715: Our Wizard Lies

715: Our Wizard Lies

Grumpy Old Geeks is back with another round of righteous griping and eyebrow-raising headlines in Episode 715: Our Wizard Lies. We kick things off in FOLLOW UP, where TikTok is still the geopolitical hot potato that both the U.S. and China promise to sort out “someday, maybe,” while Wired’s global editorial director explains how tech’s growing political clout is playing out under Trump. From there, it’s a cavalcade of absurdities: DOGE as federal workforce demolition derby, and crypto bros trying to turn Charlie Kirk’s death into meme-stock retirement plans. Late-stage capitalism is nothing if not creative.

Then in IN THE NEWS, Amazon gets spanked with a $2.5 billion fine for Prime trickery, Microsoft yanks cloud services from an Israeli military unit, and Palantir goes full lifestyle brand—yes, you too can cosplay as a drone strike enthusiast with a $99 pair of gym shorts. Silicon Valley philosophers warn AI regulation would literally summon the Antichrist, while banks whisper the bubble might pop before the devil even arrives. Meanwhile, YouTube toys with letting COVID and election denialists back into the algorithm, “SIM farms” threaten New York’s cell networks, and unlucky tourists are finding themselves trafficked into cyber-scam slavery across Southeast Asia. Progress!

MEDIA CANDY tries to lighten the mood—sort of—serving up everything from Elio, Tron: Ares, and Disney price hikes to AI musicians cashing million-dollar checks. Lionsgate, on the other hand, learns you can’t feed four John Wicks into an algorithm and get an anime out the other side. Over in THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, we get furries on the DC Metro, Disney plotting your every park step via Ray-Ban spy glasses, a Ponzi scheme in RadioShack cosplay, and even a Jim Henson Company anniversary auction. We close out with shout-outs and sighs, because sometimes the world doesn’t deserve a mic drop—just a slow shake of the head.


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Show notes at https://gog.show/715


FOLLOW UP

US and China agree to agree on a TikTok deal

WIRED global editorial director on tech's growing political power under Trump

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers

Crypto Bros Are Trying to Monetize Charlie Kirk’s Death


IN THE NEWS

Amazon to pay $2.5 billion for allegedly duping millions to sign up for Prime

Microsoft cuts off cloud services to Israeli military unit after report of storing Palestinians’ phone calls

Palantir Wants to Be a Lifestyle Brand

Silicon Valley’s latest argument against regulating AI: that would literally be the Antichrist

AI Experts Urgently Call on Governments to Think About Maybe Doing Something

‘Workslop’: AI-Generated Work Content Is Slowing Everything Down

Deutsche Bank Issues Grim Warning for AI Industry

YouTube may reinstate channels banned for spreading covid and election misinformation

‘SIM Farms’ Are a Spam Plague. A Giant One in New York Threatened US Infrastructure, Feds Say

They traveled to Thailand. They wound up cyber scam slaves in Myanmar.


MEDIA CANDY

Elio

Superman

Human: Origins

Human: Journeys

Alien: Earth

The Traitors Ireland

Disney is raising the price of Disney+, Hulu subscriptions next month

Wicked: For Good | Final Trailer

Lilith Faire: Building a Mystery

Tron: Ares

AI Artist Signs Million-Dollar Record Deal

Lionsgate Is Finding Out It’s Really Hard to Make Movies With AI

Jimmy Kimmel May Be Back. Trump’s Attacks on the First Amendment Aren’t Over By Merrill Markoe

Jimmy Kimmel is Back!


THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Disney Explores Using Ray-Ban Meta Glasses To Guide Guests Around Its Parks

The Happiest Story on Earth: 70 Years of Disneyland

The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official Trailer | In Theaters May 22, 2026

The Jim Henson Company 70th Anniversary Auction

Feds Say Company That Bought RadioShack Was Running $112 Million Ponzi Scheme

Furries ride the DC Metro

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(731)

489: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Lockdown

489: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Lockdown

Tom Cruise is right; a verified internet; TikTok turns on MLMs; beam me up, Quantum Scotty; AI co-pilots; Apple EV car & breakthrough batteries coming "soon"; Roy Clark's pants are down; Star Wars corner; RAM to WI-FI breaking air-gapped systems; HBO finally makes a deal with Roku; the Expanse; the Grand Tour; Star Trek Discovery; the Stand; Disney+; Queen's Gambit; Bee Gees & Beatles; Jason on Penn's Sunday School; struggling with the Laundry Files; Firefox UNFCK; Space Force Guardians; feedback; have a great holiday (going nowhere & seeing nobody).Show notes at https://gog.show/489See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

23 Joulu 20201h 33min

488: On a Safari

488: On a Safari

Paying to gig; ADA lawsuits; FTC wants social media firms to explain themselves, sues Facebook for monopolization; dynamic difficulty adjustments in sports games; Stripchat; Pornhub purge; the Silicon Valley Texodus; Hawaii is for tech villians; searching for You; Star Wars lore & Operation:Cinder with Furry Jr; SolarWinds hack; Star Trek data; Heaven's Gate; the Queen's Gambit; Big Sur update; Chrome is bad; trying Safari; Apple's ridiculous AirPods Max; AI translation; white supremecists take ancestry tests, hilarity ensues; Zodiac Killer cipher cracked; Solar system superhighways; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/488See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

16 Joulu 20201h 17min

487: Fieri+

487: Fieri+

Twitter verification, 2.0; Snapchat woos TikTok users back via laying bricks; SpaceX Starlink going to ruin the night sky; WarnerMedia leaving theaters out to dry; Discovery+ to start streaming diners, drive-in & sharks; Google fires AI ethicist for doing her job; show your work, DeepMind; Dad-Bod Fett; Dave wants to believe; iPhone Wi-Fi packet of death; embarrassing de-pixelizations; Tenet; Bond, YouTube Bond; the Grinch; Marvis Pro; Clubhouse; more Ready Player Two; Yankee Candle shoppers got the 'rona; picking light bulbs; GoPro vs lava; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/487See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Joulu 20201h 15min

486: Bye, Bye Mr. FCC Pai

486: Bye, Bye Mr. FCC Pai

Happy Pandemiversary; Comcast price hikes; Internet's gonna internet; Microsoft's creepy Productivity Score; health risks of space; Facebook's self-serving self-reporting ads tool fail; Ajit Pai to step down; the McRib is back; Star Wars corner; hackers sell access to C-Suite emails; COVID data spies get personal; an FDA for algorithms; Tubi; the Undoing; Spotify stories; kids TV; Zoom PodTrak; Bowflex; Wes Anderson's office; all dumpsters include the fire; Ready Player Two; High-Rise; Earth; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/486See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Joulu 20201h 13min

485: The 34 Days of Christmas

485: The 34 Days of Christmas

We give, it's Christmastime; how's that crypto going, bro; Apple lowers their app store cut; Buzzfeed acquires HuffPo because…?; Facebook's E.gg on the face; Comcast data caps; its a mess at the FCC & FTC; Facebook, Twitter face content moderation problems; adios, Arecibo; RadioShack in the Land of the Lost; Panopticon worries; Utah monoliths; Shane MacGowan; the Iron Lady; micropayments for artists; Hollywood isn't in Kansas anymore; Jeopardy hosts; AirPod woes; it's all about the grip; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/485See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

25 Marras 20201h 27min

484: Space Karen

484: Space Karen

Pick your machine learning bias; TikTok ban forgotten; DoorDash taking the money & dashing; Uber selling off self-driving unit; Airbnb has some bigots; Austria wants to censor worldwide; another day, another Google fine; Zoomsgiving; Dave's bum is fine; yes, your computer phones home; Big Sur slowdown; Long Way Up; the Crown; Instagram's new features; Zuck's strange decisions; hyperventilate to sober up; Elon would like to speak to the COVID-19 manager; feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/484See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

18 Marras 20201h 21min

483: What is “Loser.com”?

483: What is “Loser.com”?

Canadian complaints; the never ending election; if I only had a brain; Uber, Lyft & DoorDash lie to buy their law, make millions; EU hits Amazon with antitrust charge; AI cracks PDEs; Eric Schmidt moves to Cyprus; fast radio bursts; Silk Road's bitcoin; Furry Season Landscaping; Carfax for cops; Ransomware Facebook ads; virtual Hall of Fame; podcast news; streaming devices; Apple's event; Loser.com; the finances of C19 safe concerts; feedback loop; goodbye, Alex.Show notes at https://gog.show/483See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

12 Marras 20201h 18min

482: Choose Wisely

482: Choose Wisely

It's election day, let's just lie on the floor & scream together; Twitter explains how they will handle results; CISA says everything is going ok (from external threats, anyway); more cyberattacks against hospitals; Zoom adds end-to-end encryption; diving deep with the Mandalorian; Joe Rogan tests Spotify, wins; Tenacious D; Lewis Black; Bad Education; Mr. Rogers; Tehran; Fauda; Over the Moon; Somebody Feed Phil; Jon Stewart's back; ClipDrop; Elgato Key Light; Shure; Digislate; Spider WIFI routers; Cory Doctorow; catching up on feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/482See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

4 Marras 20201h 28min

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