts riff on the sandals' smell, rarity, and the value of Steve Jobs memorabilia, and briefly detour into jokes about Steve Wozniak, Segway scooters, and what kinds of Jobs-related items might command higher prices. The middle of the episode covers a ChatGPT test on the AP Computer Science A exam, where Bryce explains that the model scored 32 out of 36 and missed some visual or poorly worded elements. That leads into a broader discussion of AI's growing capabilities, followed by a long segment on Disney research's face-aging/de-aging neural network and speculative uses for film, TV, and even recasting or upcycling older media. The latter half of the episode shifts into word-of-the-year chatter, with the hosts debating 'gaslighting,' 'metaverse,' and especially 'goblin mode,' before finishing with listener picks for Planet Money, 1899, and The Last of Us. Key topics Waffle House profit milestone shirts: Bryce mentions a TikTok about Waffle House grill cooks getting shirts for reaching profit milestones, like a $2 million shirt, and the hosts joke about it. Steve Jobs sandals auction: A state auction sold Steve Jobs' pre-worn Birkenstock sandals for about $218,750, with discussion about their provenance, foot im

AT: Doodle-Doo Nov 23, 2022

Show notes

We’re in holiday mode as we talk about roosters, the etymology of adages, and where we think the future of social networks will go. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

WT: Lunar Looper Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

The episode opens with a long discussion of the Artemis launch. The hosts joke about the mission's cost, but also credit the engineers and acknowledge that the rocket successfully reached space. They criticize the program as a politically shaped, expensive system, while still treating the launch as an accomplishment for the people who built it. A major portion of the episode is devoted to Twitter and the current wave of people leaving the platform. The panel debates whether the departures are political or simply a reaction to the site becoming chaotic, and they compare Twitter with alternatives such as RSS, Reddit, and Discord. The conversation emphasizes Twitter's role as a unique real-time community and news source, even as the hosts discuss its flaws and the likelihood that other platforms will eventually fill some of its role. Key topics NASA bureaucracy versus engineering execution: The hosts separate the quality of the Artemis engineers from the political and bureaucratic decision-making that shaped the program. Andrew repeatedly says the technical work was impressive while the overall program was a costly bad idea. Artemis tracking and lunar loop: The panel checks NASA's tracking page, notes that Artemis has rounded the moon, and discusses the Orion capsule's eventual return to Earth. They also joke about the mission's animation and moon imagery. Twitter, migration, and platform politics: The speakers spend an extended segment debating whether Twitter departures are po

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