Podcast
Curious Cat - where science & supernatural collide
Hosted by Jennifer Hotes · EN
What does it mean to be a soul in a meat suit? With curiosity as the lens, life looks more complicated, strange, and wonderful. Staring into the places where science and supernatural collide is to behold magic. And the best part? Science is finally catching up! Weekly episodes are made and offered in love. *All Curious Cat content is owned and operated by Storm Mystery Press LLC
65episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Modern Love
Apr 2400:57:39Tap to summarizeShow SourcesThe Whitest Summer, Jennifer Hotes, Substack (good for a few laughs, I hope!)The women in love with AI companions: 'I vowed to my chatbot that I wouldn't leave him,' Alaina Demopoulos, The GuardianLove in the Time of A.I. Companions, Anna Weiner, New York MagazineSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Jesse Pours Out His Bucket of Rage in Fan Favorite Segment, Doom Hole
Apr 2100:27:03Tap to summarizeFan favorite segment, Doom Hole, is back with more AI-related headlines. This week we begin with a feel-good shout out to Sam "The Sky Guy" who did our birth charts, and will be our honored guest in a few weeks. Then Jenn shares some GATE research from a deep rabbit hole she's dug for herself.And finally, Jesse and Jenn get down to the business of headlines. Jesse empties out his bucket of rage as he shares three Amazon.com-related stories from the week.Here are the story sources if you want to read them at your own pace and give these journalists some love in the form of clicks.Show SourcesGATE Program - White Rabbit on Substack (if you want to try the Munro hemisync)The Race to the Shackleton Crater Is On, ARS Technica, Stephen ClarkeLauren Bezos Sanchez's Happiness Routine Goes Viral for All the Wrong Reasons, Fast Company, Maria Jose Gutierrez Chavez (our new hero!)Amazon Worker Killed and Workers are Told to Look Away and Keep Working, NewsNationSisters song from Holiday Inn, YouTube (so don't sue us!)Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Predicting the Future with Monique & Alex of The Homewrecker Podcast
Apr 1701:14:27Tap to summarizeToday we have TWO special guests that we adore. A married couple, former professional wrestler ”The Golden Greek” Alex Arion & his wife, certified hypnotherapist Monique, attack conventional wisdom and ways of thinking by bringing alternative viewpoints and different subjects to light in an attempt to not only change the thoughts and feelings most people accept as reality, but to obliterate them completely...all while having some fun in the process.Monique is many things, an intuitive healer, a gardener, a reiki practitioner, an artist that creates orogon pieces, and she is a certified hypnotherapist and her business is called, Innerstandings Hypnosis. Monique is also a talented tarot reader and she and her husband host a show called, The Homewrecker Podcast. They stay on top of current events, and she's here today to help us understand the future of AI, and yes, I'm secretly praying she will see the data centers transformed into community centers in her cards.Welcome to the show, Monique and Alex!Find links to support them, listen to their show, book a reading or hypnotherapy session HERE!Alex and Monique's Podcast, The Homewrecker PodcastInnerstandings HypnosisBUY Monique's orgonite or candles HERESend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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We can hardly call this a doom hole because we laugh so damn much...
Apr 1400:36:30Tap to summarizeJesse and Jenn veer way off the tracks before they even broach the first headline. We meander into the club life of the 80s, Jesse sings Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Jenn shares about the time she got smacked with a wooden ruler because she was dancing too close with her date at a Mormon function.Then we dive into the week’s headlines which include Microsoft’s CoPilot and a weird opportunity from Sony.Links to explore further...Send a voicemail to the show HERE! (you may be featured in an upcoming episode)Frankie Goes to HollywoodCreepy 80s Eternity ad, YouTubeMicroSLOP, Futurism, Victor TangermannRingo Starr makes art with Paintshop ProSony Contest to make yourself a temporary star on a future game without making all that inconvenient money and actual fameSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Cult Mindsets in the Age of AI with Natalie Fehlner
Apr 1000:59:32Tap to summarizeNatalie Fehlner is the producer and host of the podcast, Tales from the Truth Seekers. Her moment of waking up came on the heels of reading Eckhart Tolle's, The Power of Now. After an attempt to meditate that changed the trajectory of her life, she is a unique voice in the spiritual space. Adding humor and inspiration and nonjudgement, while making space for the stories of others, you're sure to fall in love with her work and art!This conversation includes:Natalie's backstory and the creation of her podcast, Tales from the Truth SeekersThe importance of discomfortMaking room for voices that are out of our comfort zoneHiking a trail, seeing a memorial, and remembering crossing over a murdererEgo InflationThe Vow series on HBOJournalist, Be Scofield (apologies for saying Bo - it is BE!) and her important work with cultsAnthony Miller and his work with an intelligence contractorAnd much, much more...Show Links:Natalie@SidheART.com | SidheART.comEtsy Shop | Substack NewsletterTales from the Truth Seekers Podcast@sidhe.channelled.artBe ScofieldTales from the Truth Seekers episode with Anthony MillerThe Vow seriesAll things Rachel WhiteSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Is AI the Devil? BONUS: Weekly Doom Holes, Bluesky users reject AI app, book reviewer fired, etc.
Apr 900:25:44Tap to summarizeJesse and Jenn work through this week's AI headlines. Yes, they can trigger stress and anxiety, but we find ways to laugh and enjoy being human, even in these modern times. It might be the ultimate way to rebel!Here are the story links:New York Times freelance book reviewer fired for using AI that stole from The GuardianBluesky users outright reject AI app ATTIE, MSNSoftBank takes out a loan to invest in OpenAI, Yahoo NewsScarecrow surveillance are popping up everywhere, KTLA NewsHey you, Flock cameras! Use Deflock.me to tell them to flock off! from SubstackSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Dark History of South Table Mountain (Colorado)
Apr 801:07:53Tap to summarizeHiking is my happy place. And recently I’ve fallen in love with South Table Mountain in Golden, Colorado. It's sister, North Table Mountain in my estimation gets five times the foot and bicycle traffic. A month ago, I found a trailhead for South Table that has only a few parking spaces, which guaranteed a peaceful hike! I've done it four times since. My favorite path takes me along an historic ditch, which no longer carries water, and then I take a right and follow the erosion up the side of the mountain. It's a popular place for mountain biking. I watch them plummet the steep elevations and soar over the natural berms. What a thrill.The first time I climbed out of that notch I was exhausted. Surrounded by fog, I drank water and looked ahead on the trail, seeing the silhouette of a man. I was startled. I'd had the trail to myself all morning. I continued toward the man, and soon made out antlers and the long, lean, limbs of a man. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Heart pounding, I kept going, snapping a picture with my phone camera. Finally, feet away, I saw that it was a sculpture of a Native American! He had a deer with antlers draped around his neck, carrying his successful hunt's prize to share with his community. I laid a rock on the base of the sculpture and went up the rest of the trail.That next stretch of the trail? Check out my Instagram feed, because it is a skinny path that leads up an ancient sand dune, I'm talking 200-plus million years old! Hundreds of millions of years ago Colorado was underwater, the floor of a landlocked sea. This took no imagining as I stood on this dried out ocean floor. There were even white shell bits among the petrified dunes.This haunting experience brought me back again and again. At night, I'd fall asleep studying maps as I searched for a new, fresh route up and around South Table Mountain.But after my most recent visit, something happened to me that felt like a scene straight out of a horror movie. And it led me to research the history of South Table Mountain. Soon, I found myself hiking to Castle Rock on weary legs and praying for peace and love to heal the land.Two days later, I'd be back on the slopes to offer a flower to a murder victim.But I'm getting ahead of myself.What to Buy/Read/Listen/Watch NEXTRead about the woman of South Table Mountain, and other meticulously researched books by Carol Turner's on AmazonSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Is AI the Devil? Perp-Walking AI
Apr 300:49:22Tap to summarizeAI is creepy, I think most people agree. And it's beginnings include the pirating of countless copyrighted material to train AI models - which is a crime - so is it a surprise that AI has become Big Brother? Looking in on our lives and movements, then reporting back when we make what's perceived as a misstep?This week we are diving into AI policing, facial recognition, and AI scams.Let's get into it!In this episode we coverNAACP defines predictive policing, warns of problems and prejudices and offers suggestionsFacial recognition is already here - and might be changing the prices of your groceriesColorado is taking a different approach to AI - and their experiment means more transparency and guardrailsAI scams are everywhere and we cover the top onesReal-life stories of when AI gets it wrongWhat to Read/Watch/Listen to NEXTArtificial Intelligence Predictive Policing Issue Brief, NAACP (please donate to this human-first organization!)Surveillance and Predictive Policing through AI, DeloitteFacial recognition in Colorado, State of Surveillance.orgAI Scams Even Brilliant People May Fall For, AI for BeginnersThe GREAT Karen Rontowski is on tour across the US, find tickets hereSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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BONUS: Is AI the Devil? Weekly Doom Hole with Bernie! And Playboy! And Tots!
Mar 3100:46:14Tap to summarizeIf you're like Jenn and Jesse, then you mostly try to avoid the news. But, if you want to dip a toe, then doom holes might be the way. We skim over the daily AI headlines with humor and love and sometimes a bit of anxiety, but always end with ways to feel better about the state of the world. This week's segment is no different. We begin with some Bernie love, a few Napoleon Dynamite quotes and then Jesse reveals his seedy past as it relates to Playboy. Did he really serve (just) risotto to the cast members? How any of this gets us closer to finding his old film professor, Biscuits? Well, we have no idea.Send us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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Is AI the Devil? Trashing RoboVanGogh with Ana Marija Kovacevic
Mar 2701:25:45Tap to summarizeJenn and Jesse sit down with fine artist, and even finer human being, Ana Marija Kovacevic. She comes with her unique perspective as a citizen of Bosnia and is the voice behind our opening riff. You are in for such a treat, some clanker bashing, inspiration to make art that is far from perfect, and to exercise the muscles to love your life, your pursuits, the people and animals around you thoroughly. One favorite among many quotes from the episode? Ana said this about artists using AI as a crutch. "Are you that scared to fail that you need a clanker to hold your hand along the way?" Get ready for a five-star conversation.Connect with Ana Marija's work on CaraSend us Fan MailSupport the showSupport Curious Cat, an independent, human-made podcast!Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved. But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog. ***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***Hero Organizations:80,000 HoursCenter for Humane TechnologiesState of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacyBuy Curious Cat Podcast a Coffee!
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