This Week in Tech #1058: Furry Little Potatoes
Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Leo Laporte
Guests: Victoria Song (The Verge), Christina Warren (GitHub)
Overview
This episode of "This Week in Tech" brings together returning guest Victoria Song (senior reviewer, The Verge) and much-missed Christina Warren (senior dev advocate, GitHub). After a hilarious detour involving Crocs and cats, the trio dives into a wide-ranging discussion of gadget culture, wearable tech abroad, AI privacy and ethics, tech legal news, and questions of generational change across the tech industry. The chemistry is strong, the banter fast, and the digressions delightful—while the tech insights run deep, especially on the collision of new hardware, AI, and real-world use.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Wearables Abroad: Meta Ray-Bans in Italy
[04:24–14:13]
- Victoria Song’s travel review: Brought Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses on a trip to Rome; discussed use cases for navigation, translation, and live captions while traveling.
- Best features: Live walking directions—helpful for Rome's chaotic streets.
- "Crossing the street in Italy is a never-ending game of Frogger." – Victoria [05:37]
- Translation feature: Impressive one-on-one, but impractical in crowded/public settings with ambient noise and multiple conversations.
- Cultural friction and privacy: Eye display makes it hard for bystanders to know if you’re recording or disengaged, leading sometimes to awkward or ethically questionable moments.
2. Meta Glasses, Snap Spectacles, & Surveillance Culture
[14:13–27:24]
- Progress since Google Glass: The latest glasses are more discreet, raising new privacy and etiquette issues.
- "A lot of people don't know what I'm doing at that point in time. So I personally feel quite ethically..." – Victoria [19:48]
- Meta’s choice of a white, not red, recording indicator is seen by the panel as an intentional move to reduce public awareness.
- Comparison to AirTags: 99% benign use, but abuse/misuse is always present, and it may become harder to self-police or regulate.
3. Patent Wars: Apple v. Masimo
[30:08–37:43]
- Apple lost a $634 million jury verdict over alleged infringement of blood oximetry patents.
- “I don't know why they don't just pay them. They could just pay them.” – Victoria [30:11]
- Christina & Victoria argue: The feature isn’t that vital, most wearables health metrics aren’t diagnostic (just trend/pattern indicators). Apple’s refusal to settle may be about precedent & protecting broader IP.
- Health anxiety is rising due to incessant self-tracking (“hypochondria by device”).
4. Big Tech Antitrust in the EU
[39:14–45:46]
- Google fined €665m by Germany for shopping search favoritism.
- Debate: Is the EU too protectionist, or necessary for consumer privacy and fair competition?
- “Thank God for the EU, because we don’t seem to be doing much here in the United States to protect our privacy.” – Leo [42:36]
5. Disney, AI, & YouTube TV Carriage Disputes
[46:08–49:45]
- Disney and YouTube TV’s deal restores Monday Night Football.
- Side tangent: Use of alternative (sometimes questionable) IPTV sources when carriage disputes happen.
- Bob Iger’s statement about AI-generated Disney content concerns panelists regarding creative ethics and moderation chaos.
6. AI Cursed Prompting and Content Moderation
[49:45–56:14]
- Hilarious/practical discussion about jailbreaking AI models with “cursed” prompts (nudging AI to generate forbidden or bizarre content).
- Both Christina and Victoria admit to considerable experience trying to break models, both professionally and “for the lulz.”
- "I've made some cursed, cursed ChatGPT images." – Victoria [50:01]
- Grok (X’s AI) called out for easily circumvented guardrails.
7. AI, Wikipedia, and Knowledge Bases
[67:13–71:26]
- X’s “Grokopedia” reimagines Wikipedia as an AI-generated resource. Discussion of trust, human curation, and implications for the future of shared knowledge.
- “Would [Jimmy Wales] be open to using AI to at least help generate some of that content?” – Leo [69:36]
8. Apple Leadership Succession & Product Direction
[72:03–79:18]
- Rumors heat up of Tim Cook’s succession, with John Ternus as a likely candidate.
- Christina & Victoria see a current Apple “product crisis” and unclear direction compared to the Jobs era.
- iPhone choice paralysis: Too many SKUs, colors, and sizes.
- "I don't know what iPad to buy. Sorry, there's like 20,000 iPads." – Victoria [77:01]
9. Gadget Culture: Crocs, Socks, and Furries
[57:28–62:51, 89:23–89:43, 145:18–146:38]
- Christina debuts her Microsoft employee-exclusive Crocs (with Clippy and other Windows charms).
- Banter about the infamous Apple iPhone Pocket “sock” (echoes of Borat’s mankini) and merch collecting from dead tech companies.
- Victoria loves the orange iPhone 17, but brings up color fatigue among fans missing “rose gold.”
10. AI & PC Industry Shifts: AMD’s Rise, Intel’s Decline
[105:37–114:58]
- AMD’s market share climbs, Intel in slow decline. Lisa Su credited for AMD’s turnaround.
- Apple’s move to in-house silicon flagged as industry breakpoint: “That was probably the nail in the coffin when Apple said, look, we can design better silicon.” – Leo [106:05]
11. Local AI on Consumer Hardware
[114:26–119:40]
- Christina and Leo run large AI models locally (Strix Halo, MacBook Pro).
- Speculates on Apple’s potential to dominate local, on-device AI.
12. Tech’s Health Wearables and Over-Monitoring
[151:03–196:00]
- Review and discussion of new Oura ceramic ring, Withings devices (BEMO, U-Scan for at-home urine tests).
- Privacy caveats: Use of third-party integrations raises significant concerns; only FDA-cleared tools are HIPAA-protected.
- “If you're worried about your health data, don't use wearables.” – Victoria [184:20]
- Caution urged on wellness versus medical use, especially as insurers and employers eye health monitoring.
Notable Quotes & Moments
On Wearables in Rome ([05:34])
- Victoria Song: “The walking directions actually came in super clutch because crossing the street in Italy is a never-ending game of Frogger.”
On Notification Glasses and Dating ([17:13])
- Victoria Song: “If you can just imagine the dystopia of you're on a first date... Are you swiping on Tinder right now? What's going on?”
On Cultural Acceptance of Tech ([42:44])
- Leo Laporte: “Thank God for the EU... We don’t seem to be doing much here in the United States to protect our privacy.”
On Health Tracking Anxiety ([37:46])
- Leo Laporte: "Do you think it's a risk that it could turn us all into hypochondriacs?"
- Victoria Song: "Yes. That's already a problem that's happening."
On Jailbreaking AI ([50:01])
- Victoria Song: “I've made some cursed, cursed ChatGPT images.”
On Apple’s Product Line ([77:01])
- Victoria Song: “I don't know what iPad to buy. Sorry, there's like 20,000 iPads. I don't know what?”
On Intel’s Fumble ([109:09])
- Victoria Song: “It's such a fumble if you really think about it, that is so hard... Intel's name recognition was so strong.”
On Health Tech Privacy ([184:20])
- Victoria Song: “If you're worried about your health data, don't use wearables. Because even if you trust Apple... you are agreeing to that third party's thing and they may not be at the same level.”
Essential Timestamps
- 00:00 — Show start, introductions, Crocs/cat banter
- 04:24 — Victoria describes using Meta Ray-Bans in Rome
- 14:13 — Translation & privacy ethics of AR glasses
- 30:08 — Apple v. Masimo lawsuit, health tracking
- 39:14 — Google’s antitrust fine in Germany
- 46:08 — Disney/YouTube TV, AI-generated content
- 49:45 — "Cursed" AI prompt misbehavior
- 67:13 — X's "Grokopedia" & AI knowledge bases
- 72:03 — Apple succession/leadership transition
- 105:37 — AMD ascendant, Intel declines
- 114:26 — Local LLMs, hardware for AI
- 151:03 — Health/fitness wearables, Oura ring, privacy
- 184:20 — Health insurance, data, and wellness apps
- 194:24 — US healthcare challenges, personal anecdotes
Tone & Style
- Lively, irreverent, and authentic.
- Openly nerdy, self-aware, and critical but humorous; speakers are deeply knowledgeable but not above digressions or self-deprecation.
- Direct but nuanced about privacy, ethics, and cultural shifts in tech and society.
For Listeners Who Missed the Episode
Expect a lively and personable roundtable blending hard tech news (Apple, AMD, Google, Disney), AI and wearable device trends, and cultural critique of where tech is leading us—for better, worse, and weird. If you’re interested in gadget culture, AI’s implications on privacy and creativity, or what it feels like to use next-gen tech in real life, this episode is a can’t-miss.