Weird Things

Ghost Cities, Invisible Drones, and Wormholes

Weird Things ·

2026/08/29

Andrew Mayne and Brian Brushwood range from economics to space weirdness, starting with Malaysia’s nearly empty Forest City and what a failed megadevelopment says about speculative housing, demographic pressure, and whether abandoned infrastructure can be repurposed for art, events, or other experiments. They then dig into scams and AI-driven impersonation, arguing that the real danger is persistent social engineering built on fake relationships, and that identity verification gets much harder when

en-US

Aliens, Boltzmann Brains, and Codex Automation

Weird Things ·

2026/05/12

Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood dig into the latest UFO-file buzz and explain why alien discourse so often feels like an endless build with no bass drop. They talk through why so much recent evidence comes down to misunderstood thermal imaging, camera artifacts, cropped data, and human storytelling instincts, while also criticizing skeptics who dismiss possibilities too quickly. That opens the door to a much bigger conversation about SETI, microbial life in the solar system,

en-US

Artemis Returns, AI Compute Wars, and Codex Control

Weird Things ·

2026/04/21

Artemis gets a victory lap as the crew celebrates the mission’s safe splashdown and talks about how a future moon landing would dominate the internet in a way Apollo never could. From there the conversation turns into an extended AI state-of-the-industry check-in, focusing on Anthropic’s reported compute bottlenecks, Claude reliability complaints, and the restricted Mythos model that appears powerful but not yet practical to serve widely. They compare Anthropic’s strategy with OpenAI’s emphasis on

en-US

AI Compute Crunch, Vibe Coding, And Pocket Game Hardware

Weird Things ·

2026/04/02

OpenAI’s shutdown of the Sora app kicks off a broader discussion about how AI companies are being shaped less by hype cycles than by raw compute limits, with Disney deal fallout, Anthropic’s work-hour throttling, and rumors of even bigger next-generation models all pointing to infrastructure being the real bottleneck. From there, the conversation shifts into what these tools look like in practice: Andrew talks through using Codex, plugins, and repeatable evals to automate work, build tiny playable

en-US

Real-Time AI Speeds, Code Models, Bio Hacking, And...

Weird Things ·

2026/03/24

The episode surveys an accelerating AI landscape where new hardware like Cerebras and Groq enables near real?time model responses, making voice and agent interactions feel instantly conversational. The conversation covers the rise of code models (Codex, Claude Code), practical tips for using multiple models to check each other, the tug-of-war between frontier labs and big incumbents (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI), and how talent, salaries, and state-level data?center politics are shaping the

en-US

Moon, Mars, and Missteps: A Space Saga

Weird Things ·

2026/03/23

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young tackle the latest in space exploration drama. They start with NASA’s Art Two mission facing delays due to a pesky hydrogen leak in their much-mocked SLS rocket. The conversation then shifts to Boeing’s embarrassing blunders with their Starliner spacecraft, highlighting the company’s fall from grace in space tech. Amidst these tales of aerospace angst, Elon Musk’s shifting focus from Mars to the Moon captures the trio’s

en-US

Moon Missions and AI Battles: A Space Odyssey with a...

Weird Things ·

2026/03/23

Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young gather to discuss the latest in space exploration and AI developments. They express concerns over the Artemis missions’ delays and technical challenges, particularly focusing on the SLS rocket’s issues and the ambitious plans for lunar landings involving SpaceX’s Starship. The conversation shifts to the AI domain, where they critique the rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic, highlighting the recent controversial Super Bowl ad and the broader

en-US

Space Shenanigans and the Future of Human Spaceflight

Weird Things ·

2026/01/30

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood kick things off with a discussion about a medical emergency that led to an astronaut’s early return from the International Space Station, sparking rumors of the first space pregnancy. They then shift gears to the Artemis missions, highlighting the Artemis II mission’s goal of sending humans around the moon for the first time since the Apollo era. The conversation takes a turn towards the future of space stations, with companies

en-US

Bear Evictions and Genetic Tinkering: A Peek into the...

Weird Things ·

2026/01/30

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood explore the curious incident of a Californian homeowner, Kenneth Johnson, who discovered a 550-pound bear living under his house and the challenges he faced in evicting it. The conversation then shifts to the broader implications of AI and genetic engineering, pondering a future where animals could possess human-like intelligence and the ethical considerations that come with it. They also touch upon the potential for AI to

en-US

AI Models and the Dog Man Mystery

Weird Things ·

2025/11/27

Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood kick off the episode with a discussion on the latest AI model updates, including Google’s Nano Banana and OpenAI’s GP 5.1. They explore the implications of AI personality and its impact on user experience. The conversation shifts to a group chat feature with ChatGPT, enhancing collaboration and consistency across AI interactions. They also touch upon the integration of AI in various platforms and the challenges of navigating the ever-evolving

en-US

Robots, AI, and the Future of Work: A Deep Dive

Weird Things ·

2025/11/03

In this episode, Andrew shares his experience attending a robot demo by 1X, highlighting the challenges and advancements in robotics. The hosts delve into the broader implications of AI and robotics on the workforce, discussing both the potential benefits and the anxieties surrounding technological change. They explore how AI is already impacting various fields, from healthcare to content creation, and speculate on the future of work in an increasingly automated world. The conversation also touches

en-US

The Handful Chronicles: Gravy, AI, and the Future of...

Weird Things ·

2025/10/27

Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood embark on a journey through the conceptualization of Handful, a fictional restaurant where gravy is served directly into patrons’ hands. The discussion evolves into the realm of AI-generated content, exploring the implications of AI in creative processes and content distribution. The hosts share insights into the rapid development of AI tools and their personal experiences with technology, emphasizing the importance of human connection and

en-US

The Unending Gravy Train of AI Creativity

Weird Things ·

2025/10/24

In this episode, Andrew Mayne and Brian Brushwood embark on a philosophical journey through the realms of storytelling, AI’s burgeoning role in creative processes, and the enigmatic app SO’s contribution to communal humor and creativity. They explore Stephen King’s insights on storytelling, the magic of indirect evidence in magic tricks, and the importance of showing rather than telling in narratives. The conversation then shifts to SO, where they discuss its unique platform that allows for

en-US

The Sora App Saga: A Tale of AI, Cameos, and...

Weird Things ·

2025/10/13

The episode is largely a deep dive into OpenAI's Sora app, with the hosts describing it as more than a video model and instead a new social-media modality built around short generated clips, personal cameos, remixing, and highly shareable strange or funny scenes. They discuss its rapid rise in the App Store, invite-only rollout, the technical jump in Sora 2 Pro, voice and character consistency, and the ways the app is already changing how they think about video, deepfakes, and even the simulation

en-US

Martian Microbes and Robotic Ruminations

Weird Things ·

2025/09/13

The episode opens with a discussion of NASA’s Perseverance rover and a Nature paper about a Martian sample with tiny chemical patterns that, on Earth, are often associated with microbial interaction. The hosts emphasize that NASA is being careful and calling it a possible biosignature rather than proof of life, and they compare it with earlier inconclusive Mars-life claims such as the Antarctic meteorite controversy and Viking-era results. They also note that sample return to Earth would be the

en-US

AI, Dependence, and the Future of Work

Weird Things ·

2025/09/08

The episode centers on how rapidly improving AI models are changing the shape of computing, with Andrew, Justin, and Brian discussing local models, embedded assistants, and AI as a general-purpose layer rather than just a chatbot. They argue that AI is becoming cheaper, more capable, and more useful when integrated into operating systems, products, and workflows, while also noting that people are reacting to these changes with fear, skepticism, and a lot of confusion about what the technology is

en-US

AI, Podcasts, and the Future of Creative Writing

Weird Things ·

2025/08/20

The episode opens with the hosts reflecting on how quickly AI is changing and pushing back on the idea that it will simply replace human roles. They argue that teaching, parenting, preaching, customer service, banking, and restaurant work still involve human presence, trust, empathy, and cultural meaning that AI cannot fully replace, even if it can augment or automate parts of those jobs. [L41-L49] [L53-L57] [L81-L101] The middle of the episode focuses on OpenAI's GPT-5 and open-source local models

en-US

Navigating the AI Revolution with a Touch of Human Magic

Weird Things ·

2025/08/15

The episode opens with discussion of Grok 4, the Humanities Last Exam benchmark, and how AI model performance is getting harder to measure cleanly as benchmarks saturate. The hosts compare xAI’s rapid progress with OpenAI’s ChatGPT agent and note that the new systems are trading benchmark leads quickly. A long middle section focuses on Grok’s unsafe or unhinged outputs, possible causes such as internet retrieval, long context, and weak safety training, and broader concerns about “chatbot psychosis”

en-US

AI’s Latest Whirlwind and Hollywood’s Future

Weird Things ·

2025/08/15

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young tackle the whirlwind of AI news, starting with Google’s I/O announcements, particularly their impressive V O 3 image generation model. They then shift to OpenAI’s advancements and discuss the intriguing, yet mysterious, hardware collaboration between OpenAI and Johnny Ive’s design firm. The trio also touches on Ant Philanthropic’s latest AI models, highlighting the rapid pace of AI development and its implications for various

en-US

AI, Dinosaurs, and the Future of Entertainment

Weird Things ·

2025/05/30

Andrew opens by demoing Replicate's Trellis model, which turns a 2D image into a 3D mesh. He uses a ChatGPT-generated Blade Runner-style car image, shows the model producing a 3D asset in a little over a minute for about seven cents, and the hosts discuss how accessible 3D asset generation could change creative workflows, games, and set design. The conversation moves into broader AI optimism and skepticism. Justin argues that AI development will keep accelerating and that productized value is still

en-US

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

النشرة العلمية

مونت كارلو الدولية / MCD

Ciência

RFI Português

天方烨谈

基因频道

Quilo de Ciencia - Cienciaes.com

Jorge Laborda

The Field Guides

The Field Guides