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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Avsnitt(731)

473: GOG+

473: GOG+

Dead mediums doing well; Paramount joins the pluses; TikTok, WeChat ban from US app stores; TikTok brain; Arizona goes after Uber safety driver, not Uber; Amazon e-bikes in NYC; Spotify defends Joe Rogan, sort of; Hamm's Hog & internet freedom; don't post pictures of anything with a barcode; Twitter security for politicians; fake data markets; Windows exploit; ransomware attack leads to a death; new Lady in the tubes; Sky Guide; Apple iOS 14; Apple vs everyone; Roam if you want to; the most important plug in ever.Show notes at https://gog.show/473See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

19 Sep 20201h 5min

472: Trash Behaving Consistently

472: Trash Behaving Consistently

Still on fire; sarcasm is hard; maybe CEOs should pay employees well; Oracle gets to host TikTok; NVIDIA acquires arm, costs arm & leg; Bitcoin bugs; QAnon site runner not so Anon; lady in the tube gets eyes; blurring your house; normal things, forgotten; Hamilton; Ted Lasso, finally; The Vow; The Gentlemen; the Social Dilemma; YouTube sued; Paw Patrol; Stuart Copeland & misophonia; John Scalzi; Ready Player Two; feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/472See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

16 Sep 20201h 14min

471: We're Number 28!

471: We're Number 28!

The spice must flow; TikTok's algorithm; the real reason there was a beer shortage; Amazon's exploding products; Facebook launches an app for... college kids; NFL in Microsoft Teams; I want my MTV; Los Angeles's contact tracing app rolls out; Amazon appointes ex-NSA director to board; license plate tracking; Portland bans facial recognition; moving to Wordpress; another streaming service; Nikon Z6; quality of life slipping in USA; color-correcting the apocalypse.Show notes at https://gog.show/471See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

12 Sep 20201h 10min

470: Mountains of Inane Faffery

470: Mountains of Inane Faffery

No more phones in trees; Amazon Fresh review; new (old) memories; another Wordpress plugin bug; Instagram stories in Facebook; Zuck says there may (?) be violence & civil unrest; disinformation in Animal Crossing; Apple vs Epic continues; Twitter trends; Raised by Wolves; Away; The Boys; Star Trek news; streaming self-regulating, in India at least; Attack Surface; gender reveal party start massive fire; Sturgis COVID spread; masks aren't about you; feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/470See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Sep 202058min

469: Assed Vigilantes

469: Assed Vigilantes

New sci-fi, film production is back; Walmart+ launching; Facebook & Twitter catch Russian fake news site; more podcast unions; smart homes for landlords; Amazon drivers gaming the system, still being spied on; Apple-Google contact tracing gets an upgrade; Ben Yelin joins us; Ring cameras spying on cops; Snowden, vindicated; local sheriff's Minority Report; Oculus sales halted in Germany due to GDPR; Zero; technologies gone by the wayside; working from home is starting to stink; science!Show notes at https://gog.show/469See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5 Sep 20201h 6min

468: Three Little Piggies

468: Three Little Piggies

It was a very bad week; what's new?; big tech offices aren't dead; tech salaries revealed; Apple's new products, fixing the app store; Amazon gets drone delivery approval; Elon Musk creates cyber pigs, neuroscience theater; guillotine outside of Bezos' home, again; Zuckerberg admits Facebook erred with Kenosha; Bill & Ted 3; Star Trek Discovery dates; when they come for comedians; TikTok house parties; periods are triggering Gen Z; feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/468See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Sep 202059min

467: A Desire for Desires

467: A Desire for Desires

Slow week in tech news; another Tesla autopilot crash; Ladies in a Tube in your hotel rooms; Facebook apologizes for Apple's attempts to protect privacy; gaming Instagram; the pandemic devastated Instacart workers; too fast mopeds in NYC; the ongoing TikTok saga; Star Wars 4K77; busting the Swedish movie pipeline; Tesla targeted for ransomware attack; let's get US tech production back; Amazon fitness tracker; what boredom does for us; build your own air purifier; Jason gets a bike!Show notes at https://gog.show/467See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

29 Aug 202052min

466: Batman Prime

466: Batman Prime

Giant Meteor 2020; not-good Covid news; Uber & Lyft could have complied with the law, chose not to; Overcast & Spotify testing; why tech isn't exciting anymore; TikTok sues US government; Facebook war-gaming for election meddling; Facebook back taxes; FAA testing drone detecting tech; fastest internet speeds, ever; Lovecraft Country; Entourage; bundle confusion; the Batman, again; time travel sci-fi; OpenDyslexic Font; feedback loop.Show notes at https://gog.show/466See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

26 Aug 20201h 1min

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