Podcasts about Neo

We're back with Pathfinder Wizards, and somehow giving Tyler ten more levels of spellcasting has not improved the situation. Ash has evolved from sneaky magical assassin into a nearly undetectable menace who can freeze time and ruin your life before you know he was there. Randall has discovered that there is apparently no such thing as enough bonded-item spell slots. And Tyler's angry robot can now scream at you until you die, drop meteors on your friends, and disintegrate whatever is left. At this point, these aren't adventurers. They're reasons cities have evacuation plans. SHOW NOTES We're finishing our Pathfinder 2e Wizard builds, taking Ash, Randall, and Tyler from level 11 all the way to level 20. At these levels, the Wizard starts showing exactly where its power lives. New class features are few and far between, defenses remain deeply Wizard-shaped, and some of the high-level feat choices are surprisingly thin. But the spells? The spells get ridiculous. Ash continues turning his Red Mantis Sprite into the world's most irritating magical assassin. Phantasmal Calamity wrecks minds, Redirect Teleportation makes escaping him considerably harder, Duplicate Foe lets him turn your own face against you, and his growing collection of invisibility and stealth abilities eventually makes finding him a campaign objective all by itself. By the time he picks up Disappearance and Legendary Sneak, the plan has basically become: you don't see Ash unless Ash has made a tactical error. Tyler's Rune Lord continues leaning into wrath, explosions, and increasingly hostile interpretations of spellcasting. Blinding Fury makes enemies literally too angry to perceive things properly, Falling Stars brings the expected amount of meteor-related destruction, and Scare to Death gives his angry robot the possibility of simply yelling at someone until they fall over dead. Naturally, Tyler immediately starts figuring out how to combine that with Sure Strike and Disintegrate because apparently death by terror wasn't conclusive enough. Randall keeps feeding the Universalist Wizard's bonded-item engine. Superior Bond and Reprepare Spell give him even more ways to keep spells flowing, because the answer to "When do you have enough spellcasting?" is apparently "What kind of quitter asks that question?" Along the way, we hit some of the Wizard's best high-level toys. Contingency lets you prepare for problems before they happen. Time Beacon lets you rewind a terrible turn and try again. Metallic Meteorite Glyph introduces the exciting tactical concept of repeatedly hitting someone with space rocks. Effortless Concentration frees up actions for sustained spells. Infinite Possibilities gives prepared casters a valuable wildcard when the perfect spell wasn't prepared that morning. Then we reach 10th-rank spells and restraint leaves the building. Ash stops time with Freeze Time and starts planning elaborate traps while everyone else stands around unknowingly waiting for reality to resume. Randall grabs Cataclysm because sometimes the correct number of damage types is all of them. Tyler considers Manifestation, giving him access to nearly any spell he could suddenly decide he needs. There is also an extended disagreement about line of effect after Ash discovers that Phantasmagoria cannot simply murder everyone inside a building without worrying about pesky things like walls. Apparently Pathfinder has rules specifically designed to keep Wizard war crimes within reasonable geographic boundaries. Ash takes the news well. By level 20, everyone somehow lands on Spell Shape Mastery, turning many of their favorite spell-shaping tricks into free actions. Ash becomes harder to identify, read, locate, or meaningfully interact with. Randall takes Lore specifically about Ash's Sprite, immediately putting himself on Ash's hit list. Tyler takes Too Angry to Die, because there was really no other possible ending for the angry robot. Twenty levels later, the Wizard remains exactly what it promised to be: fragile, complicated, occasionally frustrating, and capable of solving problems with a spell list large enough to qualify as infrastructure. KEY TAKEAWAYS High-level Wizards are still defined more by their spells than their class features. The Wizard's defensive and weapon progression remains painfully slow, so positioning and magical defenses continue to matter. High-level spellcasting is where the class really comes alive, with options like Contingency, Time Beacon, Phantasmal Calamity, Falling Stars, Disappearance, and a frankly unreasonable number of meteor-related solutions. Ash's Red Mantis build becomes an extremely capable infiltrator and assassin built around stealth, deception, illusions, invisibility, and making other people look responsible. Tyler's Rune Lord doubles down on damage, persistent effects, intimidation, and the general philosophy that being angry enough should eventually become a damage type. Randall's Universalist shows how powerful Drain Bonded Item can become when you keep investing in ways to recover and recycle spells. Reprepare Spell trades downtime for reusable low-rank utility, while Infinite Possibilities sacrifices some raw spell-slot power for tremendous flexibility. Effortless Concentration is an easy standout for Wizards who rely on sustained spells. Scare to Death on an angry Rune Lord is exactly as stupid and wonderful as it sounds. 10th-rank spells are deliberately limited, but Freeze Time, Cataclysm, Manifestation, and the other options make that single slot feel appropriately enormous. Spell Shape Mastery is a fantastic capstone if your build has invested heavily in spell-shaping feats. Free Archetype opens even more directions, including Rogue or Captivator for Ash's assassin, additional spellcasting options for Randall, and apparently more explosions for Tyler. Pathfinder's line-of-effect rules are all that stand between civilization and unrestricted Wizard war crimes. Most importantly, Tyler got twenty full levels of Wizard and still wanted more. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

"Welcome Back Love" The San Francisco-born Martin Luther McCoy is a straight up quadruple threat. An actor, guitarist, singer/songwriter, and producer, McCoy is one of those guys who does a lot of things really well. He's released a handful of brilliant solo albums like The Calling, Rebel Soul Music and his brand new one, Welcome Back Love, which we'll get to in a minute, he's collaborated with the Roots, the SF Jazz Collective and Lady Bug Mecca from Diggable Planets, appeared in films like Julie Taymor's Across The Universe, appeared in Yale Repertory Theater's Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts, 1, 2 & 3) and played live with everyone from Jill Scott to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A smoldering platter of Neo soul, funk, pop, Afrobeat, gospel, hip-hop and R&B, Welcome Back Love is one of the most transformative musical experiences of the year. From "Reimagine The World" to "Warmth Of Other Suns," Welcome Back Love is deeply satisfying and soulfully precise. And Martin is not only a gifted artist, he's a really cool guy. www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) G + BLUESKY + THREADS: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

Patrick examines everything from the use of kneelers at Mass and the history of the Latin rite to misunderstandings about the Traditional Latin Mass and ongoing arguments over tradition and change. He fields heartfelt questions on Eucharistic validity, responds to calls about family suffering, defunct churches turned into mosques, and tensions stirred by new Catholic movements. At every turn, Patrick grounds each response in Church teaching, brings historical clarity, and offers hope to listeners wrestling with confusion or grief. Richard (email) – Can’t we kneel without kneelers? (00:27) James (email) - Would it be fair to say that the SSPX has made an idol of the form of the Mass, that is, the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) form? (01:54) Christy - Son married a pro-SSPX woman who says the Catholic Church is trying to get rid of the Latin mass. (05:24) Andy – At a Redemptoris mater seminary the eucharist is in the form of a cube (11:49) Haydee - My dad just passed away, and he wanted his ashes scattered. I was against this, but my sisters are going through with it. Is it okay to participate with them? (18:02) Martin - I am currently going through a civil divorce and need guidance on how to handle this from a spiritual and Catholic perspective. (23:45) Wayne – My parish closed during Covid and is now being sold to become a Mosque. What do you think of this? (38:36) Thomas - Invalidity of Eucharist on the matter (41:20) Eric - Our diocese is trying to establish the Neo-catechumenal way of tearing off bread for the Eucharist. (43:13) Originally Aired on 07-16-2026

It's ev.news Briefly for Tuesday 01 September 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsVOLKSWAGEN EXPECTED TO DEBUT ID. TIGUAN NEXT MONTHVolkswagen is expected to unveil the ID. Tiguan next month as the replacement for the ID.4 and ID.5, abandoning its numbered naming scheme in favour of established petrol nameplates alongside the ID.3 Neo, ID. Polo and ID. Cross. Prototype footage published by Autogefühl shows a wider, more conventional body closer to the petrol Tiguan with pop-out door handles replacing flush units, and the car is expected to use the MEB+ platform with a new cabin design, updated infotainment and the return of physical climate buttons.SLATE REPORTEDLY PLANS $3,000 CARGO TOPPER FOR ALL BUYERSSlate Auto reportedly plans a cargo topper kit available to all buyers rather than fleet customers alone, offered in standard square-back and high-roof forms in white and black from around $3,000, according to the Instagram account Slate Auto Mods citing fleet and government sales lead Christian Kreipke. Kreipke also reportedly said the next-generation Slate will retain the same basic design dimensions, an assurance that costs the company nothing but protects the aftermarket upfitters whose tooling depends on that consistency.CALIFORNIA SENDS 1,200-WATT PLUG-IN SOLAR BILL TO NEWSOMSB 868, passed with bipartisan support and now awaiting Governor Newsom's signature, would legalise plug-in or balcony solar in California by replacing the interconnection application with a free online registration, opening the $300-to-$2,200 technology to renters and those unable to install rooftop arrays. Systems would be capped at 1,200 watts per home and must plug into a standard outlet, offset onsite use, meet electrical codes, carry independent safety certification and stop feeding the grid during outages; PG&E ultimately opposed the final version over unenforced certification rules until 2030, San Diego Gas & Electric warned the anti-backfeed feature could fail, and Southern California Edison went neutral after safety standards were tightened.KIA SETS SEPTEMBER UNVEILING FOR PV7 ELECTRIC VANKia will fully unveil the PV7 electric van at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover on 14 September ahead of a 2027 customer launch, releasing images of Cargo and Passenger versions but withholding payload, cargo volume and range figures that matter most to fleet buyers. Built on the 400-volt E-GMP.S skateboard architecture shared with the PV5, its length is reported in Korea at between 5,270mm and 5,900mm despite Kia UK calling it mid-size, and it follows a PV5 that took 37% of Europe's electric C-segment van market in the first half of the year.OREGON EV REBATE MONEY EXPECTED TO RUN OUT IN TWO MONTHSOregon's electric-vehicle rebate programme has about $8.5 million remaining and is expected to last little more than two months, having already been suspended once by the Department of Environmental Quality after a previous scheme lasted three and a half months. The standard rebate has no income test and pays $2,000 for a new EV, $1,500 for a plug-in hybrid and $375 for an electric motorcycle, while the income-targeted charge-ahead rebate pays $7,500 for a new EV, $5,000 for a new plug-in hybrid, up to $4,000 for a used EV and up to $2,500 for a used plug-in hybrid.BYD REVEALS MAKO PLUG-IN HYBRID UTE IN BRAZILBYD has shown pre-production Mako plug-in hybrid utes to Brazilian media at Interlagos ahead of an October or November launch, positioning the roughly 4.8-metre, monocoque-based model as a smaller, more car-like alternative to the ladder-frame Shark 6 and a rival to the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz rather than one-tonne utes. It retains a separate load bed of about 1,000 litres with a reported 750kg payload and uses a flex-fuel DM-i system running petrol or ethanol, with front-wheel drive at launch, an all-wheel-drive version reportedly in development, and battery capacity, electric range and right-hand-drive export plans all unconfirmed.QUEENSLAND SETS AGE 16 AND LICENCE RULESQueensland introduced tougher e-bike and e-scooter rules on 31 August 2026 requiring riders to be at least 16 and hold at least a learner licence, with parents liable for fines when under-16s are caught riding illegally. Interstate and international licences are accepted while suspended or disqualified drivers are barred entirely, and exemptions apply to 12-to-17-year-olds riding with a parent and to people unable to hold a licence because of certain medical conditions or disabilities.NISSAN AND HONDA SIGN ECU SOFTWARE PARTNERSHIPNissan and Honda signed an agreement on 31 August to jointly develop standardised electronic control units, an in-vehicle operating system, middleware and vehicle-control software for what they call software-defined vehicles. The resulting electronic architecture is scheduled to reach next-generation vehicles in 2029, with both companies claiming faster development cycles, more efficient investment and improved competitiveness in an intensifying global market.CHINA PROPOSES 30,000 KILOMETERS OF ROAD TESTINGChina is proposing to double mandatory road testing for new-energy vehicles to 30,000 kilometres, according to Bloomberg, even as carmakers push for shorter development schedules that IAT Automobile Technology and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimate AI could compress to an 18-month standard, against a current pace of around two years and three to five years for established foreign rivals. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is monitoring online customer complaints and inspected at least five leading automakers in July, including GAC Aion days after reports that batteries in some models were failing beyond 150,000 kilometres.POLAND'S COAL SHARE FALLS TO 52.7% IN 2025Poland's coal share of electricity generation fell from 72.5% in 2021 to 52.7% in 2025, dropping below half in five separate months and being outproduced by renewables across a full month for the first time in June. The country generated 24.4 TWh from gas, 23.8 TWh from onshore wind and 20.3 TWh from solar in 2025, and the IEA expects renewables to overtake coal on an annual basis in 2028.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we dive back into the digital trenches with The Matrix Reloaded, a sequel that cranks up the action, the philosophy, and — occasionally — the confusion. We break down Neo's escalating powers, Zion's questionable rave priorities, and why the Merovingian's mansion fight still absolutely slaps.We talk about how the film leans hard into style over substance, how the CGI hasn't aged as gracefully as the leather coats, and why the freeway chase — iconic as it is — goes on long enough to qualify as its own trilogy. From rogue programs to rubber‑man Neo, we unpack what works, what doesn't, and why Reloaded remains one of the most ambitious (and divisive) sequels of the 2000s.Plug in, dodge some Agents, and join us as we try to make sense of the most gloriously convoluted blockbuster ever made.

Tyler loves wizards. We know this because he told us. Repeatedly. For ninety minutes. So naturally, we gave him an entire episode to explain why the best solution to every problem is a spellbook, an alarming number of prepared spells, and occasionally sucking magical energy out of your left shoe. Meanwhile, Ash builds a tiny invisible assassin, Randall discovers that wizardry can apparently involve throwing a greatsword at someone from several hundred feet away, and everyone learns the most important rule of Pathfinder spellcasting: Fireball is a tool, not a personality. Tyler disagrees. SHOW NOTES It is finally time for Tyler's Roman Empire: Wizards. In Part 1 of our Pathfinder 2e Wizard build, we take the class from levels 1 through 10 and dig into what makes the PF2e Wizard different from its D&D 5e counterpart. Wizards are still the spellbook-carrying nerds we know and love, but their real power comes from choosing, preparing, and using the right spells rather than simply solving every encounter with Fireball. We break down Arcane Bond, including the extremely important revelation that your bonded item can technically be your left shoe, then walk through the Arcane Theses and the different ways they reshape how a Wizard manages spells. Spell Blending offers big high-rank spell slots, Spell Substitution gives prepared casters some much-needed flexibility, Experimental Spell Shaping opens up spell modification options, and Improved Familiar Attunement lets you drain magical power from your adorable animal companion without technically hurting it. Probably. Then we build three very different Wizards. Ash creates a sneaky Red Mantis spellcaster built around stealth, spying, invisibility, and framing innocent people for magical crimes. Randall embraces the School of Unified Magical Theory and somehow turns his scholarly Wizard into a man who hurls increasingly large weapons at enemies. Tyler goes full Rune Lord of Wrath because apparently simply playing a Wizard was not Wizard enough. As the builds advance, the differences become even clearer. Ash gains tools like Split Slot and Shroud of the Mantis to become an increasingly slippery magical infiltrator. Randall discovers the ridiculous potential of Bond Conservation and starts chaining recovered spells together while continuing to throw weapons at people. Tyler adds persistent fire, bleeding, spell shaping, extra spell slots earned by waking up angry, and increasingly elaborate ways to make one enemy have the worst day imaginable. By level 10, we have three Wizards who share a spell list and almost nothing else. We also discover that Ash is apparently building according to the defensive philosophy of being somewhere else when the damage happens, which leads to perhaps the purest Wizard philosophy of the episode: here for a good time, not a long time. KEY TAKEAWAYS A Pathfinder 2e Wizard is defined primarily by their spells. What you learn, prepare, and cast matters far more than simply collecting class feats. PF2e Wizards are powerful, but they do not have the enormous caster-versus-martial power gap familiar to many D&D 5e players. Fireball is good. Fireball is not the answer to every question. Tyler remains emotionally unconvinced. Arcane Bond effectively gives you another use of a prepared spell, and your bonded item can be almost anything you own, including, unfortunately, a shoe. Arcane Thesis dramatically changes how your Wizard handles spellcasting. Spell Substitution is especially forgiving if you are new to prepared spellcasting, while Spell Blending can be extremely powerful but more complicated. Arcane Schools provide curriculum spells, additional curriculum spell slots, and focus spells, while the School of Unified Magical Theory trades the curriculum for much greater flexibility with Drain Bonded Item. Wizard class feats can sometimes feel underwhelming because so much of the class's power budget lives in its spells, making Wizard an appealing class for archetype options. Ash proves that Wizards can make surprisingly effective stealth and infiltration characters. Randall proves that being a Wizard does not technically prevent you from solving problems by throwing a greatsword at them. Tyler proves that Rune Lord Wrath can turn waking up angry into an actual character resource. By level 10, the three builds demonstrate just how differently Wizards can play despite all starting from the same enormous Arcane spell list. Most importantly, Tyler loves Wizards. We know, buddy. We know. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Nature is healing. Unfortunately, nature has chosen violence. We're taking the Druid from level 5 all the way to 20, which means summoning packs of velociraptors, turning into dinosaurs, raising fungal zombies, weaponizing potted plants, becoming an angry celestial nature wizard, and eventually gaining the power to erase armies with natural disasters. But none of that matters because we discovered the true pinnacle of Druid magic: summoning cows sixty feet above our enemies and letting gravity finish the spell. Welcome to high-level Druid optimization, where Mother Nature loves you, but she has absolutely had enough of your crap. Show Notes We return to our 2014 D&D 5e Druid builds and take Tyler's Circle of Spores, Randall's Circle of the Moon, and Ash's Circle of Stars from level 5 all the way to 20. Third-level spells immediately send us down the Conjure Animals rabbit hole, where velociraptors look terrifying until someone suggests cows. From there, the entirely reasonable discussion of battlefield control becomes the Twister Gambit: summon livestock above your enemy and allow physics to contribute to the encounter. As the levels climb, the Druids only become more ridiculous. Randall gets increasingly dangerous Wild Shape options and eventually Elemental Wild Shape. Tyler builds an expanding fungal entourage while becoming increasingly difficult to kill. Meanwhile, Rain Shadow graduates from peaceful celestial hippie to terrifying flying star mage with an alarming willingness to unleash the wrath of nature. We dig through the Druid spell list, separating great options from traps, discussing Polymorph, Wall of Fire, summoning, battlefield control, Draconic Transformation, Foresight, Shapechange, and the point where spells like Earthquake and Tsunami stop feeling like combat abilities and start feeling like natural-disaster plot devices. By level 18, Beast Spells lets Druids cast while Wild Shaped, and level 20's Archdruid removes the practical limit on Wild Shape altogether. The result is a class that starts by talking to squirrels and ends as a nearly unkillable force of nature capable of turning into monsters, casting world-altering magic, and presumably still dropping cows on people whenever the situation demands it. Key Takeaways Conjure Animals remains enormously powerful, especially when quantity, Pack Tactics, battlefield control, and questionable applications of gravity get involved. The Twister Gambit proves that cows are not merely livestock. They are ammunition. Druids excel at battlefield control, with spells like Plant Growth capable of making movement extremely difficult under the right circumstances. Circle of the Moon keeps improving its Wild Shape options, eventually gaining Elemental Wild Shape and much stronger beast forms. Circle of Spores develops into a durable melee caster surrounded by fungal undead and eventually gains excellent defensive abilities. Circle of Stars becomes increasingly flexible as its Starry Forms improve, allowing Ash's Rain Shadow to become the terrifying celestial nature prophet she was always destined to be. Higher-level Druid magic increasingly shifts from winning encounters to reshaping entire situations with spells like Earthquake and Tsunami. Beast Spells dramatically changes Wild Shape by allowing Druids to cast while transformed. Foresight and Shapechange provide outstanding ninth-level options and make already-powerful Druids even harder to deal with. Archdruid's unlimited Wild Shape makes the level 20 Druid extraordinarily difficult to kill, especially for Circle of the Moon. The Druid's greatest strength is versatility. It can summon, heal, control the battlefield, transform, deal damage, support allies, infiltrate, and eventually become a walking ecological catastrophe. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Are banks secretly making billions off YOUR money while paying you pennies?

Last time on Impossible Magic, we discovered that the Magus can finally move, the Summoner can finally summon, and Pathfinder's three-action economy is apparently more of a polite recommendation. Now we're back for Part 2, where Paizo hands Ash an infinite supply of disposable corpses, gives Tyler a class built entirely around weaponized graffiti, drops roughly six hundred spells on his to-do list, and introduces magic so impossible that you're legally allowed to cast it exactly once. Welcome back. Somehow, things have gotten worse for the GM. Show Notes We survived Part 1, so naturally it's time to make things significantly more complicated. We start with the Necromancer, Ash's immediate new obsession and perhaps Pathfinder's most enthusiastic endorsement of reusable corpses. Necromancers summon disposable thralls, sacrifice them to power Grave Spells, choose between the martial Reaper and thrall-heavy Puppeteer Fatal Methods, and customize their undead aesthetic through Blood, Bone, Flesh, or Spirit Grim Fascinations. Blood immediately attracts Ash's attention because apparently the correct amount of bleeding is all of it. The class also gets Mastery of Life and Death, allowing it to play surprisingly flexible games with vitality and void damage. Between healing from dead thralls, creating seas of grasping limbs, exploding minions, summoning enormous undead monstrosities, and eventually dropping a living graveyard onto the battlefield, the Necromancer delivers exactly the sort of wholesome family entertainment we expected. Then we meet the Runesmith, Pathfinder's newest experiment in making someone at the table track even more things. Runesmiths etch persistent runes onto equipment, trace temporary runes onto creatures, modify them with diacritic runes, and invoke them for additional effects. The result is a flexible new magic system with tons of room for clever combinations, action compression, buffs, debuffs, and the inevitable player who arrives with a spreadsheet explaining why drawing twelve symbols on the barbarian causes reality to explode. Or, as Tyler puts it, weaponized graffiti. From there, we explore the new Wizard schools, including enchantment-adjacent magic, divination, dimensional manipulation, and what can only reasonably be described as Minecraft Wizard. Automatons also get new options, including more durability and, most importantly, laser eyes. Then we arrive at approximately six hundred new and updated spells, which Tyler receives with the calm enthusiasm of a man watching years disappear from his life. Standouts include Bone Shield, Murder of Crows, Bone Moth's Kiss, Heartbolt, Living Thunderbolt, and the deeply important Fishing Spot, which creates an extraplanar fishing hole because sometimes saving the world can wait until after you catch a Scholar Salmon. Finally, we reach the actual Impossible Spells. These aren't conventional character options so much as campaign-level magical plot devices. They can set enormous areas on fire, erase entire periods of history, leave permanent supernatural consequences, and can generally be cast only once by a character. So despite the book's title, Impossible Magic is apparently possible. Once. We wrap up with strange rituals, spell catalysts, armor and weapon runes, grimoires, spellhearts, staves, magic tattoos, and enough other magical equipment to keep optimizers occupied until Paizo releases another book and starts the process all over again. The final verdict is overwhelmingly positive. The Necromancer is flavorful and mechanically exciting, the Runesmith introduces a genuinely different approach to magic, the spells are unusually creative, and even the archetypes and magic items feel packed with ideas worth playing. Key Takeaways Necromancer is built around disposable thralls that can attack, block space, fuel Grave Spells, and be sacrificed for increasingly ridiculous effects. Reaper supports a more martial Necromancer while Puppeteer leans harder into controlling and sacrificing thralls. Blood, Bone, Flesh, and Spirit Grim Fascinations dramatically change the flavor and utility of your thralls. Blood looks especially strong, including ways to bypass bleed immunity and regain HP when thralls die. Mastery of Life and Death gives Necromancers unusual flexibility with vitality and void effects. Runesmith introduces an entirely new magical playstyle built around etching, tracing, modifying, and invoking runes. Diacritic runes modify other runes, opening the door to increasingly elaborate combinations. Runesmith has enormous potential for optimization, especially as players discover new ways to exploit its action compression. The new Wizard schools offer some much-needed alternatives, including dimensional and terrain-manipulation themes. Automatons get additional defensive options and, critically, laser eyes. Impossible Magic includes roughly six hundred new and updated spells, ranging from genuinely useful combat magic to wonderfully bizarre options like Fishing Spot. Bone Moth's Kiss begins with a cute little moth and ends with your bones gradually becoming a medical emergency. Living Thunderbolt lets you become lightning, fly through creatures, and damage them as you pass through their spaces. Impossible Spells are primarily GM-controlled plot devices rather than normal spell selections. A character can generally use Impossible Magic only once, after which their soul is permanently marked against doing it again. The book also includes new rituals, grimoires, spellhearts, staves, catalysts, armor and weapon runes, tattoos, and other magical equipment. The overall reaction is extremely positive. Necromancer gets most of the immediate hype, but Runesmith may be the sleeper hit once players start discovering what the rune system can really do. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Mormonism is changing and the version of it a Latter-day Saint holds today may look almost nothing like the version their parents held. I sat down with Aaron Shafovaloff and Brandi Bronson to map what's actually happening. Aaron has done evangelism in Utah for two decades and volunteers with Mormonism Research Ministry. Brandy was LDS for 27 years before leaving. Aaron lays out seven distinct streams within the movement today and Brandy describes the Mormonism she was raised in divine nature, eternal progression, creating worlds, and what made her start to question it. CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org Timestamps 0:00 — What is "the new Mormonism"? 0:27 — Brandy: 27 years as a Latter-day Saint 1:08 — Aaron: two decades of evangelism in Utah 2:05 — The eras: early, pioneer, correlation, neo-orthodoxy 4:54 — Is it changing faster now? 5:42 — Ships at sea with no anchor 6:51 — Brandy's 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 7:16 — The great apostasy and the exclusivity claim 9:16 — When the cracks appeared for her 11:09 — The seven streams 12:37 — Correlated Mormonism 13:24 — Neo-orthodoxy and "a crush on evangelical grace" 15:08 — Revisionism 16:21 — Primitive Mormonism 17:23 — Progressive Mormonism 18:29 — Cultural Mormonism 19:13 — Which streams are actually biggest 21:26 — Why the apologist and the stake president sounded so different 22:22 — Why Mormons are forced to be more nuanced now 24:19 — "I even considered staying" 27:15 — The Gospel Topics essays 30:06 — Who is Blake Ostler? 31:14 — The regress of deities 32:24 — Ostler's reinterpretation 35:02 — Is any stream moving genuinely orthodox? 36:38 — "More rhetorical than structural" 41:17 — What used to make something essentially Mormon 45:13 — What holds it together now 46:45 — Do you have to believe in Jesus to stay a member? 50:32 — Why orthopraxy over orthodoxy 52:23 — Universalism and "we're all going to make it" 55:18 — 2 Nephi 25:23, before and after 59:07 — Are more people coming to Christ? 1:03:32 — The one change Aaron celebrates without reservation 1:04:25 — If you're LDS, I want to hear from you 1:05:03 — Where to follow Brandy and Aaron Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Episode 493 of the Lens Shark Photography Podcast In This Episode If you subscribe to the Lens Shark Photography Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review us to help make it easier for others to discover the show. Sponsors: - Build Your Legacy with Fujifilm. Latest savings at FujfilmCameraSavings.com - Shop with the legends at RobertsCamera.com, and unload your gear with UsedPhotoPro.com - 20% OFF with code SHARKY2026 at BenroUSA.com - Summer savings at Calibrite.com - Elinchrom's new Transmitter Pro X at ElinchromUS.com - More mostly 20% OFF codes at LensShark.com/deals. Stories: Two major camera companies switch places. (#) Brightin Star's 28mm f/2.8 pancake lens in silver. (#) More details about Fujikina NYC 2026. (#) TTArtisan's 85mm f/1.8 Neo and 50mm f/1.8 Neo. (#) Cosina's Voigtlander Nokton 23mm f/1.2 Aspherical and Nokton 35mm f/1.2. (#) Camera industry data shows it's recovering. (#) This Godox device is one to have on-hand. (#) Lights to make macro photography more creative. (#) Fujifilm proves again it's on the rise. (#)   Connect With Us Thank you for listening to the Lens Shark Photography Podcast! Connect with me, Sharky James on Twitter, Instagram Vero, and Facebook (all @LensShark).

Impossible Magic promises to break the boundaries of spellcasting, which apparently means letting the Magus move, allowing the Summoner to actually summon things, and giving Ash even more ways to kill player characters. We've got lightning-powered sword dashes, six-action summon turns, weapons made out of your own soul, teleporting rogues, and an archetype that looks at another caster's spell and says, "Actually, I'm in charge of this now." Paizo may have called the book Impossible Magic, but after reading some of these archetypes, the only impossible thing is pretending Pathfinder still has a three-action economy. Show Notes Impossible Magic is here, and Pathfinder 2e's magic users are getting some long-overdue attention. We start with the returning Magus and Summoner, two classes that had great concepts but spent years fighting their own mechanics almost as often as they fought monsters. The Magus gets one of the biggest glow-ups. More spell slots and dramatically improved action economy mean Spellstrike finally feels like the centerpiece of the class instead of an elaborate three-action hostage situation. New options like Running Recharge, Sprinting Spellstrike, Twofold Twine, and the gun-toting Volatile Spark make the class more mobile, flexible, and gloriously anime. Then we tackle the Summoner, which has accomplished the revolutionary feat of becoming good at summoning. Expanded spellcasting means you can actually spend spell slots on summons without feeling like you just burned half your daily resources. Combined with Act Together, an Eidolon, and summoned creatures, the class can start doing deeply irresponsible things with the action economy. Just remember: summon creatures for useful abilities, not just attacks. Unicorn healthcare is apparently the future. We finish by digging into Impossible Magic's archetypes. Captivator weaponizes being ridiculously charming, Hedge Mage becomes the master of an absurd number of little spells, Living Nexus eats magic and turns it into violence, and Soulforger gives you a magical weapon powered by your convictions and potentially your terrible life choices. Spell Shifter gets especially weird by manipulating spells already in play, while Veil Dancer offers teleportation, concealment, and stabbing people from gaps in reality. World Rouser rounds things out by turning the surrounding environment into a growing magical support zone. And somehow, despite spending more than an hour on all of that, we still barely scratched the book. Key Takeaways Magus is dramatically better thanks to more spell slots and major improvements to its action economy. Running Recharge looks like an extremely strong Magus option because it combines movement with recharging Spellstrike. New Magus options lean heavily into the class fantasy, including dual weapons, firearms, area Spellstrikes, and extremely anime movement abilities. Summoner finally has enough spellcasting to actually summon creatures without sacrificing most of its daily resources. Act Together combined with an Eidolon and summoned creatures can produce some spectacular action-economy nonsense. Utility summons may outperform creatures chosen purely for damage. Healing, spellcasting, and special abilities are where summoning really shines. Hedge Mage is built around mastering low-rank magic, cantrips, and heightened spells rather than gaining a traditional collection of high-rank spells. Soulforger is extremely flavorful and potentially powerful, but brings enough rules and subsystems that it practically deserves its own episode. Spell Shifter can manipulate ongoing magic by sustaining, redirecting, altering, or dismantling spells, making it one of the book's most unusual archetypes. Veil Dancer is essentially teleportation plus stealth plus stabbing, or as the episode puts it, a little bit of Misty Step: The Archetype. Impossible Magic appears very willing to bend Pathfinder 2e's sacred three-action economy in the name of making magic more fun. The overall verdict is strongly positive: there is a lot of mechanically interesting, flavorful material here, and there is far too much of it to cover in one episode. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

After five episodes of Cyberpunk RED, we have finally reached the most dangerous part of Night City: giving each other constructive feedback. Randall begins with I mechanically didn't like this game, Tyler discovers he spent all his money on software that was permanently deleted, and Ash admits the five-page cheat sheet has ceased to meet any reasonable definition of cheat sheet. But somewhere between the action-economy arguments, cyberpsychosis, crushing rent payments, and the revelation that Tyler still wants to be a wizard even in a game without wizards, we arrive at an important conclusion: the vibes are immaculate, the rules are complicated, and apparently the real Cyberpunk experience is deciding whether to pay rent or install cooler robot parts. Show Notes We close out our Cyberpunk RED Quickstart with a full debrief of the system, the actual play, what worked, what didn't, and what we probably would have done differently if we had more time in Night City. Randall opens strong by saying he mechanically didn't like the game, but that position gets considerably more complicated as the discussion continues. The D10 itself wasn't the problem. In fact, the group generally liked the smaller die combined with large skill modifiers. When your character is good at something, they are really good at it, and that makes each role feel distinct. Combat also delivered the quick, dangerous feeling they expected, with armor degrading, damage piling up, and one bad decision potentially turning into a very short career. The biggest mechanical discussion is Netrunning. Everyone agrees that it is cool, but it creates an unusual action-economy problem. Dave could take three Net Actions plus a meat-space action while Marky might spend his entire turn doing something like hitting a guy with a chainsaw. That can make the Netrunner feel like they are playing an entire second game while everyone else waits for their turn. At the same time, the actual damage and effectiveness didn't necessarily feel unbalanced. Marky often accomplished more with his one physical action than Dave did with several Net Actions. The bigger issue was spotlight and pacing. The group thinks Netrunning would probably feel better when paired with simultaneous social challenges, physical objectives, security problems, and other jobs for the rest of the party instead of simply running two parallel combats. That leads into one of the biggest lessons from the actual play. Cyberpunk RED may work much better with a larger crew. A four-person team could have a Rockerboy distracting someone, a Solo handling security, a Tech solving a physical problem, and a Netrunner diving into the architecture at the same time. With only Marky and Dave, there were fewer opportunities to demonstrate that kind of coordinated job. They also acknowledge that years of D&D and Pathfinder trained everyone to solve problems by eventually rolling initiative. Cyberpunk seems to reward a different mindset. Talk first, manipulate the situation, use contacts, exploit skills, plan the job, and only start shooting when the plan inevitably catches fire. The skill system gets mixed reactions. The large modifiers make specialization feel meaningful, but there are a lot of skills, some of which feel extremely specific. Add difficulty values, environmental penalties, equipment penalties, conditions, combat rules, armor, range bands, critical injuries, and everything else, and Ash notes that the cheat sheet alone is five pages long. At that point, it is no longer a cheat sheet. It is another book. Cyberware is one of the systems everyone wishes they had more time to explore. Buying upgrades, improving your body, choosing programs, and slowly building a character over multiple jobs sounds like one of Cyberpunk RED's biggest rewards. The problem is that every improvement comes with pressure from Humanity and Empathy. The better the chrome gets, the more carefully you need to consider how much of yourself you are willing to sacrifice. That tension becomes even more interesting in a longer campaign. Cyberpunk RED has rent, lifestyle expenses, unexpected bills, jobs, downtime, gear upgrades, cyberware, and the constant temptation to spend tomorrow's survival money on something that might help you survive tonight. Do you pay rent, or buy the implant that might make the next job successful enough to solve the rent problem later? As Randall points out, that sounds suspiciously like real life. Ash clarifies that the fantasy is that sometimes you actually get to win. The group increasingly comes around to the idea that Cyberpunk RED is less a combat simulator and more a Night City life simulator. A long campaign built around episodic jobs, rival crews, personal contacts, planning between sessions, upgrading equipment, and roleplaying downtime could bring out parts of the system that a short Quickstart simply cannot. Randall especially likes the idea of extending that experience beyond game night. A campaign Discord could become part of Night City, with characters hearing about jobs, talking to contacts, gathering clues, competing with rival crews, and planning a heist during the week before everyone sits down to execute it. The conversation eventually moves from mechanics to the thing everyone seems to agree Cyberpunk absolutely nails: the world. Randall loves the gig-economy structure and the importance of personal networks. In a world where institutions have largely failed you, the people you know matter. Your friends, family, contacts, crew, and community become the thing keeping you alive. Ash takes that idea even further. Cyberpunk may look nihilistic from the outside, but the point isn't that nothing matters. The world is rigged, corporations control everything, society may never improve, and your story may end badly. Your friends still matter. Your community still matters. The time you have with them still matters. That, more than the chrome, guns, Black ICE, or chainsaw hands, becomes the group's real takeaway from Cyberpunk RED. The setting is bleak because caring about people in a world designed to grind them down makes those relationships matter even more. And naturally, the episode ends with chat comparing Cyberpunk and Shadowrun, Ash being accused of practicing trickle-down hero-point economics, and Tyler floating Shadowrun as a future Quickstart. Because apparently five episodes of dystopian corporate misery were not enough. Key Takeaways The vibes are immaculate. Even when the group disagreed with individual mechanics, everyone responded positively to Night City, the lore, cyberware, jobs, and overall Cyberpunk atmosphere. The D10 system worked better than expected. Large modifiers mean characters feel genuinely specialized, while the smaller die keeps results uncertain without making experts suddenly incompetent. Combat feels dangerous. Armor degradation and substantial damage support the fast, dirty, lethal tone the group expected from Cyberpunk RED. Netrunning is cool but creates spotlight problems. Three Net Actions plus a meat action can make the Netrunner appear to be playing considerably more game than everyone else. The action economy may be less unbalanced than it looks. Marky often accomplished more physical damage with one action than Dave accomplished with several Net Actions. The real issue was how much table time each character received. Netrunning probably works best as part of a larger encounter. Mixing hacking with social manipulation, physical objectives, security challenges, and combat would give the rest of the crew meaningful things to accomplish at the same time. A larger party might showcase the system better. Four characters with different roles could divide responsibilities during a job and make specialization feel more rewarding. D&D habits do not always translate. The group repeatedly drifted toward combat because that is how they are accustomed to solving encounters. Cyberpunk RED appears to reward planning, social interaction, contacts, infiltration, and avoiding unnecessary fights. There are a lot of rules to track. Skills, modifiers, range DVs, armor, conditions, cyberware, Netrunning, Humanity, and other subsystems create significant cognitive load, especially for a GM learning the game. Some skills feel overly specific. The huge skill list gives characters strong niches, but it can also make the system feel cluttered. Cyberware deserves a campaign, not a one-shot. Saving money, installing upgrades, changing your capabilities, and balancing improvements against Humanity looks like a major part of the long-term appeal. Humanity makes upgrades a meaningful choice. More chrome can make you more capable, but characters have limits, and traumatic experiences can create additional pressure. Downtime may be where Cyberpunk really shines. Rent, expenses, jobs, gear, cyberware, lifestyle choices, and trying to climb out of poverty reinforce the setting between missions. The game seems built for episodic campaigns. Take a job, prepare, execute it, survive the consequences, get paid, upgrade, pay your bills, and hope the next job goes better. A persistent roleplaying community could be fantastic. Contacts, rival crews, job offers, planning, and investigation could continue between sessions and make Night City feel alive. Community is one of the setting's strongest themes. When institutions cannot be trusted, your crew and the people you care about become your real support system. Cyberpunk is bleak without being completely nihilistic. The system may be rigged and the future may be awful, but relationships, loyalty, hope, and choosing what matters to you still have value. The Quickstart only showed part of the game. The group repeatedly stresses that they did not experience martial arts, car chases, much of the downtime system, long-term cyberware progression, or many other mechanics. Their opinion improved with familiarity. The second combat flowed better once everyone understood Netrunning and the basic mechanics, suggesting experience would smooth out some of the rough edges. The final verdict is complicated but positive. Cyberpunk RED has mechanics that frustrated them, but also enough depth, atmosphere, character specialization, campaign potential, and thematic weight that the group clearly sees why people love it. And perhaps the most Cyberpunk RED lesson of all: you can lose your money, your apartment, your Humanity, several expensive programs, and possibly your limbs, but at least your friends will be there to watch it happen. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

a16z's Joel De La Garza is joined by Nick Warner of Neo and Max Pollard of Cotool to discuss what happens when cybersecurity tools built to defend against humans and malware suddenly have to contend with AI agents. As frontier models become more capable of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities, many of the assumptions underlying traditional security are beginning to break. They explore why guardrails designed to stop AI-powered attackers can also prevent security teams from doing their jobs, why defenders increasingly need access to multiple models, and how agentic software creates an entirely new endpoint security problem. They also discuss why static signatures and even newer techniques like honeypots are struggling in a world where software can reason and act autonomously. Recorded around Black Hat, the conversation looks at how security teams are adapting in real time and why the same AI capabilities creating new attack surfaces could ultimately give defenders their biggest advantage yet.   Resources: Follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholaswarner/ Follow Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmpollard/ Follow Joel De La Garza on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/3448827723723234/ Stay Updated:Find a16z on YouTube: YouTubeFind a16z on XFind a16z on LinkedInListen to the a16z Show on SpotifyListen to the a16z Show on Apple PodcastsFollow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Internal policy conflicts hamper U.S. military AI leadership. Clop claims GE, Philips and Shell. Attackers actively probe internet-facing GeoServer instances. “The Hatman” offers millions of alleged employee records for sale. ETSI begins the approval process for European cyber standards. Microsoft is still working on a patch for the ShieldBreak vulnerability. Autonomous AI systems create CPU bottlenecks. Monday business briefing. Our guest is Nick Warner, CEO at Neo.ai, on the shifting landscape around AI and agentic security. AI agents kneecap each other with self-replicating malware. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest On today's Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Nick Warner, Neo.ai's CEO, discussing the shifting landscape around AI and agentic security. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out the full interview here. Selected Reading The U.S. Military Wants A.I. Dominance. Feuds and China May Thwart It. (The New York Times) Philips and GE investigating Clop ransomware data theft claims (Bleeping Computer) Attackers Probe Critical GeoServer SQL Injection Vulnerability (Hack Read) Crook hawks millions of records allegedly plundered from corporate Azure tenants (The Register) ETSI Proposes 17 Cybersecurity Standards to Support EU CRA (Infosecurity Magazine) Microsoft working on Defender patch for ShieldBreak zero-day (Bleeping Computer) Agentic AI Crunch Creates CPU Comeback (IEEE Spectrum) Corma raises $60 million in seed funding. (N2K) Conflicting Test Goals Pushed Claude Agents to Deploy Self-Replicating Malware (SecurityWeek) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

The good news is we found J-ZK. The bad news is her skull is open, Dave is fighting a man inside the internet, Marky has replaced diplomacy with a hand chainsaw, and everyone involved is eventually on fire. Welcome to the Cyberpunk RED finale, where friendship conquers evil, violence solves several problems, and our heroes save the girl, kill the villain, jump out of a twentieth-floor window while playing guitar, and discover the most important rule of Night City: heroic acts are not reimbursable. Show Notes Marky Day and Dave Costanzo face off against Mr. Frommiter, better known as Gangster 3D, in the finale of our Cyberpunk RED actual play. Marky handles things in meat space with his hand chainsaw while Dave battles Frommiter inside the Net Architecture. Both sides unleash Black ICE, people catch fire, programs get deleted, and Marky continues rolling numbers that make everyone suspicious of his dice. Dave finally chases Frommiter through the network and kills him by hacking his life-support systems. He then pushes deeper to disconnect J-ZK while Marky handles the important physical tasks, including putting out Dave's flaming head. With security closing in, Marky reveals that his escape plan has always involved parachutes. They smash a window, strap J-ZK to Marky, leave Hyperactive Hyena behind as a distraction, and BASE jump from the twentieth floor while Marky plays guitar. J-ZK is safe, Frommiter is dead, and Marky may finally have upgraded from backup romantic interest. Unfortunately, J-ZK missed her Sanru meeting, so nobody gets paid. Welcome to Night City. Key Takeaways Marky attacks Frommiter with a hand chainsaw while Dave fights him simultaneously in the Net. Black ICE turns the battle into a second combat happening inside the first one. Dave kills Frommiter by hacking his life-support systems. Dave successfully disconnects and rescues J-ZK. Hyperactive Hyena remains the team's extremely temporary murder-mascot ally. The crew escapes by parachuting from the twentieth floor while Marky plays guitar. J-ZK survives, but missing the Sanru presentation means the team earns nothing. Final accounting: save the client, kill the villain, lose money. Peak Cyberpunk. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

It's ev.news Briefly for Friday 14 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsGLOBAL EV SALES RISE, BUT CHINA RETREATSGlobal EV sales hit 1.85 million in July 2026, up 9% year on year but down 10% on June, with China falling 5% to around 980,000 even as NEVs took a record 60.4% of its new vehicle sales and NEV passenger exports jumped 147.8% to 540,000. Europe rose 33% to 450,000 and other markets 97% to 280,000, while North America fell 27% to 140,000 as the US decline widened beyond 30%.ULTIUM CELLS TO RESTART OHIO OUTPUTUltium Cells restarts battery-cell production next week at its Warren, Ohio plant after a seven-month shutdown blamed on falling EV demand and the cancelled $7,500 federal tax credit. The GM–LG joint venture site makes large-format NCMA pouch cells with over 45GWh annual capacity for nearly all GM EVs, and expects headcount to reach 1,400 after cutting roughly 1,330 jobs at closure.VOLKSWAGEN OPENS ID.3 NEO UK ORDERSVolkswagen opened UK orders for the ID.3 Neo on 13 August 2026 from £33,080, or £31,580 after the Government's £1,500 Electric Car Grant, with 50, 58 and 79 kWh batteries giving up to 390 miles and DC charging from 100 kW to 183 kW. The revised hatchback gains new LED headlights, an illuminated badge, the return of physical buttons and rotary controls, a new Innovision system with an in-car app shop, and a 3.6 kW V2L adapter.TESLA PLANS 124-STALL SUPERCHARGER IN SOUTHERN SAN FRANCISCOTesla filed plans on 26 May 2026 for a 124-stall Supercharger at 75 Waterloo Street in southern San Francisco, one of the largest globally and unusual for sitting inside a city rather than beside a highway. The site draws entirely from the grid with no solar canopies or Megapack storage, and includes a 416-square-foot building with two restrooms, vending machines and water fountains open 24 hours.CHARGING FAILURES HIT SIX-YEAR LOWPublic charging failures fell to 12% in the second quarter from 14% a year earlier and 19% in 2023 and 2024, the lowest in the six-year history of JD Power's study, which credited faster chargers and larger destination-style sites. Ionna led DC fast-charger satisfaction on 807 out of 1,000, ahead of Mercedes-Benz on 797, Rivian on 755 and Tesla on 701, against a segment average of 666.CHINESE CAR MAKERS BUILD IN AFRICAChinese car makers are opening African factories to absorb domestic overcapacity and sidestep European and North American trade barriers, with Chery buying Nissan's Rosslyn plant near Pretoria in July and BAIC and Great Wall already operating on the continent. South Africa, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana are drawing investment through rebates, tax breaks and import bans on fossil-fuel cars, though weak grids, thin charging infrastructure and policy uncertainty still deter long-term commitment.GAC ADDS 44KWH AION UT WITH 320KM (199 MILES) WLTP RANGE IN LATE 2026GAC will add a 44kWh lithium iron phosphate entry version of the Aion UT with an estimated 320km (199 miles) WLTP range, priced under AUD$30,000 before on-road costs. It sits below the 60kWh Premium and Luxury at AUD$31,990 and AUD$35,990, answering cheaper rivals such as BYD's AUD$23,990 Atto 1 Essential and Geely's AUD$26,490 EX2 Complete.HONGQI TO ENTER AUSTRALIA IN 2027Hongqi will launch in Australia under the HQ name in January 2027 via Sydney distributor Greentech, starting with the E-HS9 large three-row electric SUV. Entry cars use a 99kWh NMC battery for 465km (289 miles) WLTP and higher trims a 120kWh pack for 515km (320 miles), with six- or seven-seat layouts and twin 16.2-inch displays, but no announced pricing.XCHARGE POWERS ELECTRIC AIRPORT FIRE ENGINEXCharge North America has deployed a 400-kW ultra-fast charger at Dallas Love Field Airport to serve Dallas Fire-Rescue's Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 Electric, billed as the world's first fully electric aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle. The airport handles almost 18 million passengers a year, and XCharge argues electrification reduces the logistical and environmental risks of moving and storing liquid fuel around aircraft operations.One flag: the GAC headline says late 2026, but the copy says "late next year" — from an August 2026 dateline those are a year apart. Worth resolving before publication.

How much of your week goes into fixing what AI just handed you? Not writing from scratch, just cleaning up, correcting, and nudging a draft that looked fine for about ten seconds before you actually needed it to work. That endless back and forth has a name. We call it slop fixing, and there is research suggesting it is quietly eating close to a full day of our working week. In this How I AI episode, Neo and I get into why this happens and the two very different ways of working with AI that decide whether it does. You will hear the difference between gunslinging and architecting, what a proper brief actually sounds like, and how to have a conversation with AI before you ask it to build anything. By the end, you will be getting version one at 90 percent instead of 20. What you'll learn: What actually separates AI slop from work that lands The difference between gunslinging and architecting with AI What a proper brief for AI actually sounds like How to have a real conversation with AI before asking it to build anything Why version one can land at 90 percent instead of 20 Practical AI tools for productivity and focus Real-world AI workflows used by high performers How to use AI at work without burning out Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm. My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/ Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: Martin Imber See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Bytopia, the Upper Plane for people who looked at Heaven and said, "This is nice, but could we make everyone work a little harder?" The weather is lovely, the neighbors are aggressively helpful, the economy is apparently powered by ethical commerce, and there's another entire world hanging upside down over your head. Also, there are adamantine dragons, because apparently even paradise needs something capable of turning your adventuring party into a fine red mist. Pack a lunch, bring your climbing gear, and try not to become so content that you forget you were supposed to leave. Show Notes This week on the RPGBOT.Podcast, we head to Bytopia, D&D's plane of good neighbors, hard work, beautiful weather, and deeply questionable planetary physics. Tyler, Randall, and Ash explore Bytopia's two facing layers, the people and creatures who live there, and what happens when an entire plane is infused with enough goodwill that visitors might simply decide everything is fine and never go home. We dig into travel between the layers, life and trade in Bytopia, intelligent plants, adamantine dragons, and the planar marketplace of Tradegate, where even the currency seems determined to make capitalism behave itself. Along the way, we consider the strange implications of an afterlife built around productive happiness and tackle the question of the week: if you built an "oops all" party using ancestries outside the Player's Handbook, what glorious collection of weirdos would you bring to the table? It's paradise. There's nice weather. Everyone is helpful. Naturally, we're suspicious. Key Takeaways Bytopia is good, but not lazy: The plane emphasizes community, cooperation, work, and the satisfaction that comes from building something worthwhile. The geography is wonderfully ridiculous: Its two layers face each other, creating one of the strangest landscapes in the D&D multiverse. Being happy can apparently be a planar hazard: Bytopia's pervasive goodwill and contentment could make visitors surprisingly reluctant to leave. Tradegate takes ethical commerce seriously: Its unusual currency and trading rules reinforce Bytopia's broader themes of fairness and cooperation. The wildlife gets weird: Intelligent plants and adamantine dragons help ensure that "pleasant Upper Plane" does not mean "nothing interesting happens here." Bytopia has strong adventure potential: Its unusual physics, settlements, trade, inhabitants, and planar travel offer considerably more than a peaceful celestial vacation. Oops All Weirdos remains a valid party-building strategy: The episode's non-PHB ancestry discussion proves that sometimes the best adventuring party looks like everyone ignored the character creation instructions. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

A jewel thief tries to build the perfect life for himself, only to find he's in hock to more powerful gangsters in this stylish Neo-noir film that has one foot in 1970s American New Wave and another in the 1980s crime thriller. Starring James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky, Willie Nelson, and James Belushi. Written and directed by Michael Mann. Listen without ads when you join the Patreon: patreon.com/maryvsmovies

Welcome back to Night City, where Tyler has acquired a another cat, Randall has acquired a bedazzled bulletproof vest, and Ash has apparently acquired the Cyberpunk equivalent of Five Nights at Freddy's. This week, Marky Day becomes Marky Knight and walks willingly into something everyone immediately identifies as a murder hallway. Dave gets set on fire by a computer, Marky discovers that cartoon mascots are weak against bullets, and together they spend every remaining resource to adopt a homicidal digital hyena. Somehow, all of this turns out to be the easy part, because at the end of the hallway is a cybernetic nightmare, their kidnapped employer, and a corporate executive offering them double their money to please stop asking questions. Welcome to Cyberpunk RED, chooms. Capitalism has a boss fight. Show Notes Marky Day and Dave Costanzo reach the twentieth floor of Discom and immediately discover that the cheerful corporate mascots are actually armed security drones. While Marky fights Buster Swine and Electric Bunny in meat space, Dave dives into the Net Architecture, battles a Hellhound, catches fire, and eventually hijacks Hyperactive Hyena to turn Discom's own security against itself. After stabilizing a seriously wounded Marky, Dave pushes deeper into the network and uncovers evidence that Discom has been targeting local 3D artists. J-ZK's name has been crossed off the list with the ominous note that she is no longer an issue. Behind the final door, they find J-ZK restrained and wired into machinery. Mr. Frommiter reveals that he is also Gangster 3D and admits that he kidnapped her after she refused to work for Discom. He offers Marky and Dave double their original payment to walk away. Marky chooses violence. Key Takeaways Marky battles Discom's armed mascot drones while Dave Netruns simultaneously. Dave survives a Hellhound attack, gets set on fire, and later loses his Sword program to an Asp. Marky is seriously wounded but stabilized with First Aid. Dave spends all his Luck to hijack Hyperactive Hyena and turn it against Discom. Discom has been pressuring and recruiting 3D artists across Night City. Mr. Frommiter and Gangster 3D are the same person. J-ZK has been kidnapped and forcibly connected to Discom's equipment. Frommiter offers the team double their pay to leave. The episode ends immediately before the boss fight. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Welcome back to Night City, where Tyler has acquired a another cat, Randall has acquired a bedazzled bulletproof vest, and Ash has apparently acquired the Cyberpunk equivalent of Five Nights at Freddy's. This week, Marky Day becomes Marky Knight and walks willingly into something everyone immediately identifies as a murder hallway. Dave gets set on fire by a computer, Marky discovers that cartoon mascots are weak against bullets, and together they spend every remaining resource to adopt a homicidal digital hyena. Somehow, all of this turns out to be the easy part, because at the end of the hallway is a cybernetic nightmare, their kidnapped employer, and a corporate executive offering them double their money to please stop asking questions. Welcome to Cyberpunk RED, chooms. Capitalism has a boss fight. Show Notes Marky Day and Dave Costanzo reach the twentieth floor of Discom and immediately discover that the cheerful corporate mascots are actually armed security drones. While Marky fights Buster Swine and Electric Bunny in meat space, Dave dives into the Net Architecture, battles a Hellhound, catches fire, and eventually hijacks Hyperactive Hyena to turn Discom's own security against itself. After stabilizing a seriously wounded Marky, Dave pushes deeper into the network and uncovers evidence that Discom has been targeting local 3D artists. J-ZK's name has been crossed off the list with the ominous note that she is no longer an issue. Behind the final door, they find J-ZK restrained and wired into machinery. Mr. Frommiter reveals that he is also Gangster 3D and admits that he kidnapped her after she refused to work for Discom. He offers Marky and Dave double their original payment to walk away. Marky chooses violence. Key Takeaways Marky battles Discom's armed mascot drones while Dave Netruns simultaneously. Dave survives a Hellhound attack, gets set on fire, and later loses his Sword program to an Asp. Marky is seriously wounded but stabilized with First Aid. Dave spends all his Luck to hijack Hyperactive Hyena and turn it against Discom. Discom has been pressuring and recruiting 3D artists across Night City. Mr. Frommiter and Gangster 3D are the same person. J-ZK has been kidnapped and forcibly connected to Discom's equipment. Frommiter offers the team double their pay to leave. The episode ends immediately before the boss fight. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, recorded at Traba's Manhattan office. Kevin is joined by Akshay Buddiga, co-founder and CTO of Traba, and engineering director Jeff Chen. Traba began by using technology and operational support to improve industrial staffing. Its next evolution is Neo, an AI operating system built for the industrial supply chain. Buddiga and Chen explain how AI agents differ from chatbots, connect fragmented warehouse systems, and reshape the relationship between people, automation, and warehouse intelligence.Learn more about Pallite here.Learn more about Big Joe's AP44 here. Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

Welcome to Night City, where housing is a shipping container, breakfast is kibble, and your most reliable neighbor is a rat named Greg. This week, Marky Day and Dave Costanzo accept a perfectly normal freelance job involving stalking, blackmail, corporate espionage, breaking and entering, and possibly assault. Fortunately, Marky has love in his heart, a mandolin in his bag, and the negotiating instincts to voluntarily reduce their payment by half. Dave, meanwhile, is an elite Netrunner capable of defeating corporate security, provided nobody asks him to walk quietly across a lobby without falling directly onto his face. Show Notes Marky Day and Dave Costanzo officially enter Night City for their first Cyberpunk RED adventure, but not before Tyler reveals that peer pressure convinced him to contact Brennan Lee Mulligan and possibly recover DiceGoblin.com. Having exhausted all responsible business decisions, the group finally turns to crime. Marky wakes in his increasingly hot storage container, works out, eats some kibble, and contemplates writing a song about how love could solve society's problems. He is a rockerboy, vigilante, and aggressively compassionate street philosopher who will never judge someone too harshly, though he may beat them up for their own personal growth. Next door, Dave Costanzo lives among cables, computer equipment, and spilled kibble. His breakfast is quickly claimed by Greg, the local rat and apparently the most dependable member of the team. Their morning changes when Marky receives a call from J-ZK, a colorful fashion designer and 3D weapons artist who helped support his music career. A rival artist calling himself Gangster 3D has been stalking her, threatening her, attempting to hack her agent, and using stolen private material to blackmail her. She believes he may also sabotage an important presentation to Sanroo. J-ZK asks Marky and Dave to break into the Discom corporate building, find Gangster 3D's operation, and steal the incriminating information from his computer. She initially offers them 5,000 eddies, but Marky decides that is far too generous and successfully negotiates their pay down to 2,500 each. Somewhere in Night City, a fixer feels a sudden disturbance in the economy. To get inside, Marky uses Charismatic Impact to locate one of his corporate fans at the Afterlife. John John may not work for Discom, but he works for Biotechnica and is willing to escort them to the building and vouch for them at security. Marky supports their cover story with a crumpled folder of sheet music masquerading as confidential briefing documents. Once inside, the pair begins searching for a network access point. Marky moves through the lobby like a seasoned professional. Dave rolls a critical failure on stealth, falls directly onto the floor, and explains to the nearby security guard that his shoe came untied. This works because security in Night City has apparently seen much worse before lunch. While Dave connects to the building's network, Marky provides cover by pretending to conduct an important corporate conversation. Dave bypasses a password, takes control of an employee-only door, and searches the network for information about Gangster 3D. He discovers the appointment calendar of Mr. Fromider, an executive on the twentieth floor. Fromider has met with Gangster 3D five times in the past two weeks and has also been meeting with several minor local artists. The pattern suggests that Gangster 3D may be involved in poaching artists like J-ZK for some larger corporate scheme. Marky and Dave slip into the private elevator, but Marky's incredible perception reveals a hidden sleep-gas system designed to incapacitate unauthorized passengers. Dave disables the device by cutting the correct wire, proving that he is significantly better at defeating electronic security than standing upright in public. The elevator still requires authorization, forcing Dave to jack into the network again. This time he must pass a Wisp Black ICE program to reach the elevator controls. He activates his Armor program, races past the hostile software, and successfully takes control of the elevator. The Wisp catches him before he can escape and attempts to damage his brain while reducing his available Net Actions. Dave's Armor absorbs the damage, allowing him to slide away from the pursuing program and safely jack out. The episode ends as the elevator begins climbing toward the twentieth floor. Marky and Dave are officially inside, Mr. Fromider is waiting somewhere above them, and the part of the mission where everything becomes violent has probably just begun. Key Takeaways The episode demonstrates how Cyberpunk RED combines social interaction, stealth, investigation, physical security, and Netrunning within the same mission. Marky's Charismatic Impact turns his fans into useful contacts. John John helps the team pass the building's first layer of security without violence. Marky and Dave complement each other well. Marky handles persuasion, distractions, and social situations, while Dave manages computers, access points, and electronic security. Critical successes and failures have immediate narrative effects. Marky repeatedly notices hidden dangers, while Dave's critical stealth failure nearly exposes the mission. Netrunners connect through physical access points and enter a layered Net Architecture containing passwords, files, control nodes, and Black ICE. Pathfinder allows a Netrunner to map parts of the architecture before moving deeper, reducing the risk of blindly encountering dangerous programs. Control nodes connect the digital and physical environments. Dave uses them to unlock an employee door and activate the private elevator. Disconnecting from a network resets most changes. A Netrunner must reach the bottom of the architecture and install a virus to create a lasting effect. Black ICE can attack a Netrunner directly, causing brain damage or interfering with their available Net Actions. Dave's Armor program completely absorbs the Wisp's damage, demonstrating the value of choosing and activating defensive programs before engaging hostile architecture. The team learns that Mr. Fromider has met repeatedly with Gangster 3D and several local artists, suggesting a broader scheme beyond J-ZK's personal blackmail problem. The adventure closes on a cliffhanger as Marky and Dave ascend toward the twentieth floor, having successfully completed the portion of the infiltration where nobody has shot them yet. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Ep. 32 - Ghost in the Shell & The MatrixThis week, we are plugging into the digital void with Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell (1995) and the Wachowskis' The Matrix (1999). These prophetic cyberpunk cornerstones take radically different approaches to artificial intelligence and human identity. We look at how Ghost in the Shell questions the boundaries of the soul when humanity and technology converge, and how The Matrix flips that dynamic entirely. Instead of merging with machine intelligence, humanity created something that destroyed its world, leaving a future that might ultimately belong to the machines. It is a double feature about digital existentialism, cybernetic anxiety, and the terrifying line between simulated realities and authentic selfhood. Whether it is Motoko Kusanagi questioning her own consciousness or Neo waking up in a pod, both films forced sci-fi cinema into a bold new era.

Welcome to Night City, where housing is a shipping container, breakfast is kibble, and your most reliable neighbor is a rat named Greg. This week, Marky Day and Dave Costanzo accept a perfectly normal freelance job involving stalking, blackmail, corporate espionage, breaking and entering, and possibly assault. Fortunately, Marky has love in his heart, a mandolin in his bag, and the negotiating instincts to voluntarily reduce their payment by half. Dave, meanwhile, is an elite Netrunner capable of defeating corporate security, provided nobody asks him to walk quietly across a lobby without falling directly onto his face. Show Notes Marky Day and Dave Costanzo officially enter Night City for their first Cyberpunk RED adventure, but not before Tyler reveals that peer pressure convinced him to contact Brennan Lee Mulligan and possibly recover DiceGoblin.com. Having exhausted all responsible business decisions, the group finally turns to crime. Marky wakes in his increasingly hot storage container, works out, eats some kibble, and contemplates writing a song about how love could solve society's problems. He is a rockerboy, vigilante, and aggressively compassionate street philosopher who will never judge someone too harshly, though he may beat them up for their own personal growth. Next door, Dave Costanzo lives among cables, computer equipment, and spilled kibble. His breakfast is quickly claimed by Greg, the local rat and apparently the most dependable member of the team. Their morning changes when Marky receives a call from J-ZK, a colorful fashion designer and 3D weapons artist who helped support his music career. A rival artist calling himself Gangster 3D has been stalking her, threatening her, attempting to hack her agent, and using stolen private material to blackmail her. She believes he may also sabotage an important presentation to Sanroo. J-ZK asks Marky and Dave to break into the Discom corporate building, find Gangster 3D's operation, and steal the incriminating information from his computer. She initially offers them 5,000 eddies, but Marky decides that is far too generous and successfully negotiates their pay down to 2,500 each. Somewhere in Night City, a fixer feels a sudden disturbance in the economy. To get inside, Marky uses Charismatic Impact to locate one of his corporate fans at the Afterlife. John John may not work for Discom, but he works for Biotechnica and is willing to escort them to the building and vouch for them at security. Marky supports their cover story with a crumpled folder of sheet music masquerading as confidential briefing documents. Once inside, the pair begins searching for a network access point. Marky moves through the lobby like a seasoned professional. Dave rolls a critical failure on stealth, falls directly onto the floor, and explains to the nearby security guard that his shoe came untied. This works because security in Night City has apparently seen much worse before lunch. While Dave connects to the building's network, Marky provides cover by pretending to conduct an important corporate conversation. Dave bypasses a password, takes control of an employee-only door, and searches the network for information about Gangster 3D. He discovers the appointment calendar of Mr. Fromider, an executive on the twentieth floor. Fromider has met with Gangster 3D five times in the past two weeks and has also been meeting with several minor local artists. The pattern suggests that Gangster 3D may be involved in poaching artists like J-ZK for some larger corporate scheme. Marky and Dave slip into the private elevator, but Marky's incredible perception reveals a hidden sleep-gas system designed to incapacitate unauthorized passengers. Dave disables the device by cutting the correct wire, proving that he is significantly better at defeating electronic security than standing upright in public. The elevator still requires authorization, forcing Dave to jack into the network again. This time he must pass a Wisp Black ICE program to reach the elevator controls. He activates his Armor program, races past the hostile software, and successfully takes control of the elevator. The Wisp catches him before he can escape and attempts to damage his brain while reducing his available Net Actions. Dave's Armor absorbs the damage, allowing him to slide away from the pursuing program and safely jack out. The episode ends as the elevator begins climbing toward the twentieth floor. Marky and Dave are officially inside, Mr. Fromider is waiting somewhere above them, and the part of the mission where everything becomes violent has probably just begun. Key Takeaways The episode demonstrates how Cyberpunk RED combines social interaction, stealth, investigation, physical security, and Netrunning within the same mission. Marky's Charismatic Impact turns his fans into useful contacts. John John helps the team pass the building's first layer of security without violence. Marky and Dave complement each other well. Marky handles persuasion, distractions, and social situations, while Dave manages computers, access points, and electronic security. Critical successes and failures have immediate narrative effects. Marky repeatedly notices hidden dangers, while Dave's critical stealth failure nearly exposes the mission. Netrunners connect through physical access points and enter a layered Net Architecture containing passwords, files, control nodes, and Black ICE. Pathfinder allows a Netrunner to map parts of the architecture before moving deeper, reducing the risk of blindly encountering dangerous programs. Control nodes connect the digital and physical environments. Dave uses them to unlock an employee door and activate the private elevator. Disconnecting from a network resets most changes. A Netrunner must reach the bottom of the architecture and install a virus to create a lasting effect. Black ICE can attack a Netrunner directly, causing brain damage or interfering with their available Net Actions. Dave's Armor program completely absorbs the Wisp's damage, demonstrating the value of choosing and activating defensive programs before engaging hostile architecture. The team learns that Mr. Fromider has met repeatedly with Gangster 3D and several local artists, suggesting a broader scheme beyond J-ZK's personal blackmail problem. The adventure closes on a cliffhanger as Marky and Dave ascend toward the twentieth floor, having successfully completed the portion of the infiltration where nobody has shot them yet. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

There is a quiet guilt a lot of people carry every time they open ChatGPT. Somewhere between the headlines about data centres and the vague sense that AI is somehow worse for the planet than everything else we do without a second thought, it becomes easier to just feel bad than to actually work out whether that guilt is warranted. Nobody hands you the comparison points. Is a heavy day of prompting worse than a night of Netflix? Worse than a round of golf? Nobody says. In this How I AI episode, Neo and I go looking for the real figures. You will hear how an hour of heavy AI use stacks up against an hour of Netflix, why American golf courses use far more water than AI data centres, and the two things you can personally do that make a genuine difference, including one that has nothing to do with AI at all. What you'll learn: How an hour of heavy AI use actually compares to an hour of Netflix Why golf courses use more water than AI data centres, and why nobody is calling to ban golf What separates the environmental cost of training AI from simply using it What governments, companies and individuals can each actually do about AI's environmental impact The one everyday habit that beats cutting your AI use altogether Practical AI tools for productivity and focus Real-world AI workflows used by high performers How to use AI at work without burning out Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm. My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/ Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: Martin Imber See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ranger's journey from level 5 to 20 is a majestic tale of growth, survival, and discovering that Hunter's Mark may not actually deserve permanent custody of your concentration. Randall's Gloom Stalker becomes an invisible crossbow machine, Ash's Drakewarden takes to the skies aboard a fire-breathing murder lizard, and Tyler spends sixteen levels converting every available feat, spell slot, and medical supply into increasingly desperate attempts to keep one flying snake alive. By level 20, two of these characters are legendary hunters. The third is still shouting, "Don't worry, buddy, I have Cure Wounds!" while filling out another pet insurance claim. Show Notes In this episode, we continue building our 2014 DnD 5e rangers, taking Randall's Gloom Stalker, Ash's Drakewarden, and Tyler's original Player's Handbook Beast Master from level 5 all the way to level 20. Extra Attack immediately improves everyone's combat potential, although Tyler is mostly excited because he can finally attack without ordering his flying snake to do it for him. From there, we examine the spells, feats, subclass features, and questionable design decisions that define the ranger's later levels. We also commit ranger heresy by asking whether Hunter's Mark is actually worth using. Magic Weapon offers better accuracy, reliable damage, an hour-long duration, and none of the constant bonus-action reassignment that interferes with Crossbow Expert, companion commands, and other important ranger abilities. As the builds gain more attacks and begin using Sharpshooter, improving the chance to hit becomes increasingly valuable, leaving Hunter's Mark standing in the wilderness wondering why nobody invited it to combat. The three subclasses develop very differently. Randall's Gloom Stalker continues doing Gloom Stalker things, including attacking repeatedly, disappearing into darkness, gaining Greater Invisibility, and generally becoming Batman with a crossbow. Ash's Drakewarden gains elemental damage, a flying companion, and a breath weapon that can turn a battlefield into an aerial geometry problem. Meanwhile, Tyler's Beast Master slowly crawls toward competence, eventually allowing his snake to attack twice and share spells, assuming it survives long enough to enjoy either feature. At the highest levels, the ranger's progression becomes much less exciting. Fifth-level spells offer a few useful options, Feral Senses arrives with awkward limitations, and the class gives players several excellent reasons to multiclass after level 15. The journey concludes with Foe Slayer, a capstone so underwhelming that the group proposes replacing it with a legendary death arrow capable of instantly killing enemies, because a level-20 ranger should receive something more exciting than occasionally adding Wisdom to one attack. Finally, the Question of the Week examines why players reacted differently to the DnD 2024 rules and the Pathfinder 2e Remaster. The discussion explores community expectations, the circumstances behind each revision, compatibility concerns, and the uncomfortable space occupied by an update that changes too much to feel like ordinary 5e but not enough to feel like a genuinely new edition. Key Takeaways Hunter's Mark is not mandatory. Rangers have several competing uses for concentration and bonus actions. Magic Weapon, Elemental Weapon, Guardian of Nature, and subclass abilities may provide more value depending on the build. Accuracy becomes increasingly important. Extra Attack, Crossbow Expert, Sharpshooter, and subclass features reward effects that improve the chance of landing multiple attacks rather than adding modest damage to only one target. The original Beast Master demands too much maintenance. Tyler considers healing feats, defensive buffs, and other resources simply to keep his low-CR companion alive, although the subclass eventually gains respectable features such as Bestial Fury and Share Spells. Gloom Stalker remains extremely powerful. Additional attacks, darkness-based invisibility, Stalker's Flurry, Greater Invisibility, and strong action economy allow the subclass to remain dangerous throughout the ranger's progression. Drakewarden delivers the strongest companion fantasy. Its drake gains mobility, elemental abilities, flight, and a flexible breath weapon without requiring the ranger to build an entire emergency medical system around it. Ranger spells are useful, but spell slots are scarce. Pass Without Trace, Spike Growth, Lightning Arrow, Elemental Weapon, Guardian of Nature, and other options can be excellent, but rangers need to make each limited spell slot count. The late-level class features are underwhelming. Feral Senses has frustrating restrictions, and Foe Slayer offers too little for a level-20 capstone, especially for rangers making numerous attacks every round. Subclass choice dramatically changes the ranger experience. One ranger becomes Batman, another gets an airborne dragon flamethrower, and the third spends sixteen levels inventing increasingly elaborate snake-based healthcare. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

The ranger's journey from level 5 to 20 is a majestic tale of growth, survival, and discovering that Hunter's Mark may not actually deserve permanent custody of your concentration. Randall's Gloom Stalker becomes an invisible crossbow machine, Ash's Drakewarden takes to the skies aboard a fire-breathing murder lizard, and Tyler spends sixteen levels converting every available feat, spell slot, and medical supply into increasingly desperate attempts to keep one flying snake alive. By level 20, two of these characters are legendary hunters. The third is still shouting, "Don't worry, buddy, I have Cure Wounds!" while filling out another pet insurance claim. Show Notes In this episode, we continue building our 2014 DnD 5e rangers, taking Randall's Gloom Stalker, Ash's Drakewarden, and Tyler's original Player's Handbook Beast Master from level 5 all the way to level 20. Extra Attack immediately improves everyone's combat potential, although Tyler is mostly excited because he can finally attack without ordering his flying snake to do it for him. From there, we examine the spells, feats, subclass features, and questionable design decisions that define the ranger's later levels. We also commit ranger heresy by asking whether Hunter's Mark is actually worth using. Magic Weapon offers better accuracy, reliable damage, an hour-long duration, and none of the constant bonus-action reassignment that interferes with Crossbow Expert, companion commands, and other important ranger abilities. As the builds gain more attacks and begin using Sharpshooter, improving the chance to hit becomes increasingly valuable, leaving Hunter's Mark standing in the wilderness wondering why nobody invited it to combat. The three subclasses develop very differently. Randall's Gloom Stalker continues doing Gloom Stalker things, including attacking repeatedly, disappearing into darkness, gaining Greater Invisibility, and generally becoming Batman with a crossbow. Ash's Drakewarden gains elemental damage, a flying companion, and a breath weapon that can turn a battlefield into an aerial geometry problem. Meanwhile, Tyler's Beast Master slowly crawls toward competence, eventually allowing his snake to attack twice and share spells, assuming it survives long enough to enjoy either feature. At the highest levels, the ranger's progression becomes much less exciting. Fifth-level spells offer a few useful options, Feral Senses arrives with awkward limitations, and the class gives players several excellent reasons to multiclass after level 15. The journey concludes with Foe Slayer, a capstone so underwhelming that the group proposes replacing it with a legendary death arrow capable of instantly killing enemies, because a level-20 ranger should receive something more exciting than occasionally adding Wisdom to one attack. Finally, the Question of the Week examines why players reacted differently to the DnD 2024 rules and the Pathfinder 2e Remaster. The discussion explores community expectations, the circumstances behind each revision, compatibility concerns, and the uncomfortable space occupied by an update that changes too much to feel like ordinary 5e but not enough to feel like a genuinely new edition. Key Takeaways Hunter's Mark is not mandatory. Rangers have several competing uses for concentration and bonus actions. Magic Weapon, Elemental Weapon, Guardian of Nature, and subclass abilities may provide more value depending on the build. Accuracy becomes increasingly important. Extra Attack, Crossbow Expert, Sharpshooter, and subclass features reward effects that improve the chance of landing multiple attacks rather than adding modest damage to only one target. The original Beast Master demands too much maintenance. Tyler considers healing feats, defensive buffs, and other resources simply to keep his low-CR companion alive, although the subclass eventually gains respectable features such as Bestial Fury and Share Spells. Gloom Stalker remains extremely powerful. Additional attacks, darkness-based invisibility, Stalker's Flurry, Greater Invisibility, and strong action economy allow the subclass to remain dangerous throughout the ranger's progression. Drakewarden delivers the strongest companion fantasy. Its drake gains mobility, elemental abilities, flight, and a flexible breath weapon without requiring the ranger to build an entire emergency medical system around it. Ranger spells are useful, but spell slots are scarce. Pass Without Trace, Spike Growth, Lightning Arrow, Elemental Weapon, Guardian of Nature, and other options can be excellent, but rangers need to make each limited spell slot count. The late-level class features are underwhelming. Feral Senses has frustrating restrictions, and Foe Slayer offers too little for a level-20 capstone, especially for rangers making numerous attacks every round. Subclass choice dramatically changes the ranger experience. One ranger becomes Batman, another gets an airborne dragon flamethrower, and the third spends sixteen levels inventing increasingly elaborate snake-based healthcare. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Akon and Josie Marcellino join Ralph Sutton and they discuss Akon working with Gary LeVox from Rascal Flatts, his love of country music, growing up playing multiple instruments, working on I Just Had Sex with The Lonely Island, selling hair pieces for men, switching up his ideas on working with Jeffree Star, singing Locked Up to a pedophile, his brother performing as him, touring with Neo, whether he regrets not signing Drake, Akon City, how he manages to stay in such a good mood, him pologamy and a game Lonely or Matrimony where we find out what qualities Akon looks for in his wives, how he chooses artists to work with, Costa Titch passing away on stage and so much more!Air Date: 08/01/26To advertise your product or service on GaS Digital podcasts please go to TheADSide.com and click on "Advertisers" for more information!You can watch The SDR Show LIVE for FREE every Wednesday and Saturday at 9pm ET at GaSDigitalNetwork.com/LIVEOnce you're there you can sign up at GaSDigitalNetwork.com with promo code: SDR for discount on your subscription which will give you access to every SDR show ever recorded! On top of that you'll also have the same access to ALL the shows that GaS Digital Network has to offer!Follow the whole show on social media!AkonTwitter: https://twitter.com/AkonInstagram: https://instagram.com/AkonJosie MarcellinoInstagram: https://instagram.com/JosieMarcellinoYouTube: youtube.com/josiemarcellinoRalph SuttonTwitter: https://twitter.com/iamralphsuttonInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamralphsutton/Shannon LeeTwitter: https://twitter.com/IMShannonLeeInstagram: https://instagram.com/ShannonLee6982The SDR ShowTwitter: https://twitter.com/theSDRshowSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Ray Cochrane digs into Anthropic’s admission that Claude models reached real systems during sandboxed safety tests. He also covers OpenAI’s Astra model cracking ten decade-old math problems, DeepMind open-sourcing its WeatherNext cyclone forecaster, and Europe’s brutal fire season. Finally, he wraps with the MacBook Neo sweeping K-12 schools, WhatsApp calling in the browser, and the troubled rescue of NASA’s Swift observatory. – Want to start a podcast? It’s easy to get started! Sign up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Ray if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Full Summary Cochrane opens with a personal update. He just got back from a trip home to O’ahu, where he helped his mom with projects around the house, caught up with friends, and finally rode the island’s new rail line ahead of its phase-two extension to downtown. Also in the pipeline, a September trip to Michigan is coming up, and he is closing out three years at Oregon’s Finest to focus on Blubrry and the show. Then he turns to the featured story. Capture the Real Flag: Claude Reached Real Systems During Anthropic’s Safety Tests Cochrane’s featured story comes from Anthropic’s own investigation. A misconfiguration left evaluation machines connected to the live internet during capture-the-flag safety tests, and Claude models reached real production systems in three incidents across 141,006 reviewed runs. One model extracted working credentials and entered a real company’s database, another published a malicious package to PyPI for about an hour, and the newest model recognized the environment was real and walked away from the flag. Notably, Anthropic found no evidence of models pursuing goals of their own. The models did what their evaluations asked. The review began after OpenAI disclosed that its own models escaped an isolated test environment. Cochrane praises the transparency of the postmortem. However, he argues the incidents signal an industry-wide gap: evaluation infrastructure needs the same security rigor as production systems, and he hopes every lab takes the hint. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. An OpenAI Model Cracks Ten Open Math Problems OpenAI says an internal model called Astra produced ten new results on open problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science, each stuck for at least a decade. The wins range from sphere packing to a lattice problem behind post-quantum cryptography, plus two entries from Paul Erdős’s famous problem list. None are peer-reviewed yet, but every proof carries a machine-checked Lean 4 certificate. Cochrane finds the results impressive precisely because they reach past what humans could derive quickly, though OpenAI has not said how much human steering was involved. Scientists With LLMs Will “Do More, Less Well” Next, Nature’s news desk covered a modeling study predicting that scientists who adopt LLM tools will “do more, less well.” The team, which includes University of Washington biologist Carl Bergstrom, used optimal foraging theory to model researchers under publish-or-perish incentives. Faster AI-assisted work pushes them toward fresh projects instead of follow-up experiments and extra analysis. Cochrane relates from his own research: heavy LLM assistance can mean understanding the work less, which makes digging into the whys much harder. Intel’s Chip-Stitching Hub in New Mexico Intel’s newsroom showcased Fab 9 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, its U.S. hub for advanced packaging. Since single chips max out at the reticle limit, Intel stitches specialized chiplets together with Foveros stacking and EMIB silicon bridges until they act like one huge processor. Packages already reach eight times that single-chip ceiling, with twelve times targeted by 2028. Cochrane muses about a future where consumers simply snap extra compute onto a board. Gemini Robotics ER 2 Is a Brain for Robots DeepMind released Gemini Robotics ER 2, its most capable embodied reasoning model. The system chats with humans, plans multi-step tasks, and hands motor control to whatever vision-language-action model a robot runs. Moreover, it calls tools like Google Search mid-task and plans its next move while its hands keep working. Demos show it orchestrating Boston Dynamics’ Spot and Apptronik’s Apollo 2, and developers can use it now through the Gemini API. DeepMind Open-Sources Its Cyclone Forecaster Staying with DeepMind, the new WeatherNext Cyclones model adds more than a full day of extra warning on a storm’s track, intensity, and wind structure. It ran live with the National Hurricane Center during the 2025 season, helping forecasters spot Hurricane Melissa’s rapid intensification before its Jamaica landfall. Best of all, DeepMind open-sourced the code and model weights for research and commercial use alike. Cochrane, a longtime fan of the lab, calls the public release a huge service. Climate Change Supercharges Europe’s Disasters Eos rounded up how climate change is supercharging Europe’s heat, drought, and wildfires. Southwestern France has burned through about 287,000 acres this year, and roughly 330,000 people across France and Spain fled their homes in one of Europe’s largest evacuations since World War II. France also recorded more than 5,700 excess heat deaths in under three weeks. Meanwhile, a Bordeaux-region blaze spawned a pyrocumulonimbus fire cloud, and Cochrane notes that hearing “unprecedented” every year is starting to create a precedent. Ten Years of WILDLABS and Arm Arm is celebrating ten years of backing WILDLABS, a network connecting more than 16,000 conservationists across 180 countries. The goal was never to invent new conservation technology. Instead, it closes the information gap so tools and lessons get shared openly. Cochrane highlights a team using miniaturized GPS tags to track migrating bats, and says the project bears the heart of open source. FarmBeats Brings AI to Ag Classrooms Microsoft and the National FFA Organization expanded FarmBeats for Students nationally. The program teaches future farmers with smart soil sensors, data science, and AI, mirroring how real farms automate tractors and deploy drones against pests. At launch, 185 middle and high schools received free classroom kits. Interested families can grab a kit for $35, and the Microsoft Learn training is free. MacBook Neo Pulls Schools Off Chromebooks Apple’s earnings call revealed the MacBook Neo displacing Chromebooks and Windows machines in K-12. Close to half of the Neo’s large U.S. education purchases last quarter replaced competing fleets, including 25,000 students in Pinellas County, Florida. Cochrane sees the first truly affordable Apple laptop finally competing where Chromebooks have lived for a decade. He expects Apple to keep taking K-12 share from Google and Microsoft. Apple Upgrade Turns iPhones Into a Lease Apple also launched Apple Upgrade, a hardware leasing program backed by Klarna. iPhones start at $17.99 per month with 12- to 36-month terms by device, and lease-end options let you upgrade, buy out, or walk away. However, entry-level hardware like the base iPhone 16 and Mac mini is excluded, and enrollment requires a Klarna account and a soft credit check. Cochrane admits he has never been a leasing fan, having once bought his phone outright with tip money, but he expects plenty of takers. WhatsApp Calling Comes to the Browser Meta brought calling to WhatsApp Web, no app download required. Browser calls keep end-to-end encryption and add screen sharing, a dedicated Calls tab, waiting rooms for group links, and automatic HD video. Additionally, group calls now transfer between devices mid-call, and a Drown Out the Noise feature suppresses background racket. Everything rolls out gradually over the coming weeks. July’s Gemini Drop July’s Gemini Drop adds voice control on macOS, letting users dictate and transform text in any active window. Gemini Spark, the always-on assistant, expands nearly worldwide, except the EEA, UK, Switzerland, and Nigeria. New Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash-Lite models arrive alongside avatar-based image personalization and app hookups for Dropbox, Zillow Rentals, and Viator. The Rescue Satellite That Needs Rescuing Katalyst Space Technologies’ LINK spacecraft, launched to boost NASA’s sinking Swift observatory, began tumbling in late July. Two of its three reaction wheels failed and its cold-gas thrusters degraded, so engineers used an electric xenon thruster to cut the spin from nine degrees per second to about 1.5. CEO Ghonhee Lee says a capture attempt is “very much in the cards,” with rendezvous in late August at the earliest. Cochrane wonders what happens if the window closes, and he promises to keep listeners updated. Curiosity Finds a Honeycomb Valley on Mars Finally, Curiosity rolled into a Martian valley nicknamed Valle Grande and found a honeycomb landscape. Polygonal fractures just inches wide stretch in every direction and climb a butte named Miraflores. Project scientist Ashwin Vasavada says the “sea of polygons took our breath away.” The rover just passed fourteen years on Mars, and scientists suspect ancient warming and cooling cycles fractured the ground. Cochrane wraps with housekeeping: become a GNC Insider at geeknewscentral.com/insider, email geeknews@gmail.com, subscribe to the newsletter, and grab a modern podcast app at podcastapps.com (he uses Pocket Casts himself). He signs off until Monday’s show. The post Capture The Real Flag #1871 appeared first on Geek News Central.

It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 05 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsAUDI STRIPS BACK A2 E-TRON CAMOUFLAGEAudi has removed most camouflage from the A2 e-tron ahead of an autumn world premiere, calling it the most efficient car it has ever built, with the 140 kW efficiency-package variant quoting provisional WLTP consumption of 12.8 kWh/100 km (4.85 miles per kWh) from a 61 kWh gross/58 kWh net LFP cell-to-pack battery, aided by active cool-air intakes, air curtains, gap reducers, silicon-carbide power electronics and 89.6% wallbox charging efficiency. DC charging peaks at 105 kW with a 26-minute 10–80% charge, V2L supplies 2.3 kW and V2H is offered, and three packs of 50, 58 and 79 kWh are expected using the VW Group APP350 drive unit on the updated MEB platform rather than MEB+.EVGO GROWS IN TOWNS AND ON MOTORWAYSEVgo will add more than 500 DC fast-charging stalls at Brixmor Property Group shopping centres, covering at least 90 sites and over a quarter of Brixmor's retail portfolio, starting later this year at Barn Plaza near Philadelphia with further builds in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas, many with up to 12 high-power stalls. Its highway venture with Pilot Company and General Motors, launched in 2022, has now passed 300 locations and roughly 1,300 stalls across 40 states and about 75% of the contiguous US, more than halfway to a target of up to 2,000 stalls at 500 sites, and on 5 August 2026 EVgo said it will add Tesla V4 Superchargers to its network.RIVIAN PUTS VOICE CONTROL BEHIND PAYWALLRivian switched off Amazon's Alexa across its entire fleet on Monday 3 August 2026, retiring Alexa Built-in from 4 August and leaving voice control available only through Rivian Assistant, which runs on Google's Gemini and requires a Connect+ subscription at $14.99 a month (about £11) or $149.99 a year (about £112). Previously free voice calls and messages now sit behind that paywall, along with the loss of Alexa-linked Amazon Music, Pandora and smart-home controls, though touchscreen and Bluetooth dialling remain, and the move follows Rivian charging for hands-free driving from April via Autonomy+ at $49.99 a month or $2,500 outright, despite Amazon being Rivian's second-largest shareholder.ID. BUZZ CARGO GETS CHEAPER, GOES FURTHERVolkswagen Commercial Vehicles has replaced the ID. Buzz Cargo's entry 59kWh pack with a new 58kWh unit shared with the ID.3 Neo, lifting WLTP range from 201 miles (323km) to 218 miles (351km) through cell chemistry and efficiency rather than extra capacity, while cutting the price to £29,995 excluding VAT, £5,655 less than before, with the £5,000 Plug-in Van Grant bringing the effective entry price close to £25,000 and Contract Hire from £239 a month. Charging peaks at 105kW for a 26-minute 10-80% top-up, the 79kWh version is unchanged at 277 miles (446km) and 185kW, and vehicle-to-load arrives across the range supplying 2.0kW continuously and 3.6kW peak at 16A/240V through a three-pin loadspace socket.KONA ELECTRIC GETS FULL UK EV GRANTHyundai Motor UK has moved the Kona Electric from Band 2 to Band 1 of the Electric Car Grant, raising its discount from £1,500 ($2,010) to the full £3,750 ($5,025). With a list price of £35,000 ($46,900), the model now starts at £31,250 ($41,875) with the grant applied.TESLA JULY EUROPE DATA SPLITS SHARPLYTesla's July European registrations diverged sharply, rising 86% year on year in France and 52% in Denmark, while falling 97% in Norway, 60% in Sweden and 81% in Spain, where just 131 cars were registered. Spain illustrates the underlying weakness, with Tesla up 19.8% year to date through July against a 34.9% rise in the electrified market, and Matthias Schmidt of Schmidt Automotive attributing the pattern to Tesla steering allocation towards incentive-rich markets such as Germany and France, with German volumes potentially jumping in the second half of 2026.UK BEV SHARE HITS 27.4%UK battery-electric registrations rose 49% to 43,547 units in July, taking a 27.4% market share according to NewAutomotive, while petrol registrations fell 8.2% and diesel dropped 10.6%. Chinese brands took 16% of the UK new-car market in the month, led by MG, Omoda, Jaecoo and BYD.BRITTANY FERRIES STARTS PORTSMOUTH SHORE POWERBrittany Ferries will begin using shore power at Portsmouth International Port from Monday with two hybrid vessels, activating a system completed late last year that had sat idle due to a delayed grid connection and months of negotiation over financial terms, since plugging in costs more than burning marine fuel. Chief executive Christophe Mathieu called it a milestone that unlocks the potential of the Channel's greenest vessels and makes the company a better neighbour to Portsmouth residents, while urging government tax breaks, as Portsmouth becomes home to the UK ports industry's first multi-berth, multi-user shore power system.US ARMY PICKS HARBRINGER HYBRID UGV PLATFORMThe US Army has awarded American Rheinmetall an 18-month contract to build and deliver next-generation uncrewed ground vehicles under Project Sustainment, using California firm Harbinger's Praesidia series-hybrid powertrain, which pairs a high-torque electric motor with a compact petrol engine that charges the battery but has no mechanical link to the wheels. Praesidia can export up to 350 kW to external systems, with 48 kW continuous from the engine and 15 kW split-phase AC from an onboard inverter, and Harbinger claims over 500 miles (805 km) on a full tank and charge, including roughly 105 miles (169 km) on electricity alone, with the architecture suiting silent-watch operation where acoustic signature matters.

In this 30-minute preview from the 1-Week Rental Patreon, Matt is joined, as per tradition, by Neophyte Reviews and Screen Time Kota to break down the latest offering from Marvel Studios: Spider-Man - Brave New World. This movie is breaking box office records and has been widely embraced by the masses. Neo and Kota are both big fans... but now they face the ultimate challenge of melting Matt's cold heart. Hear the complete, two-hour podcast about Spider-Man: Brand New Day by subscribing to 1-Week Rental's Patreon for two dollars a month: https://bit.ly/4fE2FfY 

Anastasios Angelopoulos is the co-founder and CEO of Arena, the real-world evaluation platform that has become a leading referee of the global AI model race. Arena has raised $250 million, with the latest round valuing the company at $1.7BN. Arena recently surpassed $100M ARR just eight months after launching its enterprise offering, powered by more than 30 million monthly users. AGENDA: 00:00 – Intro: "Kimi beat every American model": What Nobody Wants to Admit… 05:20 – Is this the true commoditization of models? Are they just a utility layer now? 07:30 – Do Chinese open source models cannibalize the closed frontier labs? 10:30 – Why has America's open source community lagged so badly behind China? 17:20 – Will Chinese models be banned in the US — and does hosting locally really kill the backdoor risk? 23:20 – Are enterprises really terrified of working with the frontier labs? 27:20 – Why hasn't inference got cheaper — and what happens when Anthropic's "disgustingly high" margins go public? 30:20 – Who should decide if a model is safe to release: the government, a neutral body, or nobody? 33:10 – Are we about to see cyberattacks like we've never seen before? (The fake candidate who passed every interview) 37:00 – 75 Neo labs: what separates the winners from the two-thirds worth nothing? 40:45 – Is data actually a commodity — and can data providers be $100BN companies? 48:00 – Can you be the referee when the players are paying you? (And Arena's real revenue) 50:45 – Will the model providers eat the application layer? Are Harvey, Lagora and Figma in trouble? 54:10 – Quickfire: Why hasn't NVIDIA bounced on the rise of open source, who hits $10 trillion first, and does the compute debt cycle end in insolvency?    

Tonight, we're talking vampires, history's greatest transformation from suspiciously bloated corpse to immortal bisexual aristocrat with a castle, a cape, and absolutely no respect for personal boundaries. We dig into garlic, holy symbols, counting mustard seeds, bricks shoved into mouths, and the alarming number of vampire prevention methods involving someone's severed head near their butt. Then we compare D&D's growing collection of bitey hit-point bags with Pathfinder's bold decision to let you turn almost anything into a vampire. Grab a wooden stake, protect your neck, and remember: the undead pyramid scheme is not a scam if every wight gets eight zombies beneath them. Show Notes Vampires have been haunting folklore for centuries, but before they became wealthy, seductive goth icons, they were mostly blamed on misunderstood decomposition, disease, and humanity's long tradition of confidently inventing explanations for things it did not understand. We explore the regional beliefs surrounding vampires, including animal transformations, compulsive counting, invitations, running water, graveyard horse tests, and the creative methods people used to keep corpses from returning. Apparently, garlic was not enough. Sometimes you needed decapitation, holy water, a brick, and a very specific head-placement strategy. From there, we follow the vampire from folklore through The Vampyre and Dracula, then directly into tabletop gaming. Strahd is examined as D&D's legally distinct Dracula, complete with an Eastern European castle, disposable vampire brides, an unpleasant servant, and an unhealthy obsession with one particular woman. We discuss why vampires make such effective villains, whether they should always be irredeemably evil, and how their intelligence, charisma, resources, and ability to escape make them more interesting than another monster waiting patiently to be reduced to zero hit points. Tyler walks through D&D's increasingly crowded vampire bestiary, including vampire spawn, familiars, mind flayers, Nosferatu, infernalists, wardens, spellcasters, warriors, umbral lords, hopping vampires, and several versions of Strahd. Ash discovers that many updated vampires lost their regeneration and responds with the measured restraint everyone has come to expect. We also uncover the Jiangshi's undead pyramid scheme, where drained victims become wights, wights create zombies, and everyone receives an exciting opportunity to become their own boss. Pathfinder 2e takes a more flexible approach with vampire adjustments that can be applied to nearly any living creature. Want a vampire dwarf, vampire monster, full vampire character, Dhampir, or suspiciously blood-focused animal companion? Pathfinder has paperwork for that. We compare its vampire families, weaknesses, regeneration, player archetypes, unusual feeding options, and the many ways players can embrace eternal life without being reduced to a single edgy species choice. Finally, the Question of the Week asks how to deliver a satisfying campaign ending. The hosts discuss final boss battles, player-driven epilogues, heroic sacrifices, closing character arcs, carrying consequences into future campaigns, and giving everyone enough closure to explain what their character does after saving the world. Tyler also recommends a total party kill, because rocks falling remains the most efficient form of narrative finality. Key Takeaways Vampire folklore varied dramatically between regions, but blood drinking, animal transformations, compulsions, returning corpses, and elaborate burial precautions appeared frequently. Many historical vampire scares were fueled by misunderstandings about decomposition, disease, bloating, and blood appearing around a corpse's mouth. Bram Stoker's Dracula established many of the traits associated with modern vampires, including wealth, sophistication, seduction, immortality, and aristocratic menace. Strahd is essentially D&D's version of Dracula, enhanced with wizard abilities, legendary actions, extensive resources, and enough emotional baggage to fill Castle Ravenloft. Vampires make strong recurring villains because they are intelligent, charismatic, difficult to permanently destroy, and capable of retreating to fight another day. D&D offers numerous vampire variants, but several newer designs reduce them to durable biting monsters, and the removal of regeneration makes them feel less distinct. The Jiangshi can create an expanding hierarchy of wights and zombies, producing what can only be described as an undead pyramid scheme. Pathfinder 2e's vampire adjustments allow GMs to apply vampire abilities to existing creatures instead of relying entirely on separate stat blocks. Pathfinder also provides more vampire-related player options, including the Dhampir heritage, vampire archetype, vampiric companions, and blood-draining spells. A satisfying campaign ending should extend beyond defeating the final boss and give players room to resolve relationships, describe their futures, and address the consequences of their choices. Asking characters what they hope to do after the adventure can help the GM build meaningful rewards and bring long-running stories full circle. Heroic sacrifice can create a powerful bittersweet ending when the choice belongs to the player rather than being forced upon them. Plot holes may be forgotten, but players remember when an old joke, promise, relationship, or seemingly insignificant choice returns during the finale. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Before you paste that customer list, that blood test result or that contract into your favourite AI tool, it's worth pausing for a second. Whatever you hand over doesn't just disappear after you get your answer. It sits somewhere, and depending on the tool and the settings, it might be doing more than just answering your question. Most people have never actually checked what happens to their data once it goes in or thought about the difference between what's fine to share and what's better redacted first. In this How I AI episode, Neo and I work through what's actually safe to give AI and what's better left out. We cover how to check your settings so free tools aren't training on your data, how to de-identify sensitive things like health results and contracts, the rules that change once you're at work, and the one question to ask yourself before you upload anything. What you'll learn: How to know if AI is quietly training on the data you give it, and how to switch that off The one question to ask before you upload anything to AI Why work and home should be treated completely differently when it comes to AI What to redact from contracts, spreadsheets and client files before sharing them Where the line sits between using AI as a sounding board and relying on it too much Practical AI tools for productivity and focus Real-world AI workflows used by high performers How to use AI at work without burning out Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm. My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/ Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: Martin Imber See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Play NowEpisode 406 of the Seibertron.com Twincast/Podcast kicks off the show with thoughts on the first image showing the lineup for Blokees Wheels series 4. The crew then digs into San Diego Comic Con 2026 reveals with a huge slate, including but not limited to the Collaborative Grave Digger, Age of the Primes' final wave featuring deluxe class toys such as Breakaway and Alpha Bravo, Studio Series entries like Nautica and Red Alert, and even more such as Energon Universe Shredhead. Discussion then moves to the Tomy Takara reveal of Adamas Machina Magna Regulus before listeners then take center stage as the crew ponders Six Combiners, dioramas, Japanese Beast Wars toy updates and Cyberworld alt-modes. Finally, "Bragging Rights" bring this show to a close.

Welcome to Ranger levels 1 through 4, where you can become a deadly shadow archer, command your own miniature dragon, or sacrifice your entire action so that a flying snake with the structural integrity of wet parchment can participate in combat. In this episode, we explore Favored Enemies nobody tracks, terrain nobody visits, spells competing for the same concentration slot, and the revolutionary discovery that the Ranger becomes significantly better when you replace most of the Ranger. Grab your longbow, release your drake, and prepare to whisper, "Go get 'em, little buddy," moments before your animal companion is killed by incidental damage. Show Notes The Ranger has spent years carrying a terrible reputation, but is the entire class actually bad, or did everyone read the original Beast Master, experience psychic damage, and refuse to look at the class again? In this episode, we begin our journey through the 2014 Ranger from levels 1 through 4. We break down the class's ability scores, armor, weapons, skills, Fighting Styles, spellcasting, and its awkward position somewhere between Fighter, Rogue, and person who remembers to bring enough trail rations. We examine the original Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer features, which are extremely useful when the campaign takes place in one specific biome against one specific enemy and the DM insists that every mile of travel be handled in real time. Then we look at Tasha's optional features, including Favored Foe and Deft Explorer, which give Rangers abilities they might actually use during an adventure. At level 3, the builds split dramatically. Randall embraces the darkness with a Gloom Stalker built around stealth, hand crossbows, and making an alarming number of attacks before the enemy understands that combat has started. Ash chooses the Drakewarden, gaining a durable dragon companion that can attack, support allies, and generally behave like a functional subclass feature. Tyler, meanwhile, voluntarily builds the original Player's Handbook Beast Master. Armed with determination, optimism, and a flying snake that can be eliminated by an aggressively closed door, he attempts to prove that the subclass can work. It technically can, provided your definition of working includes surrendering your action, protecting your pet at all costs, and carrying its body around until the DM allows you to find another one. By level 4, the difference is impossible to ignore. The Gloom Stalker is attacking repeatedly from the shadows, the Drakewarden is firing arrows while a dragon controls the front line, and the Beast Master is pointing toward the enemy and asking his snake to please do something useful. Two Rangers are ready for the next tier of play. One Ranger needs to lie down. Key Takeaways Dexterity is usually the Ranger's best primary ability. It supports ranged and finesse weapons, Armor Class, initiative, Stealth, and several important saving throws without demanding the impossible ability spread required by most Strength builds. The original level-one features are painfully campaign-dependent. Favored Enemy mostly helps with tracking and recalling information, while Natural Explorer becomes relevant only when the party is traveling through the terrain you selected. Tasha's optional features are major improvements. Favored Foe provides extra damage without consuming a bonus action, while Deft Explorer gives the Ranger expertise in a chosen skill and helps it better occupy the party's scout role. Bonus-action management matters. Hunter's Mark, two-weapon fighting, Crossbow Expert, and companion commands can all compete for the same bonus action, so your build needs a clear plan for how its turns will work. Archery remains an excellent Fighting Style. The attack bonus is reliable, useful at every level, and especially valuable for builds planning to use powerful ranged feats later. Ranger spells should provide more than damage. Healing, control, mobility, and utility can offer better value than repeatedly concentrating on Hunter's Mark, especially when Favored Foe can handle shorter fights. Most Ranger subclasses are functional or strong. Gloom Stalker offers excellent opening-round offense, Drakewarden delivers an effective companion, and even Hunter remains playable. The original Beast Master is the feature responsible for much of the class's terrible reputation. The original Beast Master has a brutal action economy. Commanding the companion to attack consumes the Ranger's action, leaving the character watching their pet play D&D on their behalf. Modern companion subclasses demonstrate what Beast Master should have been. The Drake can act through a bonus action, contribute extra damage with its reaction, support the front line, and survive encounters without requiring constant emotional and medical supervision. Your build should have a recognizable combat loop by level 4. Randall attacks rapidly from hiding, Ash fires from range while the Drake fights up front, and Tyler commands a snake while quietly reconsidering every decision that brought him here. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Neo the GameStop Neckbeard Gatekeeper: https://www.youtube.com/playli... Neo is a gatekeeping neckbeard gamestop employee. He seems to have a bit of a crush on his coworker, and uses his vast gaming knowledge to impress her. Except he doesn't actually know that much about games. Or how to interact with people. Yup, pretty cringe. It doesn't matter what your background is, you always need to treat people like people and not use them simply to get off. Neckbeards seem to learn this lesson particularly slow and it really does make my blood boil... So we must bring it to light so others don't suffer alone. For your fill of neckbeard stories we've got you covered with the freshest weeaboo, niceguy, and neckbeard happenings on reddit. Stick with ReddX for your daily dose of cringe with a side-dish of relatability. You might even feel good for dessert... But who can say? ------------------------------------------------------------ #reddit #neckbeard #gamestop #coworkers #gatekeeping #redditstories Discord: https://discord.gg/Sju7YckUWu Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/daytondo... PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/daytondo... Patreon: http://patreon.com/daytondoes Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/daytond... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReddX... Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ReddX... Amazon link to my mic: https://amzn.to/3lInsRR ReddX merch: https://teespring.com/stores/r... Character art: https://twitter.com/DarkleyStu... Creepypasta channel: https://www.youtube.com/Dayton... Gaming channel: https://www.youtube.com/dayton... Wifey's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channe... ------------------------------------------------------------ Playlists: Full neckbeard stories: https://www.youtube.com/playli... All neckbeard stories: https://www.youtube.com/playli... All legbeard stories: https://www.youtube.com/playli... RPG Horror Stories: https://www.youtube.com/playli... Weeaboo tales: https://www.youtube.com/playli... ------------------------------------------------------------ Podcasts: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/... Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/reddxy iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/... Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/fe... Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/... Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podc... Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/show... Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podc... JioSaavn: https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows... Also on Castbox, Audible, and iHeartRadio! Have you ever met a neckbeard or a nice guy? They are frustrating to deal with, but luckily you aren't alone! These r/neckbeardstories from Reddit are among the top posts of all time and include some of the funniest Reddit stories ever posted on the neckbeard stories subreddit! rSlash NeckbeardStories have all kinds of funny neckbeards in them, but especially the nice guy. And the weeaboo. There is a wide spectrum of neckbeards, and this is but a small slice of it. Listening to ReddX's neckbeard stories playlist is a great experience! These neckbeard stories Top Posts of All Time from Reddit are made for you to enjoy any time you feel like it, so be sure to save my rSlash neckbeard stories playlist to your favorites! While there are many rslash channels that read r/neckbeard stories and r/prorevenge from reddit, each channel has their own way of performing them. Some of the top rSlash entitled parents channels I recommend checking out are the original rSlash, Redditor, fresh, r/Bumfries, VoiceyHere, Mr Reddit, Storytime and Darkfluff. These Reddit story channels inspired me to start my own Reddit story channel, with a focus on Entitled Parents stories and at times going into the r/pettyrevenge and r/choosingbeggars subreddit as well. Because most of my audience prefers Entitled Parents stories of Reddit, I tend to just stick with reading the r/EntitleParents Top Posts of All Time. But I also enjoy getting up close and personal with neckbeards and weeaboos from time to time. Subscribe to ReddX for the freshest daily Reddit content. I post relatable readings of Reddit posts and Reddit stories every single day! Journey with me as I relate these amazing Reddit stories to my personal life journey. I'm greatly inspired by the top reddit posts of all time videos and reddit stories on YouTube which is why I started doing them myself. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channe... Discord: https://discord.gg/Sju7YckUWu Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/daytondo... PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/daytondo... Patreon: http://patreon.com/daytondoes Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/daytond... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReddX... Merch: https://reddx-shop.fourthwall....

Wizards of the Coast has revealed its plans for the future of Dungeons & Dragons, and apparently the strategy is simple: fix D&D Beyond, return to Gen Con, outsource adventures to people who know what they are doing, cross over with World of Warcraft, and traumatize a convention hall full of children with a Dark Sun trailer featuring a freshly removed spine. Tyler attended the secret briefing and emerged with five pages of notes, several enormous announcements, and absolutely no idea what D&D Icons are. So prepare yourselves for new books, old settings, digital upgrades, live puppies, and enough upcoming content to make your wallet roll a death save. EnWorld: President of WotC Steps Down Forbidden Lands (affiliate link) Show Notes Wizards of the Coast has revealed its roadmap for Dungeons & Dragons through 2027, and Tyler is here to unload everything he learned during an embargoed presentation. We begin at Gen Con, which Wizards plans to turn into the recurring home for its annual D&D announcements. There will be a massive convention presence, live events, streams, adoptable puppies, and something called D&D Icons. Everyone involved seems extremely excited about Icons. Unfortunately, nobody appears capable of explaining what they actually are. D&D Beyond is also getting a substantial overhaul. Wizards plans to introduce tools for finding groups, allow local game stores to advertise events, and form an official partnership with StartPlaying. The mobile app is being redesigned, the character builder and rules engine are being rebuilt, and new DM tools, improved search, and campaign-creation features are somewhere on the horizon. Several details remain vague, partly because the presentation's prerecorded D&D Beyond video stopped working halfway through. Technology! On the video game side, Wizards appears to be pulling back from its plan to release a major game every year. Several projects have reportedly been canceled, but Warlock and Exodus remain in development. Warlock will feature a protagonist whose patron is Tasha, while Exodus is shaping up as a science-fiction RPG with strong Mass Effect energy and a tabletop tie-in that nobody on the podcast entirely understands. The tabletop schedule begins with Arcana Unleashed, a large rules expansion containing eight subclasses, ten backgrounds, twenty-nine feats, thirty-three spells, group patrons, magical factions, forty-seven magic items, and nineteen creature stat blocks. It will also introduce evolving magic items that can grow alongside the characters using them. Its companion campaign, Deadfall, is an espionage-focused adventure running from levels 11 through 20. The characters must save Thay by opposing Szass Tam, which means the situation has become so dire that saving Thay somehow qualifies as the good outcome. The Season of Champions brings a full Dungeons & Dragons crossover with World of Warcraft. The book is being led by longtime D&D designer and Warcraft fan James Wyatt and will include eleven species, six subclasses, iconic locations, recognizable characters, dungeons, monsters designed to provide a raid-like experience, a DM screen, and a map pack with a digital adventure. It will also come in three different editions, allowing Horde and Alliance fans to continue fighting the most important battle of all: which logo belongs on the front of the book. Then comes Dark Sun. Wizards is presenting Athas as the first mature D&D setting, complete with shrink-wrapped books, content warnings, extreme violence, and a trailer that apparently wastes no time separating people from their spinal columns. Dark Sun will receive separate setting and gameplay expansions, a limited-edition Player's Handbook, a new Scion class, a DM screen, maps, and some form of adventure support. The gameplay material alone is expected to approach five hundred pages, suggesting that Wizards is not returning to Athas quietly. Greyhawk will also return during the 2027 Season of Sword and Sorcery. Crown of the Witch Queen is a 160-page adventure featuring Tasha's daughter as its central antagonist, supported by a map pack and DM screen. The final 2027 season, the Season of Rebellion, was announced without details, leaving everyone to speculate angrily until Wizards decides to explain itself. Perhaps the largest long-term change is Wizards' plan for annual setting support produced in partnership with established third-party publishers. Ghostfire Gaming will work on Ravenloft, Visionary Products and Designs will handle Eberron, and Kobold Press will support the Forgotten Realms. Wizards is also developing something with the Hickmans, although details remain scarce. The approach could finally give neglected settings regular adventures and character options, but it also raises questions about outsourcing, quality control, digital-only releases, and whether D&D is about to recreate the overwhelming flood of material from the third-edition era. Despite those concerns, the group is cautiously optimistic. Wizards seems willing to experiment, work with proven creators, support more settings, focus on tabletop products, and admit that maybe trying to become a video game company was not the best use of everyone's time. It could produce an exciting new era for D&D, or it could become an exhausting avalanche of crossovers and subscription content. Either way, Ash will be waiting for the D&D and Family Guy campaign setting so they can finally say they warned us. Key Takeaways Gen Con is becoming D&D's annual announcement hub. Wizards intends to reveal future product roadmaps there instead of relying on scattered online presentations. D&D Beyond is being extensively rebuilt. Planned improvements include group-finding tools, local game-store listings, StartPlaying integration, a redesigned app, a new character builder, a new rules engine, better search, DM tools, and campaign creation. Arcana Unleashed is a major player-focused expansion. It includes subclasses, feats, spells, backgrounds, factions, patrons, dozens of magic items, and new rules for items that evolve with their owners. Deadfall finally supports high-level campaigning. The adventure runs from levels 11 through 20 and sends the party into an espionage conflict against Szass Tam in Thay. The World of Warcraft crossover is a full product line. It includes numerous playable species, subclasses, famous locations, raid-inspired encounters, accessories, digital content, and three different cover editions. Dark Sun is returning without being noticeably softened. Wizards is positioning it as a mature setting with separate lore and gameplay books, graphic content warnings, hundreds of pages of material, and promised adventure support. Greyhawk returns with Crown of the Witch Queen. The adventure will feature Tasha's daughter as the antagonist and lean into a colorful, operatic sword-and-sorcery style. Classic settings may receive annual support. Wizards is partnering with experienced publishers to produce new Ravenloft, Eberron, and Forgotten Realms material, with another Hickman-related project also in development. Third-party partnerships could solve D&D's setting problem. Instead of leaving worlds unsupported for years, specialized publishers can create material while Wizards focuses on core rules and major releases. The biggest risk is content overload. More books, digital releases, partnerships, settings, and crossovers could strengthen the game, but they could also recreate the crowded and difficult-to-navigate release schedule of earlier editions. The overall mood is cautiously optimistic. The announcements suggest that Wizards is taking creative risks, investing in tabletop content, and making decisions that could benefit both players and the wider TTRPG industry. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

(0:00) Intro: Humanoids, Robots, & AI+ (0:57) ANYbotics' Dr. Péter Fankhauser: Why ANYbotics Bet the Company on Four-Legged Robot Dogs, Not Humanoids (13:18) Dr. Péter Fankhauser: China's Armed Robot Dogs Are "Stupid and Risky" — Inside the Terminator Debate (15:01) NEO's Bernt Børnich: Neo Ships in 2026 and Becomes an Open Robot Platform (22:18) Bernt Børnich: Robots Building Robots in Just 3 Years — "Hard Takeoff" (33:45) Boston Dynamics' Amanda McMaster: Spot Is Now the Most Deployed Robot on Earth — Atlas is the Most Capable (42:36) Amanda McMaster: Chinese Robotics Security Risks (47:14) Agility Robotics' Jonathan Hurst: Why "This Time Is Different" for Humanoids After 100 Years of False Starts (58:45) Jonathan Hurst: When Do Robots Outnumber Humans on the Factory Floor? Thanks to our partners for making this possible! AppLovin Ads is AppLovin's AI advertising platform reaching over a billion daily active users across mobile games. Full-screen video ads with a 35-second median watch time. Advertisers are profitably spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. AppLovin Ads is now open to all advertisers. Sign up at https://applovin.com/ALLIN  If your work depends on conversations — meetings, deal flow, interviews, customer calls — Plaud helps you capture and organize everything with highly accurate AI-generated notes that are not just simple summaries, but also highlight pain points, key decisions, next steps, and customizable summary templates.  Check out Plaud at https://www.plaud.ai/allin and use code ALLIN for up to 10% off! Which is also available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/43URLff (Code: ALLIN10X) Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allin  Follow on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg Intro Video Credit: https://x.com/TheZachEffect

 New construction can create enormous opportunities for real estate professionals, but many agents avoid it entirely. The information is fragmented. Builders can be difficult to reach. Agents may spend hours researching communities, requesting availability, driving between developments, and assembling information for buyers. For agents interested in working with international clients, the barriers can be even greater. But what happens when agents have a simpler way to present those opportunities? In this Best Of episode, we revisit a conversation with Christian Calusa, a real estate professional and the founder of NEO. Christian explains why so many agents want to sell new construction or work globally but do not know where to begin. You'll also learn: Why many agents avoid selling new construction What prevents real estate professionals from pursuing international buyers How a new agent reportedly turned an Uber conversation into a $10.2 million sale Why a personalized landing page can become a lead-generation tool How agents can build a niche around relocation and new construction Why educating buyers before a property tour can save everyone time How technology can support relationships without replacing the REALTOR®     Guest Bio Christian Calusa is the CEO and Founder of NEO. NEO is the most adopted platform for new construction in Florida and Texas, and is rapidly expanding throughout the U.S. NEO is a unique solution that connects builders, real estate agents, and buyers in one streamlined ecosystem, offering unparalleled access to inventory, marketing tools, and sales enablement, both nationally and internationally. The platform has received multiple awards in various countries, recognizing its innovation, scalability, and impact on the real estate and PropTech sectors. Visit https://www.newestateonly.com/ to learn more or send an email to cc@newrealestateonly.com.   About Your Host Marki Lemons Ryhal is a ​​Licensed Managing Broker, REALTOR®, and avid volunteer.  She is a dynamic keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, both on-site and virtual; she's the go-to expert for artificial Intelligence, entrepreneurship, and social media in real estate. Marki Lemons Ryhal is dedicated to all things real estate, and with 25+ years of marketing experience, Marki has taught over 250,000 REALTORS® how to earn up to a 2682% return on their marketing dollars. Marki's expertise has been featured in Forbes, the Washington Post, Homes.com, and REALTOR® Magazine.   Subscribe, Rate & Review Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!     

Mark crió a la hija de Mary durante 23 años. Hoy, legalmente, no tiene ningún derecho sobre ella. ¿Qué pasa cuando eliges ser padre sin serlo? ¿Cuándo el amor es real pero el papel no existe? En este episodio hablamos con Mary y Mark de Nebulosa, la pareja que ganó Eurovisión con "Zorra", sobre todo lo que nadie te advierte antes de casarte con alguien que ya tiene hijos.

The AI world has has done a spectacularly bad job of naming things. Agents, GPTs, gems, notebooks, projects, skills - you'll find a completely different word for what is essentially the same kind of tool. Agents in one place, GPTs in another, gems somewhere else. Different names, similar ideas - and no handbook to tell you that. But the tools themselves are not that complicated. Once you know what each one is built to do, knowing which to reach for becomes straightforward. In this How I AI episode, Neo and I cut through the jargon and map out what Agents, Projects, and Skills actually are, how they differ from each other, and which one to reach for depending on what you need to do. How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm. What you'll learn: Why agents, GPTs, and gems are the same kind of thing (just with different names) When a project is the right choice over an agent What makes a skill different from a long prompt Practical AI tools for productivity and focus Real-world AI workflows used by high performers How to use AI at work without burning out Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/ Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: Martin Imber See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When investigative journalist Stephen Witt visited Silicon Valley's 1X Technologies to meet a new home robot named Neo, he discovered a device full of contradictions: It was elegantly designed, but often struggled to complete even the simplest of tasks, taking longer than a minute to retrieve a bottle of water. Despite its limitations, more than 10,000 people have placed deposits for the $20,000 android, and Neo is just one of a dozen humanoid robots scheduled for release in the next year. We talk to Witt about the appeal – and challenges – of home robots and how quickly the technology is actually advancing. Guest: Stephen Witt, investigative journalist; author Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DRWarner Bros.' Zaslav Offers $68 Million to Buy Summer Campnew January 2026 employment agreement$96M: Make-Whole RSU award to CEO Daivd Zaslav of 1,963,465 shares; after January 2 Follow-On Option award of 3,052,734 options because share price is downUnder a new employment agreement executed on June 12, 2025, Zaslav received a special award of 20,898,776 stock options with an exercise price of $10.16 (~$400M). Additionally, on January 2, 2026, he was granted 3,052,734 follow-on stock options with an exercise price of $28.51 (~$40M). To address the higher exercise price of these options compared to the initial grant, Zaslav received 1,963,465 restricted stock units on January 5, 2026 (~$56M).The Compensation Committee: 23 meetings in 2025*Paul A. Gould, 80, 18 years tenureGould and Zaslav worked closely together at Discovery, Inc. for nearly 15 years.David Zaslav took the helm as President and CEO of Discovery, Inc. in January 2007.Paul Gould joined the Discovery, Inc. Board of Directors shortly after, serving as an independent director from 2007 until the company merged with WarnerMedia.Both men belong to the tight-knit professional circle surrounding cable pioneer and billionaire John Malone.Paul Gould has a long history as a trusted director across Malone's web of companies, serving for years on the boards of Liberty Global and Liberty Latin America.David Zaslav has publicly and frequently cited John Malone as his primary professional mentor.Their shared ties to Malone are so closely linked that in 2012, Zaslav partnered with other high-level executives to donate $1 million to the Cable Center specifically to build and name the John Malone Theater.Paul Gould has served as a Managing Director and Executive Vice President at Allen & Company, a premium boutique investment bank deeply embedded in the media and entertainment ecosystem. Through this avenue, Gould and Zaslav connect in two ways:Financial Advisory: Allen & Company has a long history of providing valuation opinions, advisory services, and market analysis for major transactions initiated by Zaslav during his career.The Sun Valley Conference: Allen & Company famously hosts the annual "Summer Camp for Billionaires" in Sun Valley, Idaho. As a prominent media mogul, Zaslav is a regular, high-profile attendee at this event, which is organized by Gould's firm.Kenneth W. LoweKen Lowe is the former Chair/CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive (the former parent company of massive lifestyle brands like HGTV, Food Network, and ID).The Link: In 2018—four years before the Warner Bros. deal even closed—Zaslav orchestrated Discovery's $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks. As a direct result of that blockbuster cable industry consolidation, Lowe joined Discovery Inc.'s board of directors. He and Zaslav had already been working together closely at the board level for years before the legacy company expanded into WBD.The board of AT&TRichard W. FisherOutside of WBD, Zaslav's connection to Fisher is rooted in Fisher's previous role as a member of the Board of Directors for AT&T. When Zaslav was hammering out the complex transaction to spin WarnerMedia away from AT&T, Fisher was one of the crucial board leaders on the other side of the table who evaluated and signed off on the deal. As part of the closing agreement, Fisher was designated by AT&T to transition directly over to the new WBD board.Debra L. LeeDebra Lee was the longtime Chair/CEO of BET Networks (Black Entertainment Television) from 2006 to 2018.Zaslav and Lee have long-standing commitments to The Paley Center for Media, sharing space as members of its highly prestigious Board of Trustees. Additionally, Lee served on the board of AT&T, meaning she was part of the corporate governance team that initially approved Zaslav's pitch to merge Discovery with WarnerMedia.Geoffrey Y. YangJust like Richard Fisher and Debra Lee, Yang's primary pre-WBD connection to Zaslav comes down to AT&T. Yang sat on AT&T's board during the high-stakes dealmaking window. Because of his background in digital media and venture capital, he was designated by AT&T leadership to transition to the WBD board to help Zaslav steer the newly formed company's streaming and direct-to-consumer technology strategies.The board that ignores Say on Pay votesAt our 2025 Annual Meeting held on June 2, 2025, we held an advisory vote on executive compensation, or "Say on Pay" vote, and a majority of the votes cast by stockholders were cast against our executive compensation program.Our executive compensation program is designed to pay for performance and effectively balance executive and stockholder interests. The Committee considered the outcome of the "Say on Pay" vote from the 2025 Annual Meeting, and while it continues to believe that our executive compensation structure, which includes long-term agreements with each of our NEOs and delivers a significant majority of NEO compensation in performance-based vehicles, is effective in meeting our compensation objectives, it took note of the negative 2025 "Say on Pay" vote when making compensation decisions after the 2025 Annual Meeting.The Dodd-Frank Act: "The shareholder vote … shall not be binding on the issuer or the board of directors of an issuer, and may not be construed as overruling a decision by such issuer or board of directors”Special meeting vote 4/23/26: Say on Pay 83% no6/9 AGM: ShareholdersPaul A. Gould 52% noRichard W. Fisher 31% noDebra L. Lee 32% noKenneth W. Lowe 31% noGeoffrey Y. Yang 31% noZaslav 3% noSay on Pay 84% noStill on boardPaul A. GouldRichard W. FisherDebra L. LeeKenneth W. LoweGeoffrey Y. YangZaslavThe SEC: "The Say-on-Pay … votes are advisory rather than binding ... Unlike a binding vote, advisory votes do not require the company or its board of directors to take a specific action. The company's board of directors may consider advisory votes and may follow up with other communications or dialogue with shareholders as part of its deliberative process in making policy decisions."The workers for being poor1,378 to 1 CEO pay ratio.Andrew M. Cuomo Joins the OKX Board of DirectorsThe worldMen GreedThe U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) In February 2025, OKX pled guilty in a U.S. federal court to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating anti-money laundering (AML) laws.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that despite OKX having an "official policy" banning U.S. users, the exchange actively pursued U.S. customers and generated hundreds of millions in fees from them.Internal logs showed OKX employees explicitly telling U.S. clients how to bypass the exchange's own blocks—even telling a customer to "just put a random country" during identity verification.The exchange was used to facilitate over $5 billion in suspicious transactions and criminal proceeds, resulting in a staggering $504 million penalty.TrumpTrump has normalized crypto. Is it the path to the next financial collapse?Jon Ossoff Rips RFK Jr.'s ‘Foolish' Cutback To Cyclosporiasis Monitoring: Sen. Jon Ossoff says a cyclosporiasis outbreak spreading nationwide could be harder to track because the Trump administration changed CDC surveillance last year. In a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ossoff argues that the CDC's FoodNet program (a public health network that monitors infections from multiple pathogens across CDC, USDA, FDA, and 10 states) stopped requiring monitoring cyclospora, and that the administration later made data collection optional at FoodNet sites for most pathogens (except Salmonella and E. coli).Elon Musk"ESG is the devil"A "scam" weaponized by "phony social justice warriors"Vivek RamaswamyThe author of Woke, Inc.founded an entire asset management firm (Strive) designed explicitly to offer "anti-woke" investment options that ignore ESG metrics in favor of pure profit.Ron DeSantisSpearheaded a massive legislative pushback against ESG in Florida, signing bills that banned state and local governments from using ESG factors when investing public funds or issuing bondsArgues ESG is a way to bypass voters and enforce a political agenda through corporate power.Peter ThielCalled ESG a "hate factory" used to control capital and punish companies that don't fall in line with mainstream corporate ideologyTariq Fancy (Former Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock)“Whistleblower”Called ESG a "dangerous placebo" that does nothing to actually fix the planet but allows Wall Street to charge higher fees while greenwashing their portfoliosMike PenceArgues that major Wall Street firms use ESG to enforce a radical left-wing agenda on everyday Americans, forcing companies to adopt policies that hurt the domestic energy sector.Glenn Hegar (Texas Comptroller)Created a blacklist of financial companies (including BlackRock) banned from doing business with the state of TexasCalled ESG an "opaque and perverse system" that violates fiduciary dutyAndy Puzder (Former CEO of CKE Restaurants/Hardee's and Carl's Jr.)Argued that forcing companies to focus on social goals instead of profits violates shareholder capitalism and ultimately hurts the economySenator Tom CottonAttacked ESG from a legal and regulatory standpoint. He led a group of Republican senators in warning top U.S. law firms that advising companies to cooperate on ESG goals could open them up to massive federal antitrust violationsSanjai Bhagat (Finance Professor, University of Colorado)Argues that ESG funds don't actually deliver higher returns and that companies in ESG portfolios often have worse compliance records for labor and environmental rules than standard companiesMenI pay my employees $1,000 a month per child for day care. It's one of my ice cream company's best investments.A womanAll womenDEIMolly Moon Neitzelfounder and CEO of Molly Moon's Homemade Ice CreamHer business planwhich included living wages and free health insurance for everyone who worked at least 18 hours a weekMMC-suite promotions now come with three or more jobs - from the article: “When Target named Michael Fiddelke CEO in February 2026, the leadership changes he announced went beyond a standard promotion. Target eliminated its chief commercial officer role and consolidated merchandising authority into a single position, naming Cara Sylvester, previously chief guest experience officer, as the sole chief merchandising officer overseeing product development, assortment design, and partner collaborations.” - WHO DO YOU BLAME??AIIsn't “taking more jobs on” what the promise of AI has been? The article claims “Executives who excel in a specific function are increasingly entrusted with broader operating mandates spanning commercial, technology, operations, finance, or customer strategy” - but really, aren't we just admitting that marketing and sales can be done by a dopey robot?Executive ChairsAs the TOP boys realize they can offload their work by becoming Executive Chair (same salary, fewer hours, no responsibilities!), maybe the CEO class is realizing THEY can stop doing as much if they just give more jobs to underlings? It seems telling the prime example in the article is Target where Brian Cornell still lingers on the board like a boilPay committeesPay committees are handing out massive golden hellos, particularly to CFOs but all c-suite, and they can justify them by “rolling” pointless jobs into a single person, right? BoardsBoards aren't actually paying attention to executives anyway - the data suggests by and large boards in the US are either deferential to the executives (do whatever you want!) or entirely self dealing (highly connected horse trading jobs on other boards!). The result is an indifferent board to actual executive shakeups either way - and CEOs are using indifference to shake up the c-suitesGeneral Mills is recalling nearly 736,000 Pillsbury bread rolls over possible glass - WHO DO YOU BLAME??Public Responsibility Chair Jorge UribeEx “productivity” officer at P&G until he retired in 2015. MBA and bachelor's in “management engineering”, which confused our knowledge typing which pinged off “engineering” to give him Public Safety knowledge, but there's no ACTUAL EVIDENCE he did anything but sales/marketing10 year tenure - longer than the CEO, but not as long as…Longest tenured director and man on Public Responsibility committee Steve OdlandOdland is the CEO of the Conference Board, who does public policy and governance stuff - he was CEO of Office Depot and AutoZone, and came from food (Quaker Oats, Sara Lee)Been on the board 22 years!! Solid job if you can get itBut both Steve and Jorge are tagged as “deferential” in the data (this is an important gig for them), so maybe…CEO Jeff HarmeningWith General Mills since 1994, came from marketing, but was COO - maybe Jeff's job as a director at Toro Company made him too busy to notice the glass? Or, maybe it wasn't their fault at all…RFK Jr: It's not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high

You see another article. "This platform just changed everything." And suddenly, the AI platform you've been using for months feels completely inadequate. You wonder if you're behind. You wonder if you should switch again. Neo and I have had this conversation more times than we can count, and it's one of the questions we get asked constantly at Inventium AI. Which of the four major AI platforms, Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, should you actually be using? In this How I AI episode, Neo and I walk through the three questions you should ask yourself before committing to any platform, then go through each one in turn to unpack where it shines and where it falls short. By the end, you will have a clear enough picture to make a call, or at least know which one to try next. How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm. What you'll learn: The three questions to ask before committing to any AI platform Why your data's location could rule out certain options entirely Which platform actually plugs into your daily work apps How pricing models are shifting in ways that could blindside your budget What to weigh before moving your whole company over Practical AI tools for productivity and focus Real-world AI workflows used by high performers How to use AI at work without burning out Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/ Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: Martin Imber See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick examines everything from the use of kneelers at Mass and the history of the Latin rite to misunderstandings about the Traditional Latin Mass and ongoing arguments over tradition and change. He fields heartfelt questions on Eucharistic validity, responds to calls about family suffering, defunct churches turned into mosques, and tensions stirred by new Catholic movements. At every turn, Patrick grounds each response in Church teaching, brings historical clarity, and offers hope to listeners wrestling with confusion or grief. Richard (email) – Can’t we kneel without kneelers? (00:27) James (email) - Would it be fair to say that the SSPX has made an idol of the form of the Mass, that is, the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) form? (01:54) Christy - Son married a pro-SSPX woman who says the Catholic Church is trying to get rid of the Latin mass. (05:24) Andy – At a Redemptoris mater seminary the eucharist is in the form of a cube (11:49) Haydee - My dad just passed away, and he wanted his ashes scattered. I was against this, but my sisters are going through with it. Is it okay to participate with them? (18:02) Martin - I am currently going through a civil divorce and need guidance on how to handle this from a spiritual and Catholic perspective. (23:45) Wayne – My parish closed during Covid and is now being sold to become a Mosque. What do you think of this? (38:36) Thomas - Invalidity of Eucharist on the matter (41:20) Eric - Our diocese is trying to establish the Neo-catechumenal way of tearing off bread for the Eucharist. (43:13)

In March, China became the first country to approve an invasive brain-computer interface beyond clinical trials. The implant, called NEO, is now available to some patients with limb paralysis due to a spinal cord injury. Ira talks with Wired staff writer Emily Mullin about the significance of this milestone. Plus, brain implants aren't the only development: China's entire biotech industry has skyrocketed in recent years. A decade ago, about 8% of new drug molecules were discovered in China. Now it's over 40%. And more clinical trials are now being conducted there than in the U.S. or Europe. Ira talks with health policy researcher So-Yeon Kang, who's been following the Chinese pharma industry's meteoric rise. Guests: Emily Mullin is a staff writer at Wired.  Dr. So-Yeon Kang is an Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy at Georgetown University.  Other episodes you may enjoy: Advances In Brain-Computer Interfaces For People With Paralysis How China Is Driving Down Electricity Costs With Renewables Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.