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.

F1 Drone Tech, AI Video Chaos & the World’s Largest Camera| AwesomeCast 725

July 1st, 2026  |  58 mins 41 secs

3200 megapixels, aew, ai glasses, ai tools, ai video, apple price increases, astronomy, augmented reality, dark energy, dark matter, dave podnar, digital games, drone camera, f1 drone, filming drone, five nights at freddy’s 3, formula 1, gadget podcast, gadgets, game ownership, generative ai, gta 6, gta vi, hover soccer ball, ipad prices, it came from ai, lgbtq tech history, mac prices, martine rothblatt, meta glasses, minions, motorsports technology, nes, nintendo switch game key cards, physical games, pittsburgh podcast, podcast seo, pride month, red bull, retro gaming, rubin observatory, sirius xm, snap ar glasses, sorg, sorgatron media, space camera, steam games, tech news, tech podcast, united therapeutics, vera rubin observatory, viral tiktok

This week on AwesomeCast 785, Sorg and Dave Podnar get geeky with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s massive 3,200-megapixel digital camera, Red Bull’s world’s fastest filming drone chasing a Formula 1 car, and the tech legacy of Martine Rothblatt for Pride Month.

SteamOS, Shokz Headphones, Retro Phones, Sports Tech & a T-Pain Social Media Fail | AwesomeCast 784

June 23rd, 2026  |  59 mins 35 secs

ai coding, amd gpu, automation, baja sae, bazzite, bone conduction headphones, chachi says, claude guillemot, commodore phone, dave podnar, digital twins, doordash, dumbphone, formula sae, gadgets, gaming, gta 6, jon maddog hall, lgbtq tech history, linux gaming, linux history, michael sorg, mlb, nex playground, open ear headphones, open source, pc gaming, pittsburgh podcast, pixel art baseball, podcast, pride month, proton, referee technology, retro phone, retro tech, ribbie, running headphones, sailfish os, shokz openrun pro 2, social media fail, sorg, sports technology, steam deck, steam machine, steamos, t-pain, tech podcast, technology podcast, ubisoft, valve, var, vibe coding, video game news, world cup

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.

Adobe Firefly Goes FREE (For Now) + Switch 2 Upgrades + Pittsburgh LEGO Set?! | AwesomeCast 766

February 4th, 2026  |  59 mins 46 secs

adobe firefly, ai image generation, ai video generation, amazon delivery vans, animal crossing, arcade pittsburgh, black history month spotlight, cat wars calendar, cnbc, content creation tools, duquesne church arcade, electret microphone, gadgets, generative ai, google ai, james west, lego ideas, nintendo switch 2 editions, pittsburgh lego, pittsburgh tech podcast, project genie, rivian, super mario bros wonder, switch 2, tech news, unity, video game industry

This week on AwesomeCast 766, Sorg, Dudders, and Podnar dig into the tools and stories shaping tech right now—AI’s growing role in creative work, what “free-for-now” Adobe Firefly means for creators, and the latest chatter around Switch 2 upgrades. Plus: a Pittsburgh LEGO Ideas set worth voting for, a new arcade inside an old church in Duquesne, Rivian delivery van updates, Cat Wars calendar chaos, and a Black History Month spotlight on inventor James West.

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

Happy Prime Day For Those Who Celebrate | AwsomeCast 694

July 17th, 2024  |  55 mins 30 secs

amazon fire tv, awesome cast, camel camel camel, elgato stream deck, gadgets, geek culture, ios 18 beta, john chichilla, katie dudas, las vegas sphere, levoit air purifier, michael sorg, prime day deals, royal caribbean virtual train ride, tech news, transparent tech gadgets, utm se emulator

Revving Up Tech: From Google I/O to Formula SAE | AwesomeCast 686

May 15th, 2024  |  57 mins 2 secs

ai advancements, ai assistants, ai technology, event coverage, formula sae, gadgets, google i/o, live streaming, michigan speedway, microsoft co-pilot, modern tech, openai gpt-4, podcast, podcast studio, racing event, smart devices, smart glasses, smart glasses comparison, tech news, volunteer event

AI Alliances and Charging Solutions | AwesomeCast 679

March 20th, 2024  |  53 mins 59 secs

ai, apple, countdown, disney, entertainment, gadgets, gemini, google, iphoneography, magsafe, ninja turtles, nvidia, paramount plus, pittsburgh, podcasting, robots, tech, travel

All Your Stream Belong to Us OR Is Mastodon the Linux of Social Media? | AwesomeCast 673

February 7th, 2024  |  56 mins 52 secs

applevisionpro, gadgets, gaming, healthtech, socialmedia, streamingservices, technology

GPT
This "AwesomeCast" episode delves into the latest in tech, streaming services, and gadgets with discussions on a new sports streaming collaboration, cutting-edge gaming technology, innovative health tech, and the potential impact of Apple's Vision Pro. It explores the features of the Elgato Game Capture 4K X, advancements in diabetes monitoring technology, and the immersive possibilities offered by Apple's new product. Perfect for tech enthusiasts looking for insights into streaming, gaming, social media trends, and health innovations.