Weird Things

Podcast posts, episode notes, and the Weird Things archive.

Of Mammoths and Mice: The Weird Science of De-Extinction

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood kick things off with a nod to the anniversary of GPT-4, reflecting on its impact and the rapid pace of AI development. The conversation takes a historical detour to the

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Nano Arcade and AI Musings

Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young, with a special appearance by Bella, embark on a journey through the latest in nano technology, showcasing a nano-scale video game that could revolutionize biomedical engineering and na

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Asteroids, Quantum Computing, and Disneyland Adventures

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood kick things off with a cosmic sigh of relief as the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth decrease. They ponder the implications of a moon impact, drawing parallels to s

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Asteroids, AI, and the Art of Avoiding Armageddon

In a thrilling episode devoid of AI discussions (initially), Andrew, Brian, and Justin tackle the alarming news of an asteroid, dubbed ‘Kanye’s next album’, with a 2.2% chance of colliding with Earth. The trio explores various mitigation st

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The AI Frontier: Deep Dive into DeepSeek, O3, and Beyond

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young tackle the rapid advancements in AI, focusing on DeepSeek’s R1 model and its cost-effective training methods. They discuss the skepticism and excitement surrounding Dee

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AI’s Latest Leap: Operator and the Future of Internet Browsing

Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood explore the rapid advancements in AI, particularly highlighting the Chinese AI model Deep Seek and OpenAI’s latest creation, Operator. They discuss the technical achievements and contro

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The AI Frontier: Hitting Walls and Vaulting Over Them

Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young dive into the latest in AI advancements and the philosophical and practical implications of artificial general intelligence (AGI). They start with a discussion on recent developments fr

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A Timeless Dive into the Future and Past of Entertainment

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood take listeners on a fascinating exploration of entertainment’s past, present, and future. They kick off with a nostalgic look at how theme parks like Universal Studios

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The AI Frontier: Robotics, Simulators, and the Future of Labor

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood discuss the recent flurry of AI announcements from OpenAI’s Shipmas event and Google’s AI developments. They explore the implications of advanced AI models like GPT-3 a

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Magic, AI, and the Future of Video Generation

In this episode of Weird Things, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood explore the cutting edge of AI technology. Andrew kicks things off with a magic trick performed for an AI, showcasing the interactive capabilities of cu

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The Future of Robotics and Sky Quakes

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood kick things off with a brief chat about the latest addition to Justin’s family and the implications of raising a child in today’s tech-saturated world. The conversation

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Space Catchers and the Future of Robotics

In this episode of Weird Things, Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young tackle the advancements in AI, marvel at SpaceX’s successful catch of the Starship’s first stage, and ponder the future of robotics, including Tesla’s O

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The AI Revolution Marches On

This week, Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young explore the forefront of AI technology, from OpenAI’s Dev Day revelations to Meta’s video AI marvels. They discuss the practical applications and implications of these advanc

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Augmented Reality, VR, and the Quest for the Perfect Hologram

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood kick things off with a chat about the weather before diving into the world of augmented reality and virtual reality. They discuss the limitations of Apple’s Vision Pro

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The Quest for a Silent Burrito Delivery

In this episode, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood dive into a discussion that starts with Justin’s craving for a burrito and evolves into a conversation about the future of delivery services, including drones and auton

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The Matrix Adventure and AI Revelations

Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young kick off the episode with a dive into AI advancements, particularly focusing on OpenAI’s new model, Strawberry. Andrew shares a personal anecdote about attending a Matrix screening that

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From Space Mazes to Aquatic Apes: A Weird Things Journey

Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood, and Justin Robert Young (eventually) take us on a journey from the depths of space to the mysteries of our ancient past. They kick off with space news, discussing the return path for astronauts via SpaceX, not

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SpaceX Oopsie and Genetic Frontiers

In Andrew’s absence, Justin Robert Young and Brian Brushwood tackle the recent SpaceX launch hiccup, where a ‘very rare glitch’ led to an unscheduled disassembly mid-mission, potentially jeopardizing the Starlink satellites’ deployment. The

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Aviation Innovations and Misadventures

In this episode of Weird Things, Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood embark on a journey through the evolving landscape of aviation technology. They discuss the myriad of companies attempting to develop next-generation ae

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Apple’s AI Ambitions and Privacy Paradox

Andrew Mayne and Justin Robert Young dissect Apple’s approach to integrating AI into its ecosystem with a strong emphasis on privacy. They speculate on the implications of Apple’s strategy to handle AI processing on-device as much as possib

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