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

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Episoder(731)

481: 18.09 Scaramuccis

481: 18.09 Scaramuccis

Quibi is toast, Scaramuccis galore, Wisconsin gets Foxconned, Tesla lies about self-driving tech, Police can read your phone, Twitter probably not hacked, creepy video bro's don't get fired, Animaniacs and Supermarket Sweep are back, Ghostbusters delayed, James Bond is homeless, Photoshop gets some AI, ClipDrop hits the streets, upcoming books, and more!Show notes at https://gog.show/481See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

28 Okt 20201h 26min

480: BeelzeYeezy

480: BeelzeYeezy

TikTok's back (in Pakistan); China's law fighting addiction in kids; living with influencers; Instagram EU probe; about Biden's hard drive; Facebook really quashing left-leaning stories; relocating while working remotely & your salary; YouTube fighting conspiracy theories, again; BA hit with biggest-ever fine; Barnes & Noble data breach; Chinese hackers & McAfee; Sandworm; Google Chrome "bug"/feature; iPhones & AirPods Pro; Paperlike; Amazon Explore; streaming payments; Infinite Monkey Cages; I want my Apple TV; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/480See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

21 Okt 20201h 21min

479: Good to the Last Click

479: Good to the Last Click

Aging Millennials embracing Folgers; Prime Day ridiculousness; a dip into COVID corner; Facebook bans Holocaust-denial content, finally; Quibi has no takers; Disney focuses on streaming; Yelp takes a stand against racism; phantom images fool autopilots; keeping e-scooters off sidewalks; 5G heartbreaks; Microsoft busts Trickbot; broken cables; Apple's bug bounties; Singaporn; Janeway's back; CRISPR doc; Fatman; Apple's new stuff; 1/2 a Christmas tree; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/479See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

15 Okt 20201h 24min

478: XLS Extreme!

478: XLS Extreme!

Show news; Raised by Wolves; Pixar releasing new movie on Disney+; podcast unions; Facebook, Twitter play whack-a-mole with bad actors; Twitter's different rules for Trump; Amazon's Rivian electric vans; Waymo driverless rides in Phoenix; UK's Excel problem; Pantone, period; Google sharing search data with law enforcement; RainboxMix; Warner Music Group data breach; welcome to the future of delivery; random facts & blanket horn piping.Show notes at https://gog.show/478See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

12 Okt 20201h 23min

477: This is Triller, Triller Night

477: This is Triller, Triller Night

A Stairway to lawyers; Triller's suspect statistics; Instagram labeling state-controlled media; frickin' laser beams taking down drones; Ted Lasso; Enola Holmes; West Wing special; movie industry learned nothing from the music industry; Dune, the Batman and Bond all pushed back; the Go Gos; Moron McAfee arrested; an epic feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/477See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8 Okt 20201h 5min

476: Pickle Me Elmo

476: Pickle Me Elmo

It's been a week; no self-driving cars anytime soon, shoooocking; Google & Fitbit deal with the EU; Hold For Me; Whole Foods employees angry at Amazon workers; cussing Parrots; Amazon's Utopia; Deep Questions with Cal Newport; Tehran; Borat's back; Hackers Part Deux; The Last Dance; RIP, Geeks & Beats; the Expanse books wrap up; Murderbot Diaries confusion; Phreaking at Disneyland; Elon Musk returns to Moron of the Week.Show notes at https://gog.show/476See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 Okt 20201h 1min

475: Stay Drunky

475: Stay Drunky

A rare late night show with socially distant lubrications; Facebook blinks; rethinking contracting; streaming consolidation; Apple issues; the horrors of content moderation; Bezos wants your kid as a customer; words matter; VR as a Facebook platform; what happens if there's election chaos; Pinfluencers; global dark web takedown; being a smooth ethical criminal; Ring's Traffic Stop, home drone; brute forcing passwords; all of Amazon's new products; home speakers; JenniCam 4k; goodnight, Longcat.Show notes at https://gog.show/475See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

26 Sep 20201h 31min

474: Boring Guy

474: Boring Guy

Client statue of limitations; Apple updates causing issues; the TikTok deal stinks; coronavirus work from home continues; Facebook vs Europe; iPhone voice memo "tracking"; Quibi exploring "options"; Microsoft buying up gaming companies; Amazon Sidewalk, why?; Palmer's podcast; Peacock on Roku; Emmies; Ted Lasso, Raised by Wolves renewed; Go Go's doc; Dune & Hackers; the Postman; Goodreads bad; Darwin Awards; crypto currency advice; feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/474See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

23 Sep 20201h

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