AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

AwesomeCast 801: AI Is Making Smart TVs Dumb Again

October 20th, 2026  |  1 hr 3 mins

AI, NASA, Star Wars, ai decompilation, ai job interview, apollo program, apple, artificial intelligence, burger king, counter-strike, data centers, espn, flock cameras, google playgrounds, gta 6, guile popcorn bucket, hello kitty, infrapedia, internet radio, ipad mini, m6, macbook pro, mapquest, margaret hamilton, oled macbook pro, pittsburgh surveillance, pittsburgh tech podcast, pittsburgh technology, smart TV, smart tv ads, software preservation, somewhere fm, street fighter, submarine cables, super bowl, surveillance cameras, technology podcast, touchscreen macbook pro, vibe coding, video game ownership, world radio, xbox labs

Apple M6 Macs, Grogu & RC Racing | AwesomeCast 793

August 25th, 2026  |  1 hr 28 mins

3D printing, Katie Dudas, Michael Sorg, Star Wars, airport gaming, apple, apple m6, artificial intelligence, bathroom finder app, cloudrc, dave podnar, disney nfl, dolly parton, dungeon crawler carl, field museum chicago, gameway, grogu, gta 6, gta vi, hasbro pulse, hot wheels, kingdom hearts 4, kingdom hearts disney plus, linus torvalds, linux, linux 35th anniversary, local ai, m6 chip, mac mini, mac studio, mattel game studios, minecraft, nature calls app, pittsburgh international airport, pittsburgh podcast, pittsburgh steelers, pittsburgh technology, plastic fun time, pokemon, pokemon fossil museum, racing simulator, rc cars, rc racing, rockstar games, sorg, technology podcast, thunderbolt 5, transformers, transformers minecraft, ultimate grogu, unix, uno

Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar are back with a packed AwesomeCast covering the latest intersections of technology, gaming, gadgets, and geek culture.
The show opens with a remembrance of Dolly Parton and her extraordinary charitable legacy before diving into RC cars controlled through full-size racing simulators and Apple’s updated Mac mini and Mac Studio hardware. Dave explains the M6 chip, Thunderbolt 5 clustering, and why running AI locally could become increasingly attractive for businesses and creators.
Chachi takes us inside Chicago’s Pokémon Fossil Museum exhibit and delivers gaming news on Kingdom Hearts 4, Mattel Game Studios, and the latest GTA VI leaks. Katie opens a box full of 3D-printed Dungeon Crawler Carl collectibles, while the crew celebrates 35 years of Linux.
Plus: Transformers invades Minecraft, Hasbro creates a $600 interactive Grogu, the Nature Calls restroom finder launches, Pittsburgh International Airport gets a gaming lounge, and Disney characters are being paired with NFL teams.
Get geeky. Get awesome.

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

May 6th, 2026  |  1 hr 3 mins

Fortnite, Katie Dudas, Roomba, Star Wars, aapi month, ai companion, apple silicon, chachi says, darth vader, dave podnar, david pogue, droid tycoon, eBay, escape vader, fazlur khan, fortnite star wars, gadgets, galactic siege, gamestop, gaming news, generative ai, ipad apps on mac, iphone apps on mac, iphone screenshots, mac apps, macbook neo, pittsburgh marathon, playstation 5, ps5 slim, robot pet, sorg, 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.

Weaponized Roombas | AwesomeCast 493

May 5th, 2020  |  1 hr 8 mins

Star Wars, animal crossing, drone, dslr webcam, hummingbird, logitech, mandalorian, nvideo geforece, roomba olympics, rtx voice, weeds, wireless charging, xbox series x

We've got Ron Krause, John Chichilla, Katie Dudas, and Mike Sorg together (from their respective social-distancing studios) to talk this week's tech talk headlines.

Redmond Playground | AwesomeCast 474

December 11th, 2019  |  55 mins 17 secs

Plex, Star Wars, Xbox, blackmagic atem mini, coca-cola, google glass, hbo, hololens, iMac, mac pro, mario maker, microsoft research, silicon valley, zelda

Chilla is back from Microsoft's Redmond Playground to catch up with the tech news!

Netflix Wasn't Awesome When It Started | AwesomeCast 471

November 19th, 2019  |  59 mins 2 secs

Discord, EA, Fortnite, Solar Energy, Star Wars, Xbox, alexa, apple, awesome cast, awesomecast, buzzfeed, clean energy, disney, disney plus, ea access, freebies, game pass, gamepass, hyundai, ir, mac, macbook pro, motorola, motorola razr, project xcloud, razr, rise of skywalker, roblox, spotify, tech news, tech talk, technology, update

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

The Dark Arts of Frozen Beef | AwesomeCast 465

October 7th, 2019  |  1 hr 4 mins

32-bit, Apple Watch, McDonalds, Playstation, Star Wars, audio, awesome cast, awesomecast, big ben, cleveland, dermalabyss, fine, hyperloop, ios, ios 13, jfk, le creuset, macos, mit, nfl, nintendo, pittsburgh, podcast, ronald mcdonald, tech talk, technology, tesla, uber, uber copter, wendy’s, youtube

We're recording a day early due to some scheduling conflicts, but we've got Sorg, Podnar, and Producer Missy on hand to bring you this week's tech news.

Should I Swift That | AwesomeCast 435

March 6th, 2019  |  1 hr 4 mins

3D printing, 501st legion, AI, Excel, Fortnite, ScareHouse, Star Wars, Taylor Swift, alpha lab gear, alphalab gear, apex legends, app, awesome cast, awesomecast, cosplay, creation labs, 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, self-driving car, spectre, steel cage challenge, tay tay, 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.

Thanos Dancing | AwesomeCast 396

May 8th, 2018  |  1 hr 45 secs

#predictivelyfunny, AR, Cortana, Cynthia Closkey, Developers, Fortnite, Microsoft, Star Wars, Thanos, alexa, android, android p, avengers, awesome cast, awesomecast, bugs bunny, build, burger king, chris whitlatch, gameboy, gameboy advance, google calendar, google lens, google maps, infinity war, may the fourth, nintendo, nintendo switch, parental control, pittsburgh, podcast, pornhub, predictively funny, samsung, star wars day, subservient chicken, technology

Cynthia Closkey is back on the show this week joining Katie, Chilla, and Sorg as they talk tech news.

Double Decker Bus Podcast Tour | AwesomeCast 382

January 30th, 2018  |  55 mins 54 secs

#fakeporn, 412 food rescue, BOLD Pittsburgh, BOLD Sports, Instagram, Star Wars, beasts of balance, burger king, disney, duct tape, fake porn, going deep, hue go, ipad, net neutrality, philips, pinterest, pittsburgh, poort, porn, scheduled content, secrets of the empire, self driving, smart sports, taxi, tech, tech talk, technology, top gun, velcro, vr, waymo, zepp

We’ve got a special treat this week as we’re joined by our BOLD Pittsburgh team of Steve Fernald and Amanda Narcisi. They join Sorg and Chilla to talk about this week in technology news.