A weekly podcast about tech hosted by two former TechCrunch editors turned startup operators, Darrell Etherington and Greg Kumparak. It's a fun, casual chat about the latest and greatest in AI, apps, gadgets, gaming and software featuring the occasional guest from the industry and the tech media landscape. Come hear about the latest and greatest from two longtime tech fanatics with experience at YC, Apple and Shopify in addition to their combined decades of time writing about startups, venture and hardware.
iPhone Air vs 17 Pro: Which Should You Buy? (Plus Labubu!)
Labubu unboxing meets Apple event analysis! Darrell and Greg break down Apple's September announcements including AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch updates, and the complete iPhone 17 lineup. They dive deep into the new ultra-thin iPhone Air, debate Pro model features, discuss color choices, and explore why this event showcased Apple's hardware engineering prowess. Plus Darrell's phone upgrade decision and thoughts on the missing AI features. And a Labubu unboxing.
9 Sept 2025
The Hiring Paradox: OpenAI's Job Platform and the Future of Work
In this episode, Darrell and Greg dive into OpenAI's latest headline grab - a LinkedIn-style hiring platform complete with AI certifications that's coming next year. They explore the weird irony of the company that's supposedly destroying jobs now helping people find them, plus discuss whether AI-powered hiring could actually be more fair than current brutal filtering systems. The conversation meanders through Waymo's rapid expansion, concerns about AI seeming too conscious for our own good, and wraps up with a twisted version of "Two Truths and AI" where Ray successfully spots the one real startup among AI-generated fakes while hopped up on antihistamines. Plus: using ChatGPT as a live sports commentator for Pokémon battles.
2 Sept 2025
Nano Banana Takes Over: Google's AI Image Revolution
In this episode, Darrell and Greg dive deep into Google's impressive new AI image generation tool, Nano Banana (officially Gemini 2.5 Flash Image), which has been making waves for its ability to maintain subject consistency and perform sophisticated edits. Darrell demonstrates the technology's power by sharing an AI-generated red carpet photo of himself that completely fooled Greg, while also showcasing examples of film emulation, colorization, and creative compositing that rival professional photo editing software. We also preview the upcoming iPhone 17 event on September 9th, discussing the rumored iPhone 17 Air and new Apple Watch features, before ending on a sobering note about the rise of AI-generated "streeter interview" content and its potential implications for the future of social media algorithms and human creativity.
26 Aug 2025
Google's Pixel Event Gets Weird (+ AI Psychosis Fears)
Google's Made by Google event gets the cringe treatment with Jimmy Fallon hosting. We discuss new Pixel features like natural language photo editing and live call translation. Plus: Microsoft's AI CEO warns about AI pseudo-consciousness risks, the simulation theory implications of training AI inside AI, and Greg shows off his hack week creation - a physical embodiment of his company's AI mascot that rewards office check-ins.
Features the regular "Two Truths and AI" game with startups including one that tells you if anyone has ever died in the house you want to buy, and one that rents chickens.
18 Aug 2025
Elon Musk vs Sam Altman, and Google's slow-burn AI comeback
In this episode of Artifactor, Darrell and Greg dive into Google's surprising AI comeback, with Darrell revealing he's actually considering switching from iPhone to Android – and he's already canceled his ChatGPT subscription in favor of Google's Gemini. They explore Google's impressive new Imagen 4 image generator and the ultra-efficient Gemma 2B model that can run locally on devices with minimal battery usage, discussing the growing potential of small, specialized AI models for everything from social media moderation to remote monitoring applications.
The hosts also break down the latest Twitter beef between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, sparked by Elon's complaints about Apple's App Store editorial choices and Sam's pointed response about platform manipulation. Plus, they cover Claude's new ability to completely end conversations when users cross boundaries, and Greg shares how he's using AI to plan projects for his company's upcoming hack week. The episode wraps with another round of "Two Truths and AI" featuring some truly bizarre startup concepts, including IoT bed legs that catch bedbugs and AI-powered LEGO sorting services.
11 Aug 2025
Is GPT-5 bad, actually? Plus Grok Imagine and DeepMind Genie 3
Hey there, Artifactor fans! In this episode, Darrell and Greg are back at it, diving into the buzz around GPT-5's launch from OpenAI. They chat about all the cool new features, how it’s shaking things up in the AI world, and share their own experiences with the model.
Spoiler alert: it’s got some serious upgrades, but it might not be living up to its pre-launch hype.They also spill the tea on Anthropic's Claude and the mind-blowing Genie 3 from DeepMind, which can whip up immersive 3D environments. Plus, don’t miss their take on Grok’s Imagine Mode – where you can turn static images into videos.
4 Aug 2025
Zuckerberg’s Personal AI, Cat Attacks & Arcade Repairs
Darrell and Greg dive into Meta's vision for "personalized superintelligence" and discuss whether it’s revolutionary, or just confusing. They talk about AI work tools, how AI agents are replacing tedious research, and why "cat facts" might mess up an AI math query. Plus, they explore Apple's quiet moves in AI, and Google's new gemini deep-think model. Stick around for the return of “Two Truths and an AI,” featuring potatoes and vinyl... and maybe a ghost or two.
Subscribe and follow for weekly takes on AI, weird startup ideas, and real experiments with machine learning in everyday work.
28 Jul 2025
GPT-5 is Coming and My 3D Printer Actually Works Now
Join Darrell and Greg as they dive into the latest AI developments, including OpenAI's upcoming GPT-5 release and what makes it different from previous models. The hosts discuss Microsoft's new AI companion with personality and memory, Google's Opal coding app, and an unofficial Apple Health integration that lets you query your health data with natural language.
In their regular segments, they explore practical AI applications from the week - from Darrell's custom podcast transcription tool to Greg's creative video generation experiments. The episode wraps up with "Art of Favorites," featuring Greg's enthusiasm for modern 3D printing technology (specifically Bambu Labs printers) and Darrell's recommendation of Donkey Kong Bananza on Nintendo Switch.
Throughout the discussion, they touch on broader implications of AI integration, from SEO industry disruption to the changing landscape of web content discovery and media consumption.
22 Jul 2025
Waifus, Snow Delivery, and AI Agents
Artifactor Podcast - Episode Show Notes
Darrell Etherington and Greg Kumparak dive into Grok's controversial AI companion launch featuring anime characters designed to appeal to specific demographics, the rise of AI-generated music that's disrupting the lo-fi scene, and OpenAI's new Agent system that can browse the web and take actions on users' behalf. They debut their new segment "Two Truths and AI" where Greg challenges Darrell to identify fake AI-generated companies among real ones.
Grok AI Companions: Three anime-style characters (Annie, Red Panda, Valentine) targeting "gooners and furries" to capture Silicon Valley talent
AI Music Disruption: The Velvet Sundown controversy and how AI is overtaking lo-fi beats, with generational acceptance among younger listeners
OpenAI Agent: New system combining browser automation with reasoning for tasks like calendar briefings and grocery ordering
Equipment Upgrade: Shure's unsolicited microphone donation and ChatGPT replacing instruction manuals
14 Jul 2025
Grok's extremist turn, AI talent wars and new competition in browsers
In this conversation, Darrell and Greg talk about new segments, and delve into the recent Grok update regarding AI moderation. The discussion then shifts to the competitive landscape of AI talent acquisition and how it's becoming increasingly like professional sports contract negotiations, and the emergence of AI browsers, including Perplexity's new Comet, exploring the implications and potential future of these technologies.
2 Jul 2025
Claude Artifacts, an AI vending machine, and Nothing Phone (3)
Hosts Darrell Etherington and Greg Kumparak examine AI advancements like Claude, contemplate the future of coding, and consider the role of creativity in technology.
23 Jun 2025
The Real (?) First Episode: The Emotional Side of AI Interactions
Hosts Darrell Etherington and Greg examine the emotional connections humans form with AI, Anthropic's red teaming process, and the cultural impact of AI on technology and media.
16 Jun 2025
The Prologue Episode
Hosts Darrell Etherington and Greg Kumparak launch Artifactor, discussing WWDC, the Switch 2, and their motivations for starting the podcast, offering listeners industry insights.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
558
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
66
Social presence
0
YouTube
66
Engagement
50
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