This week we start with a small complaint about remote work — or rather the claim that working from home might be bad for the economy because people aren’t out buying lunches, clothes, and after-work drinks. From there the conversation wanders into price levels and inflation. We also detour into coffee machines, office habits, and travels to Germany. (This description was written with the help of AI)

This week, Ian and Michael drift through a range of cultural references — actors, composers, old arcade games, and the curious limits of how many famous names any of us can actually remember. Along the way we reflect on fading movie stardom, the strange selectiveness of cultural memory, and the tiny fraction of people who end up being remembered at all. As usual, the conversation wanders further afield, touching on early video games, DNA testing services, and which jobs might survive the advance of AI and robots. (This description was written with the help of AI)

This week we dig into “AI fatigue” and “AI anxiety”; familiar enough to anyone trying to keep up with the constant churn of tools, hype, and expectations. The conversation circles around whether these concerns are widespread or mostly confined to a small corner of the population, with detours into work, hype cycles, and the limits of human attention. Along the way we veer into broader territory: bubbles (both AI and personal), environmental indifference, questionable television, and the possibility that most people simply aren’t that worried about any of it. (This description was written with help of AI)