715: Our Wizard Lies
Grumpy Old Geeks26 Syys 2025

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)

449: Tip of the Tunaberg

449: Tip of the Tunaberg

Not our finest hour; some good Coronavirus news; we finally know what line you can't cross with Zuckerberg; Google boots right wing sites from ad platform; Stop Hate for Profit targets Facebook; Twitter rolls out... audio tweets?; Jump exists Europe; Starlink ready for beta-testers; listening via light bulb; caught by tattoo; don't login once you've been fired; real consequences in Big Tuna; FDA approves prescription video game; Snapchat does it again; synth searches.Show notes at https://gog.show/449See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

20 Kesä 202043min

448: Unplug Everything!

448: Unplug Everything!

Legion of bugs mean a billion hackable IoT devices; United Airlines bumped out of NASDAQ by DocuSign; airport security theater; T-Mobile outage not huge DDoS, just incompetence; Germany contact tracing app; Facebook deplatforms anti-racists, thinking they're racists; Instagram to pull back the curtain, maybe; Quibi is a failure; 6 Feet Apart; Knives Out & Clue; Roland's 808; Dave Chappelle; IP Man, come to save the day; popcorn Sci-Fi; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/448See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

17 Kesä 20201h 11min

447: My God, It’s Full of Karens!

447: My God, It’s Full of Karens!

A farewell to COVID Corner; Apple takes on racial equity; IBM, Microsoft, Amazon halt facial recognition tech for police; Facebook chief diversity officer; disinformation mentors; Nextdoor has a Karen problem; Cox punishes neighborhood over one user; Stormtrooper news; Photoshop's new camera app; the Winklevii make movie about themselves; Moons leave their planets; I hear the Tesla Coils echoing tonight.Show notes at https://gog.show/447See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

14 Kesä 20201h 7min

446: The Well Hath Runneth Dry

446: The Well Hath Runneth Dry

Covid Cases are, unsurprisingly, rising; Facebook browser redesign, more resignations; Uber leaves Levandowski out to dry; 75 year old provocateurs; police & your phone data; Michigan's MIDAS algorithmic touch; sensible content moderation plans; Twitch & music copyrights; the Media Candy well is running dry; the Vast of Night; upcoming sci-fi movies; down the music documentary rabbit hole; Last Week Tonight; the Banker; Influencers in the wild; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/446See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Kesä 20201h 10min

445: User Generated Incarceration

445: User Generated Incarceration

FBI asks for videos of violence during protests, gets videos of police; #BlackOutTuesday; Fiona Fauxtesting; Twitter, Snapchat & Facebook on Trump; where are our contact tracing apps; Zoom end-to-end encryption business model; bot detection tools; Bittner gets a Stormtrooper, sort of; audio apps & doodads for the pro podcaster; social distancing Werewolf; San Dimas High rules!Show notes at https://gog.show/445See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Kesä 202058min

444: Hello Dystopia!

444: Hello Dystopia!

So, yeah, we aren't gonna talk about that; yay, SpaceX & NASA; Facebook employees stage virtual walkout, roll out set-visibility-to-zero feature; Twitter continues to flag posts; Coronavirus is the new eggs; Microsoft lays off journalists, replaces them with AI; Uber destroys bikes & scooters; Instacart tip-baiting; social distancing in the supermarket; people can't sleep; Into the Night; Somebody Feed Phil; Space Force; Kylie Jenner not a billionaire; police out-sourcing; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/444See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

3 Kesä 202057min

443: Farewell Utopia

443: Farewell Utopia

The tweet label heard around the world; social media executive orders; wherefore art thou, Zuck?; quarantine reunion shows; SpaceX take two; Magic Leap CEO out; Globe home-sharing takes a stand; Instagram sharing revenue, sort of; Palantir may leave California; Elon Musk is teflon; the wheel of fate; Covid Corner; Ladies in the Tube and bodily functions; HBO's confusing streaming approach; Tidal, what?Show notes at https://gog.show/443See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

30 Touko 20201h

442: White Claw Wall

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Quarantine, tech & the third-quarter phenomenon; of course Facebook knew the algorithms were divisive; 44.2Tbps cables; NASA & SpaceX astronaut launch a go; stretching out wine & White Claw walls; Muppets & Fraggle Rock are back; Hotel Artemis; Into the Night; good ol' Huell Howser; Minions; Spy Wars; Hightown; Amazon & Apple invest in podcasts (just not ours); e-cheating in e-sports; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/442See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

27 Touko 202049min

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