AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

Fortnite’s Hot Bat Summer, Robot Arms & AI | AwesomeCast 787

July 15th, 2026  |  58 mins 19 secs

ai privacy, apple beta, apple health, artificial intelligence, assistive technology, autonomous vehicles, batman, blood pressure monitor, camera guidelines, carnegie science center, catwoman, consumer technology, cyborg technology, dave podnar, digital ownership, digital surveillance, disability pride month, doctor octopus, fast and furious, fortnite, gadgets, harley quinn, hot bat summer, instagram ai, ios 27, jizai arms, katie dudas, kennywood, kids smartwatch, lego speed champions, meta ai, michael sorg, omron 7 series, parental controls, petersen automotive museum, phones for kids, pinwheel phones, pittsburgh technology podcast, poison ivy, robotic arms, rory cooper, sorg, speed exhibit, sports broadcasting, tech news, technology podcast, toyota supra mk4, usb-c cables, usb-c diagnostics, waymo, whatcable, wheelchair technology, women athletes

Sorg, Katie Dudas and Dave Podnar explore the useful, unusual and occasionally alarming side of modern technology in AwesomeCast 787.

Dave reviews the Bluetooth-enabled Omron 7 Series blood pressure monitor, while Katie introduces Pinwheel’s managed phones, smartwatch and Wi-Fi home phone for younger users. Sorg tests WhatCable, a Mac utility that reveals whether USB-C cables, chargers and ports are really delivering the speeds they promise.

The crew also discusses Rory Cooper’s groundbreaking wheelchair innovations, LEGO’s Fast & Furious Toyota Supra, a new speed exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center, respectful camera guidelines for women athletes, Instagram’s reversed AI remix feature, wearable Doctor Octopus-style robotic arms, Fortnite’s “Hot Bat Summer” and a shirtless protester’s battle with a Waymo.

Sorg begins downloading the iOS 27 public beta during the episode, while Katie saves her less-than-awesome update thoughts for the Patreon aftertalk.

Fortnite Star Wars, Apple Silicon App Tricks, Robot Pets & the Future of GameStop | AwesomeCast 778

May 6th, 2026  |  1 hr 3 mins

aapi month, ai companion, apple silicon, chachi says, darth vader, dave podnar, david pogue, droid tycoon, ebay, escape vader, fazlur khan, fortnite, fortnite star wars, gadgets, galactic siege, gamestop, gaming news, generative ai, ipad apps on mac, iphone apps on mac, iphone screenshots, katie dudas, mac apps, macbook neo, pittsburgh marathon, playstation 5, ps5 slim, robot pet, roomba, sorg, star wars, tech podcast, video games, wwe ai

Sorg, Katie, and Podnar are back for AwesomeCast 778 with Apple Silicon Mac tips, Katie’s hands-on thoughts on the MacBook Neo, Fortnite’s Star Wars takeover, robot companions from the creator of Roomba, AI in wrestling promos, GameStop’s rumored eBay bid, and a spotlight on skyscraper engineering pioneer Fazlur Khan for AAPI Month.

Fallback to Fortnight | AwesomeCast 696

July 31st, 2024  |  1 hr 3 secs

apple arcade, apple beta program, apple intelligence, apple intelligence features, awesomecast, blockchain, california dmv, call of duty, chatgpt, digital vehicle titles, festival mode, fortnite, gadgets, google alternative, ios 18, ios 18.1, modern warfare 3, pdp gaming, podcasting, rift master wireless guitar, rock band, searchgpt, tech news, xbox game pass

Covid Robot of Doom | AwesomeCast 509

August 26th, 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins

apple, chromeos, covid-19, drive thru, duolink speakerbuds, epic games, fortnite, google, google chrome, kickstarter, microsoft, nvidia geforce now, stranger things, tab groups, wwe thunderdome, xoogler university, xooglers, youtube

Chatting the tech news of the week including WWE Thunderdome, new Chrome tabs, the Covid-19 testing robot and more as The Verge's Kim Lyons joins Katie Dudas, John Chichilla and Mike Sorg!

F is for Facebook | AwesomeCast 508

August 19th, 2020  |  1 hr 26 secs

app store, apple, epic games, facebook, fortnite, google, grindstone, mac mini, microsoft surface duo, netflix shuffle, nintendo switch, oculus, raspberry pi, reinstall, retroflag, retropie, untitled goose game

Chatting the tech news of the week including computer refresh victories, Raspberry Pi retro gaming upgrades, the Epic Games vs Apple showdown and more! with Katie Dudas, John Chichilla and Mike Sorg!

Bobbleheads Will Bobble | AwesomeCast 492

April 29th, 2020  |  54 mins 27 secs

alien, animal crossing new horizons, apple swift, bar smarts, boston dynamics, covid-19, dunk hunt, evening wear, facehugger, fortnite, glock, ipad, love your melon, no pants, quarantine, this week in tech, travis scott, twit, work from home

Amanda Narcisi returns to the show to join Katie Dudas and Mike Sorg as we take a look at this week's tech news topics.

Netflix Wasn't Awesome When It Started | AwesomeCast 471

November 19th, 2019  |  59 mins 2 secs

alexa, apple, awesome cast, awesomecast, buzzfeed, clean energy, discord, disney, disney plus, ea, ea access, fortnite, freebies, game pass, gamepass, hyundai, ir, mac, macbook pro, motorola, motorola razr, project xcloud, razr, rise of skywalker, roblox, solar energy, spotify, star wars, tech news, tech talk, technology, update, xbox

Sorg and Chilla are hanging with Producer Missy to bring us this week's tech news.

Borderlands Butts | AwesomeCast 463

September 25th, 2019  |  1 hr 8 mins

aaron kleiber, ace axe throwing, amazon, apple, apple arcade, awesome cast, awesomecast, batman, batman day, borderlands, cube, force touch, fortnite, houseparty, ifixit, ios, ios 13, iphone, iphone 11, iphone 11 pro, kitten kam, nyc, overwatch, party hub, podcast, porn, pornhub, scavenger hunt, se, sega, sega mini, tech talk, technology, voice interoperability

We have a special treat as Katie, Chilla and Sorg are joined by Pittsburgh comedian, Aaron Kleiber. 

Should I Swift That | AwesomeCast 435

March 6th, 2019  |  1 hr 4 mins

3d printing, 501st legion, ai, alpha lab gear, alphalab gear, apex legends, app, awesome cast, awesomecast, cosplay, creation labs, excel, fortnite, hardware cup, immigrant song, jibo, jibo robot, laser tag, long exposure, mayor peduto, nintendo switch, ocr, photography, pittsburgh, podcast, replay fx, robot, rogue laser grounds, scarehouse, self-driving car, spectre, star wars, steel cage challenge, tay tay, taylor swift, tech news, tech talk, technology, thunderbolt, transformers, video game, videogame, weezer

Sorg, Katie, and Chilla brave the bitter cold this week to bring you this week’s tech news.

We're Gonna Go Watch Chickens | AwesomeCast 431

February 6th, 2019  |  54 mins 51 secs

5ge, airpods, alexa, alexa skill, amazon, american airlines, apex legends, apple, apple music, audible, awesome cast, awesomecast, backwards compatibility, chicken, choose your own adventure, dr. mario world, earrings, fake news, fortnite, gaming, gaming news, marshmello, mobile gaming, news guard, sony, tech, tech news, tech talk, technology, twitch, xbox, xbox live

Katie, Chilla, and Sorg are back in studio joined by John Carman this week to run down the tech news you should know about.