As we close out our 3rd season, we are excited to share some obvious, and not-so-obvious, predictions for 2026 (and beyond!) with you all. We felt it was only appropriate to prognosticate around our most typical themes: Business, Technology/Science/Innovation, and a smidge of Entertainment.
We appreciate you joining us for another season of Nonsense. We enjoyed producing every one of our 68 episodes this year, primarily because of listeners like you that come back week over week to join us. Thank you and see you in 2026!
Merriam-Webster’s 2025 word of the year is ‘slop’ | The Verge
Car Talk - My Government Vehicle Shakes at 17,500 MPH
Another NASA story - Threads from Green Pocket Protector
Blog Post | Tom Magliozzi 1937-2014 | Car Talk
Watch Nobody Wants This | Netflix Official Site
(0:00) Pre-Show
(0:48) Open
(1:53) cj's week: Decorations & Lions v. Rams
(8:08) Jeff's Week: IKEA + Thread
(9:34) Headline: Tesla Ditches Human Safety Monitors in Austin Robotaxi Test
(14:30) Headline: DoorDash Driver Arrested for Allegedly 'Seasoning' Arby’s Delivery with Pepper Spray
(17:06) Headline: A Close Call 350 Miles Up: Starlink and Chinese Satellite Nearly Collide
(19:55) Headline: Google's Interpreter in Your Earbuds Is Here
(23:41) DynaTech PowerHouse
This week’s show dives into Tesla’s bold, and big surprise, controversial move to remove all human safety monitors from its Austin robotaxi tests, despite at least seven reported crashes among heavy redactions that continue to raise regulatory eyebrows. Texas’ lighter rules make it ground zero for autonomy, even though Tesla’s fleet ambitions have shrunk dramatically.
Heading north next to Indiana, a DoorDash driver faces felony charges after allegedly spraying a customer’s meal with a mystery substance, prompting illness and a permanent platform ban.
Meanwhile in space, a nerve-wracking near-collision between a Starlink satellite and a Chinese spacecraft highlights the growing risks of orbital congestion and finger-pointing between operators.
Fortunately, back on Earth, Google Translate is encouraging inter-cultural communication by rolling out real-time audio translation through headphones, whispering 70+ languages directly into users’ ears.
All that and more in this episode of Nonsense. Pretty cool!
Dylan's Christmas Lights: A Scholarly Treatise
Let’s Go Lions! - ibcjl on Instagram
Tesla starts testing robotaxis in Austin with no safety driver | TechCrunch
DoorDash driver faces felony charges after allegedly spraying customers’ food | TechCrunch
Starlink and Chinese satellites nearly collided last week | The Verge
Not a Big Reader? Google Translate Rolls Out Real-Time Audio Translation for Headphone Users | PCMag
DynaTech PowerHouse - BYTE Magazine September 1985
(0:00) Open
(0:56) The University of California System
(6:27) But California Has Problems, Yo!
(10:47) Project Nexus: Solar FTW!
(22:05) cj’s recommendation: There It Is, Take It!
(25:26) Jeff’s Recommendation: Chinatown
California has serious challenges, including a worsening water crisis and the threat it poses to the state that grows most of America’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The state’s growing electricity demands has created, among other things, a food-versus-energy conflict from the deployment of large solar farms that replace farmland.
Fortunately one of California’s numerous superpowers is their public University system. Innovations from the UC system have shaped the modern world, from the Internet and RISC chips to CRISPR, PET scans, blue LEDs, and reverse osmosis desalination. And now the UC system has brought us a promising solution in Project Nexus, which installs solar panels over water canals to generate clean energy while saving billions of gallons of water.
Inspired by similar efforts in India, California’s first solar-covered canal is now online, offering a potential path to statewide deployment. Fortunately the UC system remains central to solving many of the state’s biggest challenges.
Solar-panel-covered canals have their day in the sun in California
Using solar panels like THIS is a no-brainer! California’s doing it
Project Nexus | Water & Energy Integration for the Future
The ‘solar canals’ making smart use of India’s space
Canal Solar Power Project - Wikipedia
(0:00) Pre-Show
(0:59) Open
(2:09) Computer Science Education Week
(2:51) cj's week: KFC: Kids, Football, and Cookies
(6:38) Jeff's Week: Hoosiers!
(10:33) Headline: Europe cracks down: Twitter fined $140M for Breaking Digital Services Act Rules
(15:35) Headline: More Troubling Changes Come to The Food & Drug Administration
(18:37) Headline: A Fentanyl Vaccine is About to Get Its First Major Test
(22:46) Headline: China's $1 Trillion Trade Shock: Global Exports Surge Amid U.S. Dive
(25:31) Mr. Clean Hates Dirt!
This week, the world’s institutions are… not okay.
The EU slaps Twitter with a €120 million fine - the first ever under the Digital Services Act, prompting Elon Musk to respond with the maturity of a man yelling at a cloud.
Meanwhile, 12 former FDA commissioners unite to condemn a rogue internal memo that rewrites vaccine policy based on feelings and vibes. The boys also dive into the first human trial of a fentanyl vaccine that could reshape overdose prevention.
And finally, China detonates the global economic leaderboard with a historic $1 trillion trade surplus, redefining global manufacturing power while hollowing out domestic demand.
It’s regulatory chaos, medical whiplash, biotech moonshots, and seismic geopolitical math - all wrapped into one delightfully unhinged episode of Nonsense.
Elon Musk’s X hit with $140 million EU fine for breaching content rules
X cuts off the European Commission’s ad account after being fined €120 million | The Verge
12 former FDA chiefs unite to say agency memo on vaccines is deeply stupid - Ars Technica
A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About to Get Its First Major Test | WIRED
China's trade surplus tops $1 trillion as its exports surge
Vintage Mr. Clean Commercial from the 1960s | TikTok
(0:00) Pre-Show
(1:05) Open
(1:46) World Wildlife Conservation Day
(2:13) cj's week: Formula 1, Friendsgiving, & Salt Lake City
(8:03) Jeff's Week: Japanese Nyquil to College Football
(19:07) Headline: Gemini Leapfrogs, Well, Everybody
(23:25) Headline: Software Glitch Grounds 6,000 Planes Worldwide
(32:15) Headline: How Solar is Working to Keep Pace with America's Growing Energy Thirst
(34:20) Headline: OpenAI declares ‘code red’ as Google catches up in AI race
(42:23) The Black & Decker Air Sweep
This week on the show: Google drops Gemini 3 Pro—a shockwave of a model that leapfrogs the field with unified multimodality, record-breaking reasoning benchmarks, and a “Deep Think” mode that pushes us closer to AGI territory. This isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a whole new architecture that changes what AI agents can actually do.
Over the break Airbus grounded 6,000 planes worldwide in an urgent aerospace crisis - only for Airbus to reveal the emergency fix was essentially a software rollback after a (supposed) cosmic-ray-induced bit flip. Yes, the Sun caused an airplane to nose-dive. Yes, the previous version of the software didn’t do that. Sure, that’s all that happened.
Rounding out our headlines, U.S. solar deployment is exploding, nearly offsetting the entire country’s rising electricity demand - an underreported energy milestone hiding in plain sight. And OpenAI declares a “code red” internally as Google’s AI surge closes the gap.
We’ve moved on from turkey to Japanese Nyquil - let’s go!
Airbus Emergency Work For Airbus A320 Aircraft Was Actually a Software Rollback
Airbus Stock Nosedives As Planemaker Shares Update On Major A320 Glitch
r/aviation on Reddit: A320 pilot explains what features were rolled back with the update
Solar’s growth in US almost enough to offset rising energy use - Ars Technica
Chart: Solar and wind are meeting — and exceeding — new power demand
OpenAI declares ‘code red’ as Google catches up in AI race | The Verge
OpenAI says dead teen violated TOS when he used ChatGPT to plan suicide - Ars Technica
(0:00) Open
(2:44) Not Cheating at Cards
(17:50) Really Cheating at Cards
(23:51) High Tech Cheating
(24:57) How Many Orders of a 52-Card Deck Exist?
(29:25) Magic Decks & A Cutable Deck Where You Always Win
(31:40) Introducing the DeckMate
(34:08) A Big Surprise at Hustler
(36:25) Hacking the Unhackable Shuffling Machine
(46:01) cj’s recommendation: Oceans Eleven
(47:15) Jeff’s Recommendation: The Sting
Jeff and cj take a wild ride through the world of card-game “edges” on this pre-Thanksgiving break extra length episode!
Starting with the respectable stuff: game theory, probability, and reading opponents before things escalate as they tour the many shady, creative, and outright illegal ways people try to tilt the odds: sleight-of-hand, marked cards, secret signals, corrupt dealers, mechanical holdouts, and the modern wave of smartphone-powered scams.
A quick detour through the staggering mathematics behind a 52-card deck, then arriving at the crown jewel: the DeckMate 2 shuffler and the real-world cheating scandals surrounding its hackability. From live-streamed poker controversy in 2022 to last month’s massive DoJ indictment involving mobsters, NBA figures, and rigged shufflers, the guys explore how high-tech tampering has changed the cheating landscape.
Open
DEALT - Official Trailer [HD]
Segment
Bringing Down the House (book) - Wikipedia
The Incomprehensible Scale of 52!
Hackers Rig Casino Card-Shuffling Machines for ‘Full Control’ Cheating | WIRED
How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA | WIRED
Close
Ocean's Eleven (2001) Official Trailer
The Sting Official Trailer #1 - Paul Newman, Robert Redford Movie (1973) HD
In this episode of Nonsense, we dive into a wild set of headlines: China’s Tiangong space station faces a genuine space-junk emergency as three astronauts are left without a safe ride home. Meanwhile, SpaceX-built spy satellites are quietly beaming signals in frequencies they’re not supposed to, raising international eyebrows. Back on Earth, a newly mutated H3N2 flu strain is hitting the Northern Hemisphere early and hard, threatening to overwhelm hospitals. And in San Francisco, a tragic Waymo robotaxi incident reignites the fight over who controls AVs—local communities or state regulators.
All that, plus the uncomfortable question: how safe are robotaxis really?
Three astronauts are stuck on China’s space station without a safe ride home - Ars Technica
US spy satellites built by SpaceX send signals in the “wrong direction” - Ars Technica
This flu season looks grim as H3N2 emerges with mutations - Ars Technica
Here's Why San Francisco Can't Stop Waymo From Killing Your Cat | PCMag
(0:00) Open
(3:18) No Certainty
(5:20) The Ultimate Cosmic Lottery
(6:27) Meatware Brain-slop
(7:23) Presenting 3I/ATLAS
(13:57) How Can We See It?
(17:54) Fast & Hyperbolic
(20:51) Its Perihelion
(21:20) Enter Controversy!
(24:45) Billions of Billions of Stars
(26:33) So, What Ultimately is 3I/ATLAS?
(31:26) cj’s recommendation: Operation Space Station: High-Risk
(32:44) Jeff’s Recommendation: Deep Impact
This week, we take a curious (and occasionally confused) dive into 3I/ATLAS, only the third confirmed interstellar object humanity has ever spotted. From its discovery in Chile to its high-speed sprint through the Solar System, we break down how telescopes on Earth, in space, and even around Mars managed to catch this fast-moving cosmic visitor - and why its wild 61+ km/s velocity and hyperbolic orbit leave no doubt it came from another star.
Along the way, we unpack the growing controversy around its behavior. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is once again arguing that the comet’s odd non-gravitational motion doesn’t add up, hinting at something more exotic, while most astronomers say it’s simply a volatile-rich interstellar snowball outgassing in strange but explainable ways.
Join us on this episode to explore the science, the speculation, and why these rare visitors spark so much imagination - especially for the next generation of stargazers.
Segment
Dunning–Kruger effect - Wikipedia
Did 3I/ATLAS Just Break-Up Near the Sun? | by Avi Loeb
A Complex Jet Structure Emanates from 3I/ATLAS After Perihelion | by Avi Loeb | Nov, 2025
The First Radio Signal From Comet 3I/Atlas Ends the Debate About Its Nature | WIRED
Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology?
How to Follow the Trajectory of Comet 3I/Atlas | WIRED
Orbital eccentricity - Wikipedia
Monty Python's Galaxy Song with Updated Lyrics | Space and Universe Anthem|
Close
Operation Space Station | NOVA | PBS
Deep Impact (1998) Teaser Trailer
(0:00) Pre-Show
(1:06) Open
(1:47) Veterans Day
(2:01) cj's week: Summer in November, Hanging Photos
(3:24) Jeff's Week: Vertigo Gone-igo, USC Football (Not) Cheating!
(5:38) Headline: iRobot has sucked up all their cash, now what?
(15:45) Headline: IKEA’s new smart home, no assembly required
(22:04) Headline: TikTok Shop Is the New King of Impulse Buying
(27:02) Alka-Seltzer
iRobot, the once-dominant Roomba maker, is nearly out of cash after a brutal quarter and years of pressure from Chinese rivals. A blocked Amazon sale, layoffs, and new lidar-equipped models haven’t stopped its slide - echoing the fate of U.S. ex-rival Neato.
Meanwhile, IKEA is moving into your smart home with 21 new Matter-compatible products. Smart bulbs, sensors, and remotes mostly priced in the $4 to $12, targeting just a couple bucks more than non-smart equivalents - aiming to make connected living truly affordable.
And over in social media land: the TikTok Shop has exploded to $19 billion in quarterly global sales, rivaling the revenue of eBay in a tenth of the time. Their viral “shop what you see” model has turned scrolling into shopping, proving that entertainment may be the new retail.
iRobot’s revenue has tanked and it’s almost out of cash | The Verge
IKEA launches new smart home range with 21 Matter-compatible products
TikTok Shop Is Now the Size of eBay | WIRED
(0:00) Open
(1:34) Cochlear Implants: A Sound Revolution
(10:50) Expectations of "Restored" Hearing
(15:57) Candidacy Expansion and Device Longevity
(19:24) The Rehabilitation Journey and Bimodal Hearing
(22:47) Lifestyle Integration and Practical Challenges
(25:39) Technological Frontiers and Future Innovations
(28:59) cj’s recommendation: 2025 World Series (G2,3,6&7), The Natural, & Major League
(30:43) Jeff’s Recommendation: CODA
Cochlear implants are one of the quietest revolutions in modern medicine - less than 10% of adults who could benefit from them actually have one. In this episode, the guys dive deep into the bionic world of hearing restoration, where sound processors powered by AI can now pick voices out of crowded rooms and surgical robots perform “soft” insertions so precise they preserve natural hearing.
These modern marvels bypass the mechanics of the ear entirely, and instead send digital sound straight to the brain; the experience feels more like learning a new sense than regaining an old one. This is the story of how biology and engineering are merging at the edge of human perception.
Transhumanism you can actually hear; the singularity is here.
How Does a Cochlear Implant Work?
5 Things About Cochlear Implant Sound Quality No One Prepares You For
What a Cochlear Implant Actually Sounds Like
What Family & Friends Get Wrong About Cochlear Implants (5 Realities)
A day in the life of cochlear implants. [Sora]
(0:00) Pre-Show
(1:23) Open
(2:02) Election Day!
(2:51) cj's week: Nonsense Oopsie, Arch FTW!, All Hallows’ Eve, & The Japanese National Baseball Team
(9:49) Jeff's Week: Dodgers & Vertigo
(14:28) Headline: Vaccine Skepticism and Outright Defiance Fuels Measles Outbreak in Utah and Arizona
(19:03) Headline: Some 60,000 Kids Have Avoided Peanut Allergies Due to Landmark 2015 Advice
(22:34) Headline: Tesla Roadster Refund Rage: Sam Altman Demands His Money Back
(26:43) Headline: The Scary Correlation Between Melatonin and Cardiac Events
(33:07) The Timex Sinclair ZX 1000
In this episode, we ask: what happens when one person says “no” and an entire public health effort grinds to a halt? We’re diving into the Utah measles outbreak where a single uncooperative patient may have helped the virus do what it does best: spread.
Then: 60,000 kids spared peanut allergies thanks to one bold 2015 study, and yet most doctors still don’t follow the updated advice. It’s science whiplash: a story about how medical guidance can take a decade to sink in.
Plus: Sam Altman loses his patience after 7+ years, jumping on the bandwagon to get his $50K back from Tesla.
Finally: we look at that nightly melatonin habit of yours and what it might be saying about your achy-breaky heart.
It’s science, stubbornness, and sleep with just enough nonsense to hold it all together.
Measles outbreak investigation in Utah blocked by patient who refuses to talk
Some 60,000 kids have avoided peanut allergies due to landmark 2015 advice, study finds - CBS News
Sam Altman wants a refund for his $50,000 Tesla Roadster deposit - Ars Technica
What taking melatonin could reveal about your heart health
VC&G | » [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Where’s the Bits?
Timex Sinclair 1000 - Wikiwand
(0:00) Open
(1:35) The Race is On
(3:26) What’s a Bubble?
(11:34) The Scale of These AI Investment Numbers
(18:03) The Circle of Investing
(26:04) How Might This End?
(27:28) Final Thoughts
(30:13) cj’s recommendation: The AI Daily Brief: 5 Reasons AI is A Bubble (And 5 It's Not)
(31:04) Jeff’s Recommendation: The Big Short
The race for Generative AI is driving trillion-dollar valuations and creating instant fortunes, but is this truly a digital gold rush, or a massive speculative bubble?
This episode the guys dissect the terrifyingly familiar warning signs, from companies with thin revenue streams commanding astronomical prices to a $1.2 trillion debt load funding an infrastructure build-out that's outpacing necessary market adoption - or is it? They try to make sense of the complex web of circular investing—where massive deals between giants like Nvidia, OpenAI, and Oracle look less like market growth and more like internal capital round-tripping to inflate perceived scale.
The technology is revolutionary, there’s no doubt. But are the valuations a silicon mirage, backed by insufficient revenue projections and a Shiller P/E ratio not seen since the dot-com crash?
Tune in as we ask the trillion-dollar question: When the euphoria ends and concrete results are demanded, will the financial history books record a boom or a spectacular bust?
Internal Oracle Data Show Financial Challenge of Renting Out Nvidia Chips — The Information
OpenAI, Nvidia Fuel $1 Trillion AI Market With Web of Circular Deals
JPMorgan Says $1.2 Trillion Debt Tied to AI Tops Bank High Grade - Bloomberg
Is Silicon Valley repeating dot-com bubble mistakes with AI frenzy? - Los Angeles Times
Is AI fueling a stock market bubble? We debate it.
🧠 How Nvidia and OpenAI Fuel the $5 Trillion AI Money Machine
The AI Economy Keeps Doing Deals With Itself
The AI bubble and the US economy – Michael Roberts Blog
🫧 Is AI a bubble? - by Azeem Azhar and Nathan Warren
5 Reasons AI is A Bubble (And 5 It's Not)
(0:00) Pre-Show
(0:41) Open
(1:26) Back to the Future Day
(2:25) cj's week: Little Meats!
(4:45) Jeff's Week: Dodgers!
(6:19) Headline: The Freedom to Cough on People: Idaho Makes Vaccine Requirements Illegal
(21:48) Headline: Mystery Object Strikes United Flight Over Utah
(23:46) Headline: X's Handle Hostage: Pay Up for Your Username
(26:49) Headline: IKEA Says: If Your Phone Sleeps, Maybe You Will Too!
(28:57) The Pulsar Time Computer
This time on Nonsense, we’re taking a cross-country flight straight through America’s weirdest headlines.
First stop: Idaho, where “medical freedom” now means you can’t even quarantine an unvaccinated kid during a measles outbreak. It’s the state where bodily autonomy trumps public health, and homeopathy apparently trumps immunology.
Then—mid-flight—something smashes into a United 737 at 36,000 feet. Was it space junk? A rogue weather balloon? Or just Shohei Ohtani hitting another one into orbit?
Back on Earth, X (formerly Twitter, formerly tolerable) launches a new scheme to sell usernames for up to seven figures—because now your identity is a subscription service.
And finally, IKEA wants your phone to take a nap. Literally. Their new “Phone Sleep Collection” gives your device its own bed, proving once and for all that even our electronics are better rested than we are.
Come for the satire, stay for the science—and maybe pick up a tiny, “some assembly required” comforter for your iPhone.
Idaho Banned Vaccine Mandates. Activists Want to Make It a Model for the Country.
Something from “space” may have just struck a United Airlines flight over Utah - Ars Technica
X is launching a marketplace for inactive handles | The Verge
IKEA just launched tiny beds for smartphones | Famous Campaigns
Rolex: The Complete History and Strategy
(0:00) Pre-Show
(0:49) Open
(2:28) Ada Lovelace Day
(4:05) cj's week: Tigers, Tigers, Wings, & Tigers
(13:42) Jeff's Week: Dodgers & Brewers; Pre-Season Lakers
(15:39) Headline: Labor Market Shock as the Government Overshoot Jobs Count
(18:07) Headline: Trump Surprised by China’s Rare Earths Restrictions
(21:00) Headline: FCC Wants You to Know Less, Not More
(22:51) Headline: Elon Musk's Boring Co. Slammed with Environmental Violations in Las Vegas
(24:51) Headline: Beijing Strikes Back at Foreign Scrutiny of Huawei's Supply Chain
(27:26) Armor All Protectant
The economy just pulled a disappearing act, with the government admitting the US overstated job growth by nearly a million jobs. Whoops. We break down the fallout: why this 'oopsie' is now fueling the White House to fire the entire Bureau of Labor Statistics, and how they're using the weak data to try and force rate cuts. Get ready for data integrity to hit rock bottom.
China’s trade war is back, and it's mad! They just pulled the ultimate choke-move by restricting “Rare Earths” - the minerals that make your iPhone and our F-35 jets work. President Trump, "extremely angry," is threatening a "massive" 100% tariff hike that could leave the average tariff on Chinese goods at an eye-watering 130%. Is this just posturing, or is the global supply chain about to implode? Let’s throw some darts and find out!
But don’t worry, the FCC is trying to make your life harder by relaxing the rules on broadband "nutrition labels." Say goodbye to clear pricing; get ready for surprise fees on your next internet bill. Hooray!
Shock and surprise: Elon Musk's Boring Company is facing nearly 800 environmental violations in Vegas, accused of spilling muck and dumping untreated water. Surely we are just as surprised as you are.
Is everything just one giant, infuriating mistake? We’ll try to figure it out in this episode!
Little People, Big Dreams: Ada Lovelace
Sora's Rendering of cj's O’Hare Phone Return
Pictures from the Detroit Tigers Game 5 of ALDS
BLS revision shows hiring was overstated by 911,000 jobs : NPR
“Extremely angry” Trump threatens “massive” tariff on all Chinese exports - Ars Technica
Your Broadband Bill Could Be Getting a Lot More Confusing | PCMag
Musk's Boring Co. Accused of 800 Environmental Violations in Las Vegas | PCMag
China Blacklists Canadian Firm for Exposing Huawei's Use of Foreign Chips | PCMag
303 Products Aerospace Protectant Spray
(0:00) Open
(2:27) The Ignorance Machine: Silencing Science
(3:50) Politicians: What Truth?
(10:15) Religion: Forever War With Science
(16:18) Industry: The War For Profit
(20:07) Provocateurs: The Rogan Effect
(25:53) cj’s recommendation: Summoning Salt - Super Mario Bros: The Human Limit
(27:37) Jeff’s Recommendation: 2012’s Climate of Doubt & 2022’s The Power of Big Oil
Science is under siege, and when evidence becomes optional, our world gets sick(er).
In this episode, the guys confront the deliberate war on fact, from the political slashing of NIH budgets to corporate use of the "Disinformation Playbook" to protect and drive profits. From Galileo's persecution to modern-day fights over vaccines and climate change, they dive into the four groups that are systematically attacking scientific integrity the most.
If you believe that evidence, not ideology, should guide our world, you’ll be doing quite a bit of head nodding this episode. If you believe in the ideology first and foremost, then we believe this is a must-listen!
Afterall, our future depends on defending reason itself.
Segment
The current war on science, and who’s behind it - Ars Technica
The Disinformation Playbook | Union of Concerned Scientists
The truth about Galileo and his conflict with the Catholic Church | UCLA
Close
'Trump Dance' Gives Tigers Worst Collapse In Recent Baseball History | Crooks and Liars
Super Mario Bros: The Human Limit
PBS Frontline 2012 Climate of Doubt 4
The Power of Big Oil Part One: Denial (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
PBS cuts 15% of jobs in wake of federal funding cut : NPR
(0:00) Pre-Show
(1:22) Open
(2:25) International Podcast Day
(2:51) cj's week: Crafting Tables & IKEA
(4:25) Jeff's Week: Power Washing & Tea
(6:48) Headline: US to Taiwan: Move Your Chip Production or Face China Alone
(11:48) Headline: How a Wrongful Death Suit Forced ChatGPT's Safety Overhaul
(18:47) Headline: Trump's New Power Play: Turning TikTok Into a MAGA Machine
(22:45) Headline: Wrong Way, Tesla: Urging Tired Drivers to Use 'Self-Driving' Is Reckless
(26:06) Panasonic Mr. Whisk Wet/Dry Shaver
Are we trading national security for a global supply chain? Should a chatbot be held responsible for a teenager's death? And why is a supposedly "self-driving" car now telling tired drivers to take the wheel?
This week, we dive into the high-stakes, real-world consequences of technology and global politics.
First, the U.S. has issued an ultimatum to Taiwan: move 50% of your critical chip production to American soil or risk losing the military protection of your "Silicon Shield" against a Chinese invasion. Don’t mind how that would work, or that we are most certainly bluffing.
Next, after a wrongful death lawsuit alleged ChatGPT validated a teenage boy's "delusional thinking" leading to his suicide, the company is rolling out new features. Is a new "safety routing" system and parental controls enough, or is this a too-late response to a fundamental failure of AI responsibility?
Then, we look at the political algorithm-wrangling around TikTok, where President Trump quipped he'd make the content "100% MAGA" if he could - jk omgwtfbbq!
Finally, a new, deeply concerning twist in vehicle safety: is Tesla actively encouraging drowsy drivers to engage its highly-hyped, but still Beta and always Level 2 “Full Self-Driving” feature?
Welcome back to this week’s Nonsense! (this is what happens when we take a week off…)
Hamburger Helper Sales Are Soaring. Here’s How to Beef up Its Nutrition
Industrial Production: Manufacturing: Nondurable Goods: Paperboard Container
Tifanso Stainless Steel Tea Infuser
Taiwan pressured to move 50% of chip production to US or lose protection - Ars Technica
OpenAI rolls out safety routing system, parental controls on ChatGPT | TechCrunch
Trump says TikTok should be tweaked to become “100% MAGA” - Ars Technica
Tesla Is Urging Drowsy Drivers to Use ‘Full Self-Driving.’ That Could Go Very Wrong | WIRED
Panasonic Mr. Whisk Wet/Dry Shaver
What started as a lazy person’s dream—changing the channel without getting up—actually began with torpedoes, Tesla’s radio-controlled boat, and a whole lot of weird engineering experiments.
From Zenith’s cord-tripping “Lazy Bones” to the sun-triggered Flash-Matic, the ultrasonic “Clicker,” and the 92-button monstrosities of the 1980s, the TV remote has a history that feels more like science fiction than anything else. In this episode, the boys trace how a once-luxury gadget turned into the most lost object in your living room—and ask whether today’s “universal remotes” or voice commands have finally solved the chaos (spoiler: not really).
Segment
The history of the remote control: Why are they so awful?
The surprising origins of the TV remote
Remote Background - Zenith Electronics
Close
Excel speedrunning : r/oddlysatisfying
https://github.com/Excelobstaclecourse/Excel-Obstacle-Course
My Favorite Year Official Trailer #1 - Peter O'Toole Movie (1982) HD
All Products - excelobstaclecourse
(0:00) Pre-Show
(0:42) Open
(1:25) cj's week: COVID is (not) gone!
(6:00) Jeff's Week: Occam’s Razor
(11:00) Headline: After Bloody Youth Uprising, Nepal's 73-Year-Old Chief Justice Steps In
(15:39) Headline: California's AI Bill SB-53 Divides Tech
(20:52) Headline: RFK Jr. Seeks to Restrict COVID Shots to 75 and Up
(24:48) Headline: The US and China might finally have a TikTok deal
(27:40) The ORB.
Nepal’s Gen Z just rage-quit corruption, burned down half the government, and installed a former Chief Justice as Prime Minister. Forget “eat the rich”—this is more like “yeet the rich kids’ handbags.”
Meanwhile, California is trying to regulate AI before Skynet goes beta. Will AMERICAS FAVORITE GOVERNOR sign the bill and push Silicon Valley’s favorite billionaires to cry into their kombucha about paperwork?
Over in D.C., RFK Jr. is running public health like it’s a Facebook comment section—floating vaccine policies based on vibes, conspiracy theories, and that one uncle at Thanksgiving.
And finally, America and China might have found a way to keep TikTok alive. Turns out, national security threats are negotiable… as long as you really need your daily dose of cat videos and dance challenges.
Former chief justice sworn in as Nepal’s interim prime minister following deadly protests | CNN
California lawmakers pass landmark bill that will test Gavin Newsom on AI - POLITICO
California Lawmakers Pass AI Safety Bill, Pending Newsom's Approval | PCMag
RFK Jr.’s CDC may limit COVID shots to 75 and up, claim they killed kids - Ars Technica
US, China reach framework deal on TikTok; Trump and Xi to speak on Friday
CA SB-53 Artificial intelligence models: large developers
(0:00) Open
(1:12) A Complex, Underwater Game of Cat and Mouse
(3:07) The Thing
(11:54) Introducing: The Sea of Okhotsk
(16:55) The SS-N-12 Cover Story
(17:44) How Did This Even Work?
(20:40) Ronald Pelton Blows The Lid
(23:38) cj’s recommendation: Mark "The Bird" Fidrych
(25:51) Jeff’s Recommendation: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
There’s no easy answer to how the Cold War was really won. Somewhere along the way we had unpowered microphones hidden in wooden eagles and Navy divers tapping phone lines 400ft under the sea.
In this episode of Nonsense, we dig into the bizarre world of secret listening—like the Soviets gifting the U.S. a “harmless” carved Great Seal that turned out to be a Soviet bug, and America’s own Operation Ivy Bells, where US divers cosplayed as underwater phone operators for the USSR.
It’s espionage at its weirdest, and it’ll make you think twice about every gift you’ve ever received.
The Thing (listening device) - Wikiwand
Man spends 50 years recreating The Thing spy bug
The Mission Behind Operation Ivy Bells and How It Was Discovered | Military.com
Operation Ivy Bells: How the US Stole Russian Secrets | SOFREP - https://archive.is/FCpAU
Operation Ivy Bells - Wikiwand
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers