674: Welcome to DOGE! The Department of Grumpy Entertainment

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, we break down the latest chaos in tech, pop culture, and humanity’s never-ending quest to out-stupid itself. Hackers are raiding Ticketmaster accounts (again), and Chegg is circling the drain after ChatGPT obliterated its business model. Meanwhile, Amazon is hawking boner pills that tanked Hims’ stock, 23andMe is laying off nearly half its staff, and Bluesky is quietly stealing users who’ve had it with Elon’s dumpster fire over at X.

Driverless Waymo cars take over LA, nuclear safety gets outsourced to AI, and Apple wants to track your luggage with AirTags (but only on planes they like). Oh, and let’s not forget Mark Zuckerberg’s bizarre karaoke moment with Get Low.

On the pop culture front, The Penguin finale cements it as TV’s best comic book adaptation, Moana smashes Disney streaming records, and The Beatles are back—kind of—thanks to AI. Plus, Mattel accidentally linked kids’ toys to a porn site, and some genius in a bear costume is faking car accidents for insurance money. It’s all as dumb, messy, and oddly entertaining as you’d expect. Tune in for the snark, stay for the schadenfreude!

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Show notes at https://gog.show/674

FOLLOW UP

Hackers Keep Stealing Tickets From People’s Ticketmaster Accounts

Trump Media Execs Dumped Millions in Stock After the Election

Study Finds Eggs Might Protect Brain Health And Lower Cholesterol

IN THE NEWS

FTX bankruptcy estate sues Anthony Scaramucci, FWD.us, others

Chegg Is On Its Last Legs After ChatGPT Sent Its Stock Down 99%

AI travel influencers are here. Human travelers hate it.

Bluesky reaches 15 million users; people look for alternatives to X

Jason on Bluesky

Brian on Bluesky

Graysky

Bluesky scoops up the developer of popular third-party app, Graysky

23andMe is laying off 40 percent of its staff

Amazon Gets Into the Boner Pill Business, Hims Stock Goes Limp

Waymo's driverless cars in LA County are now available to everyone

Telecom Builds AI ‘Grandmother’ Bot to Talk to Phone Scammers and Waste Their Time

Anthropic, feds test whether AI will share sensitive nuclear info

New artificial intelligence search solution deployed at Diablo Canyon Power Plant

The Manhattan Project (1986)

AI Expert Warns Crash Is Imminent As AI Improvements Hit Brick Wall

'Hawk Tuah' girl launches Pookie Tool, an AI-powered dating advice app, and it's fine?

The Onion Purchases Alex Jones’ InfoWars in Bankruptcy Auction

MEDIA CANDY

Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson

Paul vs. Tyson

Super League: The War for Football

Shrinking

Nobody Wants This

Silo Season Two

Moana is Disney’s Biggest Movie on Streaming Ever

The Penguin Finale Cemented It as One of the Best Comic Book Shows Ever

The Beatles are nominated for two Grammys thanks to AI

Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who do you think you are?

ERIC SAYS

The story of Love And Rockets, the former Bauhaus members who helped sell goth to America

Mark Zuckerberg Just Released a Cover of Lil Jon's "Get Low" and Yes, He Says the Line About Balls

Spotify’s Plans For AI Generated Music, Podcasts, and Recommendations, According To Its Co-President, CTO, and CPO Gustav Söderström

APPS & DOODADS

Good News: Instagram Chief Says App Won’t Refresh Right When You Open It Anymore

Meta Will Get Its Unwanted Day in Antitrust Court

Apple Has Begun Selling iPhone 16 Replacement Parts

Apple teams up with airlines for new ‘Share Item Location’ AirTags feature in iOS 18.2

"Wicked" toys from Mattel featuring link to porn site pulled from shelves, now available on eBay

Sound Studio 4

Redact

Tangle News

AT THE LIBRARY

This photography book shows people just standing in front of Danzig's house

Beacon 23: The Complete Novel by Hugh Howey

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Andor Will Gloriously Rebel Once More in April 2025

Andor Season 2 Will Pit Your Favorite Miserable Imperials Against Each Other

How to migrate from X to Bluesky without losing your followers

Person dressed in bear costume to fake attacks on cars for insurance payout, California officials say.

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

Tony Todd, ‘Candyman’ and ‘Final Destination’ Actor, Dead at 69

Tony Todd Made One of Deep Space Nine‘s Greatest Episodes Shine

Happy Birthday Gigi Edgley!

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