Listen now (55 mins) | Someone thinks it's a good idea to give kids AI powered stuffed animals, apparently being oblivious to all pop culture of the last 40ish years
͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­
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Good (and mostly bad) uses fo…
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Good (and mostly bad) uses for AI with Jen DeSalvo / Creepiest way to pay tribute to a lost loved one / China tells the US to "Relax, buddy"

Someone thinks it's a good idea to give kids AI powered stuffed animals, apparently being oblivious to all pop culture of the last 40ish years

Keith Conrad and Defined Media LLC
Aug 18
 
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Older Americans are using AI -- study shows what they think of it

Maybe this will keep people from falling for scams where they believe Brad Pitt has fallen in love with them online and needs them to send their life savings in Bitcoin. AI is coming for old and young alike. In addition to older people, now AI-Powered Stuffed Animals Are Coming for Your Kids. Chicago radio and TV reporter Jen DeSalvo joined me to talk about how we’re all using AI, among other sidequests

Widow has late husband’s tattoo cut from his corpse, framed as a ‘cool’ tribute: ‘It does so much more than a picture’

Cool tribute or the height of creepiness? I’m going with the latter. It’s rubs the lotion on its skin or else the framed tattoo skin will crack


More Stories Below, but first some new content in the News Sidequest Podcast Universe…


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SCI-FI SHORT STORIES - NARRATED BY DARREN MARLAR & PRODUCED BY KEITH CONRAD
When the last man on Earth receives a knock on the door, he discovers the horrifying truth about humanity’s new place in the universe.

Knock by Fredric Brown

Keith Conrad / Darren Marlar

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Become a paid subscriber to listen to all of our episodes completely ad-free! You’ll also get access to a deeper dive on the stories we share and the authors!

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AS I WAS SAYING WITH BIG JOHN HOWELL
Big John Howell welcomes back bestselling author William Elliott Hazelgrove to discuss his book Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America. The conversation dives deep into the infamous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast

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Big John Howell

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THE CHICAGO SMOKEHOUSE WITH BIG JOHN HOWELL AND RICK TELANDER
Big John Howell and Rick Telander tackle everything from Trump’s resurrection of racist mascots to the enduring grift of American demagoguery.

The Mascot Distraction: Smoke, Fire, and Trump’s Culture War Playbook

John Howell / Rick Telander

Episode

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Also Worth A Look…

  • Trump says Xi told him China will not invade Taiwan while he is US president - Well, I guess that matter’s settled…

  • Minnesota Mechanic Returns Autoworker's Decade-Old Wallet Found Under Ford Edge Hood - Most surprising, the money was still in it. Of course it was only $15, and that’ll barely cover lunch at McDonalds these days

  • Beavers could help prevent wildfires, researchers say - I was under then impression only I could prevent wildfires. Nice to know I have help

  • Volkswagen locks extra speed behind subscription: microtransactions for cars - Sadly, I have a feeling not that the seal has been broken this is going to become pretty common in the future

  • Delta, United Airlines could face lawsuits over windowless window seats - I’ve run into this the last couple of times I’ve flown. I usually end up snoozing on airplanes anyway, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Although I did feel a little less safe since I wasn’t able to monitor for men on the wings.

  • University Of Iowa Looking For Volunteers For Drunk Driving Study - How will they ever find drunk people on a college campus?

  • Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal details of Trump-Putin summit - They’re not sending their best and brightest

  • A Day on the Lake May Have Led to 'Brain-Eating' Infection - Well there’s another thing I didn’t know I need to be worried about

  • Woman Says 2-Carat Diamond She Unearthed at Arkansas State Park Will Be Used in Engagement Ring - Her fiancé basically won the lottery

  • California man rescued from behind waterfall had ‘tried for days to escape’ - TLC tried to warn him

A guest post by
Defined Media LLC
A digital media venture from multimedia journalist and content creator, Jen DeSalvo. Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @thejendesalvo
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25 Northwest Point Blvd Suite 400 Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
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