The WAN Show: Amazon (AWS) Broke The Internet – October 24, 2025

Hosts: Linus Sebastian & Luke Lafreniere
Producer/Contributor: Dan
Date: October 25, 2025

Overview

This high-energy episode of The WAN Show zeroes in on the massive AWS outage that crippled a third of the internet, exploring its vast implications on everyday tech, business resilience, and our dependency on cloud giants. The episode also takes detours into the $2B Counter-Strike skins market crash, jet engines powering AI datacenters, YouTube’s new tools for managing AI likeness, and the ethical frontiers of AI-generated content—with WAN’s signature blend of tech insight, banter, and memorable stories.

Opening & Main Topics
Inside the Amazon AWS Outage
Counter-Strike 2 Skins Market Crash (33:39)
Jet Engines for AI Data Centers (45:01)
Generative AI & Likeness Moderation (191:19, 192:34)
Other Notable Tech Stories
Ethics, Platforms, and Agencies (200:20)
Funny and Memorable Moments
Selected Quotes
Timestamps for Key Segments

Opening & Main Topics

[00:37] Luke introduces the week’s big tech disruptions:
- “An Amazon snafu broke the flipping Internet... major services, banks, heated beds...”
[01:39] Linus tees up jet engines for AI datacenters, YouTube’s AI likeness tech, and the Valve/CS2 skins crash, with his usual mix of dramatic and comic setups.

Inside the Amazon AWS Outage

Scope and Services Impacted ([04:50])

Luke lays out just how broad the outage was:

“A major out[age] of Amazon Web Services rendered large parts of the Internet unusable nearly this week... here is a non-comprehensive list ... Alexa, Ring, Reddit, Snapchat, Wordle, Roblox, … Many major banks, Ring, Robin Hood, HBO Max, Venmo, Epic Games, McDonalds, Fortnite, Lyft, Hulu, Disney Plus, Roku, Signal Stream, Reddit, Zoom, Pokemon Go, PlayStation Network ... As much as a third of Internet sites and services rely in some way on Amazon Web Services.” ([04:50])

Hits didn’t stop at entertainment: “Owners of heated beds were not operating correctly.” ([02:00])

Why Is the Internet So Dependent on AWS? ([06:00])

Linus and Luke discuss the trade-offs: AWS is expensive, but “nobody got fired for using AWS. ...it’s so expensive, but if you're just an engineer trying to keep your job, why not?” ([04:34])
"Amazon is the new IBM... a lot of places just do that by default.”
“It was so much easier to get [AWS certification] than many other things. But there’s a big gap between someone who can build things in AWS and someone who can do it efficiently.” ([06:40])

On-premise vs. Cloud Discussion ([08:40])

Linus: On-prem was shunned, “Are you a caveman?”
They note a partial swing back to on-premise due to “money... control... privacy, stuff like that. But it’s interesting this outage was crazy.” ([09:28])

Cultural/Business Impact—Relying on Your Competition ([10:55])

Luke shares how, as a retailer, he watched his company go from competing with Amazon to depending on AWS for survival:

“We are literally ... paying large amounts of money ... our infrastructure ... is so bad, so outdated, so broken that we're literally hiring the competitor that is going to move in and eat our lunch to desperately keep our website alive ... It was such a moment for me.” ([10:55])

Technical Details—It's Always DNS ([15:58])

Outage tracked to AWS DynamoDB with a “latent defect in the service's automatic DNS management. It's always DNS.”
Linus: "I can practically picture Seinfeld being like, Newman. DNS! My arch rival." ([15:58])

Luke’s “Cool Story, Bro” on DNS Absurdities ([20:18])

Wild tangent: Luke describes gaming the Wi-Fi hotspot system on planes, running into DNS trickery that blocks the OS from seeing an internet connection, and registry tweaks to force Windows into “passive mode.”

“If Microsoft NCSI went down, and everyone's computers were connected but didn't ‘know’ it, that would be wild.” ([24:18])

Outage Fallout and Absurdities ([30:34])

“Owners of 8 Sleep Smart beds were unable to change position or temperature ... There is no reason ... that two devices on the same Wi-Fi should have to relay through a cloud server ... The only possible reason is excess of control or data collection.”
Outage impacts:
- Premier League had to confirm offside calls manually.
- Starbucks forced users to “talk to a human to order.”
- “Wordle and Duolingo lost their minds about broken streaks ... looks like the streaks were maintained.”
Dan: “Does Slack give you that Forever Alone message?” Linus: “But it plays... lobby music and it’s actually pretty great lobby music.” ([32:06])

Reflections on Tech Infrastructure

Linus: “It is interesting how fragile this thing that ... an enormous percentage of people’s lives relies on ... it’s pretty wild.” ([25:49])
Luke: “Yes, we are dependent on a small handful of services and yes, it’s a terrible, terrible, terrible thing.” ([32:56])

Counter-Strike 2 Skins Market Crash ([33:39])

Market value plunged $2B due to a change in trade-up mechanics; huge ripple in “gray-market” trading.
Linus theorizes Valve will make more money: “More lower value items ... higher chance people will trade through the Valve marketplace ... this is Valve just being like we’re going to change the playing field and make a lot more money.” ([35:17])
“One knife was sold for $14,000 just before the update and is now worth half. ... The person who sold that is stoked.”
Luke: “It’s not market manipulation if it’s not a market. ... That’s why financial markets are regulated.” ([38:03])
Linus: “Anytime it’s tangential stuff like this ... it is gambling.”
Luke: “It do be gambling.” ([44:48])

Jet Engines for AI Data Centers ([45:01])

Linus: “They're literally using retired commercial aircraft engines bolted into trailers for supplemental power ... What timeline are we on? ... These are jet engines from actual jets!” ([45:37])
Luke: “It might mean that, when people ask ChatGPT if there is a seahorse emoji, the server is powered by an actual jet engine... it literally went brrr.” ([46:51])
Linus: “At a certain point you just have to laugh. ... Those slop scrolling apps ... are powered by jet engines.” ([46:53])
Technical note: “Those turbine cores ... deliver up to 48 megawatts of power a piece.” ([47:53])

Memorable Moment—The “Ability Toucan” Bit ([47:53–50:53])

Luke loses his ability to “can” (handle tech absurdity), inventing a bird mascot: “When something too ridiculous happens, our bird goes away. I’ve lost my ability to can.”
Spawns fan art instantly (“Sir Ability Toucan” with a top hat).

Fuel/Energy Discussion

Debate on the cost/efficiency of jet fuel vs diesel, per-gallon prices, and why industry uses each.
Linus: “Race fuel is apparently significantly more expensive than jet fuel ... interesting.” ([54:04])

Generative AI & Likeness Moderation (191:19, 192:34)

Generative AI App Prompt Game

Luke & Linus react to AI-generated slop—Mark Cuban shows up in a badminton court protest, Sora voice impersonates Linus instead of Luke, IJustine’s pig appears in a video.
Linus: “Should I opt in to this likeness thing? ... I think especially right now, until we get better things figured out over likeness and stuff, it's better to just hold on for now.” ([176:12])
Luke: “We’re headed into a level of disconnection from what we’re seeing ... that I don’t know if brand association is even going to be a thing anymore.” ([181:22])

YouTube Rolls Out Likeness Detection Technology ([192:34])

“Technology designed to prevent people from having their likeness misused by identifying and managing AI generated content featuring the likeness of creators ... this is something ... it’s taken too long, but this is something.” ([192:34])

Ethics, Platforms, and Agencies (200:20)

Candid debate about whether LMG should run an ad agency for other creators, and how to handle differing ethical lines (e.g., gambling, adult content, animal products).
Linus: “There are too many things to fight for... I set my own lines. I don’t necessarily expect other people to do the same.” ([204:26])
Luke: “It’s going to be difficult for you to survive without interacting with any company that does things you disagree with ... that’s just how it is.” ([215:23])
Dan: “If staff don’t want to touch it, you might have to look elsewhere for that particular production.” ([216:34])

Funny and Memorable Moments

Jet Engine-Powered AI: “Your cloud-based seahorse emojis powered by jet engines.”
Ability Toucan: The new mascot for things so absurd you "can’t even."
Linus on Likeness Licensing: “I think especially right now… just hold on to it for now."
Luke's Travel Tech Loadout: Secrets to not getting toolkits confiscated at customs ([91:13])
Linus’ Viking Funeral Will: “Rent a boat, buy a smaller boat, go into international waters, put me in a wooden boat, push me away, then shoot it with a flaming arrow.” ([115:02])
Meta smart glasses roasting: “I was able to clearly hear everything [he] was listening to ... If you’re comfortable with people hearing what you’re listening to, that’s fine. It’s very much listenable.” ([66:38])

Selected Quotes

“It is interesting how fragile this thing that an enormous percentage of people's lives relies on … it's pretty wild.”
— Linus, [25:49]

“We are literally hiring the competitor that is going to move in and eat our lunch to desperately keep our website alive for just a little bit longer.”
— Luke, [10:55]

“It’s not market manipulation if it’s not a market … That’s the reason why actual financial markets are regulated … You can’t rely on a corporation whose interests are opposed to your own.”
— Luke, [38:03]

“Your cloud-based seahorse emojis powered by jet engines. It literally went brrr.”
— Linus & Luke, [46:51]

“That's what you’re protecting, right, the stakes are huge … But don’t do a factory tour unless you’re ready to show it all.”
— Luke, [155:28]

Timestamps for Key Segments

04:50 — Complete scope of AWS outage, services affected
06:00–08:40 — Why everyone uses AWS, cost/benefit, on-prem vs cloud
10:55 — Business culture insights: “eating our lunch”
15:58 — Deep dive: DNS defect causes mega-outage
24:18 — Luke’s “cool story, bro” about Wi-Fi DNS hacks
30:34 — Outage fallout: smart beds, Slack, Premier League, Starbucks
33:39–44:48 — Counter-Strike 2 skins market crash and Valve’s masterstroke
45:01–50:53 — Data centers running on jet engines, “ability to can” bit
61:34–68:56 — Samsung XR headset and the future of input
130:25 — Superbox: pirate set-top box bricking devices
136:00 — New AI browsers, Copilot/Mico/Clippy musings
191:19–193:50 — GenAI likeness, opt-in dilemmas, YouTube’s detection rollout
200:20–216:54 — Ethics of platforming, agencies, and where to draw the line

Final Thoughts

The episode exemplifies the WAN Show’s signature approach: exploring critical tech infrastructure, confronting the risks of centralized dependency, and never losing sight of the geeky and the absurd. With in-depth (and sometimes meandering) analysis, memorable analogies, and moments of laugh-out-loud candor, Linus and Luke deliver a compelling, accessible, cautionary—and very human—take on the state of tech in 2025.

For the full experience, including hilarious outtakes, spontaneous tech anecdotes, and fan-activated memes, check out the WAN Show archive.

The WAN Show: Amazon (AWS) Broke The Internet – October 24, 2025

Hosts: Linus Sebastian & Luke Lafreniere
Producer/Contributor: Dan
Date: October 25, 2025

Overview

Opening & Main Topics
Inside the Amazon AWS Outage
Counter-Strike 2 Skins Market Crash (33:39)
Jet Engines for AI Data Centers (45:01)
Generative AI & Likeness Moderation (191:19, 192:34)
Other Notable Tech Stories
Ethics, Platforms, and Agencies (200:20)
Funny and Memorable Moments
Selected Quotes
Timestamps for Key Segments

Opening & Main Topics

[00:37] Luke introduces the week’s big tech disruptions:
- “An Amazon snafu broke the flipping Internet... major services, banks, heated beds...”
[01:39] Linus tees up jet engines for AI datacenters, YouTube’s AI likeness tech, and the Valve/CS2 skins crash, with his usual mix of dramatic and comic setups.

Inside the Amazon AWS Outage

Scope and Services Impacted ([04:50])

Luke lays out just how broad the outage was:

“A major out[age] of Amazon Web Services rendered large parts of the Internet unusable nearly this week... here is a non-comprehensive list ... Alexa, Ring, Reddit, Snapchat, Wordle, Roblox, … Many major banks, Ring, Robin Hood, HBO Max, Venmo, Epic Games, McDonalds, Fortnite, Lyft, Hulu, Disney Plus, Roku, Signal Stream, Reddit, Zoom, Pokemon Go, PlayStation Network ... As much as a third of Internet sites and services rely in some way on Amazon Web Services.” ([04:50])

Hits didn’t stop at entertainment: “Owners of heated beds were not operating correctly.” ([02:00])

Why Is the Internet So Dependent on AWS? ([06:00])

Linus and Luke discuss the trade-offs: AWS is expensive, but “nobody got fired for using AWS. ...it’s so expensive, but if you're just an engineer trying to keep your job, why not?” ([04:34])
"Amazon is the new IBM... a lot of places just do that by default.”
“It was so much easier to get [AWS certification] than many other things. But there’s a big gap between someone who can build things in AWS and someone who can do it efficiently.” ([06:40])

On-premise vs. Cloud Discussion ([08:40])

Linus: On-prem was shunned, “Are you a caveman?”
They note a partial swing back to on-premise due to “money... control... privacy, stuff like that. But it’s interesting this outage was crazy.” ([09:28])

Cultural/Business Impact—Relying on Your Competition ([10:55])

Luke shares how, as a retailer, he watched his company go from competing with Amazon to depending on AWS for survival:

“We are literally ... paying large amounts of money ... our infrastructure ... is so bad, so outdated, so broken that we're literally hiring the competitor that is going to move in and eat our lunch to desperately keep our website alive ... It was such a moment for me.” ([10:55])

Technical Details—It's Always DNS ([15:58])

Outage tracked to AWS DynamoDB with a “latent defect in the service's automatic DNS management. It's always DNS.”
Linus: "I can practically picture Seinfeld being like, Newman. DNS! My arch rival." ([15:58])

Luke’s “Cool Story, Bro” on DNS Absurdities ([20:18])

“If Microsoft NCSI went down, and everyone's computers were connected but didn't ‘know’ it, that would be wild.” ([24:18])

Outage Fallout and Absurdities ([30:34])

“Owners of 8 Sleep Smart beds were unable to change position or temperature ... There is no reason ... that two devices on the same Wi-Fi should have to relay through a cloud server ... The only possible reason is excess of control or data collection.”
Outage impacts:
- Premier League had to confirm offside calls manually.
- Starbucks forced users to “talk to a human to order.”
- “Wordle and Duolingo lost their minds about broken streaks ... looks like the streaks were maintained.”
Dan: “Does Slack give you that Forever Alone message?” Linus: “But it plays... lobby music and it’s actually pretty great lobby music.” ([32:06])

Reflections on Tech Infrastructure

Linus: “It is interesting how fragile this thing that ... an enormous percentage of people’s lives relies on ... it’s pretty wild.” ([25:49])
Luke: “Yes, we are dependent on a small handful of services and yes, it’s a terrible, terrible, terrible thing.” ([32:56])

Counter-Strike 2 Skins Market Crash ([33:39])

Market value plunged $2B due to a change in trade-up mechanics; huge ripple in “gray-market” trading.
Linus theorizes Valve will make more money: “More lower value items ... higher chance people will trade through the Valve marketplace ... this is Valve just being like we’re going to change the playing field and make a lot more money.” ([35:17])
“One knife was sold for $14,000 just before the update and is now worth half. ... The person who sold that is stoked.”
Luke: “It’s not market manipulation if it’s not a market. ... That’s why financial markets are regulated.” ([38:03])
Linus: “Anytime it’s tangential stuff like this ... it is gambling.”
Luke: “It do be gambling.” ([44:48])

Jet Engines for AI Data Centers ([45:01])

Linus: “They're literally using retired commercial aircraft engines bolted into trailers for supplemental power ... What timeline are we on? ... These are jet engines from actual jets!” ([45:37])
Luke: “It might mean that, when people ask ChatGPT if there is a seahorse emoji, the server is powered by an actual jet engine... it literally went brrr.” ([46:51])
Linus: “At a certain point you just have to laugh. ... Those slop scrolling apps ... are powered by jet engines.” ([46:53])
Technical note: “Those turbine cores ... deliver up to 48 megawatts of power a piece.” ([47:53])

Memorable Moment—The “Ability Toucan” Bit ([47:53–50:53])

Luke loses his ability to “can” (handle tech absurdity), inventing a bird mascot: “When something too ridiculous happens, our bird goes away. I’ve lost my ability to can.”
Spawns fan art instantly (“Sir Ability Toucan” with a top hat).

Fuel/Energy Discussion

Debate on the cost/efficiency of jet fuel vs diesel, per-gallon prices, and why industry uses each.
Linus: “Race fuel is apparently significantly more expensive than jet fuel ... interesting.” ([54:04])

Generative AI & Likeness Moderation (191:19, 192:34)

Generative AI App Prompt Game

Luke & Linus react to AI-generated slop—Mark Cuban shows up in a badminton court protest, Sora voice impersonates Linus instead of Luke, IJustine’s pig appears in a video.
Linus: “Should I opt in to this likeness thing? ... I think especially right now, until we get better things figured out over likeness and stuff, it's better to just hold on for now.” ([176:12])
Luke: “We’re headed into a level of disconnection from what we’re seeing ... that I don’t know if brand association is even going to be a thing anymore.” ([181:22])

YouTube Rolls Out Likeness Detection Technology ([192:34])

“Technology designed to prevent people from having their likeness misused by identifying and managing AI generated content featuring the likeness of creators ... this is something ... it’s taken too long, but this is something.” ([192:34])

Ethics, Platforms, and Agencies (200:20)

Candid debate about whether LMG should run an ad agency for other creators, and how to handle differing ethical lines (e.g., gambling, adult content, animal products).
Linus: “There are too many things to fight for... I set my own lines. I don’t necessarily expect other people to do the same.” ([204:26])
Luke: “It’s going to be difficult for you to survive without interacting with any company that does things you disagree with ... that’s just how it is.” ([215:23])
Dan: “If staff don’t want to touch it, you might have to look elsewhere for that particular production.” ([216:34])

Funny and Memorable Moments

Jet Engine-Powered AI: “Your cloud-based seahorse emojis powered by jet engines.”
Ability Toucan: The new mascot for things so absurd you "can’t even."
Linus on Likeness Licensing: “I think especially right now… just hold on to it for now."
Luke's Travel Tech Loadout: Secrets to not getting toolkits confiscated at customs ([91:13])
Linus’ Viking Funeral Will: “Rent a boat, buy a smaller boat, go into international waters, put me in a wooden boat, push me away, then shoot it with a flaming arrow.” ([115:02])
Meta smart glasses roasting: “I was able to clearly hear everything [he] was listening to ... If you’re comfortable with people hearing what you’re listening to, that’s fine. It’s very much listenable.” ([66:38])

Selected Quotes

“It is interesting how fragile this thing that an enormous percentage of people's lives relies on … it's pretty wild.”
— Linus, [25:49]

“We are literally hiring the competitor that is going to move in and eat our lunch to desperately keep our website alive for just a little bit longer.”
— Luke, [10:55]

“It’s not market manipulation if it’s not a market … That’s the reason why actual financial markets are regulated … You can’t rely on a corporation whose interests are opposed to your own.”
— Luke, [38:03]

“Your cloud-based seahorse emojis powered by jet engines. It literally went brrr.”
— Linus & Luke, [46:51]

“That's what you’re protecting, right, the stakes are huge … But don’t do a factory tour unless you’re ready to show it all.”
— Luke, [155:28]

Timestamps for Key Segments

04:50 — Complete scope of AWS outage, services affected
06:00–08:40 — Why everyone uses AWS, cost/benefit, on-prem vs cloud
10:55 — Business culture insights: “eating our lunch”
15:58 — Deep dive: DNS defect causes mega-outage
24:18 — Luke’s “cool story, bro” about Wi-Fi DNS hacks
30:34 — Outage fallout: smart beds, Slack, Premier League, Starbucks
33:39–44:48 — Counter-Strike 2 skins market crash and Valve’s masterstroke
45:01–50:53 — Data centers running on jet engines, “ability to can” bit
61:34–68:56 — Samsung XR headset and the future of input
130:25 — Superbox: pirate set-top box bricking devices
136:00 — New AI browsers, Copilot/Mico/Clippy musings
191:19–193:50 — GenAI likeness, opt-in dilemmas, YouTube’s detection rollout
200:20–216:54 — Ethics of platforming, agencies, and where to draw the line

Final Thoughts

For the full experience, including hilarious outtakes, spontaneous tech anecdotes, and fan-activated memes, check out the WAN Show archive.

Amazon (AWS) Broke The Internet - WAN Show October 24, 2025

Powered by Wave AI

Summary

The WAN Show: Amazon (AWS) Broke The Internet – October 24, 2025

Overview

Table of Contents

Opening & Main Topics

Inside the Amazon AWS Outage

Scope and Services Impacted ([04:50])

Why Is the Internet So Dependent on AWS? ([06:00])

On-premise vs. Cloud Discussion ([08:40])

Cultural/Business Impact—Relying on Your Competition ([10:55])

Technical Details—It's Always DNS ([15:58])

Luke’s “Cool Story, Bro” on DNS Absurdities ([20:18])

Outage Fallout and Absurdities ([30:34])

Reflections on Tech Infrastructure

Counter-Strike 2 Skins Market Crash ([33:39])

Jet Engines for AI Data Centers ([45:01])

Memorable Moment—The “Ability Toucan” Bit ([47:53–50:53])

Fuel/Energy Discussion

Generative AI & Likeness Moderation (191:19, 192:34)

Generative AI App Prompt Game

YouTube Rolls Out Likeness Detection Technology ([192:34])

Other Notable Tech Stories

Ethics, Platforms, and Agencies (200:20)

Funny and Memorable Moments

Selected Quotes

Timestamps for Key Segments

Final Thoughts

Summary

The WAN Show: Amazon (AWS) Broke The Internet – October 24, 2025

Overview

Table of Contents

Opening & Main Topics

Inside the Amazon AWS Outage

Scope and Services Impacted ([04:50])

Why Is the Internet So Dependent on AWS? ([06:00])

On-premise vs. Cloud Discussion ([08:40])

Cultural/Business Impact—Relying on Your Competition ([10:55])

Technical Details—It's Always DNS ([15:58])

Luke’s “Cool Story, Bro” on DNS Absurdities ([20:18])

Outage Fallout and Absurdities ([30:34])

Reflections on Tech Infrastructure

Counter-Strike 2 Skins Market Crash ([33:39])

Jet Engines for AI Data Centers ([45:01])

Memorable Moment—The “Ability Toucan” Bit ([47:53–50:53])

Fuel/Energy Discussion

Generative AI & Likeness Moderation (191:19, 192:34)

Generative AI App Prompt Game

YouTube Rolls Out Likeness Detection Technology ([192:34])

Other Notable Tech Stories

Ethics, Platforms, and Agencies (200:20)

Funny and Memorable Moments

Selected Quotes

Timestamps for Key Segments

Final Thoughts