Grumpy Old Geeks is back with another round of righteous griping and eyebrow-raising headlines in Episode 715: Our Wizard Lies. We kick things off in FOLLOW UP, where TikTok is still the geopolitical hot potato that both the U.S. and China promise to sort out “someday, maybe,” while Wired’s global editorial director explains how tech’s growing political clout is playing out under Trump. From there, it’s a cavalcade of absurdities: DOGE as federal workforce demolition derby, and crypto bros trying to turn Charlie Kirk’s death into meme-stock retirement plans. Late-stage capitalism is nothing if not creative.Then in IN THE NEWS, Amazon gets spanked with a $2.5 billion fine for Prime trickery, Microsoft yanks cloud services from an Israeli military unit, and Palantir goes full lifestyle brand—yes, you too can cosplay as a drone strike enthusiast with a $99 pair of gym shorts. Silicon Valley philosophers warn AI regulation would literally summon the Antichrist, while banks whisper the bubble might pop before the devil even arrives. Meanwhile, YouTube toys with letting COVID and election denialists back into the algorithm, “SIM farms” threaten New York’s cell networks, and unlucky tourists are finding themselves trafficked into cyber-scam slavery across Southeast Asia. Progress!MEDIA CANDY tries to lighten the mood—sort of—serving up everything from Elio, Tron: Ares, and Disney price hikes to AI musicians cashing million-dollar checks. Lionsgate, on the other hand, learns you can’t feed four John Wicks into an algorithm and get an anime out the other side. Over in THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, we get furries on the DC Metro, Disney plotting your every park step via Ray-Ban spy glasses, a Ponzi scheme in RadioShack cosplay, and even a Jim Henson Company anniversary auction. We close out with shout-outs and sighs, because sometimes the world doesn’t deserve a mic drop—just a slow shake of the head.Sponsors:Private Internet Access - Go to <a href="https://gog.show/vpn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GOG.Show/vpn</a> and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to <a href="https://setapp.sjv.io/c/4484313/343321/5114" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SetApp</a> and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! <a href="https://gog.show/1password" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">gog.show/1password</a>Show notes at <a href="https://gog.show/715" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://gog.show/715</a>FOLLOW UP<a href="https://www.engadget.com/social-media/us-and-china-agree-to-agree-on-a-tiktok-deal-231254041.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">US and China agree to agree on a TikTok deal</a><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/wired-global-editorial-director-on-techs-growing-political-power-under-trump" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WIRED global editorial director on tech's growing political power under Trump</a><a href="https://archive.is/X9fFp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers</a><a href="https://archive.is/i7QIg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Crypto Bros Are Trying to Monetize Charlie Kirk’s Death</a>IN THE NEWS<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/amazon-pay-25-billion-settle-prime-deception-allegations-2025-09-25" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon to pay $2.5 billion for allegedly duping millions to sign up for Prime</a><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/microsoft-cuts-cloud-services-to-israeli-military-after-investigation.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Microsoft cuts off cloud services to Israeli military unit after report of storing Palestinians’ phone calls</a><a href="https://archive.is/8lxsX" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Palantir Wants to Be a Lifestyle Brand</a><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/785407/peter-thiel-antichrist-tech-regulation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Silicon Valley’s latest argument against regulating AI: that would literally be the Antichrist</a><a href="https://gizmodo.com/ai-experts-urgently-call-on-governments-to-think-about-maybe-doing-something-2000662325" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AI Experts Urgently Call on Governments to Think About Maybe Doing Something</a><a href="https://gizmodo.com/workslop-ai-generated-work-content-is-slowing-everything-down-2000662646" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘Workslop’: AI-Generated Work Content Is Slowing Everything Down</a><a href="https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/deutsche-bank-grim-warning-ai-industry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deutsche Bank Issues Grim Warning for AI Industry</a><a href="https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/youtube-may-reinstate-channels-banned-for-spreading-covid-and-election-misinformation-190257602.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube may reinstate channels banned for spreading covid and election misinformation</a><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/sim-farm-new-york-threatened-us-infrastructure-feds-say/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘SIM Farms’ Are a Spam Plague. A Giant One in New York Threatened US Infrastructure, Feds Say</a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/SOUTHEASTASIA-SCAMS/mypmxwdwwvr/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">They traveled to Thailand. They wound up cyber scam slaves in Myanmar.</a>MEDIA CANDY<a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-367ee1b6-1a50-413a-96f6-655175166f38" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elio</a><a href="https://www.hbomax.com/movies/superman-2025/b22d075e-d037-4c61-9b03-2e406f293b0e" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Superman</a><a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/human-origins-mjbvvw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Human: Origins</a><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/human-journeys" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Human: Journeys</a><a href="https://www.hulu.com/series/ac314a24-c615-48ee-8e24-b26de75e64ef" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alien: Earth</a><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34060796/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Traitors Ireland</a><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/23/disney-is-raising-the-price-of-disney-hulu-subscriptions-next-month/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disney is raising the price of Disney+, Hulu subscriptions next month</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmdaUaGTPM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wicked: For Good | Final Trailer</a><a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/en-mx/browse/entity-3ba45aad-8ea8-4a32-a2ff-5503c275971d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lilith Faire: Building a Mystery</a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/47pjW3XDPW99NShtkeewxl?si=Gtkk5xfJQiSJGbXyHg1tDg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tron: Ares</a><a href="https://consequence.net/2025/09/ai-artist-signs-million-dollar-record-deal" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AI Artist Signs Million-Dollar Record Deal</a><a href="https://gizmodo.com/lionsgate-is-founding-out-its-really-hard-to-make-movies-with-ai-2000663222" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lionsgate Is Finding Out It’s Really Hard to Make Movies With AI</a><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/jimmy-kimmel-trump-attack-first-amendment-1235432169/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jimmy Kimmel May Be Back. Trump’s Attacks on the First Amendment Aren’t Over By Merrill Markoe</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1tjh_ZO_tY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jimmy Kimmel is Back!</a>THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE<a href="https://twitter.com/bittner" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dave Bittner</a><a href="http://www.thecyberwire.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The CyberWire</a><a href="https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/hacking-humans.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hacking Humans</a><a href="https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/caveat.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Caveat</a><a href="https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/control-loop" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Control Loop</a><a href="https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/only-malware-in-the-building" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Only Malware in the Building</a><a href="https://www.uploadvr.com/disney-explores-ray-ban-meta-ai-guide-guests-parks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disney Explores Using Ray-Ban Meta Glasses To Guide Guests Around Its Parks</a><a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-8ab383c3-cb5e-4a21-95cd-86d7eee9fd06" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Happiest Story on Earth: 70 Years of Disneyland</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pa1KLXuW0Y" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official Trailer | In Theaters May 22, 2026</a><a href="https://www.juliensauctions.com/en/auctions/the-jim-henson-company-70th-anniversary-auction" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Jim Henson Company 70th Anniversary Auction</a><a href="https://gizmodo.com/feds-say-company-that-bought-radioshack-was-running-112-million-ponzi-scheme-2000663479" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Feds Say Company That Bought RadioShack Was Running $112 Million Ponzi Scheme</a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/WMATA/s/VVwVUZEHp2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Furries ride the DC Metro</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

715: Our Wizard Lies

Grumpy Old Geeks

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews