In this final "human" podcast of 2025, Todd and Jon discuss the changing landscape of media distribution, internet connectivity, and the year's dominance of Artificial Intelligence.
Episode Highlights:
- The Oscars Move to Streaming: The Academy Awards has signed a deal to move video distribution exclusively to YouTube starting in 2029. Todd notes that many viewers already consume the content via clips on the platform rather than the full terrestrial broadcast.
- The Digital Divide: A look at the 4-6% of US households completely without internet access and the 15-20% lacking fixed broadband. The hosts discuss the lingering presence of DSL compared to cable and fiber.
- Evolving Home Design: Jon highlights a design trend where living rooms are no longer centered around the television, reflecting a shift toward personal consumption on mobile devices rather than communal viewing.
- 2025 Tech Retrospective: The hosts reflect on how AI dominated the conversation throughout the year.
- Jon's Experiment: Using ChatGPT with memory to create a "cognitive time capsule," documenting his current psychological state and preferences to review in ten years.
- Todd's Experiment: Using Google NotebookLM to analyze and summarize PDF transcripts of the podcast's history.
- iPadOS 26: Todd notes that despite improved windowing features in iPadOS 26, his personal workflow has remained largely unchanged.
Next Week: Todd plans to release an automated summary created via AI tools to close out the year.
