After Things Podcast

The binge watching trend: is it in danger becuse week-after-week is better? With Netflix relenting on offering an ad-supported plan, could binging be on the chopping block too? What do we like personally and creatively? What metrics do streamers and platforms consider for new programs? Do algorithms reflect viewer habits? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Replit Justin, Brian, and Bryce: Modern Rogue on TikTok

The episode opens with a visual-guessing segment built around a close-up image that the hosts initially mistake for AI-generated art or a grotesque creature. Andrew reveals it is actually a real macro photograph of an ant, and Bryce adds that it was part of the Nikon Small World photo contest, which leads to a look at the winning gecko-foot image and a discussion of how macro photography can make ordinary subjects look surreal. The conversation then widens into a speculative discussion about edited childhood photos, using a story about Connor Nickerson inserting his present-day self into old family photos as a jumping-off point. From there the hosts talk about older selves, digital traces, AI reconstruction, and the possibility of talking to past or deceased versions of people through recorded material, before shifting into broader reflections on learning, college, imposter syndrome, message boards, and online behavior. Near the end, the episode turns to entertainment recommendations and TV reactions. Brian e

Bryce admits to a productivity solution that can’t be beat. Did you know your iPhone can do something an kinda expensive website can do? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: ScreenFlow and Google Colab Brian: Six Thinking Hats from Edward de Bono Bryce: Splice and Bryce on the Beyond the Playlist podcast

The episode opens with a long biology digression about what makes two animals similar or different, using turtles and tortoises as a lead-in to hyraxes and elephants. Andrew explains that hyraxes are the closest living relative to elephants, and the hosts discuss surprising shared traits such as elongated teeth, long gestation for a small animal, and social behavior. They also note that sea cows/manatees may be even closer genetically, though the hyrax is the more surprising example. The conversation then moves through speculative Jurassic Park prequel material, including John Hammond's early funding efforts and the tiny-elephant display from the novel, before turning to CubeSat advertising proposals and the backlash they could provoke. Later topics include Tom Cruise filming in space, the value of practical effects over pure CGI, personalized or interactive media experiments, Meta's Quest Pro and AR/VR tradeoffs, and a set of game/software picks. Key topics How evolutionary relatives can look radically diffe

After a few weeks of trying out short-form video on YouTube, what seems to be the early indicators of how they’re received? What goes into making thoughtful short-form videos? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Brian: Ask from Ryan Levesque Bryce: Arcade Paradise

The episode opens with a discussion of SpinLaunch after a headline about a NASA payload launched by a giant centrifugal system and later dug out with an excavator. The hosts describe how the concept uses a spinning lower stage in a vacuum to fling small payloads upward, with a conventional upper-stage rocket taking over later, and they debate whether it could realistically serve small satellite launches or other niche payloads. They also react to a test clip and note the company’s 10th successful flight test, while remaining cautious about how far the system can scale. The middle of the episode centers on a strange airline PA mystery involving human-sounding groans or voices reported on multiple American Airlines flights. The hosts review the official explanation that a mechanical PA amplifier issue caused the sounds, but they explore alternative possibilities such as interference, a hidden device, a prank, a hacker, or a spooky explanation, and they compare the audio to other odd intermittent sounds they hav

Justin and Bryce both tried out the Structured app we talked about last week and have some critical feedback. What features stick out after a week of use? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” “The World’s Most Satisfying Checkbox”: https://www.andy.works/words/the-most-satisfying-checkbox

The episode opens with a discussion of NASA's DART mission, a planned spacecraft impact on the moonlet Dimorphos orbiting Didymos to test asteroid deflection. The hosts explain the basic idea, compare it with other hypothetical planetary-defense methods such as nukes, gravity tractors, and mass drivers, and note that NASA planned a livestream and a later probe to measure the orbital change more precisely. The middle of the episode moves through several weird-news items: recent highway cargo spills of Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, and a Coors Light truck in Florida; a published report of a fox in Spain filmed catching live carp; and a strange deep-water shark photo from Australia that sparks jokes and speculation about shark identification and how pressure can affect appearance. The episode closes with a local-news story about a gray seal nicknamed Schubert in a Beverly, Massachusetts pond, including efforts by police, firefighters, and wildlife experts to corral it and return it to the wild. Key topics Planetary d

Bryce is diving into a new todo/calendar hybrid app, Structured. How do we use apps and plan our days? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Beyond Fireship Justin: House of the Dragon Brian: Life’s Work from David Milch

The episode opens with a long discussion of Artemis/SLS, which the hosts describe as a politically driven NASA program built to preserve existing contractors rather than as an engineering-first project. They argue it was shaped by pork-barrel politics, hydrogen’s complexity, and sunk costs, and they debate whether the program should keep going, whether the public should call it out more directly, and whether any government backup system should be structurally different from private launch providers. The conversation then moves through several space and tech stories: Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster failure where the escape capsule separated as designed, Rocket Lab’s successful mission and the tougher funding environment for smaller space companies, and a discussion of BlueWalker 3 and the tradeoff between bright low-Earth-orbit hardware and better telecommunications. The hosts also react to a Nazi space-mirror concept and spend time on the Brellyon/Borelion ultra-reality display, before closing with media pi

The episode opens with a discussion of a FOIA request by The Black Vault for additional Navy UAP videos after earlier Navy videos had been publicly released. The hosts debate why more footage would be withheld, suggesting ordinary explanations like protecting military capabilities, avoiding disclosure of foreign technology tests, or keeping unresolved sightings from becoming public intelligence targets; they also talk about how tedious FOIA requests are and how agencies resist disclosure. The middle of the episode moves to a rare Florida snake story about a rim rock crowned snake found dead at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The hosts explain that the snake was only about eight inches long, had not been seen in years, and died after choking on a giant Caribbean centipede, which scientists examined with a CT scan. The episode then turns into a long comedic hypothetical about using huge resources to make Earth safer from volcanoes, before shifting into more serious discussion of catastrophic eruptions, pr

Andrew’s considering a move from LA to San Francisco–even though he’s totally work-from home. What’s his anxiety around moving and being closer to his cutting-edge job? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Brian: The Rehearsal Bryce: Slime Rancher

The episode opens with a discussion of Westworld and how rewatching earlier seasons changes the experience, followed by a broader complaint about storytelling that relies too much on surprises. The hosts pitch prequel-style ideas for Westworld and Jurassic Park before moving into a long segment on the scrubbed Artemis launch, including the failed wet dress rehearsals, valve and thermal-alignment problems, and the larger political and engineering mess behind the SLS program. A large middle section turns to Rocket Lab’s planned Photon mission to Venus, including discussion of using a probe and MIT work to scan cloud vapors for signs of life, plus speculation about extremophile biology and possible practical applications if Venus life existed. The show then wanders through stories about an Arctic Ford F-150 retrieval, StoryFile and digital memorials, therapy and AI-assisted therapy, and ends with TV and film recommendations including House of the Dragon, What We Do in the Shadows, Hellraiser, and Andrew’s book p

Long-time listener Joe Diamond writes in and asks about his EPK–electronic press kit. What works and what improvements can you make when presenting yourself in a freeform brochure of your own design? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with a long discussion about Mars agriculture: the hosts speculate on what the first plant grown on Mars should be, with guesses like lichen, moss, mold, and grain before turning to research suggesting alfalfa as an early crop. Bryce explains that simulated Martian soil let alfalfa grow without added fertilizer and could enrich regolith for later crops, but the hosts note major obstacles such as salinity and the need for fresh water or water purification. The conversation then ranges into terraforming ideas, including Elon Musk-associated proposals like nukes over the poles and redirecting a water-rich comet, followed by a speculative riff on lunar lava tubes as habitable spaces and a fictional moon settlement inspired by The Diamond Age. Later segments cover ancient warning markers and the Hunger Stones exposed by drought, the exposure of other relics in European rivers, a comedic improv-style zoo investigation of a disconnected 911 call that ends with a capuchin monkey holding the phone, a

The episode opens with a climate-change segment centered on an MIT Sensible City Lab concept for a large reflective structure in space at the L1 point to reduce incoming sunlight. The hosts treat it as an emergency, temporary geoengineering idea rather than a real near-term fix, emphasizing that it would be extremely expensive, politically difficult, and unable to solve the broader problems of climate change such as ocean acidification and overfishing. Andrew argues that nuclear power and carbon sequestration would be more practical uses of resources, and the discussion broadens into nuclear power, waste, population, and the complexity of climate systems. The second half moves through several tech stories: researchers in Australia experimenting with tire-based concrete, a programmable resistor aimed at AI hardware, a Black Hat presentation about hacking a Starlink terminal, and a broader conversation about service theft versus responsible security research. The episode closes with a discussion of dependence o

Bryce reports in on how his marbles project is doing after having launched a Patreon. What levels is it setup in and how could he expand what he offers to supporters without compromising the show? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with a clarification about an AI-related U.S. federal court ruling: the hosts explain that the case is about whether an AI can hold a patent, not a broader ruling that AI art cannot be copyrighted. They then move into a long discussion of DALL·E and other AI image tools, treating prompting as a real creative skill and noting that the systems have moved from novelty outputs into something useful for real-world work. From there, the conversation turns to the risks of realistic image generation, including fake social accounts, impersonation scams, and the need for public awareness that images can be synthetic. The episode then digresses into the Church of All Worlds, polyamory, unicorn stories, the Grey School of Wizardry, and a long praise of Jeff McBride as an authentic, highly skilled teacher and performer. Later segments cover cultural nostalgia, the film Prey, Bryce's recommendation of The Rehearsal, and Brian's praise of The Wedding Singer and Adam Sandler's range. Key topics AI-generated

Andrew shares the story of Simon Coronel, who took won the FISM Grand Prix Close-up, the top-level international competition for magic. How does your journey affect your goal and how can you keep your eyes on that goal? What is your label and does your label meet your goal? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Quinn’s Ideas Justin: Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar Brian: Great Night on TikTok and Modern Rogue on TikTok Bryce: StreamKit

The episode opens with the hosts joking through a grocery-store movie-night snack run, including pretzels, Sun Chips, Reese's cups, Doritos, bean dip, guacamole, and pre-popped popcorn. That setup turns into the main Weird News story: a Virginia woman found a snake in a bag of popcorn, which leads to a long back-and-forth about whether pre-popped popcorn is worth the risk and how startling a snake would be if it showed up in food. From the snake story, the conversation spirals into a series of hypotheticals about keeping a snake alive in exchange for free food, which restaurant would be worth that deal, and how comfortable anyone would be with a snake nearby, in a house, or even in a toilet. The episode then shifts to birds: Andrew explains why birds are rarer in parts of China because of historical pest-eradication efforts and ongoing eating of wild birds, and the hosts riff on bird-control lasers, absurd pest-control tech, and whether those tools could be extended to other animals. In the final section, And