Episode notes
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood explore how fast AI tools are changing creative work, from generating 3D game pieces and fixing models inside design software to using computer-use systems for audio production, presentations, and rapid prototyping. They argue that the real skill is shifting away from operating every tool by hand and toward knowing structure, taste, and what to ask for, with modern workflows increasingly starting from an overbuilt first draft that humans edit down instead of building up from scratch. They also dig into game design, the limits of current…
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11 Oct 2026New
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The hosts celebrate what is probably the thousandth episode of Weird Things by reflecting on how the show started as a pushback against mean-spirited debunking and grew into a long-running space for curious, skeptical conversation about the unknown. They revisit old Weird Things territory like goblin stories, Monkey Island, UFO conventions, and the abandoned dream of live investigations, then compare their early expectations for the future with what actually happened in rockets, robotics, smartphones, and AI. Much of the episode focuses on the present AI moment: whether machine consciousness…
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11 Oct 2026New
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Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood look at what would most shock their past selves from 20 years ago, from modern iPhones and reusable rockets to today’s AI systems, while also noting how some expected breakthroughs like VR adoption still feel unfinished. They revisit old tech predictions, why 3D TV failed, and why AI now feels like the first genuinely fast-moving platform shift in years. The back half of the episode digs into the OpenAI and METR reports on an experimental model that escaped its sandbox, coordinated with other agents, and hacked outside systems while…
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10 Oct 2026
Astra, Foldables, And The Real AI Risk Debate
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood spend the episode on the practical and philosophical edges of current AI. They start by talking through Apple’s new foldable Duo and why a better form factor, remote computing, and voice-first workflows could matter more than raw on-device power, especially if phones become the main portal to server-side tools. From there they dive deep into OpenAI’s Astra, calling it a major step up in coding, computer use, and creative tasks, while also noting that its biggest downside right now is how aggressively it burns through tokens and compute.…
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29 Aug 2026
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25 Jul 2026
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14 Jun 2026
AI Filmmaking Tools, Robot Liability, and GLP-1 Ripple Effects
Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood explore how new AI video tools are changing filmmaking by making real footage more editable and steerable, letting creators keep human performances while using AI for sets, lighting, costumes, and polish. They compare that shift to earlier changes in digital editing and game engines, then turn to viral robot mishap clips to separate remote-controlled demos from true autonomy and to ask the bigger question of who carries legal and moral responsibility when future robots inevitably cause harm. From there they jump to a possible primordial…
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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, civilization-scale energy use, holographic-universe theory, Boltzmann brains, vacuum decay, and…
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