Grumpy Old Geeks – Episode 731: "I Want My 13 Trillion Dollars!"

Date: January 30, 2026
Hosts: Jason DeFillippo, Brian Schulmeister
Special Guest: Dave Bittner

Episode Overview

This episode is another no-mercy rundown of tech industry fails, bizarre news, and snarky commentary, with particular focus on Elon Musk’s antics, legal class action settlements, layoffs in the tech world, the $13 trillion lawsuit against a pirate music archive, and a parade of media and gadget talk. As usual, the hosts pull no punches and pepper the show with sharp sarcasm, practical advice, and a lot of laughs.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Winter Weather Woes & Banter [00:11–01:00]

• Brian commiserates about brutal cold snaps, leading to jabs about climate change denial.
• Jason riffs about fleeing from Chicago winters.

“To quote everybody on X that leaned to the far right, I thought it was global warming. Zero understanding of how anything works.” – Brian [00:46]

2. Elon Musk, X, and Continual Controversies [01:01–05:45]

- European Commission Probes X for Failing to Control AI-Generated CSAM

• X is under scrutiny yet again for not preventing the spread of AI-generated explicit content, including child sexual abuse materials.
• Musk’s flippant attitude toward the severity, with a recurring theme: “What do you mean, bug? This is feature.” – Jason [01:31]

- Betting Against Musk’s Promises & Polymarket

• Coverage of the profitable trend of betting against Musk’s outlandish promises (via Polymarket).
• “If I can help separate them from some of their money, I'm always happy to do that.” – Jason [03:15]

- Faked RoboTaxi Claims & Stock Manipulation

• Tesla claimed to have fully unsupervised RoboTaxi rides in Austin, which inflated their stock by 4%, but it turned out the reality was smoke and mirrors.
• “Isn’t the SEC supposed to follow up on things like that? Claims. Claims of bullshittery.” – Jason [05:29]
• Musk’s talent for spinning narratives to move the market, while regulators can barely keep up.

Key Segment:

[03:29–05:02] – Breakdown of the RoboTaxi story’s rise and abrupt pause; SEC apathy, and speculation about deliberate market manipulation.

3. Tech Lawsuits & Settlements [06:03–09:10, 20:00–22:00]

- Apple Siri Privacy Settlement

• Apple paid $95M in a class action over Siri eavesdropping; payout tips (using Venmo’s routing/account numbers for safety).
• Discussion of scammy-looking payout emails and practical advice on navigating them.

- Google Android & Assistant Settlements

• Google’s $135M and $68M settlements for illegally harvesting Android user data and Google Assistant’s accidental recordings.
• “$135 million for Android users. …You're literally getting cents. And it's like you're entitled to up to $100. That's if nobody besides you signs up for the class action and it's just you and the lawyers.” – Jason [21:08]

- GDPR Enforcement Tracker

• Brief tip on using a tracker to see which companies have been fined for GDPR violations: “Basically almost all of them, but notably not Disney or Apple.” – Brian [22:20]

4. Layoff Carnage: Tech & Gaming [14:10–17:40]

- Tesla: Massive Profits Drop and Pivot to Robots

• Tesla’s 2025 profits fell 46%; sales dive, especially in Europe.
• Plans to cut Model S/X production, repurpose factories for the still-mythical “Optimus” robots.
• Skepticism about feasibility (“These factories are so custom built… how do you tweak those to just start making robots?” – Brian [13:04])

- Industry-Wide Cuts: Ubisoft, Vimeo, Amazon

• Ubisoft: Layoffs, union-busting closure cycles.
• Vimeo: Private equity slashes staff after big acquisition; questions about relevance.
• Amazon: 16,000 more jobs axed despite 13% sales growth, to fund questionable content like the Melania movie.
• Hosts mock the sheer absurdity of the corporate decision making.

Key Segment:

[15:11–17:12] – Layoff news, irreverent jabs at private equity and boardroom logic.

5. Tech Policy, Sovereignty, and AI Law [18:02–28:22]

- EU Looking to Curb US Tech Dominance

• Potential new legislation for “tech sovereignty,” fears over reliance on US cloud/software.
• ASML cited as Europe’s ace in the global AI chip race.

- US Gov’t Writing Regulations with AI

• ProPublica report: Federal agencies (Department of Transportation) using Google Gemini to draft regulations.
• “Just because these tools can produce a lot of words doesn't mean that those words add up to quality government decisions.” – Unattributed [27:02]
• Hosts question the wisdom (and precedent) of using generative AI for critical policy.

- South Korea’s New AI Law: Everyone's Unhappy

• First fully enforced AI law: mandates labels, watermarking, assessments.
• Both startups (compliance headache) and activists (lax enforcement) are unsatisfied.
• “Enforcement gets a one year grace period. …the bar for regulating truly powerful models is set so high that conveniently none exist yet.” – Jason [28:10]

6. $13 Trillion Lawsuit against Anna’s Archive [28:22–30:36]

• Music labels sue pirate audio archive Anna’s Archive for an absurd $13 trillion—more than 3x India’s GDP.
• “That is not coffee money, even to a pirate.” – Brian [29:06]
• Labels allege “brazen theft of millions of files… nearly all of the world's commercial sound recordings.”
• Irony: The sum, if paid out per file, would mean the labels owe their artists far more than ever paid.

Notable Moment:

“Pirating hurts musicians, even though Spotify hurts them quite a lot too. Their payments are better than nothing.” – Brian [30:16]

7. More Tech News–RoboTaxi Wrecks & Class Actions [22:30–25:57]

- Waymo RoboTaxis Misbehave

• Federal authorities open investigations after Waymo vehicles repeatedly pass school buses, even after software updates.
• Follow-up: A Waymo vehicle hits a child in Santa Monica. Blasé coverage: “Like it's a kid, they bounce. Dust him off. He's fine.” – Jason [23:32]
• Video of a Waymo ‘safety driver’ slamming into parked cars—hosts question company spin and safety culture.

8. Media and Entertainment [36:43–47:54]

- TV & Streaming Reviews

• Pluribus: One host’s spouse bails after episode 2 (“I’m gonna continue with it just because… but it’s not yum.” – Brian [37:19])
• Shrinking (renewed); Night of the Seven Kingdoms: A Game of Thrones spin-off (“more like Forrest Gump Goes to Westeros”)
• Steel: Amazon Prime series gets a tepid endorsement.
• Ted Lasso (season 4 greenlit): Skeptical optimism for another round, but big cast changes.

- Sports Streaming Rundown [40:02–41:48]

• Explaining where to watch Super Bowl 60 and Winter Olympics across NBC, Peacock, and other streaming platforms.

Key Quote:

“This is the season that nobody asked for, but we shall remain cautiously optimistic.” – Brian, on Ted Lasso S4 [45:10]

- Misc. Media Notes

• Highlander reboot: Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, and host nostalgia.
• Netflix’s former darling OpenSea (NFT marketplace) now worth only $13 (joking).

9. Apps & Doodads [49:13–55:04]

- TikTok Meltdown & Alternatives

• TikTok, now under US control, faces mass user exodus due to privacy changes and technical issues.
• New clones (Upscroll, Skylight), though Skylight is… NSFW.

- Native Instruments (and Izotope) in Trouble

• Music software giant enters insolvency, putting flagship products at risk—hosts reflect on how “it’s really hard to fuck this up.”

- Whisper Flow Go

• Recommended app for voice-to-text functionality across desktop applications.

- AirTag 2 Release

• Minor improvements, includes “precision finding.” Not much incentive to upgrade unless needed.

10. The Dark Side with Dave [55:14–74:55]

Guest Segment: Dave Bittner

- Weather Chat

• East Coast buried in ice; dog humor and “checking the pee-mail” [57:23]

- Muppet Show Optimism

• New trailer receives mixed anticipation—Brian laments Maya Rudolph casting.

- Disneyland Documentary

• “Handcrafted” film is surprisingly fresh, revealing unsafe work conditions of 1950s construction.

- Looney Tunes Find a New Home

• 750+ classic shorts to air on TCM for six years: “The Coyote and Road Runner Cartoons are timeless—just brilliant.” – Dave [64:42]

- Quick Hits

• 360 camera for interviews: promise and pitfalls.
• Animal crackers as “safe word” for ad targeting test.
• Angry Birds nostalgia.
• Guide to gas masks and goggles for “demonstrators” (or winter).
• YouTube channel “Emma Repairs” for keyboard/piano tech fixes as a relaxing distraction.

11. Listener Shout-Outs & Community [74:55–end]

• Patreon, PayPal, and tip jar supporters acknowledged.
• 5-star review from listener: “Who knew Grumpiness could be so enjoyable?”
• YouTube channel experiment struggles.
• Closing birthday wishes to Alan Alda (“international treasure”) [78:22]

Notable Quotes

• On Musk’s Claims:
  “As soon as Elon comes up with a fantastic press release about some bullshit which I'm about to discuss… I'm hopping on Polymarket.” – Brian [02:28]
• On Class-Action Settlements:
  “If you are a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit, it is your duty, nay your right, to sign up… it’s the only way these companies ever get punished.” – Brian [06:09]
• On Tech Layoffs:
  “Video being what they do. So that doesn't sound good.” – Brian, on Vimeo layoffs [15:52]
• On the Music Lawsuit:
  “13 trillion is a truly insane number—more than three times the country of India's GDP.” – Brian [30:06]
• On Tech Regulation:
  “Just because these tools can produce a lot of words doesn't mean that those words add up to quality government decisions.” – [27:02]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• RoboTaxi Hype & Stock Manipulation: [03:29–05:02]
• Apple Siri Settlement Tips: [06:03–09:10]
• Tesla Layoffs & Robot Pivot: [13:49–14:10]
• Mass Layoff Recap & Commentary: [15:11–17:12]
• Google’s Dual Settlements (Android & Assistant): [20:00–22:00]
• Waymo RoboTaxi Trouble: [22:32–25:57]
• 13 Trillion Dollar Lawsuit: [28:22–30:36]
• Winter Weather & Pet Banter: [55:42–57:34]
• Muppet Show Segment: [57:43–59:49]
• Looney Tunes on TCM: [63:21–65:12]
• Apps/Doodads: TikTok Troubles: [49:13–50:19]
• Native Instruments/Izotope Crisis: [50:48–52:27]

Tone and Language

The episode is irreverent, unfiltered, and filled with quick-witted, often cynical banter. The hosts are deeply skeptical of PR spin, tech messiahs, and regulatory effectiveness—delivering a healthy dose of reality along with practical tips and plenty of pop culture references.

Conclusion

Episode 731 showcases the Grumpy Old Geeks at their best: dissecting weekly tech and cultural disasters with snark, skepticism, and pragmatic advice. Whether it’s poking holes in billionaire hype, breaking down class action claims, or commiserating about winter and layoffs, the show remains a must-listen for anyone needing a reality check on the state of technology and media.

Next Steps for Listeners:

• Sign up for class actions if eligible
• Track your favorite shows' streaming platforms
• Watch out for weird tech settlements
• Revisit some classic Looney Tunes (if you can find them)
• Keep those AirTags on your keys!
• Stay grumpy, stay frosty.