AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

Artemis II Moon Mission, AI Chatbot Risks, Apple TikTok & LEGO Zelda | AwesomeCast 774

April 1st, 2026  |  1 hr 1 min

3d printing, adobe illustrator, ai chatbots, ai sycophancy, animation tools, apple tiktok, artemis ii, article analysis, awesomecast, awesomecast 774, browser extension, chachi, channelsurfer, chatgpt, claude, dave podnar, deepseek, digital vs physical games, epic games layoffs, etsy shop, finder mascot, gaming news, geek culture, gemini, great deku tree, heinz ketchup, heinz verified, hidden figures, kalpana chawla, katherine johnson, katie dudas, lego zelda, moon mission, nancy grace roman, nasa, nintendo, ocarina of time, patricia cowings, pittsburgh podcast, plastic fun time, project turntable, sorg, stanford study, tech podcast, vera rubin, whats up with that, women’s history month, xbox

This week on AwesomeCast 774, Sorg, Katie, and Dave Podnar talk about the upcoming Artemis II moon mission, the surprisingly useful Heinz Verified restaurant map, and Chachi’s growing 3D printing Etsy shop. They also dig into a Stanford study on AI chatbot sycophancy, check out the What’s Up With That research assistant browser extension, react to Adobe Illustrator’s new 2D-to-3D Project Turntable, explore Apple’s TikTok mascot strategy, and get excited about LEGO Ocarina of Time sets.

DJI Robot Vacuum Hack, Playable Tetris Magazine & Viral Olympic Moments | AwesomeCast 769

February 25th, 2026  |  51 mins 51 secs

accessible mobility, ai coding assistant, autonomous vehicle, black history month, civic progress challenge, cybersecurity, dave podnar, dji, dreamcast, dunkin, dunkin mitten, figure skating, frederick mckinley jones, gadget news, game pop, genesis, hideki sato, iced coffee, innovation, michael sorg, mortal kombat, podnar, red bull bulletin, robot vacuum, sae, saturn, sega, smart home security, sorg, tech news, tetris, the verge, thermo king, vibe coding, video game news, viral video, winter olympics

Sorg and Podnar cover big and bizarre tech headlines: an alleged DJI robot vacuum security mess, AI-assisted “vibe coding,” and why camera-equipped home gadgets deserve extra caution. They also dig into the SAE Civic Progress Challenge (accessible mobility innovation), geek out over a playable Tetris magazine cover, and hit viral Winter Olympics moments—plus a Dunkin iced coffee mitten that’s as ridiculous as it sounds. Includes Chachi’s Video Game Minute and a Black History Month spotlight on Frederick McKinley Jones.

Apple Podcasts Adds Video + iPhones to the Moon?! | Olympics Drone Cam, 2XKO & Hatchin’ Yoshi | AwesomeCast 768

February 16th, 2026  |  1 hr 50 mins

2xko, apple podcasts video, apple tv rumors, bad bunny lyrics translation, black history month in tech, browser fingerprinting, cover your tracks, dave podnar, drone cinematography, eff, fighting games, five below block tech, hatchin yoshi, katie dudas, live event production, marian croak, mario wonder, michael sorg, mini arcade builds, national inventors hall of fame, nintendo, olympics drone camera, online tracking, podcasting workflow, privacy, riot games, sorgatron media, spotify translate lyrics, stagecue app, tag fighter, talking flower, tech podcast, ublock origin, video podcasts, voip, vr drone goggles, yoshi toy, youtube music translate lyrics

This week on AwesomeCast 768, Sorg, Dudders, and Podnar dig into the tech and culture behind the headlines: Apple Podcasts bringing video, Olympics drone chase-cam production, and the real-world challenges of taking a smartphone on a lunar mission. Plus: Sorg’s time with Riot’s 2XKO, Dudders’ 6-in-1 air safety monitor, and a wave of Nintendo cuteness with Hatchin’ Yoshi and the Mario Wonder Talking Flower. We also share an EFF privacy self-check with Cover Your Tracks, and a surprisingly useful event tool: StageCue for managing video playback on venue screens. 

Catcade Cats, Suno AI Music & Moment iPhone Lenses — Plus Tecmo Bowl Movie?! | AwesomeCast 767

February 11th, 2026  |  1 hr 1 min

ai in advertising, ai music, anime convention pittsburgh, arcade, awesomecast, awesomecast 767, black history month, cat cafe, cat rescue, catcade chicago, cctv, cinebloom filter, content creation tools, dave podnar, downie app, dudders, dunkin merch, generative music, halftime show logistics, home security system, iphone lenses, iphone videography, iphoneography, katie dudas, live production, marie van brittan brown, michael sorg, mobile filmmaking, moment lenses, moment t-series, nintendo switch 2, puerto rico halftime discourse, ring doorbell, sangawa project, sorgatron, srt subtitles, steadicam, suno, suno ai, super bowl commercials, switch 2 sales, tecmo bowl movie, transcription workflow, youtube downloader

Sorg, Katie “Dudders” Dudas, and Dave Podnar recap Sangawa Project weekend adventures, then dive into the Awesome Things of the Week: Chicago’s Catcade cat-rescue arcade, Sorg’s first experiment making a custom track with Suno AI, and Podnar’s hands-on upgrade with Moment iPhone lenses and filters. Plus: the Tecmo Bowl movie news, Switch 2 sales milestones, Super Bowl ad/halftime logistics talk, a Black History spotlight on home security pioneer Marie Van Brittan Brown, and a creator workflow tip for downloading YouTube video + subtitles with Downie.

Snowed-In Home Studio Test! iPhone Pro Camera Apps (PhotonCam + Blackmagic) | AwesomeCast 765

January 28th, 2026  |  57 mins 6 secs

ai coloring books, artemis ii, assassin’s creed black flag remake, atem mini, beyond the brick, birdo, blackmagic camera app, clean hdmi iphone, computational photography, copilot+ pc, creator workflow, dave podnar, davinci resolve, gadget news, he-man trailer, iphone camera app, iphone raw, iphoneography podcast, lego animal crossing, livestream setup, masters of the universe, michael sorg, microsoft paint, mobile photography, mobile video production, nasa artemis, photon cam, photoncam, pittsburgh snow, prince of persia, self-driving cars, super mario movie, tech podcast, tiktok outage, tiktok usa, tmnt ii trading cards, ubisoft, waymo pittsburgh, yoshi

Snowed in but still geeky: Sorg and Dave Podnar (iPhoneography Podcast) go remote-from-home to talk mobile camera workflows—Dave’s new favorite PhotonCam for less “crunchy” iPhone photos and Sorg’s Blackmagic Camera app setup for clean HDMI iPhone video. Then it’s a rapid-fire round-up: Ubisoft’s reorg and game delays, the new Masters of the Universe trailer, a fresh Super Mario movie trailer, a massive LEGO Animal Crossing island build, Waymo sightings in snowy Pittsburgh, Microsoft Paint’s AI coloring books, TikTok USA turbulence, and a check-in on Artemis II.

AwesomeCast 764: Animal Crossing 3.0 Changed Everything?! + Final Cut Updates, Premiere AI, and ChatGPT Health

January 21st, 2026  |  57 mins 58 secs

a little to the left, adobe ai video, adobe premiere pro, ai editing tools, ai safety, animal crossing 3.0, animal crossing switch, animal crossing update, apple creator studio, are you dead app, artificial intelligence news, chatgpt, chill games, chore games, compressor, content creation, cozy games, creator tools, daily check-in app, dave podnar, digital culture, digital safety apps, final cut pro, gaming discussion, gaming podcast, geek culture, indie games, iphone apps, katie dudas, logic pro, mattel sora, media workflows, michael sorg, mobile apps, motion, nintendo switch, openai, openai age prediction, personal safety technology, podcast production, powerwash simulator, skeletor ai, sora ai, tech for creators, tech podcast, technology news, video editing, video game news

This week on AwesomeCast 764, cohosts Michael Sorg, Dave Podnar, and Katie Dudas dive into the week’s biggest tech and creator stories—plus a special Animal Crossing 3.0 update field report from Charlotte. Katie checks in with her Animal Crossing–obsessed niece Charlotte to break down what’s new, what’s addictive, and how “slumber islands” change the way you build and share your island adventures. 

Peeping Roomba, Telly TV Hands On and Thankful for Tech | AwesomeCast 759

November 26th, 2025  |  55 mins 37 secs

1992 gadgets, 3dfx voodoo nostalgia, amazon storage bins, awesomecast, cat wars calendar, dave podnar, disney animatronics, disney robot olaf, dual 56k modem, free telly tv, home organization hacks, katie dudas, lasko whirlwind heater, lgbtq gaming pioneer, michael sorg, pebble watch open source, pittsburgh tech podcast, rebecca heineman tribute, retro tech gadgets, robotic olaf, she-ra catra vintage toy, space heater review, tech podcast, telly ad supported television, voltron 40th anniversary set, voltron collector’s set

Free TV, robot snowmen, space heaters, and Voltron nostalgia – we’re packing a lot into AwesomeCast 759.

This week, Michael Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar dive into:

Sorg’s first week living with a Telly free TV and its always-on ad bar

Dave’s emergency Lasko Whirlwind space heater run when his furnace dies

Katie’s Amazon storage bins that completely changed how she organizes clothes

A heartfelt ChachiSays Video Game Minute tribute to game dev legend Rebecca Heineman

Katie’s beloved Cat Wars calendar and a detour into She-Ra villain Catra toy nostalgia

Quick hits on Disney’s robotic Olaf, a 40th anniversary Voltron collector set, and the future of park animatronics & high-end geek collectibles

Simpsons Invade Fortnite + Apple’s Bizarre New Gadget | AwesomeCast 757

November 12th, 2025  |  1 hr 38 secs

ai browser privacy, ai corrosion detection, apple 150 dollar iphone bag, apple design, apple iphone sling, apple news 2025, awesomecast 757, awesomecast podcast, chachi video game minute, dave podnar, fortnite news, fortnite sidekicks update, fortnite simpsons crossover, fortnite x the simpsons, gadget news 2025, gaming news 2025, ipad pro 10th anniversary, ipad pro 2025, iphone accessories 2025, issey miyake iphone pocket, live tech podcast, michael sorg, mobile gadgets, pit airport new terminal, pittsburgh international airport, pittsburgh robotics network, robotics and ai discovery day pittsburgh, simpsons news, ska robotics, smart accessories, sorgatron media, springfield island fortnite, tech podcast pittsburgh, tech trends 2025, wearable tech

Apple turns heads with a $150–$230 knit iPhone “Pocket” sling (yes, really), Fortnite drops a full Simpsons takeover with Springfield Island and Sidekicks, and we recap our live production at Pittsburgh’s Robotics & AI Discovery Day (AI corrosion-detection drones over the Three Rivers). We also mark 10 years of iPad Pro, preview PIT’s new terminal, and run through Chachi’s Video Game Minute headlines.
Links in notes. Subscribe for weekly tech + gadget talk from Pittsburgh’s AwesomeCast.
Segments: Apple iPhone sling; Fortnite x The Simpsons; Robotics demo; iPad Pro at 10; PIT terminal; AI browsers; Chachi’s VGM.
(Hosts: Michael Sorg, Dave Podnar)

Lady in the Dashboard | AwesomeCast 755

October 29th, 2025  |  59 mins 37 secs

24/7 youtube stream, 4k vs 8k, 8k tv study, adobe ai tools, adobe max 2025, ai productivity tools, ai video editing, airport technology, apple accessibility, awesomecast podcast, chachis video game minute, chatgpt atlas, counter strike skins, dave podnar, eb games, halo remaster, indy wrestling stream, ios vehicle motion cues, live streaming setup, michael sorg, motion sickness fix, obs tutorial, obs vlc playlist, openai browser, photoshop generative fill, pit airport terminal, pittsburgh creators, pittsburgh international airport, pittsburgh tech podcast, premiere ai masking, slice on broadway, sorgatron media, taco bell dc 50k, technology news, topaz upscaler

Tech, travel, and a touch of Pittsburgh flair!
Michael Sorg and Dave Podnar take you inside the brand-new Pittsburgh International Airport terminal, share how to build your own 24/7 streaming channel with OBS + VLC, and break down the biggest Adobe MAX 2025 AI announcements. We talk whether 8K TVs even matter, the surprisingly useful iOS Vehicle Motion Cues, and what it’s really like using the new ChatGPT Atlas browser.

OpenAI’s New Browser Changes Everything | ChatGPT Atlas Hands-On! | AwesomeCast 754

October 22nd, 2025  |  48 mins 40 secs

3dfx graphics card, ad-supported tv, ai browser, ai news, ai pet, ai shopping, awesomecast, baby steps game, cable management hack, casio moflin, chatgpt atlas, dave podnar, double fine keeper, free tv ads, gadget news, katie dudas, keeper game pass, michael sorg, netflix gaming, openai browser, pittsburgh tech podcast, pop culture tech, retro pc gaming, roblox games, robotic pet, sesame street roblox, slice on broadway, tech podcast, telly tv, walmart chatgpt, weekly tech show, xbox game pass games

The AwesomeCast crew — Michael Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar — dive into another week of geeky goodness, from AI browsers and robo-pets to nostalgic tech and bizarre cable “hacks.”