Weird Things

A running conversation about science, AI, culture, and the strange future arriving early.

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Episode

WT: Cooler Than 1 Pie?

Published Apr 8, 2023, 11:54 AM

The episode opens with a long, playful discussion of the old TV show Manimal, with the hosts joking about its simple premise of a man who turns into animals to solve crimes and comparing it to other 1980s transformation or action shows. That flows into a broader chat about actors and roles that surprised them, including Harrison Ford de-aging in the new Indiana Jones trailer, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Simon Pegg, Jason Statham, Bradley Cooper, and Steven Lang. A major middle section focuses on AI tools and their practical uses. Andrew describes transcribing and searching a podcast with Whisper/MacWhisper, while the group also discusses Bing inside Skype, a voice-based ChatGPT service called Call Samantha, AI at CES, job-loss headlines, and uses like help bots, show notes, formatting lists, and contractor bids. The episode then shifts to recurring segment material: a Starship betting update, news about Virgin Orbit bankruptcy and the difficulty of space ventures, and the pick segment featuring a Dungeons & Dragons movie recommendation, World's Greatest Con promotion, Star Trek documentaries, and Dave Not Coming Back. Key topics Manimal as an 80s high-concept TV premise: The hosts repeatedly explain Manimal as a man who can transform into animals to help solve crimes, and they joke about how quintessentially 1980s and high-concept the show feels. De-aging CGI in the new Indiana Jones trailer: Justin comments that the de-aged Harrison Ford footage looks surprisingly good and may be

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