Weird Things

Andrew opens by talking about how he uses ChatGPT and related tools throughout his work and daily life, arguing that AI is already accelerating coding, research, and other tasks. From there the conversation expands into a speculative case that widespread AI, more abundant intelligence, cheaper manufacturing, and improved energy systems could make a much more expansive future possible, including St...

A casual extra chat with Dr. Daniel Simons about diagnosticians, expertise information, and Andrew’s blockbuster formula to make best-selling book. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Be sure to check out Dr. Simons’s “Nobody’s Fool”

The episode is a conversation with Dan Simons about his book Nobody's Fool and the general ways people get deceived. The discussion moves through examples from chess cheating, fraudulent research data, social media sharing, and everyday scams to show how suspicious regularity, incentives, and expectation bias can hide deception or honest mistakes. Evidence includes the chess tournament anecdote, t...

Streaming has taken a new turn the past few years, but it likely won’t be an extension of the early-COVID explosive growth and spending. Netflix is now an old dog and things like Jury Duty are taking way more cultural cache than The Rings of Power. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Kindle Scribe Justin: Detroiters Brian: The Righteo...

The episode opens with discussion of Apple Vision Pro and related VR/AR questions, including improved resolution, hand tracking, pupil tracking, developer interest, possible future controllers, and the idea that Apple is trying to avoid framing it as a gaming-first device. The hosts also compare headset use to everyday life across phones, tablets, computers, Kindles, and TVs, arguing that new devi...

VR, MR, XR, A-Arrrrgh, or maybe, just maybe…maybe. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with discussion of Virgin Galactic's first paying passenger flight and broadens into a comparison with OceanGate's Titan disaster. The hosts emphasize the difference between a new but real spaceflight capability and a submersible tragedy that, in their view, ignored known engineering limits, especially around carbon fiber fatigue and other structural risks. They also explain what...

Andrew went to VidCon and interfaced with The Youths. We rizz up Andrew and see if he would even hug Baby Gronk. Does childhood today compare to childhood in the 90’s? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Disney Spellstruck and Amazon Kindle Bryce: PPKP+

The episode opens with a discussion of the hypothetical Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg fight and whether it could become a huge pay-per-view event. The hosts compare it to major combat sports buys, talk about Zuckerberg's public year-by-year challenges and his training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and generally doubt that the fight would become more than a spectacle across social platforms. The conversa...

The episode opens with a discussion of UFOs as a seemingly bipartisan or "safe" conspiracy topic, then widens into a broader debate about how conspiracy beliefs and pseudoscience can be culturally coded. The hosts compare UFOs, astrology, Bigfoot, spiritualism, QAnon, flat earth, and simulation theory, with recurring skepticism about how much of these ideas come from evidence versus narrative-buil...

Andrew’s been deep in memory-training and it’s important to remember: memory is fallible! How do false memories begin and who is susceptible? Brian’s DIY method of journaling and next-day planning. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Pick: ChatGPT now on iOS

The episode begins with a long discussion of Apple’s Vision Pro announcement and what it says about Apple’s strategy for spatial computing. The hosts react positively to the presentation while staying skeptical about demos versus reality, and they repeatedly compare the headset to the iPhone and iPad launch cycles, emphasizing Apple’s pattern of waiting until battery, display, and processor techno...

You show this eyeball-looking thing some respect! A neat idea for invasive species. Blue Origin is tapped to make the second-next lunar lander and we debate the worthiness of doing that now. pando pando pando pando. Got something weird? Email neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “Weird Things.” [No After Things this week!] Picks: Justin: I Think You Should Leave, season 3 Brian: Spider-Man: Across the...

Bryce jumped on the whiteboard train feet-first and we chat about whiteboards, writing and organizing tasks, habit-building, and getting motivated to start. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode begins with Andrew describing a memory-methods thread from the previous week and how it led him to build a face-and-name practice app. He explains that he prototyped the tool in JavaScript and then used GPT-4 to convert and expand it into a polished iOS app, with generated faces, tutorial copy, App Store text, and a webpage all created or assisted by the model. The discussion then wide...

The episode opens with a light memory test where Bryce asks the others to close their eyes and recall what everyone is wearing. That leads into a broader discussion of memory, attention, and how much people can notice about familiar faces and clothing when they are not allowed to prepare ahead of time. Andrew uses Harry Lorraine's classic audience-name routine as a jumping-off point to explain why...

Tips direct from Andrew on how to level up your ChatGPT prompts straight from the robot-horse’s mouth. Easy tips to add more context and style, create outlines, and automate common requests. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with a long discussion of SpaceX's Starship test launch and the condition of the launch pad afterward. The hosts say the rocket reached flight but suffered a rapid disassembly, likely after debris from liftoff damaged engines and carved a large crater in the concrete; they also talk about possible fixes such as a flame diverter, more water cooling, and other launch-pad changes, w...

Listener David asks for advice on how to portion out time for longer-term projects? Our advice and tips for getting things done with momentum and phases. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with discussion of ULA's Vulcan test article exploding on the test stand and what that means for the planned launch. The hosts compare ULA's one-off test hardware with SpaceX's factory-style approach, where repeated explosions are less disruptive because another vehicle is already being built and the program is designed for rapid iteration. The conversation then moves into broade...

Professional podcasters Justin and Brian give some dirt on the upcoming third season of World’s Greatest Con and talk openly about their vantage point on ads in the podcasting space. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” World’s Greatest Con

The episode opens with a long, playful discussion of the old TV show Manimal, with the hosts joking about its simple premise of a man who turns into animals to solve crimes and comparing it to other 1980s transformation or action shows. That flows into a broader chat about actors and roles that surprised them, including Harrison Ford de-aging in the new Indiana Jones trailer, Phoebe Waller-Bridge,...

Brian’s hodge-podge to-do system led to catastrophe. Smart devices and “accessing the home network.” An update on Andrew’s experience using Tonal, the home-gym installed on a wall. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with Andrew Mayne discussing OpenAI's newly released plugins and the broader idea of ChatGPT becoming more like an app platform. He describes practical examples such as Wolfram Alpha, Instacart, OpenTable, and browsing, then spends much of the conversation demonstrating Code Interpreter inside ChatGPT by generating mazes, GIFs, sound files, Game of Life music, QR codes, and even...

Bryce has an update on how his Blind Corners project went from 0 to 1 with a Substack. How do you break down barriers or build excitement? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Arduboy Justin: ChatGPT-4 Brian: Ted Lasso season 3 Bryce: DALL-E