Artificial Intelligence
Episodes whose main subject is AI itself: building with, training, evaluating, or debating AI systems. AI used only as a tool for another topic goes to that topic.
#3483: When AI Agents Invent Their Own Secret Language
From modem screech experiments to drone coordination — how AI agents learned to talk without us.
#3456: How to Spot Clothes That Actually Last
Fabric weight, fiber length, and stitching density — the three signs a garment is built to survive.
#3428: Logistics Careers That Survive AI
The jobs in logistics and warehousing that are actually growing — and the skills you need to get them.
#3424: Catching Up on AI Without the Firehose
Four curated sources that filter AI noise into signal — Import AI, The Batch, Stanford HAI, and a podcast.
#3422: How Rival Labs Reverse-Engineer a New AI Model in Hours
Inside the organized frenzy when a closed-source model drops — and how competitors map its every weakness.
#3406: LoRA Isn’t Just for Image Generation
LoRA lets you fine-tune an LLM’s behavior with a 50MB file. Here’s how it works and why it matters.
#3392: Inside the AI Targeting Pipeline: Who Really Picks the Targets?
How AI finds, fixes, and nominates military targets — and why "human oversight" may be more ceremonial than real.
#3386: How Axios Became the White House's Iran Channel
The White House has been routing its most sensitive Iran-Israel signals through one Axios reporter. Here's why.
#3385: The Book as Stage Prop: Pay-to-Publish Unpacked
When anyone can buy a publisher's logo, what happens to the signal a book is supposed to send?
#3366: Baroque Flute at Bedtime: Live Music for Infant Sleep
Why live Baroque flute music soothes infants better than any recording — and why the medieval tunic actually helps.
#3364: What Really Separates Elite Performers
Practice hours explain only 26% of elite performance. So what actually creates world-class musicians, actors, and athletes?
#3363: Why the Teletubbies Sun-Baby Makes Infants Cry
The Teletubbies was engineered for pre-verbal brains. Here's why adult discomfort is a feature, not a bug.
#3361: What Three Kids' Shows Reveal About AI's Impact on Childhood
Three iconic shows, three theories of childhood — and what happens when AI replaces human creators.
#3322: Desk Pets: Local AI on Your Desktop
Are desk pets useful tools or expensive Tamagotchis? We break down the local AI, privacy tradeoffs, and psychology behind these devices.
#3304: Rumble's Cloud Business: Video Site or Hosting Giant?
Rumble's $2.1B valuation is driven by cloud infrastructure, not conspiracy videos. Here's what it actually is.
#3303: How 3 Words Became an Identity: Decoding MAGA
A linguistic analysis of how "Make America Great Again" evolved from slogan to identity marker.
#3284: Agent Infrastructure Engineer: The New DevOps
Agentic AI is splintering into real engineering disciplines. Here's what the "DevOps of AI" actually does.
#3283: Fine-Tuning DeepSeek for One Podcast
Can a purpose-specific fine-tune fix a model's stubborn writing tics? We explore the practical engineering behind it.
#3278: How to Get Early AI Model Access as a Solo Developer
How a solo developer spending $300/month can get early access to new AI models before the press release.
#3272: Can Your Walk Really Identify You?
Gait recognition is leaving the lab. But is your walk actually unique, or just a handful of patterns?