Up Against Reality

Hosted by Chris Ippolito and Larry Bentley

Technology News EducationInterviews guests

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Episodes

163

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to Up Against Reality, a meta-podcast that explores the intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence. Hosted by RAINA and her human co-hosts, Larry Bentley and Chris Ippolito. Featuring riveting conversation, interviews, news and some wild experimentation. It truly is a brave new world, and we\’re here to simplify it for you. It\’s gonna be a wild ride, so buckle up, as A.I. comes crashing Up Against Reality.

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60 recent

August 18, 2026Episode 1431 hr 0 min

Episode Rewind: We Were Once Gentlemen

Raina takes the wheel again this week, rewinding to Episode 68: We Were Once Gentlemen — a dive into whether AI is dragging civility off a cliff, from deepfakes to algorithm-fed rage, and whether tech can help drag us back. News first, nostalgia second. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: PolitePOST.net Leveraging AI for democratic discourse: Chat interventions can improve online political conversations at scale Deepfake detection with and without content warnings South Korea: Cabinet passes new bill to criminalize even possession of deepfake porn PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/08/18/episode-rewind-we-were-once-gentlemen/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

August 11, 2026Episode 14357 min

Episode Rewind: Palantir

Raina’s flying solo this week, with a rewind of Episode 110’s descent into pure evil: Palantir. But first, this week’s AI news — fake disasters, resume hackers, brand-new viruses, and more. That sounds normal, right? LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: SUNO Palantir Technologies Palantir: Gotham Rheinmetall DEVS (miniseries) A House of Dynamite (trailer) Zero Day (Netflix series) PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/08/11/episode-rewind-palantir/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

August 4, 2026Episode 14342 min

The Catch-Up

No script, no real agenda. Just two friends catching up, sharing what’s top of mind. And obviously AI is right up there. Organic conversation. Projects, ponderings and a bit of taking stock.

July 28, 2026Episode 14259 min

Episode Rewind: Serkan Gür

We’re pulling this banger from the archives. Aerospace engineer turned finance guy turned DSP legend, Serkan Gür built A1 Evo, made digital signal processing must-watch YouTube, and was vibe coding before it had a name. Plus this week’s AI news up top. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Serkan Gür/OCA Audiophile OCA Audiophile | YouTube Audio Science Review Forum A1 Evo Support | Facebook Group Obsessive Compulsive Audiophile | GitHub Larry’s Atmos 5.2.4 system DSP and audio software Room EQ Wizard (REW) Audyssey room correction technology Roon music management software PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/07/28/episode-rewind-serkan-gur/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality German transcript of the original episode: https://upagainstreality.com/2025/06/30/serkan-gur-german-transcript/

July 21, 2026Episode 14246 min

ChatGPT 5.6

OpenAI just dropped three new models at once — but is GPT-5.6 actually smarter than Claude, or just cheaper and louder about it? Plus: Apple lawyers up against OpenAI, ChatGPT quietly buries one of its own, and your AI coding assistant falls for the oldest trick in the book.

July 14, 2026Episode 1411 hr 15 min

Episode Rewind: Vivek Mahapatra

We're rewinding to Episode 118 with Salesforce exec Vivek Mahapatra — a guy who's outlasted every enterprise tech hype cycle you can name — talking agentic design and scaling AI like a grown-up. But first, we're diving into this week's AI news, and it's a wild one.

July 7, 2026Episode 14147 min

Mark Asch

Juilliard-trained composer, prog rock frontman, and 30-year piano teacher Mark Asch joins Up Against Reality to ask the question musicians are quietly panicking about: can AI make real art, or just really good karaoke? From scoring Fortune 500 brands to fronting X.Atlas, Mark brings real musicianship to the debate over what happens when machines start humming along. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Larry’s “Glass Animal” SUNO album Steven Wilson: Home Invasion In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall SUNO | AI Music For inquiries relating to music composition, instruction, performance, production, or technology, Mark can be reached at info@markasch.com AI-read Herculaneum scroll / PHerc. 1667 PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/07/07/mark-asch/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

June 30, 2026Episode 14039 min

A Robot In Every Home

Think you have a few decades before the machines take over? Think again. It’s a chaotic race to commercialize physical AI and NVIDIA is frantically coding an OS to keep your new robotic peers from flattening you. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot Inside NVIDIA Halos for Robotics Figure AI Unitree Robotics Agility Robotics Google DeepMind and A24 AI filmmaking partnership A24 Films PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/06/30/a-robot-in-every-home/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

June 23, 2026Episode 13953 min

Episode Rewind: AI Bubble (Too Big to Fail)

We rewind to our conversation from November 11, 2025 about whether the AI boom is becoming too big to fail. From OpenAI and NVIDIA to Wall Street speculation and the circular economy forming around AI, we revisit whether this is the next great technological revolution, the next great bubble, or somehow both. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISOD E Apple TV Intro made with practical effects Xania Monet (AI-generated music artist) PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/06/23/episode-rewind-ai-bubble-too-big-to-fail/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

June 16, 2026Episode 13934 min

AI IPOs

The tech elites swore AI was too dangerous for capitalism, right up until Wall Street waved a three-trillion-dollar check. Today we unpack the ultimate corporate sellout alongside killer drones, Claude Fable 5, and lawyers getting wrecked by ChatGPT. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Visualizing one billion dollars using grains of rice | YouTube OpenAI’s official explanation of its evolving nonprofit/for-profit structure Anthropic’s Responsible Scaling Policy v3.0 Google Cloud’s official TPU page AP coverage of New York’s synthetic performer disclosure law for AI-generated ads PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/06/16/ai-ipos/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality